February 13 - Numbers 26:1-65

In the last reading we learned that 24,000 die of the plague, but no one dies in the war.  Isn't that strange?  Or should I say miraculous.  Maybe not.  When God is in charge, miraculous things happen.  When we seek to live our own lives without Him, we invite death.  The difference between dying in a plague or living through a war is God.

So many have died in the various plagues.  All of those who were forbidden to enter the Promised Land have died out.  It's time to start fresh.  So they start by numbering the people.  It probably shouldn't be a surprise that the tribe of Judah is greater in numbers and is, in fact, the largest of the tribes.  It also should probably be no surprise that Rueben and Simeon are fewer.  What is it that the Bible said in an earlier reading?  Punishment will be visited on the third and fourth generation.  Does that mean our direction as a family as parents and as children sets the tone and begins the cycle for the next generation of young people.

To this layman's simple understanding, there doesn't seem to be a major revelation in this reading.  Or, at least, no major revelation at this time in my life.  I've learned the Bible has a way of speaking to people in different ways...depending on where you are in life.

There is one thing I'm sort of curious about.  Amid the list of so many sons and fathers, they mention a couple of women.  Is it just that Zelophehad and Asher didn't raise any sons and so their daughters are mentioned instead?  Or is it because these women were extraordinary in some regard?  The Bible doesn't say.  Just mention their names.

Did you notice that one of Zelophehad's daughters was named Noah?  I guess Noah was a girl or boy's name.  He also had a daughter named Hoglah.  Let's hope they didn't shorten that one.