Day Twelve - A new generation
Numbers 21:8 to Numbers 32:19
It has become the practice of American demographers to categorize generations and to give them names. There is the G. I. Generation (those born in the years 1900-1924), the Silent Generation (1925-1945), the Baby Boomers (1946-1964), and then the succession of Generations X, Y and Z (1965-present). Each generation might view and engage differently the world they have inherited, but each shares a common heritage of accumulated laws and experiences.
Today's reading starts with the 'Exodus Generation' of Israelites who escaped from Egypt as they continue their wanderings through the Wilderness. Perhaps wanderings is not quite accurate, as it is the LORD who is leading them around. By the time the Israelites are encamped across the Jordan River from Jericho the 'Exodus Generation' has passed away and the 'Wilderness Generation' is carrying the standard for God's people. The cast of characters may have undergone a vast change but the LORD's promise of a dwelling place endures, in spite of the Israelites continuing lack of trust and obedience.
The time and the hardships faced by the people in the wilderness should prod us to place our own challenges into a broader context, whether our challenges are personal or related to issues within our parishes or churches. We travel in the footsteps of those who have gone before us, and what we do or accomplish will be left for others to evaluate within their understanding of where our loving God is leading them next.
The time and the hardships faced by the people in the wilderness should prod us to place our own challenges into a broader context, whether our challenges are personal or related to issues within our parishes or churches. We travel in the footsteps of those who have gone before us, and what we do or accomplish will be left for others to evaluate within their understanding of where our loving God is leading them next.
Hi, Fr. Jim,
ReplyDeleteGeorge and I are doing well with the daily
readings. We share the Bible so I try and
read as much of the days readings before he
gets up. I like reading in the mornings after
I get up. It is a nice start to my day.
George has been sticking to it too so far.
Your granddaughter is adorable. It's ashame
you don't live closer.
It's great to share a Bible! Cynde and I have our own copies (actually we're reading on our iPads) but we tend to make comments back and forth on what we are reading. Her questions really keep me on my toes, and I'm always seeing something in the scriptures that I'd never noticed before or had faded from my memory.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that in Numbers 31:8,16 Balaam was held responsible for the women's behavior and was slain. However, in Numbers 22-24 he was asked to curse the Israelites and instead he blessed them after seeking God's counsel. Before each decision he prayed to God instead of divination.
ReplyDeleteGood point. Even though Balaam is outside of the community of the Israelites, he initially comes off well. He acknowledged the LORD, listens to him, delivers God's three messages to Balak, and blesses the Israelites. It would seem the turning point might be Numbers 24:1 - "Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness." It seems to signal a sort of repentance for Balaam, but apparently the ancient storytellers could not excuse his prior involvement in calling of the spirits of the world.
ReplyDelete