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NUMBERS 9–10; PSALM 40

Week 8, Day 2

I never cease to marvel at the way biblical religion balances the spiritual and the commonplace. These chapters offer two examples.

The first has to do with what may seem to us a picayunish question, because we can’t fully sense the exalted significance of the Passover festival. But some Israelites were worried; what if some unavoidable circumstance prevented their participating in this once-in-a-year event?

Moses felt the gravity of the question and respected the earnestness of the inquirers. His answer preserved the sanctity of the occasion while also caring for the concern of the individual.

The other instance has to do with divine guidance. Israel was led by a cloud that hovered over the tabernacle by day and by “the appearance of fire” by night. They trusted this provision implicitly, whether moving frequently or at long intervals. Yet when Moses’ brother-in-law Hobab was going to leave, Moses pleaded with him to stay because he needed Hobab’s special skills: “You know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us” (10:31).

Some might assume that direct divine guidance was enough. Moses recognized that God uses human beings. Spiritual as he was and accustomed as he was to dealing with God directly, Moses nevertheless was ready to seek human assistance. God has not left us alone in this world, and we ought not to act as if he had. Our cloud and fire may be a person.

PRAYER: Help me see your goodness in both the extraordinary and the commonplace, and to hear your voice through others. Amen.

Reflect on how, in your own life, God uses both the cloud and fire and the human (Hobab) to guide you.