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Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 35-36

Highlight Verse:

“These are the commands and regulations that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭36‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I’ve often said that scripture passages should be looked at within their context. This is no less true for today’s chapters.

But I noticed some points that are remarkably similar today.

First there is the land for the Levites.

Did you know that this practice was the foundation for parish laws today?

You might notice that some pastors live in very nice homes. This is because laws in most places exempt money allocated for ministers’ homes from income tax.

This dates back to the old practice of providing a parish house for the minister of a church.

That practice has its roots in the provision of towns for the Levites.

Then there’s the justice system. Establishing “malice aforethought” is still a major factor for the difference between murder and manslaughter.

Two witnesses are also generally still required where evidence does not firmly establish guilt.

As for chapter 36, the requirement for women landowners to marry within their tribe was designed to avoid situations like modern-day Baarle-Hertog in Belgium and Baarle-Nassau in the Netherlands, a region where there are many pockets of each country inside the other, making for a very complicated border and jurisdiction issues.

The reasons for the modern border problem are different from what would have happened in Israel, but the results could have been similar.

The rules in chapter 36 kept the individual tribes cohesive and strong.

So, what do we learn from today’s reading? As you read through sections that seem to have no bearing on your life,

check the context and see if the reasoning behind the passage applies to you today.

What stood out in today’s reading to you?
How does it apply to your life today?