Swan Song

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Background
Previously we discussed how God knew that the Israelites would stray from Him, and how God would curse them and send them into exile for punishment, but would eventually bring them back to Israel when they again turned to God.

In the next chapter, Deuteronomy 31, Joshua is named as the heir to the position of leadership which is now held by Moses. Moses reminds the Israelites to completely kill all of the Promised Land's present inhabitants and to obey God's Law. God then tells Moses again that the Israelites will soon stray from God and His Law, and so God gives Moses a song to have all of the people memorize as a witness against themselves...

Swan Song

Time is drawing to an end for Moses. Now, on the border of a country which God has sworn that he will never enter, it is time for Moses to give one of his last performances as leader of the Israelites, his swan song. Fortunately for Moses, God is a song writer, so He has provided Moses with just the song for the occasion. God wants all of the Israelites to memorize and sing this song; a song about (among other things) the horrible fate awaiting later generations of Israelites in their upcoming, inevitable rejection of God (Deuteronomy 31:19-21).

Like any epic tune, God's song begins with an introduction in Deuteronomy 32:1-4. In case you have difficulty figuring out what to think of God's character, God Himself affirms that His works are perfect works, that His ways are just, and that He does no wrong (Deuteronomy 32:4). Ergo, we know that man is perfect (created by God) and that this covenant with the Israelites was perfect (sorry Hebrews 8:7), that killing someone for picking up sticks on the wrong day is true justice, and that there is nothing wrong with the practice of entrapment.

Then the soul of the song opens with God being disgusted at how the Israelites have repaid Him (Deuteronomy 32:5-6). God recounts how He changed the man Jacob (Israel) from a state of insignificant destitution into a great and richly prosperous nation in the Promised Land, only to have that nation turn its back on God while turning to idol worship instead (Deuteronomy 32:7-18).

With that section is the interesting verse of Deuteronomy 32:9:

For the Lord's portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance. NIV

Contrary to Christian mantra, what God gets, what God keeps, is not anyone who walks in His ways. His people, Jacob, a.k.a. the Israelites, a.k.a. the Jews are God's allotted inheritance. Nobody else.

Moving on in the song, because the Israelites have rejected God, God rejects them (Deuteronomy 32:19). Parents should keep this in mind when they get to raising those troubled teens, because God's ways are just.

This is not some passive rejection where God simply stops giving His children an allowance of blessings. God illuminates that hand-in-hand with His rejection comes His wrath. The Israelites will be invaded by a pagan nation, have their harvests stolen and their cities destroyed, be ravaged by pestilence and plague, be attacked by wild animals and snakes, and be slaughtered by the sword (Deuteronomy 32:20-25). Again, parents, I hope you are taking notes of God the Father's exemplary behavior.

Next we find that God really wants to kill all of the Israelites, but the trouble is that the pagan nation which God will make conquer the Israelites will not understand. If all of the Israelites are wiped out, that nation might think that God was not the reason for the Israelites' prior prosperity (Deuteronomy 32:26-33).

This is a subtle yet devastating blow to a branch of Christian theology known as Typology. They see Moses as a type of Jesus; playing out different roles and actions which would be echoed and completely fulfilled by Jesus. One of those roles is for intercession to stay God's wrath, as Moses managed to keep God from killing all of the Israelites twice before; once for their making of a gold cow and once for their being afraid of the Promised Land's inhabitants. So too, Jesus intercedes on believers' behalf to prevent them from tasting God's wrath. Yet these verses show that intercession is not necessary. God is willing not to completely annihilate the Israelites simply to protect His reputation. If only He could protect His reputation from Himself.

No good deed goes unpunished. As the song concludes, we find that God will punish this pagan nation to prove that only He is God and to take vengeance on them for enacting God's vengeance on the Israelites (Deuteronomy 32:34-43). Sure, that makes sense.

Deuteronomy 32:43, the last line of the song, is particularly interesting:

Rejoice, O nations, with [God's] people, for [God} will avenge the blood of His servants; He will take vengeance on His enemies and make atonement for His land and people. NIV

An affront to foreshadowing Christianity, God will make atonement for His people and His land. That land? The Promised Land. Israel. Zion. The Jewish God is concerned with preserving the little patch of actual Earth which He so dearly loves as well as saving people, while the Christian God is only concerned with people; going to whisk the lucky ones off to Heaven, or to a new Earth (depending on the flavor of Christianity).

In an overly redundant theme, the chapter then continues first with a plea for the Israelites to obey God's Law, because the words of the Law are “not just idle words, they are your life”(Deuteronomy 32:44-47). Of course, this is a blow to foreshadowing Christianity too, unless you obey Jesus instead of the Apostles on the matter.

The chapter closes out with God telling Moses to go up on Mount Nebo to die (Deuteronomy 32:48-52). There is a curious expression we find in Deuteronomy 32:50-51 where God says:

“There on [Mount Nebo] that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold My holiness among the Israelites.” NIV

The phrase “gathered to your people” is vague enough to open interpretation. As far as I can tell, unanimously Christianity believes this to be some indicator of the knowledge of the afterlife even in the Bible's (debatably) earliest scriptures (used first in Genesis 25:7-8). The exact details of what it means are not so unanimous.

I could be wrong, but I think that a connection to the afterlife as Christianity knows it is an incorrect interpretation altogether. Why? I base it on a couple factors.

First, in the Christian sense of the afterlife, once the Saved die (such as Moses) they are essentially in paradise with Jesus at that moment. (There are some that say the dead sleep until a final resurrection, in which case, to the dead, it would seem like an instantaneous event.) In that sense, death is practically a reward. Death, where is thy sting? Yet from the text we see that God intends for this death to be a punishment for Moses for breaking the faith.

Second, notice how Moses will be gathered to “your people” while his brother was gathered to “his people.” Why are Moses and Aaron being gathered to different sets of people when they are in the same family and (presumably) both Saved?

Instead, I offer this alternative: Perhaps “gathered to your people” is a euphemism for a funeral proceeding. “Your people” are specific to the ones who would mourn for you, which would explain why Moses and Aaron had different people. This may also be connected with a status of cultural veneration of patriarchs which have died, which ties into the Genesis 15:15 verse where God tells Abraham that he will go to his fathers (plural, not possessive) in peace.

This interpretation appears to be more in line with the text early in the Bible, because there is absolutely no specific mention of eternal afterlife in the early books. Instead you find consequences within the physical, temporal world left as an inheritance for later generations. Surely an eternal reward or punishment would have would have been more important to record than whether or not you went to your people after you die. By that omission, it appears that no such afterlife belief was held.

Holy Divorce

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Background
Onward though Deuteronomy, where Moses is relaying God's Law to the next generation of Israelites. In Deuteronomy 23, we saw God prohibit groups of peoples from entering His assembly, including the exclusion of men with damaged testicles. The chapter continued with some miscellaneous laws, such as protecting runaway slaves, charging interest only to foreigners, abhorring the offerings of prostitutes, being committed to your vows to God, and taking freely from your neighbor's field. The next chapter begins with one of the most prevalent issues of our time.

Holy Divorce
You have heard that it was said that Jesus is against divorce, but this position seems to be a divorce from Scripture itself. No, not the New Testament Scripture, but the Old Testament Scripture – the foundation for the entire Bible. Let us look at Deuteronomy 24:1-4:

“If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.” NIV

First, whose words are these? In the majority of Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking, but he is simply proclaiming God's own words (Deuteronomy 1:3, Deuteronomy 8:11). Much of God's words are a series of commandments and laws which are collectively known as God's Law, with one of those laws being not to add to or take away from God's Law (Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 12:32). So this is not Moses providing his opinion or defining the laws which he sees fit to enact, but rather they are the very word of God.

Now, what does this law actually say? This is not a law specifically about permitting divorce. This is a law prohibiting a man from remarrying his divorced wife if she marries again. The process of divorce is recorded in the law, but that is not the main focus of the law.

The right of divorce is implicit with marriage. God expected divorce to occur sometimes, which is the reason for this law, as well as the specific mention of divorce elsewhere in the Law (Leviticus 21:7, Leviticus 21:14, Leviticus 22:13, Numbers 30:9, Deuteronomy 22:19, Deuteronomy 22:29).

Look at the reason given for divorce in this case. The man is displeased in his wife, finding something unseemly about her. This is not to be understood as her having committed adultery, as she would have been put to death for that, instead of simply being divorced (Leviticus 20:10). Instead, this comes down to the man's opinion of his wife, that something about her is just not up to good standards.

In modern times, we have a tendency to read “man” as “a person” in legal matters to remove gender, but do not do so here. Only men had the implicit right of divorce from God in this patriarchal system.

An aspect of this sexual inequality is played out in this law. It is detestable for the divorced wife to marry a different man and then remarry her original husband because she has been defiled; because she has slept with a different man. Is that because a married man and woman are one flesh? No, not so fast. A man can have multiple wives, and he can sleep with one wife one night and another wife the next night, yet this behavior is not detestable to God (Genesis 30:14-18).

OK, so now fast-forward to the New Testament. Jesus says that anyone who divorces except because of adultery, causes the divorced wife to commit adultery, and the man who marries the divorced wife also commits adultery (Matthew 5:31-32, Luke 16:8). As you will remember, per God adultery is a sin worthy of immediate death (Leviticus 20:10). This is in contrast to this law from Deuteronomy 24:1-4, where God only has a problem with the divorced wife remarrying her original husband; not a problem with the divorce itself or with her second marriage, or even with her third marriage except for this restriction. That would be strange enough, but what Jesus says later really is messed up.

In Mark 10:2-12 and Matthew 19:3-9, when the Pharisees ask Jesus if divorce is OK, Jesus again proclaims that divorce is sinful and subsequent marriages are forms of adultery. The Pharisees ask Jesus why then did Moses permit divorce (Mark 10:4, Matthew 19:7)?

Jesus could have accurately either replied that Moses never gave (explicit) permission for divorce or that they have misunderstood the intention of that law because God was only providing provisions for when divorce occurred (which is still a weak defense because there is implicit approval). Instead, Jesus wrongly states that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of their hearts (Mark 10:5, Matthew 19:8). This law was not the opinion of Moses; it was the command of God. It is unfathomable that Jesus neither knew the Scripture nor the source of the command, if He truly was God Himself.

The story gets even more strange as it continues in Matthew 19:10-12. Jesus' disciples say that if that is the case with marriage, then it is better not to marry. Jesus says that not everybody can accept this, explaining further in Matthew 19:12 that:

“For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the Kingdom of Heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” NIV

Or in other words, Jesus says that some choose to act like those with damaged or removed testicles in order to gain access to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is not saying that everyone should do that, but that some have chosen that path and (implicitly) that it is a good path to take. When you consider that in the Deuteronomy 23, God forbid those with damaged or removed testicles from entering the Assembly of God, this is an interesting reversal of policy.

Summing up all of this information concisely: God implicitly permitted men to divorce their wives, and had no problems with subsequent marriages as long as they are not between the men and their original wives. Jesus, on the other hand, does not know what He is talking about. That should be a huge red flag.

Who Is God?

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Background
If you have been following along, you have noticed how so far Deuteronomy has been a cross between largely a history lesson for and a plea to the Israelites. That plea is coming from Moses, and has regarded following God's Law to attain righteousness and killing all of the Promised Land's present occupants. In this study, we are getting back to God and history again, and find out more about God's true nature.

Who Is God?
People of faith say that you can learn about God through His Word, the Bible. With each Bible study, the picture of God becomes clearer, and so far it is turning out to be rather a scary image. Deuteronomy 8 paints another portrait, displaying even more who God is.

Moses begins by telling the Israelites again to obey all of God's laws (Deuteronomy 8:1). Then the discussion turns into another history lesson, but this lesson has a spin to it. Take Deuteronomy 8:2, for instance:

“Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.” NIV

As the story goes, God did indeed lead the Israelites in the desert for 40 years, but it was not to test them. As we learned in a previous study, their 40 year sojourn was to punish them (Numbers 14:32-34) despite having already been forgiven by God (Numbers 14:20).

Perhaps more interesting is the part about testing the Israelites to see if they would obey God's commands. The implication is that they did pass this test, and so God will let them enter the Promised Land. However, during that time they ignored God's law about circumcision (Joshua 5:2-8). Plus, it was evident that they did not continue obey God's commands as they were entering the Promised Land, such as when Achan angered God by taking some plunder for himself after the conquest of Jericho (Joshua 7:1). So this “test” was effectively meaningless.

Moses continues on in Deuteronomy 8:3-4 with slightly less spin:

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.” NIV

This episode with the manna occurred in Exodus 16, which was a month and a half after they had left Egypt (Exodus 16:1). The Israelites complained of having nothing to eat (Exodus 16:3), despite having left Egypt with large flocks of livestock (Exodus 12:38). At that time, God had said that the miracle of the manna would let the Israelites know that God was God (Exodus 16:11-12).

Together, the Exodus story and this latest spin send a message that God is saying “you are only alive because I am letting you live.” While technically true (or at least true to the Biblical text), it does not really confer a sense love. Believers could argue that it displays love in the form of mercy, but that does not stand up to honest scrutiny. When have you told someone you love that they are only alive because you are allowing them to live?

Keep in mind that prior to the manna episode, the Israelites had been “humbled” already when they were led into the desert for three days without water, and had to complain to God in order to get some. So this was a redundant lesson.

Also, keep in mind that we already know that this humbling experience did not stop the Israelites from turning away from God's laws, making it appear to be an inadequate effort on God's part, which calls into question His omniscience of both the future and human nature in general. Perhaps if God had tried an approach of love as opposed to system authoritative fear, it would have gone better. Why? Think about the next verse, Deuteronomy 8:5:

“Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.” NIV

If children are not disciplined when they break the rules, then they will have a tendency to disregard the rules. Plus, as noted in the study about the teaching of the Law, Proverbs 13:24 and Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 point out that laws without timely enforcement are useless.

Now under the system of authoritative fear, if God slacks off on His parental discipline, from person to person or from generation to generation, we would naturally expect the Israelites to stray from God's Law, just like we see how parenting with little or no rule enforcement leads to unruly kids. Well, obviously God did slack off, and thus the Israelites did stray.

What follows in Deuteronomy 8:6-18 is largely a plea by Moses for the Israelites not to forget God when they get to the Promised Land. When they become lavishly wealthy in this new land, they might begin to think that it was through their own effort. So Moses tells them to remember that God is the one who gives them the ability to become wealthy, in keeping with His covenant (Deuteronomy 8:18). That verse could have a few different meanings, including the idea that prosperity preachers use that if you are wealthy, it is because God is blessing you for doing the right things. Yet this could also simply be interpreted that God had given them this rich Promised Land; a land where anyone could prosper.

Ending the chapter, we neatly summarize God's position. Deuteronomy 8:19-20 states:

“If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.” NIV

Cause. Effect. Turn away from God, and your nation will be destroyed and taken by invading armies.

Yet we find that God is slack in His discipline. The prime example is King Manasseh of Judah, as recorded in 2 Kings 21. He was the most evil king which the Israelites had ever had, doing even greater evils than the pagan nations before them. Yet he reigned for 55 years without God's discipline, with the exception of God's confirmation that their nation would be destroyed for these evils. And it would. About 55 years after King Manasseh's reign.

As before, God is not showing the face of love, at least not love as we know it. When have you ever threatened to kill the one you love if they stopped obeying you?

So who is God? What do we learn about Him in perspective of these verses and the events which would follow? God is your Heavenly Father; but that father is one who motivates through life-threatening fear instead of love, who lays down the Law and threatens punishment for breaking it but then essentially walks away from enforcement for generations, only to come back later inflamed in wrath because His children have become disobedient. God is far from being an exemplary father, although you could use Him as an example of what not to do...

Kill Them All

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Background
At this point in Deuteronomy, Moses is continuing his affirmation of the faithful foundation of the Israelites by reminding them of what God has done for them in the past (bringing them out of Egyptian slavery) and what God will do in the near future (bringing them into the Promised Land). So the Israelites are to show their appreciation to God and to become righteous in His eyes through obeying His laws in the Promised Land, but that is not all that they need to do in the Promised Land...

Kill Them All
Hosea 6:6, which Jesus quotes in Matthew 9:13 and Mathew 12:7, states that God really wants mercy, not sacrifice. Of course, that seems more than a little contradictory considering the many different sacrifices God demanded through His Law. Also consider that God required the sacrifice of Jesus in order to be fully merciful. So even in the epitome of God's mercy, Jesus, there was a required sacrifice. It is really a mixed message, like going to war to promote peace.

Our study in Deuteronomy 7 is a study of sacrifice through war and mercy withheld, as per the will of God. Starting off with Deuteronomy 7:1:

“When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you-” NIV

We see here that God is going to drive out these nations, but as you continue to read the Bible, you find out that the Israelites themselves had to do at least some part of the actual driving out, such as in the conquest of Ai (Joshua 8). Maybe that means that God will help the Israelites drive out these nations. Yet it seems that even God's help is not an assurance of victory (Judges 1:19).

Perhaps more interesting is that God will drive out seven nations “larger and stronger” than the Israelites. In Numbers 26:51, we find that there were 601,730 Israelite men (20 years old or older). Conservatively add one woman per man plus a couple of children and you have an Israelite population of over 2.4 million people total. Yet there were seven larger nations to be driven out! Let us put this in perspective.

Most historians would say this is supposed to be around 1400 BC +/- 200 years. There were roughly 45 million people on earth in 1400 BC. So according to this verse, at least 16.8 million, or about 37% of the world's entire population lived in and around the land we now call Israel. To add perspective, consider that an estimated 7.6 million people live in Israel today, which is roughly the size of New Jersey, in our times where farming and sanitation techniques are advanced enough to support that population density.

Back to the heart of the matter, we find the fate of these supposed 16.8 million men, women, and children in the next verse. Deuteronomy 7:2 continues:

“and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. ” NIV

The Hebrew word châram is used to denote this total destruction, which is a word typically used for irrevocable sacrifices made to God in which the object of sacrifice is completely destroyed, such as by fire. Deuteronomy 7:16 reiterates:

“You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.” NIV

In case these references are not completely clear, we will flip ahead to Deuteronomy 20:16-17 which speaks of this subject again:

“However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you.” NIV

Show no mercy. Show no pity. Do not leave alive anything that breaths, from the sheep in the pasture to the baby in the slave's arms. Genocide. Kill them all.

Why? Why should they kill them all? In a future study of Deuteronomy 9, we will come to discover that the Israelites will be enacting God's wrath on these nations.

This sets an incredibly disturbing precedent. Someone who thinks that they hear from God suddenly feels justified and compelled to eliminate an entire race or nation of people. This is the great evil of a theocracy.

Show and Tell

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Background
Deuteronomy so far has largely been a review of previous events, during which we discovered the age of culpability and what God considered to be the condition of not lacking anything. As Moses was about to begin to reviewing the laws from God, he spoke of how important it was to obey them without adding or subtracting from them.

In Deuteronomy 5, Moses tells the story of receiving the popular version of the Ten Commandments, though (accurately) not calling them the Ten Commandments. This preamble to the review of the Law is only about halfway complete, so it is time to stress the importance of knowing God's laws...

Show and Tell
God had a Plan. Given the fallibility of man, it was perhaps one of the best plans possible, at least in theory. The Israelites would have to obey God in the Promised Land in order to be blessed by Him without making a mockery of God. To obey God, they needed to know His Law, and know it well.

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses tries emphatically to impress upon the Israelites the importance of knowing God's commands, decrees, and laws. He tells them that they will live long lives and will prosper in the Promised Land if they obey (Deuteronomy 6:1-3). He pleads that they should love only God, and love Him with all their heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). In Deuteronomy 6:6, God says through Moses:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.” NIV

You may remember in a previous study where God said not to follow your heart, so this should not be taken to mean “put God's commandments in your heart along with what you believe to be good versus bad.” Instead, you could think of it in one of two ways: that God's laws effectively become your heart, giving you the guidance as to what is good versus bad, or that you should set your heart, your inner and deepest desire, to obeying God's laws (Psalm 40:8).

This is particularly interesting, because there are prophesies, such as Jeremiah 31:33, where God said that He would write His Law in the Israelites' hearts. Christianity likes to distort these prophesies, suggesting instead that these prophesies mean that believers will know to do good once they love Jesus in their hearts, or such similar semantics. However, consulting how this phrase was first used in the original text here in Deuteronomy 6:6, as well as reading the prophesies in the full context (such as including Ezekiel 37:24 which effectively claims that God's laws will persist), it becomes clear that the prophesies are for a literal return to God's Law.

Moving on, God through Moses then said this of God's laws in Deuteronomy 6:7-9:

“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” NIV

The idea was complete immersion in the Law. Talk about the Law constantly. Put the Law where you will see it. Wear the Law on you.

Also, you had the responsibility to teach your children how to treat slave women, how God spreads disease and mildew as punishment, why you should avoid wearing blended fabrics, how blasphemers should be killed, and all of the other perfect commandments of God (Psalm 19:7). This responsibility was to be carried out every day.

Such a system was the best way to ensure that everyone knows the Law of God. However, laws without timely enforcement, particularly on the part of God, are bound to be cast aside and ignored. This fact is even recorded in the Bible in verses such as Proverbs 13:24 and Ecclesiastes 8:11-12, and clearly from Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 God was slack in His discipline. By God's delay of justice, He chose to let the system of the Law fail, to let sin thrive through His inaction.

In the remainder of this chapter, Deuteronomy 6:10-25, Moses continues to plea with the Israelites to remember, respect, and fear God, and to obey His laws. They should be careful not to rebel, specifically like when they “rebelled” for being thirsty and wanting water at Massah (Deuteronomy 6:16), or else God would kick them out of the Promised Land.

At the end of this chapter, we find a particularly revealing verse. Deuteronomy 6:25 states:

“And if we are careful to obey all this Law before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” NIV

Yes, spitting in the face of Christianity, Moses claims that you could indeed be righteous by following God's Law. From what the Bible teaches, earning this righteousness did not necessarily mean following the Law perfectly. While it seems that possibly there were perfect followers (Psalm 119:1, Psalm 119:34, Psalm 119:51), a shining example of being imperfect yet righteous was King David, who God considered to be as someone who had followed all of His laws well enough (2 Chronicles 7:17-18). This is despite the fact that David had committed adultery Bathsheba and then had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11-12). If David could find such favor with God through a desire to follow His Law yet despite his heinous sins, then clearly the Old Testament taught that you could be imperfect and yet righteous in God's eyes.

The Law Makes an Impression

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Background
In Deuteronomy, after briefly recounting some of the history of the Israelites' trek through the desert, during which we discover the age of culpability and what God considers as the condition of not lacking anything, Moses begins to review the various commandments of God, but not without an appropriate preamble about the Law...

The Law Makes an Impression
Christianity has a lot to say about God's Law, such as the reason for it (Romans 5:20-21, Galatians 3:19, Hebrews 10:1), as well as arguments about why (Matthew 5:19, James 1:22-25, James 2:10, 1 John 3:4-6) or why not (Romans 3:27-28, Romans 7:1-6, Galatians 5:4, Hebrews 7:18-19) to continue obeying every commandment in the Law. Modern theology often presents the opinion that the Law was so stringent that nobody could follow it, and to that effect it illustrated the need for God's mercy through Jesus. Yet that is not at all how we see the Law presented in the Old Testament.

For God's opinion on the Law, a good place to start is Deuteronomy 4. Let us dive right in with Deuteronomy 4:1-2, where Moses tells the Israelites of God's Law:

“Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” NIV

Do not add or subtract from it? That is a fine principle under laboratory conditions, but in the real world civilizations change. Advancements in technology and process mandate updated laws. Just think of all of the laws which had to be created for the internet. Or perhaps even more significant, think of the huge advancement which was made in establishing copyright and patent laws. Yet the person, or deity, who created these laws had no concept of the changes which would occur and no ways to protect intellectual property. God thought that this was a complete set of laws, and all you would ever need.

Deuteronomy 4:3-4 reminds the Israelites how God killed all of those Israelites who worshiped Baal at Baal Peor, even though we learned that God stopped killing the guilty people because He was so impressed by Phinehas's vigilante-extremist actions.

After another pleading to obey the law (Deuteronomy 4:5), in Deuteronomy 4:6-8 Moses reveals the purpose of the Law.

“Observe [the laws] carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?” NIV

From this viewpoint, the Law, as practiced by the Israelites, was to showcase God on earth. It was to demonstrate that, unlike man-made idols, the God of the Israelites is a real and wise God. It was to make other nations realize that their gods were fake, and that they should seek the wisdom, guidance, and providence that only the one true living God could provide. It is no surprise that this same sentiment is echoed in the prophesies of a reunited Israelite nation, such as in Isaiah 2:3, Isaiah 51:4, and Micah 4:2; an inconvenient truth for Christianity.

To the charge that the Law was too stringent to obey, this claim can only be made by ignoring parts of the Bible. After all, why would God plead so often for His people to obey the Law if He knew that was impossible to do, such as in Joshua 1:8, 2 Kings 17:13, and Ezekiel 20:19? Also, there are major people which would have to be ignored, such as King Josiah from 2 Kings 22-23. So such a claim simply falls apart when considering the entire Bible.

Genocidal God

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Background
Back in Numbers 25, the Israelites were camped out on the edge of Moab. While there, some of the Israelites had sexual relations with Moabite and Midianite women, and started worshiping their god Baal. Phinehas slayed an interracial couple, and God was so impressed that He stopped the plague He sent (after 24000 Israelites had died) and rewarded the vigilante Phinehas with a lasting Priesthood.

The five chapters which followed covered a census of the 601730 Israelite men, Moses beginning the transfer of power to Joshua, and God giving some more rules and regulations which mainly dealt with the offerings for various feasts, plus a chapter primarily on the vows of women to complete the set.

Genocidal God
If you have never been deeply disturbed by reading the Bible, you have not been really reading it. Read it. Read it for all that it is worth. Read it like your life depends on it, at least if you are a believer. I recommend starting at the beginning, but let this be a teaser to get you hooked into reading.

Numbers 31:1-2 opens the chapter with malicious intent:

The LORD said to Moses,"Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people." NIV

God tells Moses to start a holy war; a war of God's vengeance. Vengeance for certain Midianite women who had sex with some Israelites and convinced some Israelite subset to worship Baal (Numbers 25:1-3, Numbers 25:16-18).

Some commands for this war are elaborated on in Numbers 31:3-6. One thousand Israelites from each tribe (twelve thousand total) would attack the Midianites, accompanied by Phinehas the priest with the Ark of the Covenant and trumpets. This was not just a simple attack. We will see that the actual purpose was genocide.

The war goes on in Numbers 31:7-12, and it was a big success. They killed every Midianite man, and claimed their women, children, livestock, and other valuables as plunder, bringing them back to the Israelite encampment. But that was wrong, very wrong.

Moses is furious when they get back (Numbers 31:13-14). He angrily commands in Numbers 31:15-18:

"Have you allowed all the women to live?" [Moses] asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." NIV

Note that Moses is so angry because the Israelites had let the women live who were the very cause of the war. Pause, and think on this. Instead of God simply holding the specific guilty people responsible and subjecting only them to His wrath, God initiates a war which yields destruction of all male lineage, otherwise known as genocide.

Next, note that these women had followed Balaam's advice. Balaam. The gentile prophet with the talking donkey who said that he would only say what God had told him to say (Numbers 22:38). The one who danced with God's drawn-out prophesy of blessing the Israelites while cursing many others and infuriating Balak. Talk about being non sequitur.

Finally, note that they could keep the virgin women and little girls as part of the war plunder. It is arguable that such may be a better fate than being slain like the rest of the Midianites, but keep in mind that they would become slaves and wives to the same people who had slaughtered their brothers and fathers.

Perhaps you are not moved by Holy genocide. How about Holy virgin sacrifices?

After a purification process (Numbers 31:19-24), the Israelites divided up the plunder per God's instructions. Half went to the soldiers, and the other half went to the rest of the Israelites, but the Levites got a percentage of the Israelites' portion, and God got a percentage of the soldier's portion (Numbers 31:25-47). (It is interesting that God's portion came from the soldiers.)

As we discover in Numbers 31:40, God got 32 of the 16000 virgins. What does it mean when God gets people? Numbers 31:41 explains that God's share was given to the High Priest, Eleazar, but it does not elaborate any further.

In a previous study, we saw that the priests could not marry a non-Jewish women (Leviticus 21:13-15), so marrying these virgins was not possible. The best that these virgins could become was slaves or concubines for the priests. That is, if they belonged to the priests.

The text only says that they were “for the Lord” and “the Lord's part.” There is a Hebrew term for “irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord,” meaning completely destroying them, usually by fire, which is often simply translated as destroyed. In a previous study, we observed that indeed humans could be killed this way for God (Leviticus 27:28-29). It is likely that such was the ultimate fate of these 32 virgins.

So God expands the guilt of a culpable few to an entire people, resulting in their genocide, and (likely) has some of their surviving virgins sacrificed for Him. God demands mercy, not sacrifice? Ha.

God Rewards Extremists

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Background
After slaying all of the Amorite men, women, and children in multiple cities with God's help, the Israelites settle down on the edge of Moab for a time. Balak, king of the Moabites, was scared by the Israelites' presence and reputation, so he sought out Balaam to curse the Israelites in order to help drive them away. After God almost killed Balaam for doing what God had told him to do, Balaam finally meets with Balak.

In a drawn out affair involving multiple prophesies and animal sacrifices with Balak and Balaam, God finally reveals, not only will God bless the Israelites instead of cursing them, but also that the Israelites will conquer Moab, Amalek will be destroyed, the Asshur will conquer the Kenites and then will be conquered themselves, along with Eber.

God Rewards Extremists
Christian terrorism. Mainstream Christianity compartmentalizes it as being caused by overzealous nuts who ignore the teachings of Jesus, such as not to judge others (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37). After all, it is not like God would reward such an act, such as Islam has the 72 virgins for martyrs. Nope, no virgins, but do not be fooled. The God of the Bible does indeed reward overzealous extremists.

Note that this study is explicit, but 100% Biblical. Judge for yourself if you should continue reading.

Numbers 25:1-3 tells us that while the Israelites were camped in Moab, Moabite women enticed some Israelite men into having sex with them and worshiping their god, Baal. This made God angry, and you would not like God when He is angry. Numbers 25:4 states:

The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel." NIV

So God wanted all the leaders killed and stripped naked on display to make God forgive their sins. The phrase “these people” is ambiguous, and could mean just those who had sinned or all of the Israelites. Oh, and God's fierce anger (as we will later discover) is made manifest in the form of a deadly plague. God is so full of love and mercy.

Moses, seemingly oblivious to God's command but not to His anger, instead gathers the leaders (judges) and tells them to kill all of the men who have worshiped Baal (Numbers 25:5).

At that moment, Zimri, an Israelite man, walked by the assembly of the leaders with Cozbi, a Midianite woman, taking her back to his tent. Eleazar's son Phinehas springs into action. Phinehas stalks Zimri and Cozbi back to Zimri's tent. There, Phinehas skewers both of them together, sending his spear through Zimri and into Cozbi. At that moment, God stopped the plague, after it had already killed 24000 Israelites (Numbers 25:6-9).

It should be noted that the 24000 Israelites that God killed with the plague quite possibly died indiscriminately to their guilt. Remember that this scene happened while Moses was having a meeting to direct the killing of such guilty men. So it is likely that the sin of at least some of the 24000 was just letting their fellow Israelites sin, if they had known about it at all, which is questionable in such a large population (Numbers 1:46).

In Numbers 25:10-13, God rewards Phinehas:

The LORD said to Moses, "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned My anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for My honor among them, so that in My zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making My covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites." NIV

God loved the vigilante style and zeal of Phinehas. God was ready to kill all of the Israelites, but He was so impressed by Phinehas that He stopped the deadly plague. So Phinehas saved an entire nation by his actions, making atonement for them, and God bestows Phinehas the great honor of having a lasting priesthood in his lineage.

This is exactly the kind of fodder which feeds the animalistic urges of extremists, helping them cross the bridge from merely being pious to becoming a religious terrorist. It answers the desperate questions: What can I do to win God's favor? What can I do to ensure the blessings of God for myself and my family for generations to come? What can I do to save my nation, my country, or my people?

This is dangerous, as history has proven time and time again, such as with the KKK, anti-abortion violence, and the Hutaree. This is one of the primary reasons I continue with the work I am doing here.

Disposable Leaders

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Background
In Numbers 18, God confirmed a hierarchy of personal relationship, where only the Priests had access to God, and where anyone else who tried to access God would be killed. This is not exactly a great foreshadowing of Christianity.

In Numbers 19, God instructs on the purification of sin through water of cleansing; water mixed with the ashes of red cow, cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool. Again, this seems off for foreshadowing Christianity, but there is something even more strange about it. Aaron was the High Priest at the time, while Eleazar was his son. God specifically instructed Eleazar to make these special ashes, excluding Aaron and his other remaining son/Priest Ithamar. (Aaron's other two sons, Nadab and Abihu, had been burned to death by God.)

Why was Eleazar selected? That answer may be revealed in the next within this study of the next chapter.

(On a side note, it is rather amusing that the water of cleansing is used anachronistically in Numbers 8:7 before it was defined in Numbers 19:1-10.)

Disposable Leaders
In the business world, sometimes a manager will look for any excuse to fire a particularly bad employee. Poor attendance. Surfing the Internet instead of working. Stealing office supplies. Any little recordable reason will suffice to be rid of the bigger problem at hand. As it turns out, God may be the same way, even with His favorite worshipers, as we will see in this study.

In Numbers 20:1-5, we find the Israelites at Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. There was no water, so the Israelites complained to Moses about the lack of water and variety of their diet.

Does that plot sound familiar? It might if you remember the previous study involving thirsty Israelites, or if you remember complaints about water in Exodus 15:22-25 and Exodus 17:1-7, or complaints about food variety in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11:1-35 (also in a previous study).

Because of its many similarities with our present study, the Exodus 17:1-7 account stands out. There they are walking through the Desert of Sin. There was no water, so the Israelites complained to Moses that they were dying of thirst. God tells Moses to whack a rock with his staff, and God would make a spring come forth from it. Moses does this, and then names the place Meribah, which means quarreling.

Continuing now with the story in Numbers 20:6-13, God tells Moses to whack a rock with his staff to make a spring come forth from it. This place is called Meribah too. Quite a coincidence, huh? Even the names Sin and Zin are so close that it makes you wonder if this is really two tales are of the same origin.

Yet there are differences. Big differences. While the Exodus 17:1-7 episode went rather smoothly, the Numbers 20:1-13 version results in condemnation. In Numbers 20:10-11:

[Moses] and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. NIV

You may be wondering why Moses, the most humble man in the world (Numbers 12:3), is so confrontational. Well, the rebels did start it (Numbers 20:3-5), and perhaps Moses was remembering how God acted the last time the Israelites complained about provisions, sending a plague which killed many Israelites. It seems like Moses is projecting his and God's frustrations (Numbers 17:10) at this rebellious people. (Rebellious, that is, for being thirsty in the desert and complaining about it.)

Well, God was not impressed by this performance. We find in Numbers 20:12:

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as Holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." NIV

Wait, what? What is that supposed to mean?

Christian commentaries are a bit confused and uncertain as to what this means. They have come up with a myriad of explanations for why God was angry:

• Moses took credit for God's work, as seen by “must we bring you water...”
  
• God told Moses to speak to the rock (Numbers 20:8), but instead he struck it twice.
  
• Moses spoke to the people instead of to the rock.
  
• It was implied that Moses should strike the rock once, but instead he struck it twice.
  
• Moses struck the rock twice because he did not believe that once would be enough, similar to his second-guessing God in Numbers 11:21-23.
  
• By striking the rock twice, Moses messed up God's planned symbolism for Jesus being struck down once to produce “living water” (1 Corinthians 10:4) (despite this being actually the second episode of a rock being struck to produce water).
  
• Moses acted in a fit of rage and spoke in anger calling them rebels (Matthew 5:22) (despite that he was saying essentially what God had previously said in Numbers 17:10).
  
• Moses and Aaron had unbelief that God would actually provide water for such a rebellious people.

Thank God that the words of the Bible, and even the very words of God Himself, are so clear as to prevent misunderstanding, huh?

There are two references to this episode beyond this chapter which may help clarify. Numbers 27:13-14 claims that both Aaron and Moses “disobeyed [God's] command to honor [Him] as Holy.” Psalm 106:32-33 claims that “trouble came to Moses because of [the Israelites]” and “rash words came from Moses' lips.”

The commandment to honor God as holy comes from Leviticus 22:32:

"Do not profane My Holy name. I must be acknowledged as Holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy." NIV

So putting all of the pieces together, it may be that God was offended by Moses using the term “we” in the act of bringing forth water; not in the sense that he was taking credit, but rather in the he was bringing God down to the level of himself and Aaron, or elevating himself and Aaron up to God's level. Moses did not emphasize that God was separate and different from himself, and the almighty, Holy source of miracles. Or simply put; Moses did not acknowledge God as superior in Holiness.

Of course, this still makes you wonder why Aaron was condemned in this episode. Was it just guilt by association, or is this what God meant by holding the Priests accountable for transgressions against the Priesthood?

Whatever the reason for God's pronouncement of a death sentence on Moses and Aaron, it seems relatively minor compared to their past transgressions. Moses was very reluctant in obeying God, he had challenged God's decisions not once, but twice, and he had previously doubted that God could provide what He had promised. Aaron lead the Gold Cow rebellion and complained about the superiority of Moses.

So it appears as though God is just drawing an arbitrary line, using this fairly minor mistake as an excuse for a change of command. Aaron dies at the end of the chapter, bestowing his son Eleazar with the title of High Priest (Numbers 20:22-29). Moses survives a bit longer, but dies before entering the Promised Land, and Joshua assumes the role of leadership in his place (Deuteronomy 34).

(For those of you who may still believe that this episode foreshadows Jesus, take a moment to consider that both this place and the previous place where water came from a rock were both named Meribah, which means quarreling, and that Moses and Aaron became condemned to die early as a form of punishment for their actions. Then ask yourself: How could those facts possibly relate to Jesus?)

God's Wrath Loves Company

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Background
The book of Numbers could just as easily be called the book of Rebellions. Already in our studies, we have seen rebellions due to inadequate food variety, to jealousy of leadership, and to fear of other nations. In our last study, we even found a rebellious man picking up sticks on a Sabbath, and we were reminded by God not to follow our hearts. The next chapter, the next rebellion, is the subject of this study.

God's Wrath Loves Company
When someone makes you angry, why get mad at only the person responsible? Why not take out your anger on their entire family? That is what God would do (and inherently what Jesus would do) as we see in this study of Numbers 16.

Despite God punishing four acts of rebellion thus far in the book of Numbers, amazingly there are some Israelites stupid enough to challenge Moses and his brother the High Priest, Aaron. The Levites Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and 250 other nameless men bring a protest against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16:1-3).

Moses tells them that they have gone too far, and tomorrow God will show them who He wants to lead the Israelites (Numbers 16:4-11). Dathan and Abiram tell Moses that they will not show up tomorrow just to have Moses brag about how he is in charge (Numbers 16:12-14).

Moses, ever humble, tells God that he has never wronged these men and that God should not accept their offerings (Numbers 16:15).

The day of the big showdown comes. Korah and his 250 men light their censers of incense for God (Numbers 16:16-20).

Then something odd happens. God tells Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16:21:

"Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." NIV

There are a couple things to note here. First, notice how God is so imprecise with His wrath that He needs Moses and Aaron to move away from the target zone. Second, and more significant, notice how God is going to kill everyone who came out to see the showdown, not just the rebellious party.

Think this interpretation is overreaching? Read the next verse, Numbers 16:22:

But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?" NIV

Moses calls into question God's justice in killing the entire assembly. Just like in the previous study, Moses is the voice of reason for God. It should be the other way around!

Moses is somewhat successful in making his plea to God, as we see from what follows in Numbers 16:23-35. God spares the assembly, and burns the 250 nameless men to death, but reserves a special punishment for Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. For those three, God opens the earth up underneath of their tents, swallowing up all of their possessions (Numbers 16:31-33), and including themselves along with their wives, children, and babies (Numbers 16:27).

Despite Moses reminding God to act with justice, God still kills innocent children along with the guilty father. Clearly, this is what God meant when He said “for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” in Exodus 20:5. (Except these people did not hate God, but rather they were jealous of the relationship which Moses and Aaron had with God and their position of leadership.) It kind of makes you wonder why God is surprised that the Israelites have a saying that “The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge” in Ezekiel 18:1-4.

The story does not end there. In a seemingly impossible display of more stupidity, the entire Israelite community grumbles against Moses and Aaron the next day, saying that they have killed God's people (Numbers 16:41).

God could not take anymore. He unleashes a plague to kill all of the Israelites. In a dramatic finish, Moses has Aaron burn incense to make atonement for them. Aaron runs out to the line of death and manages to stop the plague after only 14,700 Israelites had died (Numbers 16:42-50).

That calls up some deep philosophical and moral questions. God's will is to kill all of the Israelites during this episode, despite His promises to them. So by acting to bring about atonement, are Moses and Aaron acting against God's will? If so, then this is a sin. If not, then why did God unleash the plague to begin with? If Moses and Aaron had done nothing during the plague, would God hold them accountable for not taking action to thwart His wrath?

The closer you look at it, the more it looks like a tangled mess of lies, or, perhaps more appropriately, just an interesting work of religious fiction.

Repentant God, Part 3

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Background
Imagine knowing the consequences of your actions before taking them; knowing all the paths of fate for each possible option; knowing them completely and perfectly. Imagine being omniscient, like God. With such knowledge, it would be practically impossible to repent. As Numbers 23:19 puts it, God is not like a man, who changes his mind.

This is the third part in a series of studies where God obviously does repent and change His mind. The first part covered the well known legend of the Flood of Noah. The second part discussed how God wanted to kill all of the Israelites for making a gold cow idol.

These episodes cast serious doubt in the omniscience of God, or that God had any kind of master Plan. In this study from the book of Numbers, God's Plan and omniscience are challenged again by God Himself, and we learn a disturbing twist on God's forgiveness.

Here in Numbers, after squashing rebellions about food and leadership, the Israelites traveled on to the border of the Promised Land. Finally, after over a year of leisurely wandering in the desert, they will see the land which God had promised to give them before they had left Egypt.

Repentant God, Part 3
The Bible sometimes tells a story twice. Furthermore, the Bible sometimes tells a story twice. Sure, the details will be different, but the underlying plot will be strangely similar, like a copy of a copy of a copy. We have seen this with senior citizen Sarah being taken in as a concubine by Pharaoh and then taken 24 years later at the age of 89 by Abimelech, and again when God gave the Israelites quails and water after they complained and later gave them quails and plague after they complained.

Similarly, this study will call back to the infamous tale of when the Israelites made a golden calf while Moses was on a mountain talking to God in Exodus 32. In that tale, God became furious, wanted to kill all of the Israelites, and wanted to instead make a new nation out of Moses. Moses had to convince God not to kill them because the Egyptians would think badly of God and because doing so would break God's promise.

For this study, we begin in Numbers 13. Now that the Israelites are on its borders, God has Moses send out one leader from each tribe to survey the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-16). Before they set out, Moses instructed the leaders to spy out how militarily strong the native nations were, among other things (Numbers 13:17-20).

The surveillance team explores the Promised Land for forty days (Numbers 13:21-25). Then they report to the Israelites that the land is flowing with milk and honey, but that the existing nations are very strong, even including some descendants of Anak (Numbers 13:26-29). Caleb, the spy from the tribe of Judah, tells the Israelites that they should go take the land (Numbers 13:30). The other spies reject this opinion. In a “bad report,” they say that the present inhabitants are far stronger, and furthermore that there are Nephilim (Anak was a descendant of Nephilim) there (Numbers 13:31-35).

(Who are the Nephilim? Genesis 6:4 is where you will find the Nephilim briefly described. It appears as though they are the result of mating male angels and female humans, resulting in giant and powerful offspring. They would have been completely wiped out by the Flood. However, note that the Genesis 6:4 statement of “in those days—and also afterward” suggests that this supernatural-inter-specie breeding went on after the Flood as well.)

The Israelites are frightened by this report. They wail that they would have been better off dying Egypt or in the desert, and begin thinking about returning to Egypt (Numbers 14:1-4). Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes, and try to rally the Israelites by reminding them that the land is highly desirable and that they will be successful because God is with them (Numbers 14:5-9). The Israelites then talk of stoning Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 14:10).

Here is where the story takes a familiar turn. God is furious. He tells Moses that He will kill all of the Israelites with a plague, and then build a new nation out of Moses (Numbers 14:10-12). God repented bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. Again.

As discussed before, God's solution to rebellious people is consistently to kill them all and start again. There is no soul winning. There is no suit of love to draw them back to God. There is no Messiah. There is only death. (Yes, because that strategy worked so well the first time with the Flood. Not!)

God's omniscience and master Plan are thrown out of the window. Instead of taking preemptive actions to circumvent this known future, God lets it happen. Instead of acting like He knew this would happen, God reacts in a fit of rage as if someone had unexpectedly slapped Him across the face. Instead of remembering temperance to ensure that His Plan for the future would occur; that the not-yet-born King David would provide a royal human bloodline for Jesus (Matthew 1:1-6) in the yet-to-be-prophesied eternal kingdom (2 Samuel 7:8-16); God is ready to cut off that thread of fate by killing its forefathers.

Just like with the golden cow incident, here again it is Moses who must quench God's fiery rage in Numbers 14:13-19. Moses tells God to think about the fact that the Egyptians will hear about God killing all of the Israelites in the desert, and will thereby have cause to mock Him. Moses even goes so far as to throw God's own words back into His Holy face, quoting Exodus 34:5-7 back to Him in Numbers 14:18-19. (That was when God called Himself “slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.”)

Why is it that an imperfect human (Moses) has to point out to a perfect God that His intents are poised to break His own promises and turn Him into a hypocrite? God should be the rational one here, not Moses.

In Numbers 14:20, we find:

The LORD replied [to Moses], "I have forgiven them, as you asked." NIV

To forgive is to pardon, or in other words, to drop any bad feelings and relinquish any punishment of the guilty party. God, being perfect, should be the shining example of how to forgive. However, that is not what we find here. Instead, in Numbers 14:21-35 we see how God intends to punish the Israelites by making them wander the desert for forty years, and how during that time everyone who was twenty years old or older at the time of this rebellion will eventually die in the desert and how their children will suffer for their transgressions. Only Joshua and Caleb will survive to enter the Promised Land.

(Note that this particular passage could be used as support of the Catholic dogma of purgatory. The Israelites are forgiven, but must still suffer until their sins are purged away.)

So what have we learned? God seems to have imperfect omniscience. God repents. God is not slow to anger. God is willing to scrap His Plan and promises like they do not exist. God's forgiveness will not prevent His wrath. These traits are not very reassuring if you are banking on an eternity in His presence.