I love reading right through the Bible every year, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit there are certain parts I struggle to get through. One example is Numbers 7 – a rather long and repetitive chapter.
In the main body of the text, we find a very long list. In order to celebrate the setting up of the tabernacle, each tribe decides to bring God a gift. They’ve already shown a great deal of generosity in providing the materials to build the sacred tent and all its furnishings. So much so, that at one point, Moses had to ask them to stop bringing things, because they had more than enough! They also brought carts for the carrying of the materials as they move around the wilderness. That’s detailed for us at the beginning of the chapter. But it’s the seemingly endless list of offerings that’s always been a struggle for me.
Since there are twelve tribes, twelve days are appointed, during which each of them is to bring their gift. And it’s all done in a very orderly manner, because we know our God likes things to be done decently, and in order. They bring their gifts in the order in which they travel and set up camp. You can read the details of that in Numbers chapter 2.
I’ve always wondered how each tribe knew what to bring. My research led me to understand that they aim to cover all the various kinds of offerings as listed at the beginning of the book of Leviticus. So they bring burned offerings, grain offerings, fellowship or peace offerings, sin offerings, and incense.
Although this is a tough chapter to read, God has set me to pondering some very interesting things. First of all, let’s consider the detail. Why didn’t Moses just sum it all up in as few words as possible? He could have said that each tribe brought the same offering, over a twelve day period. Then, he would only have needed to list the offerings once, and name each of the twelve men who represented their tribes. Wouldn’t that have been easier?
In a Bible translation called the Easy to Read version, verses 12-83 are summarized very neatly as follows: “Each of the twelve leaders brought these gifts: Each leader brought one silver plate that weighed about 3 1/4 pounds. Each leader brought one silver bowl that weighed about 1 3/4 pounds. Both of these gifts were weighed by the official measure. The bowl and the plate were each filled with fine flour mixed with oil. This was to be used as a grain offering. Each leader also brought a large gold spoon that weighed about 4 ounces. The spoon was filled with incense. Each leader also brought 1 young bull, 1 ram, and 1 male lamb a year old. These animals were for a burnt offering. Each leader also brought 1 male goat to be used as a sin offering. Each leader brought 2 cattle, 5 rams, 5 male goats, and 5 male lambs a year old. All of them were sacrificed for a fellowship offering.” Following this description of the offerings, we are told the names of the various tribal leaders who brought them over the 12-day period.
The first time I saw this edited version, I thought it was an amazing idea, but now, I’m not so convinced. On further reflection, it seems to minimize the gifts they brought and the importance of them? After all, these weren’t small gifts.
There is an old saying: ‘The devil is in the detail,’ This is a phrase I’ve always disliked, because the more I read of the Bible, the more I see that our God cares about every tiny detail of our lives. We often say those words to people to encourage them. We tell them nothing is too big or too small for God. No problem is so insignificant that he doesn’t want to hear about it. Surely, if that’s true of people and their needs, then it’s also true of God’s word. Don’t forget, these were real people, and they all made a very real and important contribution to this massive event in Israel’s history. So why shouldn’t their gifts be recorded one by one, in the order in which they were brought?
There are lots of similar passages in the Bible which we find difficult to read. For example, there are huge lists of names in the first few chapters of the first book of Chronicles, and I’ll admit I struggle to keep track of who was who. It’s hard work reading all these names because they are unfamiliar and difficult to pronounce. Yet, if we take time to ponder and maybe do a little research, there is so much we can learn? When we see Adam’s name listed, our minds wander back to the garden of Eden, the fall of man, and God’s promise of a redeemer. When we read of Noah, we think of the flood, and how this one man and his family found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Further down the list, we find out where the Philistines came from, and when we see the word Philistine, we probably think of David and Goliath. There’s so much hidden in these genealogies. And sometimes they can give us the answers to questions we have when we read other parts of the Bible. Occasionally I see a name in these lists, and I wonder, was he the same person we read about in such and such a story? My curiosity peeked, I turn to the bible commentaries to give me clarity and pull it all together, and it’s really very exciting. When we just read these passages, they’re long lists of names we struggle to pronounce, but when we start studying them, and we actually remember these were real people who had significance in the Biblical account, they take on a life of their own.
Let’s consider another genealogy, which we find at the beginning of Matthew chapter 1. This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus. Again, it’s another long list of mostly men’s names, but there are also some women mentioned, which was unheard-of at that time. Ruth is named! And Rahab! And these weren’t Jewish women at all; they were foreigners! Ruth was a Moabitess. Despite God saying: “Moab is my washbasin” (Psalm 60: 8), he chose this woman to be an ancestor of the Lord Jesus, because she chose to make her mother in law Naomi’s people her people, and Naomi’s God her God. And Rahab! … Well, she had a bit of a shady past, didn’t she? But she paints for us a wonderful picture of repentance, of turning from sin to God’s truth, and of his wonderful redemption!
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing to have your name in god’s word, even if it was only in one of these long lists? I read a fictional book by Janette Oke a few years ago called A Woman Named Damaris. The story was about a woman who’d had a rotten life with an abusive family background. Yet, she was continually encouraged by the fact that her mother told her she chose her name out of the Bible. Damaris couldn’t read or write, so she kept imagining all the wonderful things that had been written about her namesake, and decided to learn to read, just so she could find out about them. But what she discovered was one little verse; “but some joined him (Paul) and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.’ (Acts 17, 34). She had hoped for something far more exciting, But as the book progresses, Damaris discovers that following Jesus is the most wonderful thing in the world, and that you don’t have to accomplish great things to make a difference for him, and so she becomes even more proud that her name is mentioned in the Bible.
Detail is hugely important to God. Every word in the word is there for a reason – every name, and every long list. We just sometimes need to do a little digging.