Numbers 1

Mark Saunders has requested that I blog on Numbers, so here we go. (I will be quizzing Mark to make sure he is reading)

Numbers is the 4th of 5 books that make up the Torah, which is the first 5 books of the bible. The first chapter has God telling Moses to take a census and build an army. Moses does and builds an army of 603,000 men. Moses counts all the men over 20 that are able to fight from every tribe except the Levites. The Levites are set aside by God to be priests.

Let's put this in perspective, God's army has 603,000... The active US Army right now has 561,000 soldiers. God built an army in the Sinai Peninsula, which is a little smaller than West Virginia. The US Army is spread out all over the world. But why? Why does God need such a huge army for such a small place?

God has plans. Plans to venture in to the promised land and expand the Isrealite territory.

God's army is starting at one end and slowly working it's way north... maybe God is a football fan!

But what about the people in they way? The people who are living there now? This army is being assembled to conquer them.

Are we to believe that there was a time when God only cared about one group of people, and the rest of the world was just in the way? Why would God only love one group of people? Did God only create one group of people or did God create everyone?

This past weekend I was at a conference for new ELCA congregations and I met a couple guys that have started a church in Rapid City, South Dakota and are ministering to the Lakota tribe. How would a Native American read this? They have been stripped of their land and heritage, just like the people that God's army is going after in Numbers.

The good news is that the bible has more then just these first 5 books. We have other stories that tell us what God is like. And we have the gospels, the stories of Jesus give us an insight into God's character unlike any other book of the bible.

Maybe Moses misunderstood God. Maybe not.

But there is no misunderstanding Jesus.

Jesus died because he loves YOU. Just the way YOU are.

That is good news.