If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.
21 February. Numbers chapters 23-25
These chapters cover two stories which show a marked contrast in attitudes to people of other faiths or nationalities. Let’s take the second one first.
The people of God – the Israelites – have throughout their wanderings been promised the land of Canaan (which they have not yet reached, but getting near). On the way they have been opposed by several other tribes, so especially the Moabites, so it is understandable that they don’t exactly get on well with them. Except that (as is the way of the world) some Israelite men find that the attraction of individual Moabite women is more pressing than their leaders’ condemnation of the whole Moabite tribe. This is a tension found in every age and society – as a whole one tribal or national or religious group finds another unacceptable, but when it comes to friendship and especially sexual attraction, individual ‘others’ are found to be more than acceptable. Add to that the concerns about women attracting men to their own faith (it is true that women tend to be more devout in their religion than men, and more easily share their faith with others) and the result is that Moses issues what we might call a ‘fatwa’ against such mixed marriages (just substitute ‘Muslim’ for ‘Israelite’ and ‘Christian’ for ‘Moabite’ to get the idea). One of the priests is praised for his zeal in carrying out the fatwa by murdering both partners in such a mixed liaison.
Now to the first of the two stories. Here it is Israel presented as the ‘other’ in the eyes of Balak the Moabite king – for once in the Bible we see God’s people in the view of their enemies. He has summoned Balaam (him of the talking donkey) to curse Israel as if he can just decide that is a good thing to do. But Balaam is a true prophet, and with spiritual insight recognises Israel as the chosen people of the true God. Balak, obviously, is furious – words of blessing (or curse) would have been taken to represent reality and a prediction of the outcome of any impending battle. His judgmentalism, racism even, is being challenged. Sadly the impulse to curse someone on the basis of their religion has not gone away – read one of today’s news headlines about a British Muslim.
It is obvious which of these people, as Jesus put it, loved his neighbour as himself. But the question I am pondering is, would Moses have been so judgmental against the Moabites if he had known that their king was at the same time being given a prophecy that blessed the Israelites? If we really knew how “others” saw “us” at our best, we might be pleasantly surprised.