An army on the march

Numbers 1 ¹ On the first day of the second month, in the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert. He spoke to him in the meeting tent and said: ^2-3 "Take a census of all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or older and fit for military service. Count them individually and record their names, arranged by family and clan, and assigned to the divisions of the army to which they belong. Do this together with Aaron. ⁴ From each tribe, a man who is the head of a family shall assist you in this.

10 ¹¹ On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year, the cloud lifted from the tabernacle containing the covenant text ¹² and the Israelites departed from the Sinai desert in the prescribed order. The cloud remained in the wilderness of Paran. ¹³ This was the first time they set out as YHWH had commanded them through Moses.

The camp was broken up. Zipporah tied the cloths of their own tent together and Eliezer tried to help her. Gershom had already left. As a twelve-year-old Levite, he was allowed to help break up the tabernacle. Before the sanctuary itself was dismantled, Aaron and his sons loosened the veil and covered the holy ark with it.

            When everything was ready, Moses and Aaron inserted the carrying poles through rings on the legs of the ark. Strong Levites in linen clothing took the carrying poles on their shoulders. Perhaps other Levites carried the smoking fire of YHWH high and visible to the people. Around the ark and the fire stood the armed guard of young Levites led by Korah, the cousin of Moses and Aaron. They carried the ram's horns and the silver trumpets. Moses had the ram's horns blown and began to walk.

At the top of the first hill overlooking the camp, Moses stopped and looked back. He had the trumpets sounded loudly. Now the east side of the camp set out, following the ark. Three tribes followed the banner of Judah. After them followed the Levites led by Itamar, who carried the tabernacle on six carts, each drawn by two oxen.

A second blast on the trumpets. Now the banner of the tribe of Reuben also set out with three tribes from the south side. After them came the Levites led by Eleazar, who carried the objects from the sanctuary itself on their own shoulders, such as the seven-branched candlestick, the altar of incense, and the table for the bread of the Presence. Gershom was allowed to carry  a copper coal shovel. 

A third blast sounded for the banner of Ephraim and a fourth for the banner of Dan, which formed the rearguard. The cattle walked in front of the rearguard and the oxen pulled the carts with household goods.

Now that everyone was in step, Moses also continued on with the ark. He felt immensely grateful. All the tribes were now on the move, keeping pace with the ark and the cloud of smoke above it. In less than a year at Sinai, the frightened mass of fleeing Egyptian slaves had been transformed into a well-ordered army. And the God of Sinai visibly went with them.

A guide in the desert

Numbers 10 ²⁹ Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are now leaving for the land that YHWH has promised us. Come with us; you will prosper with us, for YHWH has promised prosperity to Israel." ³⁰ But he replied that he would rather return to his native land. ³¹ "Please do not leave us," said Moses. "After all, you know where we can best pitch our tents in the desert; you can be our guide. ³² If you come with us, we will share with you the prosperity that YHWH will give us."

Apparently, the Kenites, led by Moses' father-in-law (or his successor—the text is not entirely clear), had been with the camp of Israel for some time. They wanted to go home.

"Don't leave us," Moses had to ask them. And with that, a promise: "We will share in the good that YHWH will give us."

"I don't know," said Hobab, "you may now honor the Name" (he did not pronounce it), "but you still drink strong drink, and in Egypt you did not live in tents like Abraham, but in houses of stone. We believe that we must always be ready to hear His voice and go where He leads us."

"He is leading us to the land He promised to Abraham. Pitch your tents near our villages and you will live safely in a land where the laws of YHWH protect everyone, including your daughters and granddaughters. And," Moses added, "Zipporah would like it if you came with us."

And so it would be. Years later, in the time of the judges and prophets, the Kenites still lived in the promised land—and many of them still lived in tents.

Another guide in the desert

Numbers 10 ³³ After they had left the mountain of YHWH, they traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant with YHWH went before them to find a resting place for them. ³⁴ When they traveled, the cloud of YHWH hung over them during the day. ³⁵ Whenever the ark was about to move on, Moses would say:

"Rise up, YHWH, and your enemies will scatter,

your adversaries flee before you!"

³⁶ And whenever the ark stopped, he would say:

"Return, YHWH, to Israel,

Return to the tens of thousands of Israel's families!

For Moses, it was both. He asked the Kenites to be their guides in the desert and prayed to YHWH for guidance. He led the people, and the ark went before them. The well-organized army deterred enemies and robbers, but so did the stories that circulated everywhere about how YHWH had led them out of Egypt and defeated the Amalekites. Prophets who spoke on behalf of God in their own words. For Moses, both were true.

The camp is on fire

Numbers 11 ¹ The people began to complain to YHWH. When YHWH heard this, He became angry, and the fire of YHWH flared up and spread around the edge of the camp. ² The people cried out loudly to Moses for help, and Moses prayed to YHWH. Then the fire died down. ³ They named that place Tabera, because there the fire of the LORD had burned among them. ⁴ The rabble of foreigners who traveled with them were insatiable, and the Israelites also began to complain again. "If only we had meat to eat!" they said. ⁵ "We long for the fish we had in Egypt, for the cucumbers and watermelons, the leeks, onions, and garlic.

(...) ¹⁰ When Moses heard that all the families were complaining at the entrance to their tents and that YHWH was greatly angered, he considered this to be wrong. ¹¹ He asked YHWH, "Why are you doing this to your servant? Why are you giving me the burden of all these people? Are you not pleased with me? ¹² Did I conceive this people? Did I give birth to them? And now you want me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, and bring them to the land you promised their ancestors? (...) ¹⁴I alone cannot bear the burden of this entire people; it is too heavy for me. ¹⁵If You are going to treat me this way, then kill me, if You are truly pleased with me. At least then I will be spared further misery.

The tabernacle with the fire of YHWH stood in the middle of the camp. Suddenly, dozens of tents on the edge of the camp caught fire. Perhaps it was the fierce hot and dry south wind that had blown the fire from the tabernacle to the north, where the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali had pitched their tents. The fire consumed everything in its path into the desert: tents, household goods, and food supplies. Or did the fire start at the front tents, which caught fire when hungry people tried to loot the supplies and jostled each other, accidentally stepping into a campfire and spreading the fire? They called that place "the burning."

            "How can God be so angry with us?"

Moses felt responsible. The fire of YHWH demanded utmost attention and devotion, and the death of innocents weighed heavily on him. He would have preferred to die himself.

            "I alone cannot bear the burden of this entire people!"

How he longed to go to Zipporah to be comforted. But she could no longer give him that comfort. She had borne him children that he had left her to bear alone. When he came to her, he felt even more guilty.

Spirit poured out

Numbers 11 ¹⁶ The Lord answered Moses, "Gather seventy of the elders of Israel whom you know to be leaders of the people, and bring them to the Tent of Meeting to stand there with you. ¹⁷ I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them. Then they will share the burden of the people with you, and you will not have to bear it alone.

(…) ²⁴Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. Then he gathered seventy elders of the people and placed them around the tent. ²⁵Then the Lord came down in the cloud. He spoke to Moses and transferred some of the spirit that was on him to the seventy elders. As soon as the spirit rested on them, they began to prophesy. This did not happen again.

²⁶ Two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in the camp; they were on the list of the seventy but had not gone to the tent. As soon as the spirit rested on them, they also began to prophesy in the camp.

²⁷ A young man ran to Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!" ²⁸

"Tell them to stop, sir!" said Joshua, son of Nun, who had been Moses' right-hand man since childhood.

²⁹ But Moses said, "Do you think you should stand up for my interests? Would that YHWH put his spirit on all the people! Would that everyone prophesied!"

³⁰ Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

They were good men, but they did not dare to speak what God put in their hearts. They tried to apply the laws, but when it became too difficult, they referred to Moses. They often referred to Moses.

He gathered them on a hill outside the camp. He cleansed them and anointed them, as if they were priests. They sat around the sanctuary and together offered the incense offering. They spoke and sang the words of God and did not stop. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit was like a dam bursting during a flood of the Nile. It was unique, a once-in-a-lifetime event, but they would never again be the people they had been before.

Two of them had stayed behind at the camp. Eldad and Medad. They walked among the charred tents and the affected families. They let their hearts speak and their tears flow. And it did not stop. Words of comfort and faith flowed from their lips.

            "They prophesy like Moses," the people said.

"May God have mercy on their wives," Zipporah said bitterly.

According to early Jewish readers, Miriam heard that. She looked at Zipporah inquiringly. Zipporah still looked beautiful, but simple and unadorned. She wore no jewelry, and she had no kohl around her eyes or henna on her hands. She lowered her beautiful brown eyes and swallowed her words. Miriam embraced her, and Zipporah wept in fits of grief. They stood there until the storm within her had subsided.

"I'll talk to my brother," said Miriam.

But first she went to Aaron.

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Suggestions for reading groups

• Check in with the group and with yourself, seek stillness/humility.

• First, share the story. The journey through the desert involves two types of guides: the Kenites, who know the desert, and God, who holds the fate of the Israelites in his hands. For Moses, these two work together. This dual perspective also helps us to see the miraculous in the ordinary and the ordinary in the miraculous. The same story can be told in two ways: from God's perspective and from people's perspective. What did you read?

• Encourage, comfort, inspire. Have there been major events or decisions in your life where you can use these two ways of looking at things? What happened from a human perspective? What happened from a spiritual perspective? What happens when you only have one kind of guidance in mind?

Reflecting on Numbers 1-11 and Leviticus 11-14, spiritual and physical hygiene

In Numbers 1-11, the tabernacle is now actually put into use as part of an orderly army marching to the Promised Land. This includes the strict hygiene referred to in Leviticus 11-14. Spiritual and physical health go hand in hand.

• Encourage, comfort, exhort. Where do you want to go with your life? How do you ensure spiritual health? How do you stay physically healthy? If you become ill, do you pay sufficient attention to both aspects?

• Leave room for silence and contemplation. Perhaps you will "see" or "hear" something from "God." Like Moses and Zipporah, do you dare to enter into conversation with that voice? What answer wells up within you? How do you test that answer?