Day 64 – March 5, 2021
Scriptures: Numbers 5-6, Psalm 61 First, let us discuss the difficult portion of our text. There is an address of marital purity in the opening of our Numbers reading. What is there to do with an unfaithful spouse? The punishments seem to lean unfavorably towards women. The sensitivity of our 21st century ears make us squirm at the thought of unequal punishment. Why not the husband’s fault and punishment? Why should the woman and the child suffer primarily? I’d like to offer a bit of encouragement from this portion of the text. It may seem outlandish but hear me out. In the ancient world, it would have been easy for a husband to make a false accusation about his wife. Without any evidence, he could slander her, divorce her and shame her. She could even lose her life, all because of a false accusation. a man's word was greater than a woman's in the ancient world. The law laid out in Numbers takes that posture that the truth would come out, through God. It was a trust that the blessing of the priest would reveal the true intentions and actions. This law actually gave women a fighting chance for the truth to be revealed. It actually limits the power of men and their accusations. I know its hard to read the text and arrive at seeing the grace in the situation. But this is the best I can do to make sense of a law that hasn’t aged well from our perspective. It honestly sets a trajectory of empowerment, if we will se it for its counter cultural witness that it is. In Numbers 6, we get an important passage. One that we should often repeat and encourage one another with: Numbers 6:23–27 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lordturn his face toward you and give you peace.” 27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” The priests will put God’s name on the Israelites, and they will be blessed. We catch glimpses of that in Psalm 61, as they honor the name of God, and devote themselves to Him. The vows of the Israelites take on particular importance in the Psalm 61 text. It is a commitment to the Lord. In Numbers, the Nazerite vow takes center stage, it was an impressive commitment to the Lord. We pick up an important aspect of this in the final words of the Psalm, “Then I will ever sing in praise of your name and fulfill my vows day after day.” The whole thing is about vows. A commitment in marriage, a commitment in worship of God, a commitment of the Nazerite in service to God. Let’s honor God today. The Lord Bless you and Keep you and Shine His Face Upon You! Jordan
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJordan Ickes, Minister of Etna Green Church of Christ. Archives
December 2022
Categories
All
|