Num 7-10, God is not arbitrary, but at times we can't see the larger picture and so it feels arbitrary

Num 7:1-9 (NIV) When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings. He also anointed and consecrated the altar and all its utensils. 2 Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of families who were the tribal leaders in charge of those who were counted, made offerings. 3 They brought as their gifts before the Lord six covered carts and twelve oxen — an ox from each leader and a cart from every two. These they presented before the tabernacle.


4 The Lord said to Moses, 5 "Accept these from them, that they may be used in the work at the Tent of Meeting. Give them to the Levites as each man's work requires."


6 So Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites. 7 He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites, as their work required, 8 and he gave four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites, as their work required. They were all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. 9 But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things, for which they were responsible.


• The fact that the 12 tribal leaders brought six carts and 12 oxen suggest they collaborated on the gift
• The gift is divvied up among the Levite families unequally, 4-8-0, because their duties had different requirements.  The work determined the distribution of the gift
• Additionally, God's word took preference.  It would have been quite easy to gain another 4 ox and 2 carts for the Kohathites, but God specifically said that they were to carry on their shoulders the holy things
• This instruction will be forgotten a few hundred (?)  years later when David tries to move the tabernacle to Jerusalem, resulting in the death of one of the Levites
• Incidentally, whose responsibility was it to know how to move the tabernacle? It should be the Levites and the particular people descended from the Kohathites
• APPLICATION: Not everything in life has to be "equal."  There are cases where equality is required and cases where it is to be avoided


Num 7:10-17, …, 84-88 (NIV) When the altar was anointed, the leaders brought their offerings for its dedication and presented them before the altar. 11 For the Lord had said to Moses, "Each day one leader is to bring his offering for the dedication of the altar."


12 The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah.


13 His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 14 one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; 15 one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; 16 one male goat for a sin offering; 17 and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering. This was the offering of Nahshon son of Amminadab.
. . .
84 These were the offerings of the Israelite leaders for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed: twelve silver plates, twelve silver sprinkling bowls and twelve gold dishes. 85 Each silver plate weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each sprinkling bowl seventy shekels. Altogether, the silver dishes weighed two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 86 The twelve gold dishes filled with incense weighed ten shekels each, according to the sanctuary shekel. Altogether, the gold dishes weighed a hundred and twenty shekels.  87 The total number of animals for the burnt offering came to twelve young bulls, twelve rams and twelve male lambs a year old, together with their grain offering. Twelve male goats were used for the sin offering. 88 The total number of animals for the sacrifice of the fellowship offering came to twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty male goats and sixty male lambs a year old. These were the offerings for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.


• In a contrast to the previous story, what is true of each of the tribal leaders?
• They gave equal gifts
• Did they come from equally sized tribes? No
• Individually, were they equal in wealth?
• Not enough information
• Unlikely that 12 individuals would be equal in wealth
• Also, the equality of the gifts suggests what?
• The gifts were levied
• One opposite  view of levied gifts is freewill offerings.  These do not appear to fall in that category
• APPLICATION: From a humanistic point of view, we might regard equal levied gifts as unfair.  From God's point of view, that is not an issue.  And maybe we make too much of that as an issue, ie, that everything has to be fair.  Life is unfair and God's covenant with the Jews does not consider it wrong or unrealistic.  Maybe, we need to let go of some of our views about "what is fair"


Num 7:89 (NIV) When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. And he spoke with him.


• What is the tent of meeting, based on this verse?
• It definitely seems to be the tabernacle
• Most likely Moses met with God in the Most Holy Place, while God spoke from the Holy of Holies, behind the curtain
• There still is a question of the meeting place in light of the events of the golden calf, but that could have been pre-setup of the tabernacle
• In which case, Moses argument and pleading of the Lord to go with them would be why the tabernacle is still in the center of the people's camp


Num 8:23-26 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses, 24 "This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, 25 but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. 26 They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites."


• The requirement to serve in the tabernacle is age-based.  The requirement to carry the tabernacle is even more exclusive, 30-50 versus 25-50, why?
• First, these are direct ministries serving God for the sake of the people
• Second, age qualifications do not exist for any other type of ministry or service
• Serving in a position of spiritual leadership requires wisdom.  Age is correlated to wisdom, although not in all cases
• Knowledge is not correlated with wisdom.  It is possible to be knowledgeable but not wise
• Definitions of wisdom:
• American Heritage Dictionary
1. The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight.
2. Common sense; good judgment: "It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things" (Henry David Thoreau).
Pasted from <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wisdom>
• Collins English Dictionary
1. the ability or result of an ability to think and act utilizing knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight
Pasted from <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wisdom>
• How to you get wisdom?
• APPLICATION: My opinion is that you apply knowledge.  Be a doer of the word and not a hearer and in time, you will gain wisdom


Num 9:1-13 (NIV) The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said, 2 "Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. 3 Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations."


4 So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, 5 and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.


6 But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day 7 and said to Moses, "We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord's offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?"


8 Moses answered them, "Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you."


9 Then the Lord said to Moses, 10 "Tell the Israelites: 'When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the Lord's Passover. 11 They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations. 13 But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the Lord's offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin.


• What is the circumstance that brings up this problem?
• A family member had died near to and prior to the time of the Passover
• Touching the dead body has made them unclean
• Is God caught off guard by the situation?  Was he unaware that this might happen? 
• That would contradict our definition of God
• This is a common way an Atheist attacks scripture.  His assumption of God is "not God" and then argues therefore God "cannot be God."  So, his conclusion follows his assumption, which is simply poor logic
• A different tact is assume our definition of God and then ask the question. This leads to the next question ...
• Why does God add the command and not give it prior during the recitation of the law?
• There were a lot of laws given at the time, it would be hard to remember
• Specifically leaving out exclusions, allows the exclusion to be given some prominence when the issue is raised
• The exclusion itself may teach a principle that God wants to convey to the people
• What do we learn about God from the way the law is given here?
• God is not arbitrary and unreasonable
• God places significance in certain events and ceremonies.  They are not fluff to God


Num 9:15-23 (NIV) On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord's order and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. 23 At the Lord's command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out. They obeyed the Lord's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.


• How would you summarize this section?
• The people waited upon God before moving out (2 days, 1 month, or 1 year)
• The people followed God's leading and not their own
• The people obeyed God
• How might you feel, having set up camp, and then 2 days later, it is time to move?
• "Does God know what he is doing?"
• "It doesn't make sense to move so quickly"
• "This is annoying, having to do all this work and they have to tear down so quickly"
• How might you feel, if you have set up camp, and don't move for almost a year?
• "I'm getting tired of this place"
• "Are we going anywhere or not?"
• "Does God really know where he is taking me?"
• "Why is this taking so long, I'm ready to move"


Num 10:1-7 (NIV) The Lord said to Moses: 2 "Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out. 3 When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 4 If only one is sounded, the leaders — the heads of the clans of Israel — are to assemble before you. 5 When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out. 6 At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out. 7 To gather the assembly, blow the trumpets, but not with the same signal.


• Why this section?
• Communication is very important, especially in large enterprises
• People want to know what is happening
• What happens when there is poor communication?
• People aren't sure what is happening
• Sometime gossip or rumors take over
• Hard feelings, even splits can occur in a body
• APPLICATION: God specifically chooses a communication vehicle.  Obviously then, God considers communication important and part of good order.