Hope in the Darkness
December 1, 2024Cleve Masten presented today's message, "Hope in the Darkness." A video of today's message is here on YouTube.
The first Sunday of Advent is about Hope. The remainder, in order, are about Peace, Joy, and Love.
Psalm 42:5 contains "Hope in God" (yaw-chal elohim, הוֹחִ֣ילִי לֵֽ֭אלֹהִים). From Strong's Lexicon: "Usage: The Hebrew verb 'yachal' primarily conveys the idea of waiting with expectation or hope. It is often used in contexts where there is a sense of anticipation for something positive or for divine intervention. The term implies a confident and patient trust in God's timing and promises, often in the face of uncertainty or adversity. Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Israelite culture, waiting was not merely a passive activity but an active expression of faith. The agrarian society of the Israelites required patience and trust in God for the provision of rain and harvest. Similarly, in their spiritual lives, the Israelites were often called to wait on God's deliverance and fulfillment of His promises. This concept of hopeful waiting is deeply embedded in the Hebrew mindset and is reflected in their worship and prayers."
In Psalm 138:7, darkness is equated with "the midst of trouble."
Prager's latest volume, The Rational Bible: Numbers, just came out. In it (Numbers 13-14) is the story of the Israelite "spies" being sent out by God/Moses to see what the Promised Land was like and how to take it. But 10 of the 12 spies (one from each tribe) gave a terribly negative report not just to Moses but to the entire community, telling everyone that they could never overcome the "giants" of the land.
Their lack of hope in the situation led to lies (about how bad the situation was) and their lack of hope was spread throughout the community. Hopelessness spreads like a cancer. This led to rebellion against good leaders. And God was not pleased. God was ready to destroy the whole lot of them. But interestingly, Moses asks God, "what if the Egyptians hear about you destroying them all, wouldn't that reflect poorly on You?" In essence, what if you, God, ruin your own reputation (breaking the 3rd Commandment)!
Hope, or lack thereof, can impair judgment or wisdom. They all agreed on the facts of what they saw, but differed in their interpretations across hope/no-hope lines. Nearly all good is done by outliers, and I would add "those with hope." And lastly, most leaders do not lead (all the spies were leaders of their respective tribes). (Prager pp. 147-150.)
Ten of the spies and all the people gave up hope in full awareness of God's promise to give them the Promised Land. The spies were not sent to see IF they could get in, they were sent to see HOW to get into the Promised Land. It's never good to give up hope, especially in light of a good God.
God ultimately decides not to destroy the people, but to have them wander in the wilderness until all of that first "no hopers" generation dies off (40 years). God is not pleased with those who can't do hope. The negative spies, by the way, were immediately put to death by God with a plague.
Buried in this story, but also pointed out by Prager, is another aspect of the Torah often overlooked. The Torah is not nationalistic. There are as many non-Israelite heroes as Israelite heroes. Of the two good spies, Joshua and Caleb, Caleb was a non-Israelite.
Christmas lights work best in the dark. Hope, too, does its best in the darkness.
Bonus
Book of Numbers: Right Off the Bat
I mentioned above that Prager's new Rational Bible volume just came out. This one is on Numbers (see the Credits page). Here are some tidbits just in the first 14 pages...
The English name of "Numbers" comes from the fact that there is much counting in the Book of Numbers. These are referred to as census taking. However, a more literal translation of the Hebrew name for the book may be better: In the Wilderness.
The book covers two generations (40 years).
The big picture of the book is order and chaos. Order at first (chapters 1-10) and chaos later (chapters 11-25. Then a new beginning (chapters 26-36).
God speaking is very important. The first thing God did after creating the universe was speak. In Numbers, God speaks 150 times.
Our lives are lived mostly in the wilderness, punctuated now and then by revelations, epiphanies, and "big moments."
In the wilderness you can encounter God. The lesson is that you can encounter God anywhere.
The taking of a census must have been very important as God ordered it himself.
The Tent of Meeting can be thought of as a portable Sinai.
The census was taken only of men capable of going to war. There was no maximum age.
Very ancient names are mentioned alluding to the antiquity of the book.
It is made clear that Joseph's double inheritance was split between his two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) each of whom ended up with a tribe. Joseph did not have a tribe.
The number given for the census of men is 603,550. If so, including women and children and other men, the population would have gone over 2 million. However, there is some debate about the word eleph (אֶלֶף), thousand. It can also mean group or contingent. Remember, numbers in the Old Testament are meant to transmit importance, not numerical accuracy. It is likely the number is overstated by a factor of ten.
The Levites were set aside for a particular religious role. They were in charge of the Tabernacle of the Pact (Ten Commandments). They were chosen by birth. Democracy can work well for a secular government, but not for religious life. If people start deciding what's right and wrong, they have become their own gods.
Each tribe ("troop") had its own standard - flag.