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5
vs. 7-8 “restitution to the close relative”
Verses 7 and 8 do
not seem to coincide with each other as it states in verse 7 to make
restitution to the offended, but in verse 8 it states to make restitution to
the closest relative. It is suggested
that the restitution is made to a close relative if the offended is dead or
unavailable to receive the restitution.
vs. 11-29 “a test for adultery”
The purpose of this
occurrence is twofold. Firstly, it
determines whether the wife has been unfaithful and secondly, if she has
remained faithful, it clears the reputation of the wife to both her husband and
the community.
The punishment for
unfaithfulness was barrenness and the inability to produce children caused much
disgrace in the Israelite community (Genesis 30:23; Luke 1:24-25).
8
25 “fifty”
Although fifty seems
a little young to retire from service bear in mind that the life expectancy
would have been lower in those days than they are now. Also, because of the growth in population,
this would allow those everyone to be of service rather than restricting it to
the elderly.
11
vs. 24-29 “jealousy and prophesying”
It seems at first
sight that these two men that remained behind were disobeying God’s command and
therefore should not deserve to be given the same privileges of the other 68
elders. It is possible, however, that
the two were either too humble to feel adequate for the task set before them or
were detained in the camp by something such as uncleanliness. God may have actually engineered this so
that the people might realize that these men had been selected by God to be His
chosen leaders.
Upon seeing this
occurrence, a young man runs to inform Moses so that these two upstarts would
not undermine his authority. Joshua’s
motive for his involvement in this can only be speculated, but it is possible
that undermining the authority of Moses might ultimately also undermine his
own. Moses corrects his vigor by
reminding him that the Lord chooses whom He wills (John 3:26-27).
12
vs. 1-12 “reaping what is sown”
There are two
aspects of character that are completely different to each other. Firstly, Moses, having been attacked by his
brother and sister, did not defend himself and allowed God to handle the
situation. Aaron, however, when
punished by God, immediately became repentant and begged Moses to do
something. The differences in the two
situations are evident in that Moses was innocent whereas Aaron was
guilty. In our innocence do we remain
silent and in our guilt immediately become repentant when punished? Surely there are lessons for all to be
learnt here.
This is probably one of the most famous stories about the Israelites and their time in the desert. What is not often clearly stated before condemning the ten for their unbelief is that they were not asked whether they could take the land that they had seen. They were merely supposed to acquire facts about the area and inform Moses of what they had seen as opposed to their own opinions of their chances.
