21. A Deadly Insurrection

The Leadership of Moses

Moses did not have much going for him as far as leadership goes.  He insisted that he was not a good speaker, like his older brother Aaron.  Another drawback; he was of the tribe of Levi; Levi was the third son of Jacob's first wife, Leah, and she became his wife only because Laban, her father, tricked Jacob, not because Jacob wanted to marry her.  Leah never was Jacob's choice for a wife, he had eyes for Rachael only.

If Moses would have been the offspring of Leah's oldest son, perhaps he could have claimed the place of leadership because his forefather would have been Jacob's firstborn. However, that was not the case.  He wasn't even the oldest son of Jacob's favourite wife.

Furthermore, while the Israelites were busy as slaves, making bricks, suffering together, getting to know each other's likes and dislikes, Moses was living a cushy life in the palace. 

Perhaps in his school classes, he heard about the strange people who had immigrated from Canaan into Egypt almost four hundred years ago.  However, in the first forty years of his life, he was not part of their suffering, their traditions or their religion.

For the next forty years, he was in exile in Midian because he was wanted for murder in Egypt.  In Midian, he was a shepherd, married a non-Israelite woman and became a daddy. 

Actually, the only thing that Moses had in his favour, for being a leader, was that Jehovah had called him to service.  Moses did not want the position, he argued with Jehovah about it, but, in the end, Jehovah won the debate.

Now Korah ... the son of Levi, (Moses was also of the tribe of Levi) with Dathan and Abiram ... rose up before Moses with ... two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the congregation, men of renown.  

No doubt these leaders had talked among themselves; Who does this Moses think he is that he has made himself an autocrat. How do we know that Jehovah actually called him to be the ruler?  Let's go and confront him.  

So They gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much (authority) upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, you are no more spiritual than every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? Num. 16:1-3. 

Then Moses in a stance, typical for him, down on his knees, in humility, said, Here is a test. Tomorrow morning we will find out whom the Lord will choose. If the Lord has not chosen me I am willing to step down. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him. Num. 16:5.  

But you, Levites, isn't it enough for you that God has chosen your clan to be the "ombudsmen" between Jehovah and ordinary people.  Then Moses sarcastically repeats exactly the words with which they had confronted him, you take too much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!

Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram ... but they said, “We will not come up!  Now they were acting like spoiled children and they were ashamed that they had accused Moses; they needed to find some excuse, flimsy as it was, with which to upbraid him.  They said you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey.  Moses could have replied, when you were slaves in Egypt, you did not think of it as a land of milk and honey.  

They continued, you brought us here to kill us in the wilderness, and, anyway, why do you keep acting like a prince over us? Num. 16:12-13.

How Not to Retort in Anger

Here is a lesson for all of us: Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord.  Maybe the next time we get very angry, we should talk to the Lord, first.  After we have done that, and very slowly counted to ten, then we might be in a position to make a "godly" response.

Jehovah was totally fed up with all the bickering in the camp if Israel, so He said to Moses and Aaron ... “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”  

Moses and Aaron received a straight-forward command from Jehovah, but for the sake of the people, they were willing to disobey.  They fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?”  

Because of that one prayer, by two men, the Lord relented of pouring His fury on all of Israel.

So the Lord relented and said, "Moses, Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”   

This time Moses did as he was told to do, and most of the camp got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children.   

Moses said, "Yesterday I told you, Tomorrow morning we will find out whom the Lord will choose.  Here is the test: “If these men die naturally like all men, ... then the Lord has not sent me. But if ... the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up ... then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.” Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking ... that the ground split apart under them, ... and swallowed them up." Num. 16:20-31.

At the beginning of this story, we read of a few rabble-rousers and two hundred and fifty other national leaders.  Here, at the end of the story, those 250 men are acting very religious.  About them, Matthew Henry writes, those are made sacrifices to the justice of God who flattered themselves with the hopes of being priests. Had they been content with their office as Levites, which was sacred and honourable, ... they might have lived. 

It seems as if they were trying to create their own righteousness by burning sacrifices.  In our own age, the Church age, many people are still trying to impress God with their own righteous works; but only Christ, the ultimate high priest, can procure righteousness which will satisfy Jehovah.  

In retaliation for their self-righteousness and pride, a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.  This example should speak loudly to anyone who thinks he can "make it to heaven" by living a good life!  Saint Paul wrote a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, ... for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Gal. 2:16.

Oh my, what does it take for people to learn a lesson? The very next day all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron. Had they not learned anything from yesterday's proceedings? 

They were saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord". Num. 16:41.  Was it Moses and Aaron that caused the earthquake?  Why blame them?  Was it those two men who sent down the fire from heaven?  In times of stress, it is so easy for a few leaders to sway a mob into unreasonable thinking and actions.

20. A Talking Donkey?

Esau - The Hoodwinked

AMALEKITES [AM uh leck ites] — an ancient wandering tribe descended from Esau’s grandson Amalek (Gen. 36:12, 16; 1 Chr. 1:36). The main territory of the Amalekites was in the Sinai peninsula and in the Negev, the southern part of present-day Israel. The Amalekites are first mentioned in the time of Abraham, when a group of kings under the leadership of Chedorlaomer defeated Amalek. Nelson's illustrated Bible.

Something smells fishy here.  If the Amalekites are mentioned in the time of Abraham how is it possible that they are the descendants of Esau who was the grandson of Abraham?  There is a total discrepancy of four generations.

The Bible says that when Chedorlaomer attacked Sodom and Gomorrah the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits. Gen. 14:2-3+10.  The dictionary says that their main territory was in the Sinai peninsula and in the Negev.  This makes it sound as if those that escaped to the mountains during that war with Chedorlaomer, later became the inhabitants of the Sinai Peninsula.

Esau was the oldest son of Isaac and, should have been the heir of the promised land. However, through Jacob's deceit, Esau lost his inheritance.  Later, while Jacob's offspring were held as slaves in Egypt, it is easy to imagine Esau's descendants saying to each other, Well, it serves them right for stealing our inheritance from us. Now the Lord is punishing them for Jacob's deceit.

However after the Israelites gained their freedom from Egypt, and needed to pass through the Amalekite country the Amalekites attacked them, probably because of their ingrained hatred to their kin.  Here it is important to remember that the Amalekites attacked first, and Israel was only defending itself.   In a surprising turn of events, the Amalekites were routed by Joshua and his army. (For this story see Ex. 17:8-13).

Balak - the worried

As we recall, Moab was the son of Lot who was Abram's nephew.  Moab became the founder of the Moabite nation.

Now Balak, king of the Moabites, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And (the nation of) Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and (the nation of) Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.  

This would have been a good time for Balak to send a peace-seeking delegation to Moses.  Balak would have learned very quickly that Israel had no intentions of making war.  After all, they were simply on their way to the land gushing with milk and honey.  About this the Bible says, And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau ... we turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab. “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle. Deut. 2:8-9.

Balaam - The Donkey Whisperer

However, Balak did not send a delegation, rather he sent messengers to Balaam ... to call him, saying: ... please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. Num. 22:2-13.

After Balaam had received the invitation to go and curse the Israelites God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

Balak would not give up so easily so he sent a second delegation; more important people and promises of more wealth. To them Balaam replied, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. "  

The Bible says, God, came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them."   Or was it that Balaam spent the night thinking about all the wealth that had been promised to him.  So his mind justified the idea of going back with the delegation.  Jude writes this about Balaam: Woe to them! For they have gone in the ... error of Balaam for profit. Jude 11.  

So often we also convince ourselves that the Lord wants us to do something, simply because we so badly want to do it.  Balaam did insist, though, that he would speak only the word which Jehovah would speak to him.

It is really hard to believe that the Lord told him to go, because:

1. The Lord said You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. Num.22:12

2. the Bible says, Then God’s anger was aroused because he went. Num.22:22.

3. three times the angel of the Lord tried to stop him from going any further.  If the Lord really had told Balaam to go, would the angel not rather have helped him on his way?

A well-trained conscience is a stubborn thing, so are donkeys.  As Balaam was riding his donkey to a place where Jehovah had told him not to go, in three distinct ways Balaam's conscience, in this story - a donkey, tried to stop him.

1. Balaam's conscience did not want to let him go as agreed upon. The donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. Num. 22:23.
2. His conscience caused him pain, the donkey ... pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall.
3. Balaam's conscience just gave up.  the donkey ... lay down under Balaam.  Balaam was so upset with the donkey that he threatened to kill it.  The donkey, Balaam's conscience, said, why do you want to kill me, I was only doing what you have taught me to do.  

For this story in the Bible, see Numbers 22-24.

Talking animals and illogical contradictions such as are found in this Bible story remind one again of this very pertinent quotation: The recording of history with literal exactness of detail is a fairly modern development. At the time, (the Bible was written), precise fact was far less important than the spiritual message of the stories shared. Jesus and His Times, Readers Digest.  

The writer of this story was making the point that doing the Lord's will is the important matter.  The method the writer uses to make his point is not the issue.

19. Poisonous Quail

Quit Complaining

Looking back, the Israelites thought of their years of slavery like this: We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Num. 11:4-5.  Oh, how they hankered to go back to Egypt; back to the "good old days" when they were slaves.  At least then they had meat to eat and they wanted some now. They were so tired of the same manna, day after day after day.  So Moses said to the Lord, Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.' Num.11:13.

So the Lord said to Moses:‘Consecrate yourselves ... you shall eat meat; ... Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp.  Incidentally, this wind happens every year at this time and every year it brings with it the quail that are in the process of migrating.  So to credit the Lord with the mechanics of this incident is really giving credit to Jehovah for controlling nature.  He may have had nothing to do with this situation.

All Things in Moderation

... the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail ... while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. Num.11:14-33.  It is absolutely amazing that the Lord gets blamed for every bad thing that happens, even though the event is strictly natural. 

I find it disheartening that in this whole story there is not a single word of thanksgiving for the food!

It does seem rather incongruous that the Lord would send the quail to feed the Israelites and then immediately punish them with a very great plague just because they ate the quail which He had sent.  It is much more likely that the author wanted to point out to us the sin of complaining about the way things have happened in our life.

From the following quote notice the natural situation in which the Israelites found themselves.

Coturnism is an illness featuring muscle tenderness and rhabdomyolysis (muscle cell breakdown) after consuming quail that have fed on poisonous plants. There can be no doubt that this literary example only made sense because the possibility of poisoning from eating quail was widely understood. Central to these ancient accounts is the thesis that quail became toxic to humans after consuming seeds from hellebore or henbane (Hyoscyamus niger).

Quail are never poisonous outside the migration season ... European Common Quail migrate ... across Algeria to France (and) is associated with poisonings only on the spring migration. The eastern flyway, which funnels down the Nile Valley is the reverse, on the autumn return. 
Wikipedia. 

The time frame in the preceding paragraph is astonishing - Notice this:

We know that the Israelites left Egypt in April and if we accept the theory that suggests that the 40 years in the wilderness did not officially begin until after the spies had returned from scouting out Canan for 40 days; the timing fits exactly.
Biblical Account of Old Testament Chronology.  

The death by the quails falls about at the beginning of the month of September and that is when the Israelites were in that area.  That is precisely when the poisonous quails, doing their fall migration, would have been in that area.

That the quail were there at that time of year was natural.  The fact that the poisonous meat would affect the eaters is also natural.  The writer's point in this story might have been, quit complaining!  

Almost all of us enjoy better lives than any of the Israelites in the desert did, and if they were not to complain, we certainly should not.

18. The Waters of Marah

Bitter Water/Sweet Water

As we study the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites it becomes more and more obvious that the situations and the "salvations" in which they found themselves were basically natural events.  This, of course, is not to say that The Lord was not present with them to guide, to protect and also to punish.  Starting with this post, and for the next number of posts, we will see that the curses and the cures, to a large extent, are natural occurrences.

And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Ex. 15:22.  As mentioned earlier, this probably does not mean that they were totally without drinking water.  It might mean only that they found no water with which to refill their "canteens".

Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Ex. 15:23.  Marah means bitter. 

So he (Moses) cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. Ex. 15:25.  Our English translations obscure this focus because of the difficulty in translating the verb ... "showing" or "directing". The verb used actually means to instruct or teach. 
Steve Rodeheaver @ Christian Resource Institute.  

In other words, the Lord did not just show a tree to Moses, He taught Moses how to use the tree to make the water drinkable.

When he cast it (the tree) into the waters, the waters were made sweet. Ex. 15:25. ... one tree being used to purify water today is Moringa oleifera. This tree has been used successfully to cleanse turbid waters from the River Nile and other areas. Could this be the one referred to in the Bible?

One of the most remarkably useful trees is one being cultivated heavily for use in the Sudan. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said that village women had successfully used the tree Moringa oleifera to cleanse the highly turbid water of the River Nile. After trying other moringa species in Egypt, Namibia, Somalia, and Kenya, they too have shown properties that clarify water quickly.

When moringa seeds are crushed and poured into a pot or bottle of dirty water, the water turns transparent within seconds. The seeds' anti-bacterial properties can turn low, medium, and high turbidity waters into tap-water quality in an hour or two.

Studies on the effectiveness of moringa seeds for treating water have been done since the 1970s, and have consistently shown that moringa is especially effective in removing suspended particles from water with medium to high levels of turbidity (muddiness or dirtiness). 
Creation Tips.

Nature Does what Nature Will Do

In the various stories in the Bible, when bad things happen to people the story is written as though the Lord is punishing the people involved. When good things happen, the Lord is credited with bestowing blessings.

So often, in the wars that the Israelites fought with the Canaanites when the Israelites won it was because they lived God-pleasing lives; if they lost, the loss was blamed on their wicked lifestyle. This kind of thinking is also very common among Evangelical Christians.

It seems a lot closer to reality to believe that life just happens to people as it does. Perhaps the Lord is not distinctly involved with the average, run-of-the-mill human at all. If people make bad decisions it is most likely that their lives will end up worse than if they would have made good decisions. If they make good decisions it is more likely that they will prosper.

The above statement does not preclude the idea that the Lord can be invoked to bestow physical or material blessings, and that, because of the prayer, sometimes He does. However, the default in the lives of the human race is that one has to take what one gets, and if one can improve the situation, all the better. However, in most cases, these improvements may have nothing to do with Jehovah's intervention.