Numbers 5

Well, I said I'd get back to the trial by ordeal in Numbers chapter 5. It's quite shocking to read. If a man suspects his wife of committing adultery, whether or not he has any evidence, he can take her to the priest who will put her through a trial of ordeal. She must drink a mixture of water, dust and ink. My NRSV notes describe the test this way. "A guilty woman suffers what appears to be a miscarriage (if pregnant from adultery) or perhaps a distended uterus. (vs. 22, 27). God blesses an innocent woman with fertility. (v.28)" Since men could have multiple wives in that society, and since women had few if any rights, there was not a similar law to test men suspected of adultery. I suppose if a man simply felt insecure about his marriage he could put his wife through this ordeal. I find this horrific, and it doesn't help that my notes say that Ordeals occurred in other societies in the Ancient Near East.

These trials by ordeal have continued throughout the ages, one of which is comically depicted in Monty Python's "Search for the Holy Grail" to see if a woman is a witch. If she floats, she's a witch and will be burned. If she drowns than she is innocent, (although that wouldn't help her much, by then). I remember reading some fairy tale as a child about a boy who had to undergo an ordeal of hot and cold water but was saved by some kind of fairy. We are well aware of the Salem witch trials that are a part of our American history. I have been told that our modern court system developed from these trials by ordeals. Defendants are tried by an ordeal in which a prosecutor and a defender argue the merits of the case before a judge or jury. In the ancient Ordeals, it was believed that God would save the defendant if she was innocent. There's no real way to test that theory. The modern court system is, I think, as fair as can be with trials by juries and an extensive appeals process. It is no longer based on an expectation of divine intervention to prove guilt or innocence. But still, we bring to it an expectation and a kind of faith that the truth can be decided.

Jesus criticized the Pharisees of his day for neglecting the laws of God and burdening the people with human made laws. This extreme example of an unjust law in Numbers 5 leads us to ask if these laws in Exodus and Numbers are God's revealed truth or merely a record of an ancient culture's customs and codes developed over the ages full of the wisdom and fallibility of their times. Lutheran's in general assume that God speaks to us through the Bible, but we also recognize that it is a human book. It is the inspired word of God, but it is also a book written by humans with their cultural blinders and prejudices. How do we discern the word and will of God in these ancient texts? Discerning the word and will of God takes a lot of work and conversation among the Christian community, but we believe the Holy Spirit is guiding our conversations. Seeing the prejudices and superstitions of ancient Israel, I wonder what we do not see in our own Christian culture in these times. Maybe people of faith a thousand years from now will look at our writings and wonder.

I don't think the Bible tells us exactly what to do in each age and situation in life. Sometimes there isn't a clear right or wrong. Luther suggests in those areas, we make the best choice we can and trust in God's grace. That's what he meant when he said, "Sin Boldly." The prophet Amos offers a positive approach, I think, to all of life. "Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God."

Numbers 7

Just a comment on the repetition in this account of the tribes of Israel giving their offerings.

Some of those reading the Bible in a year according to the schedule have admitted skipping through the repititious parts. That is understandable. The repetition can be tedious. But there are some benefits to reading through the repetitions. For one thing, you begin to memorize the details. Each tribe brought a silver plate (or "charger" in King James' Version) weighing one hundred thirty shekels, a silver basin weighing seventy shekels and full of choice flour, a golden dish weighing ten shekels and full of incense, one bull, one ram, one male lamb one goat, two oxen five rams, five male goats and five male lambs. Each tribe is acting out the instructions given earlier in Exodus, and as you read each one doing this, complete with the repetitions you begin to learn. You can see in your mind the procession and get a feel for the pattern of cultic sacrifices. There is also some drama that builds as each tribe brings forth their offerings. (Not much drama, I admit, but enough to give a sense of the importance of the ritual, and and the sense of the shared experience of the whole community. And then, there is a detail that surprised me. After all these offerings and sacrifices which took days to accomplish, Moses went into the tent of meeting and heard the voice of God. That just amazed me. All that ritual to consecrate the tabernacle was leading up to this simple amazing event. Moses heard the voice of God.

I just read an article in Christian Century magazine by Kathleen Norris in which she talks about the value of daily routine and ritual. Simple routines such as washing every day give our lives order and meaning, and even keep us sane. I think of the rituals of confession and forgiveness, hymns, prayers and communion we do week after week in worship. They give us meaning for our lives, and maybe we could expect and listen even more attentively, amidst the repetition, for the voice of God.