Numbers 9

When I was growing up, the meats I was most familiar with were chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and fish. (Yes, I know the last encompasses a wide variety of species, but I'm not about to look up every single fish stick in existence and find out how many dozens of kinds of fish they cram into them.) Lobster, crab, and the almost insidiously delectable shrimp and calamari came later, as did lamb. I've only ever had lamb at a particular Afghan restaurant, so maybe my opinion of the meat of Shaun's brethren is higher than it should be, but I wouldn't mind having to eat lamb if I celebrated Passover. Those little crackers taste pretty good too. (I'm one of those nuts who eats Ritz crackers by themselves without any cheese or dip.)

Even though the Passover is an understandably holy event requiring spiritual cleanliness of all its celebrants, God still allows those who are unclean from touching a dead body to celebrate it about a month later. As the NIV Study Bible notes, this evinces both the consequences of uncleanliness in the presence of a holy God and also God's mercy and grace as He still allows the folks in question to celebrate Passover. 

Verses 15-23 reiterate the method by which God leads the Israelites to Canaan: a giant cloud. The more scientifically inclined portion of my brain wonders just what kind of cloud God used. A wispy cirrus cloud? A fluffy cumulus cotton puff (maybe to keep the lamb theme going)? A gargantuan cumulonimbus behemoth? Whatever it looked like, it seemed to have some raging conflagration going on in its bowels that was visible at night (verses 15-16). You know what this means, right? It means that God, like the people He created in His image, is a pyromaniac! 

In all seriousness, the fiery cloud provided the Israelites with at least some illumination at night, which probably meant that they could forego using as many lamps (other than the ones in front of the altar). I wouldn't be surprised if God had this practical matter in mind when He decided to have His little cloud expel flames every night. I also wonder if there were any days when the Israelites took perhaps a little longer than usual to get their act together in the morning. Did God shake His head and just let the cloud get a head start while the Israelites scrambled to catch up? If Moses stubbed his toe and caused the whole throng to come to a halt, did the cloud wait for them? Frivolous questions, I know; what's important is that at this point, the Israelites are still following God's commands (verse 23). Then again, if a giant, blazing cloud told you to follow it, I'm sure you'd think twice before turning it down.