It has been awhile since I have posted, but I am here and I am still reading. To recap there was the book of Genesis, which starts with the story of Creation and continues onto through the descendents and their arrival in Egypt. Exodus continues after the time of the Pharaoh that Joseph had found favour with and depicts the journey the process and journey of the Israelites leaving Egypt, and traveling through the wilderness to the Promised Land. This brought us to Leviticus and rule around offerings and building the tabernacle that would travel with the Israelites. It is natirually filled with all the details of presenting offerings and how to build the tabernacle, and who would do what. This brings us to Numbers where the people are counted and assigned their roles in the community, as well as where they will camp around the tabernacle and this is where I am at today.
Over the course of Lent I will try to post more about my reading journey. I am enjoying the sense of calm with taking the time to wrestle with scripture, and with reading 4-5 chapters a day. It has been an interesting experience, and I am still trying to sort out how to put words to this daily experience of calm in the midst of pandemic upheaval.
In Numbers chapter 7 it is interesting after God has deivided everything between the 12 tribes of Israel that all of the tribes present the same gifts to the tabernacle. The tabernacle seems to be the center of this community. It literally is in the middle, and surrounded by the tribe’s camps, but it it also where the cooking takes place, where justice is served, where worship takes place. Today, I think we have lost something, especially in this pandemic where worship services have transitioned online or continued for the few lacking some of the traditions such as singing. There is a division in the community, even before the pandemic, church easily was something that happened on Sundays and was led and regulated by a handful of people. This is a very different style of community, compared with what is seen here in Numbers where the tabernacle was the center, the hub, of the community. It makes me wonder how we return to this? Is this part of a post-Christian era. Is this why God held so strongly to having the Israelites follow the laws and commandments? Has our lack of rigidity and ties, weakened the church community. It seems that it may have, and if we are to see a future for our large buildings that cause so much to upkeep, perhaps we need to find a way back to our center.
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