Numbers 33-34

In the summer before I entered 7th grade, I took a trip to Maui with my family. The setting was as idyllic, serene, and Elysian as you would expect it to be, but it wasn't without its quirks. One of my brothers developed a nausea-inducing aversion to Puffins cereal while on the tortuous (and, for him, torturous) drive to Mount Haleakala, my other brother accidentally fell into one of the seven sacred pools of Hana with all his clothes on, and I had to get stitches on my leg because of what my family affectionately called a "shark bite." (It wasn't really a shark, unless you think rocks are sharks.) Given the verbal diarrhea of personal feelings that I spew in these blog posts, it may surprise you to learn that the journal I kept of that trip reads much like the account of Israel's journey in Numbers 33--as dry as the instruction manual for a, well, clothes dryer.

I get that this is supposed to be an objective record and not Moses's personal diary, but that makes what few notations he includes even more fascinating--or puzzling. The notes in 33:14, 33:38, and 33:40 make sense because they mark the locations of momentous events: the Israelites' complaints to Moses about the lack of water, Aaron's death, and the confrontation with the king of Arad. But what's with 33:9? Moses sees it fit mention that Elim has "twelve springs and seventy palm trees." Not just palm trees, but seventy palm trees. Was Moses a closet horticulturist with a penchant for palm trees? Was he just amazed that he found such a lush oasis in the middle of the desert? A rather curious observation to make.

At the end of chapter 33, God gives Moses more specific directives on how to conquer the Canaanites, emphasizing the destructions of the carved images, cast idols, and high places. God knows how wayward people can be and thus gives highest priority to destroying the false gods that detract from the Israelites' devotion to Him. He ends with an ominous--and sadly prescient--warning: If the Israelites don't drive out the Canaanites, God says, "I will do to you what I plan to do to them" (33:56).

Chapter 34 consists of descriptions of the Promised Land's boundaries and a list of leaders from each tribe. I don't have anything really to say about that chapter. If I were forced to, I suspect my commentary would be as dry as my 7th grade Hawaii journal.