Today's Reading is Number 19-20...
My thoughts on today's reading...
God provides a means of purification through the sacrifice of a red heifer, after the ashes from the sacrifice are mixed with water which becomes a water for purification. This includes purification from touching a dead body or being in the presence of a dead body inside of a tent. Two notes about this... even today, modern Jews believe that a red heifer must be sacrificed in a restored temple, so that purification water can be available for God's people today. In fact they look for a red heifer as a sign that Messiah is coming. Too bad they missed the real Messiah! Secondly, you can possibly see why in Jesus story of the Good Samaritan the priest and Levite pass by the beaten man, for fear that if the man was dead, they would be unclean for seven days and be unable to carry out their duties. but in His parable about God's Kingdom, He points out that the Lord is more concerned about compassion than a strict keeping of the Old Testament law. Somehow God's people lost sight that having to sit out from temple duties for seven days would be less of a issue than caring for a beaten, almost dead stranger by the roadside.
In Chapter 20, we hear of the death of both Miriam and Aaron, Moses older siblings. We also hear how Moses and Aaron handle a situation to provide water for God's people by putting on a show with a staff by hitting a rock two times, instead of simply speaking to the rock as the Lord commanded. This might seem like a small offense in our eyes, but besides the point of openly disobeying the Lord's command, Moses calls God's people rebels and gives a false impression of the Lord, who with compassion wanted to provide water for His people. Moses made it seem like the Lord was angry with His people, but note that isn't what we hear the Lord command Moses to express. As an added insight on this part of Chapter 20 look at 1 Corinthians 10:4.
A little note too on Edom. If you remember, Edom were the descendants of Esau, so they were distant relatives dating back to the time of Esau and Jacob, and so safe passage seems like a reasonable request. Edom refuses and there will be tension between Israel and Edom from then on. Note that this also meant a longer extended trip around the Edom so it was also an inconvenience. Kind of like needing to go to Illinois, but Iowa tells you have to get to Illinois by way of Minnesota or Missouri! 😀