Numbers 1

Here are my random thoughts about this chapter:

Wouldn't it be AWESOME for Moses to come tell you that God had chosen you BY NAME to do this task for Him? Wouldn't you just do ANYTHING that he told you? I want to feel the same way about the inner leadings of the Holy Spirit. I want to remember how much far greater it is to have God speak to you from the inside than it is for him to tell someone else to tell you. That's easier said than done.

I think it's weird that God commands a census in this case and later in the Bible forbids it. I think that stands as a reminder that some things are commanded to us because of what's in our heart not because they represent absolute truth or God's unchanging will on the subject. I think too often I'm quick to think that rules and commands God has set for me are something I need to now legislate for others. Like, I really believe God doesn't want me to listen to secular music. I really like it. And lots of people I really like like it so much that's pretty much all they listen to. But maybe I need to realize that God told me that because of what's in my heart. Maybe I need to allow God to be as original in their lives as He has been in mine.

OK, who else wants to be a Levite? That would be so cool! You get to huddle up on the closest spots to the Tabernacle. You get a front row seat to the action of everything. But, oh yeah, the blood and the burning. That would be pretty gross. Our sin is gross. That's what that stuff was there to remind us of. I guess if I were a Levite, I'd smell like a smoker all the time. Or maybe like smoked meat. Mmmm. That might not be so bad. But what about the off chance that your name would get drawn someday to go into the Holiest of Holies? It would all be worth it just for that.

When I meditate on this nomadic lifestyle and very earthy, hands-on life the Israelites had, I wonder in what ways the trappings of modern life are exactly that, trapping me. I don't want to insulate myself from the sound of wind and rain on my tent while I sleep, or the smell of the sacrifice that was made for my sin, or the community of setting up camp side-by-side, or the constant sight of the presence of God there in the midst of us day and night. What will that cost? How long will it last? What steps will He ask me to take? Where is all this going? The Israelites didn't know either. And they "did all this just as the LORD commanded Moses." I want to obey it all too.