A Whisper of Hope:
Reassurance for Life in the Promised Land
15: 1-41
The calm and orderly obedience of the holy camp of Isra’el in Numbers Chapters 1-10 had been broken by wave after wave of rebellion, disobedience, and mutiny in Numbers Chapters 11-14. It’s time to take a break, to go back and review some of the basics, and to receive some assurances about the future. Numbers 15 function in this was a break in the downward slide of Isra’el’s rebellion. The introduction of a series of mitzvot interrupts the story of Numbers and mirrors the interrupting effect of the multiple revolts on Isra’el’s progress toward the Promised Land. The effect of the mitzvot is much like a coach reviewing game strategies and basic fundamentals that have been forgotten following a crushing defeat. It is time to stop, investigate, and remember what has been forgotten, and receive encouragement in the face of despair.
Chapter 15 begins with a number of mitzvot concerning sacrifices and offerings that the people were to present to YHVH when they had taken up residence in the Land of Canaan (to see link click Ch – Grain and Drink Offerings and Ci – Challah). The next files provide regulations for sacrifices that atone for unintentional sins (see Cj – Unintentional Sin), and is followed by a judicial case involving a man gathering wood on the Shabbat (see Ck – The Sabbath-Breaker). Finally there are instructions to the people to wear tassels on their clothing as a reminder of God’s commandments (see Cl – Tzit-tzit and Blue Thread).266
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