The first third of the scroll has served by way of a reminder of parts of the Exodus narrative, with at least some repetition or overlap. For a community who had not had the opporunity to read the former scroll, it serves as important scene-setting for what is to come next.
Now begins the new material! Now Moses appoints a dozen spies who are sent out on a forty day expedition to discover what lies ahead of them.
What's in a Name?
At various points in scripture (Old and New Testaments) people's names are changed, so for example Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah; Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul... Such name changes are, we deduce, important, especially in a culture where the meaning of names was hugely signficant. So it is that Hoshea, son of Nun is renamed Joshua (Yeshua), the Hebrew name of which Jesus is the Greek form. Hoshea, it seems, means 'salvation', so a strong name in its own right; Joshua means 'God saves' recognising the source of such salvation. Jesus being given the name he was would have created associations with the Joshua of whomwe now read.
Whilst we rarely change the names of individuals, we do sometimes change the titles we use for roles within churches, and for the assorted things we get up to. For exmaple, whether it was the 1970s shift from 'Sunday School' to 'Junior Church' or the 2000s shift to 'Sunday Club' or 'Light Factory' or some other name altogether, there has been a sense that what we call our children and young people's work matters. I'm not always sure the alternative names reflect a clearly thought through purpose beyond trying to be more 'trendy' and less overtly 'didactic'. But they serve as examples of the kind of name changes that arise, with good intent.
I wonder, were we starting with a clean sheet of paper, what language we might use for 'churches' and 'ministers' and other aspects of our faith communities?
Half Full or Half Empty?
Twelve men went to spy in Canaan,
Ten were bad, two were good.
What did they see when they spied in Canaan?
Ten were bad, two were good.
Some saw giants tough and tall,
Some saw grapes in clusters fall,
Some saw God was in it all,
Ten were bad, two were good.
Anon (c) Hugh Mitchell
Twelve spies were sent out for a forty day (long) mission. They saw a rich and fertile land. They cut clusters of grapes, pomegranates and figs to carry home as evidence of the potential of the land. They also saw that the people who occupied the land were strong and powerful, some of them being described as nephilim (see Genesis 6 if you wish, or just interpet this as 'here be giants').
I don't think the ten were bad. I think the ten were scared. I think the ten were possibly pessimists, or at least 'glass half empty' people who spotted all the possible problems and had no hesitation in making sure everyone knew about them. I think the Sunday School song is harsh or unfair, but either way the consequences of what the ten reported were certainly not good.
Neither do I think the two were inherently good. I think they were excited and inspired by what they saw. I think they were optimists, or at least 'glass half full' people who focussed on the potential rather than the pitfalls. These were the kind of people you'd think would be wanted, the sort people would be inspired by and listen to, so perhpas it's a bit of a shock when we discover that the people want to stone Joshua and Caleb. Again the Sunday School song oversimplifies the situation to make its point, but it is true that for those with eyes to see, God's presence can be discerned in even the most challenging situations.
I wonder when I am more like one of the ten and when I am more like one of the two... and I wonder what the balance is in any cirucmstance we may find ourselves in?
As Others See Us...
Once again we are told that God is so angry that destroying everyone bar Moses (and presumably a few others) is postulated. Moses' response is clever and intriguing... OK God, if you do that, how will it look to the Egyptians? They won't see it as punishment for infidelity but as impotence on the part of the so-called God the people left Egypt to follow. What kind of a God is this who can't follow through?
I wonder how the whole enterprise of Christianity looks from outside. Not the easy criticisms or accusations of hypocrisy. But what our story might lead people to deduce about the God we claim to serve? How does our story reflect our truth claims? How does God appear to those who watch us blundering in wildernesses of our own making?
A Generation Must Pass
The compromise that God agrees is that a whole generation, anyone aged 20 or over at the time of the census, will not enter the Land of Promise, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. The 'little ones' that the Hebrew/Israelite people had expressed such concern over would be kept safe and brought into the new land; those who had grumbled and rebelled, who had given way to pessimism and fear would reap as they had sown... Tough consequences indeed, but the promise remainded intact, the goal towards which the people journeyed was still there, and for the sake the 'little ones' they needed to keep going.
Impatience and Impetuousness
The people are saddened - hardly surprisingly - by the prospect of dying in the wilderness. So some of them decide they'll just get on with it, and try to take on the people already there. Moses and others stay put, this is not a well planned expedition and there is certainly no hint of divine mandate. And unsurprsingly, this impetuous foray ends in failure, and those involved return defeated.
I have some sympathy with them, though. Sometimes when it seems that things are moving incredibly slowly, or are even stopped or maybe going backwards, it is sorely tempting to get on and try to move things along. Sometimes this may be a good thing, but sometimes it isn't, and can inadvertently cause more harm than good.
Perhaps, too, there is something about motivation here? The people are acting from a starting point of dismay, disappointment and regret. Sometimes I make choices when I'm 'not in a good place' that I later realise weren't wise, or that come back to bite me. I expect that most people do. Perhaps sometimes there is a need just to rest awhile, to lick our wounds, to allow our strong emotions to subside and only then to act? Perhaps, for myself, sometimes I need to be a little more circumspect, reflecting how things may appear to others, rather than launching in to some well-intended, but not always helpful, response.
Lots to ponder - for me at least.
