Journey Through Leviticus Part 2 & Numbers Part 1Uzorak

People Not Ready: Behind the Text

Geography

Certain geographical details make it easier to understand the nature of the faithlessness Numbers describes.

Ethnic Diversity

The mix of cultures in Numbers has profound implications for the kind of community God was building.

Israel had come from an ethnically diverse Egypt, especially at the lower end of society where captive slaves were numerous.

A “mixed multitude” (Ex 12:38, KJV) left Egypt, proving that their common bond was having escaped death by the blood of the lamb. This group reemerges in Numbers 11:4 as a troublemaking “rabble” (NIV).

There were forms of racism right at the top. Moses’ Nubian (“Cushite”) wife was despised by Aaron and Miriam, and for that Miriam in particular was judged harshly and publicly (Num 12:1ff).

God had chosen his people not because they were mighty or righteous—or because they were ethnically pure. They were meant to be an inclusive community for outsiders who accepted the terms of God’s covenant.