Numbers 19
This chapter describes the use and manufacture of the water of cleansing.
If anybody becomes ritually unclean through touching a dead body they have to be sprinkled with the water of cleansing on the third and seventh day otherwise they will never become ritually clean.
The water of cleansing is made by taking a red heifer and killing it outside camp, the priest will sprinkle some of the blood towards the tent of meeting. The heifer will then be burned completely, while burning thehave to throw some scarlet wool, hyssop branches and cedar wood onto the burning cow.
The priest, and the man who does the burning must bathe and wash their clothes and are unclean until night.
A ceremonially clean man has then to gather up the ashes - he then has to bathe and wash his clothes - he is then unclean until evening.
The ashes are kept and sprinkled on water and then the water is used for cleansing.
How this work is a total mystery to me and this just makes me go "Huh?"
Numbers 20
Moses Sister, Miriam dies at the start of this chapter.
The Israelite community seems to have the shortest communal memory as the Israelites start complaining that they were better off doing forced labour in Egypt, at least they had water there.
God tells Moses to shout at the rock and water will flow out.
In the end, Moses temper gets the better of him and he strikes the rock with his staff, and water flows out.
God's response to this is that Moses did not honour God and follow his instuctions therefore he will not lead Israel into the promised land - Given that Moses is well into his 80's, if not older, perhaps this is not too much a surprise.
The ancestor of Edom was a relative of Jacob, so when Israel comes out of Egypt they ask permission to cross the land .
Permission is refused outright.
Israel says that they will pay for anything eaten or drunk and stay on the main road.
Edom basically says that this would be a declaration of war and they would attack.
Israel backs down and goes another way rather than provoke war.
This is not a good chapter for poor Moses, his sister dies at the beginning and now his brother dies at the end.
The method of Aaron's death is a bit odd, Moses, aaron and Eleazar (Aaron's son) climb up to the top of Mount Hor. Moses removes Aaron's priestly clothes and dresses Eleazar in them. Aaron then dies at the top of the mountain. Not much of a shock there - an old man climbing a mountain and then stripping off? if the climb did not finish him off, well I mean, what the heck??
This chapter describes the use and manufacture of the water of cleansing.
If anybody becomes ritually unclean through touching a dead body they have to be sprinkled with the water of cleansing on the third and seventh day otherwise they will never become ritually clean.
The water of cleansing is made by taking a red heifer and killing it outside camp, the priest will sprinkle some of the blood towards the tent of meeting. The heifer will then be burned completely, while burning thehave to throw some scarlet wool, hyssop branches and cedar wood onto the burning cow.
The priest, and the man who does the burning must bathe and wash their clothes and are unclean until night.
A ceremonially clean man has then to gather up the ashes - he then has to bathe and wash his clothes - he is then unclean until evening.
The ashes are kept and sprinkled on water and then the water is used for cleansing.
How this work is a total mystery to me and this just makes me go "Huh?"
Numbers 20
Moses Sister, Miriam dies at the start of this chapter.
The Israelite community seems to have the shortest communal memory as the Israelites start complaining that they were better off doing forced labour in Egypt, at least they had water there.
God tells Moses to shout at the rock and water will flow out.
In the end, Moses temper gets the better of him and he strikes the rock with his staff, and water flows out.
God's response to this is that Moses did not honour God and follow his instuctions therefore he will not lead Israel into the promised land - Given that Moses is well into his 80's, if not older, perhaps this is not too much a surprise.
The ancestor of Edom was a relative of Jacob, so when Israel comes out of Egypt they ask permission to cross the land .
Permission is refused outright.
Israel says that they will pay for anything eaten or drunk and stay on the main road.
Edom basically says that this would be a declaration of war and they would attack.
Israel backs down and goes another way rather than provoke war.
This is not a good chapter for poor Moses, his sister dies at the beginning and now his brother dies at the end.
The method of Aaron's death is a bit odd, Moses, aaron and Eleazar (Aaron's son) climb up to the top of Mount Hor. Moses removes Aaron's priestly clothes and dresses Eleazar in them. Aaron then dies at the top of the mountain. Not much of a shock there - an old man climbing a mountain and then stripping off? if the climb did not finish him off, well I mean, what the heck??
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