READINGS FOR OCTOBER 11, 2024: NUMBERS 21, ACTS 25, PSALM 106:13-31
Numbers 21
This chapter begins with a story about the Israelites again grumbling against Moses (and God). In his attempt to not engage the king of Edom, Moses takes the people the long way around. The people get impatient.
God sends venomous snakes among their encampment and many people died. The people see this as a sign that they have sinned and ask Moses to pray for God to take the snakes away. God answered Moses’ prayer by having Moses make a bronze snake and to put it on a pole. And anytime someone was bitten by a poisonous snake, they could look at the bronze snake and be healed.
In the gospel of John, Jesus uses the image of the bronze snake to refer to his death (and glorification):
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3:14-15, NIV)
Lifting up the bronze snake in the wilderness gave the Israelites the assurance that God was with them. One look upon it would heal a person who had been bitten by a poisonous snake (would save them).
The crucifixion of Jesus provided the way for those who believe to be saved. His death on the cross paid the price for sin. His resurrection from the dead gave us the opportunity to have everlasting life.
The rest of the chapter details the defeat of the Amorites and the king of Bashan. Again, Moses asks for safe travel and is refused. The Amorite king, Sihon, attacks the Israelites. Moses and his people destroy them.
Acts 25
Porcius Festus replaced Felix as governor. Historical records show that in his two years as governor, his record was noted for wisdom and honesty superior to both his predecessor, Felix, and his successor, Albinus. Immediately upon his arrival from Rome, Festus travels to Jerusalem to become familiar with the people he was sent to govern.
To show his wisdom, Festus does not fall prey to the Jewish religious leaders request to move the trial to Jerusalem. This thwarts their plan to ambush and kill Paul during the two-day journey, After ten days in Jerusalem, he returns to Caesarea to begin the trial of Paul.
After hearing both sides of the case, Festus is certain that Paul has not done anything against the Roman government. However, to try and get in good favor with the Jewish leaders, Festus tries to get Paul to go to Jerusalem and face trial in a Jerusalem court. Paul knows that this is a fool’s errand and then does something drastic. He appeals to Caesar.
Paul was a Roman citizen. He was from the Jewish tribe of Benjamin but had been born and raised in the Roman city of Tarsus (in modern day Syria). He was trained by the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel and prior to his conversion was a Pharisee. The fact that he was a citizen of a
READINGS FOR OCTOBER 11, 2024 CONTINUED: NUMBERS 21, ACTS 25, PSALM 106:13-31
Roman city meant that he had all the rights of Roman citizenship. This included the right to request that your case be decided by the Emperor (or Caesar).
The emperor in question is Caesar Nero. Nero’s persecution of Christians did not begin until 64 A.D. Prior to that, Nero was no worse than other Roman emperors. Paul might have a better chance of justice in Rome in front of Caesar than in Caesarea or Jerusalem.
King Agrippa II comes to pay respects to the new governor. He ruled over territory north and northeast of the Sea of Galilee and some Galilean and Perean cities. He was accompanied by his sister, Berniece. It was in the interest of both King Agrippa and Governor Festus that they get along as they administrated this region of the Roman Empire.
King Agrippa is intrigued by that case and wants to hear from Paul. Festus uses the excuse of trying to figure out what to write down to send to Nero to explain the case for him.
To backtrack a little. As we will see, Paul may regret his appeal to Caesar. It will cause him to make a long dangerous trip to Rome and further house arrest until his case is heard. Sometimes when we take things into our own hands, it will make things harder. We need to be able to allow God to work in our lives and situations that are beyond our control.
Psalm 106:13-31
To remember, Psalm 106 is a salvation history hymn. Israel has a history of rebellion against God. The psalm is a prayer for God to once again save them from their enemies.
This section deals with the Israelites acts of defiance against God while out in the wilderness. The people of Israel grumbled against God. They did not like the food provisions (see Exodus 16 and Numbers 11). They did not like the leadership arrangement (see Numbers 16:1-35). When Moses was up of the mountain too long, the built and worshipped a golden calf – an idol (see Exodus 32). They were afraid to enter the Promised Land and take their rightful inheritance (see Numbers 14:1-23). They turned to the false god, Baal of Peor, in the land of Moab (see Numbers 25 – and the deeper discussion of it on October 17th).
Each time the people of Israel sinned, God punished them. Each time they fail, God sent something to show them the error of their ways. Some were devastating (thousands dead), some were debilitating (plagues). God was getting their attention.
And if the story ended there, it would be a tragedy. However, in each case, when the people of Israel realized their mis-step and sought forgiveness, God would end the punishment and his protection and blessing would continue. When we realize that we have sinned and we seek forgiveness, God forgives. It is that simple.
