Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 30-31.
I really struggled with what to make of this passage on taking an oath. Here it says that if a man takes an oath, he is stuck with it, but if a woman does so, she can get either her father or her husband to nullify it for her (as long as they were not aware of it before she wants out). That is an oversimplification and turns the way we would normally read this passage on its head, but it has some truth to it. The people for whom this passage was originally written would have read this as a woman not having the right to commit herself to an oath against her father’s, or her husband’s, wishes. They would have been correct.
Nevertheless, the reading of it I started the previous paragraph with teaches us an important lesson. None of us, man or woman, should commit themselves to a binding course of action without first having someone else (father/mother, husband/wife, trusted friend) go over with us our reasons for, and the consequences of, that decision. This passage gave women an out, at the expense of them having the authority to make decisions for themselves. That is another lesson for us. We can only gain protection from the consequences of our actions by yielding up some of our freedom. Usually, the amount of freedom we give up is greater than the protection we receive.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
The passage begins with a description of following good hygiene when it comes to dealing with the discharge of bodily fluid (whether that is bleeding, seepage from an injury, a woman’s menstrual period, or some other reason a person has a discharge of bodily fluid). It talks about washing carefully after touching someone who has such a discharge and it talks about ensuring that a person has fully healed after the discharge ceases. Overall, it seems to be good basic hygiene for this situation.
Next we have the instructions for the atonement sacrifices. Aaron was to take a bull and offer it up according to the instructions in this passage. That would be a sin offering for himself and his family. Then he is to take two goats from the community. One of them is to be sacrificed as a sin offering. The other is to be the scapegoat. After sacrificing the one goat as a sin offering Aaron is to place his hands on the head of the other goat, the scapegoat, and confess all of the wickedness and rebellion of the people of Israel. The scapegoat is to then be led into the wilderness and be released to carry their sins away from the children of Israel. There is great symbolism in this for separating ourselves from our sins.
Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law confronted Jesus because His disciples did not follow their hand washing ritual before eating. Jesus responded by calling them hypocrites because they put greater emphasis on their traditions than they did on following the commands given by God. He gives an example of how their tradition allowed someone to get out of their obligation to care for their aging parents. Jesus points out that this is only one example among many.
Jesus then spoke to the crowd, explaining to them that people are not defiled by what they consume. Rather, He said, they are defiled by what comes from within them. Jesus tells us that evil thoughts come out from our innermost being. It is those thoughts which defile us, not the food that we eat.
I take two lessons from this passage. The first is that we should not allow our traditions get in the way of following God’s commands or caring for others. The second is that we are corrupted and defiled by what goes on inside of our minds and souls not by what happens around us.
The psalmist continues to express his confidence that the Lord will answer his pleas when the time is right. He ends this psalm with a statement of humble patience:
But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay.
I will make that my motto. Without the Lord I am poor and needy and have nothing. He is my help and deliverer. All that I have comes from Him.
Another picture on a snowy day
Those who are wise say things that enlighten their listeners, while the fool says things that make you want to beat them with a stick. The wise learn all that they can, while the fool is constantly talking about things of no consequence.
