On the Plains of Moab
So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said, "Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the LORD commanded Moses."
-- Numbers 26:3-4
The Israelites have camped at Shittim (Acacias) in the Jordan valley, just north of the Dead Sea and opposite Jericho, since Numbers 22:1, unaware of Balaam’s activities because of a plague spread by Moabite and Midianite women. Following the burial of the 24,000 men who died during that plague (Chapter 25), Moses and Eleazar return to their preparations for crossing the Jordan. First, God has commanded a fresh census of Israel’s fighting men.
These census numbers will provide the basis for the proportional division of Canaan among the tribes. Eleazar will cast lots to pick the location of each tribe’s inheritance. In this case, our saying “Losers weepers” has a double bite because the principal losers are the Simeonites, who are still mourning their recent losses. Simeon’s numbers have fallen by nearly two-thirds.
While male family heads will, as a rule, receive the titles to tracts of land, the census report goes out of its way to emphasize that female orphans will also share in the land distribution (26:23). Numbers 27:1-11 and 36:1-12 ratify this innovation with the condition that the women marry within their tribe (36:6-8). The five petitioning sisters in the test case base their claim on their duty to carry on their father’s name (27:4), a top priority in Israel’s tribal culture. God’s decision in their favor honors that tradition over the rule of male-only inheritance. His finding sets a precedent that has the advantage of assuring each tribe its full inheritance while sparing the five bold sisters from destitution. God’s decision works for the welfare of all Israel.
Israel’s new generation consents without rancor to the division of their inheritance in their new homeland, unlike the previous generation with its habits of jealousy and complaining. The census on the plains of Moab thus shows that Israel has grown more open to God’s leading and that Israel is ready for the next stage in their journey.
Parting Thought
Am I a stone that I can be indifferent to the plight of orphans?
Prayer Concern
For grace to strengthen our faith by giving up our selfish desires
For the people of Haiti and now Chile whose lives were shattered by earthquakes
News of these and other disasters pours in daily at a relentless pace. The urgency of our Christian response can only increase in proportion.
Reflection
Psalm 133 presents what we are after: “How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along!” The psalm puts into song what is said and demonstrated throughout Scripture and church: community is essential. Scripture knows nothing of the solitary Christian. People of faith are always members of a community, Adam needing Eve before humanity was whole. God never works with individuals in isolation, but always with people in community.
--- Eugene H. Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (2000 ed.), p. 176-177.
For further reading:
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