READINGS FOR OCTOBER 25, 2024: NUMBERS 31, HEBREWS 7, PSALM 111
Numbers 31
God declares war on the Midianites as one of Moses’ last actions before the end of his life. The war was God’s vengeance against the Midianites for their part in the events in Chapter 25. Israelite men had been seduced into sexual immorality and worshipping the false god, Baal Peor. A thousand men from each tribe went to war and destroyed the people of Midian.
Among those killed was the prophet Balaam (see Chapters 22-24). Moses blames Balaam for suggesting to the women of Midian to lead the people of Israel astray. Balaam paid the price for his hand in leading the people to sin.
The way God tells the people of Israel to deal with the people they engage in war can be hard for us to comprehend. Is God telling the people of Israel to engage in an act of genocide (the elimination of an entire people)? What would be the purpose of this brutal of an act?
At the root of the edict to remove the people from the Promised Land, is one of keeping the Israelites pure. God called the ancestors of Abraham to be set-apart, to be holy. As it says in the book of Deuteronomy:
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 7:6, NIV)
The Israelites have already proven that they are incapable of warding off the influence of people they are living amongst. The Midianites had turned many to follow the false god, Baal Peor. To foreshadow the history of Israel in the Promised Land – they will continually allow the people they live with to corrupt their worship and religious observances. If the Israelites had eliminated these influences as God had told them to do, would the history of Israel been different.
War is a horrible atrocity that humanity has inflicted upon itself. We fight over land, natural resources, and political and religious ideologies. We have created untold humanitarian crisis and devastation for things that border on the ridiculous. And worst of all, we have inflicted death, famine, and the horrors of war in the name of God.
Hebrews 7
Several times up to this point, the writer of Hebrews has call called Jesus a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. This chapter defines what the author means by that title. First by reminding his readers of who Melchizedek is. Then, telling them how Jesus fits into that title and holds it forever.
The story of Melchizedek is found in Genesis 14. Abraham has defeated the king of Elam, Kedorlaomer, and those allied with him. The king of Sodom and the king of Salem come out to meet him to celebrate. I ancient times, kingly and priestly duties were often performed by the same individual. The name, Melchizedek, means “king of righteousness”. The word “Salem” is close to the Hebrew word for “peace”. The kingdom of Salem will become the city of Jerusalem when conquered by the Israelites.
READINGS FOR OCTOBER 25, 2024 (CONTINUED): NUMBERS 31, HEBREWS 7, PSALM 111
The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 110:4, where God installs David as a king-priest in the order of Melchizedek. In this sense, the order of Melchizedek is a higher order of priests than those of the Levites. ATHey were considered over them.
The Levitical priesthood was imperfect and adhering to the Mosaic law. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, a new covenant was made with the people. In the perfection of the order of Melchizedek, Jesus will be a king-priest forever.
Psalm 111
Psalm 111 is a hymn of praise to God for God’s unfailing righteousness. It is a unique alphabetic acrostic poem. Each half-line advances through the Hebrew alphabet (i.e. Verse 1 begins with aleph (a) and the second line begins with bet (b)). The psalm begin and end with verses that highlight the theme. It is split into two halves (Verses 2-5) and (verses 6-9). In addition, each verse in the first half has a corresponding theme in the second half (i.e. v2 – v6, v3-v7, v4-v8, v5-v9).
Verse 1 & 10 – Give praise to God.
Verse 2 & 6 – God has shown us great works.
Verse 3 & 7 – God’s works are righteous and just.
Verse 4 & 8 – God’s works are remembered
Verse 5 & 9 – God remembers the covenant with God’s people forever.
The psalm ends with a good reminder:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To him belongs eternal praise. (Psalm 111:10, NIV)
When we are in awe of God, it is then that we are open to God’s wisdom. When we have shut out the possibility of God, we miss when God moves. When we ignore the truths of God, we live out of selfish desires and our family, friends, and neighbors suffer because of it.
