Monday, Nov. 11
Numbers Chapters 9 and 10 Click here to read
With the Tabernacle set up and the priests prepared for their duties, the journey begins.
It is the second year of the Exodus, after the original Passover. Once again, the Passover is a preparation for a journey.
The instructions this time are no less miraculous than the first time around, though they are for a longer term. There will be a pillar of cloud over the Tabernacle that appears as a pillar of fire at night. As long as it stays in place, the people are to live in their camp.
But, once the pillar moves, they are to be ready to immediately follow it. We are reminded of that first Passover when the meal is eaten quickly so that the people will be ready to leave at God’s command. We’re also reminded of the Last Supper, which itself serves as the launching point of a great journey.
One interesting note here is that, at the request of the people, God has provided a second opportunity for people to celebrate the Passover if ceremonial uncleanness prevented its celebration at the normally appointed time.
This isn’t given as an option but as an accommodation: “But if anyone who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, they must be cut off from their people for not presenting the Lord’s offering at the appointed time.”
Already we see God prioritizing people over ritual. The ritual is still required, but God recognizes the need for some flexibility in its execution. Obedience to the purpose of the law over the letter of the law isn’t just a New Testament concept; it’s already present in the earliest days of the law.
We also see some flexibility in defining God’s people. A foreigner living among them is subject to the law, while a natural-born Israelite who disobeys is cut off from the people.
This corresponds to the statement by Jesus in Matthew 12 and elsewhere when he says, “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
On this Veterans Day we honor all of those who have responded by following when they were called to serve their country and fellow citizens. We should all take our call to follow God at least as seriously.