Author: Administrador

“You have lacked nothing!” (Deuteronomy 2:7). Surely this is a late pious endeavor to cover up the realities of that meandering trek through the wilderness. Surely it is a naive attempt to provide a rosy picture of the life of faith. The desert is only painted. Life in the wilderness? Yes, indeed! But always in … Continue reading “Numbers 21:4-9 Commentary by Terence E. Fretheim”

The text for today doesn’t seem like altogether good news. Trudging through the seemingly never-ending wilderness, with nothing to eat or drink but miserable manna, the people speak against God and Moses. And how does God respond? By afflicting them with venomous snakes. The people beg Moses to intercede, and he does, and God, rather … Continue reading “Numbers 21:4-9 Commentary by Elizabeth Webb”

The text for today doesn’t seem like altogether good news.1 Trudging through the seemingly never-ending wilderness, with nothing to eat or drink but miserable manna, the people speak against God and Moses. And how does God respond? By afflicting them with venomous snakes. The people beg Moses to intercede, and he does, and God, rather … Continue reading “Numbers 21:4b-9 Commentary by Elizabeth Webb”

Nearly everything about this text feels far removed from twenty-first-century life. It chafes against both our theological sensibilities and our scientific good sense. Surely God does not send poisonous snakes to punish human beings for their missteps? Certainly just looking at a bronze snake does not assuage a medical ailment like snakebite. Where is the … Continue reading “Numbers 21:4-9 Commentary by Cameron B.R. Howard”

The book of Numbers can be a theological quagmire. Today’s passage has three interwoven themes that are prominent within the book–the people’s complaints, Moses’ prophetic authority, and the LORD’s judgment. Interpreters tend to over-simplify the relationship between these three critical elements. The LORD is often characterized as just for judging the murmuring masses, while the … Continue reading “Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Commentary by Frank M. Yamada”

These verses stand near the beginning of part II of Israel’s time of wandering in the wilderness, having just departed from Mt. Sinai (10:11-36:13; see Exodus 15:22-18:27 for part I). The entire book of Numbers is set in a journey through the wilderness (‘In the wilderness’ is the Hebrew title for Numbers). When you are … Continue reading “Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Commentary by Terence E. Fretheim”

No sooner have the Israelites set out from Mount Sinai than the complaining begins. There is a memory of Egypt — a false one, perhaps, since there’s no mention of backbreaking slave labor or drowning babies, but it’s a memory all the same — of fish they could eat for nothing, and of flavorful cucumbers, … Continue reading “Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Commentary by Margaret Odell”

The year begins with a benediction! This familiar benediction has long been used by the church (and Jewish communities) to conclude services of worship. But it is wise to remember that this blessing stands at both the beginning and end of our life with God and in the world.  This text is located in the … Continue reading “Numbers 6:22-27 Commentary by Terence E. Fretheim”

For additional lectionary resources on the assigned texts for Reformation Sunday, please see the Craft of Preaching articles. In most versions of the lectionary, Old Testament readings from Leviticus occur once or twice every three years.1  Leviticus surely stands among the least treated biblical books in the lectionary, and a greater neglect may occur in … Continue reading “Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 Commentary by James K. Mead”

The lectionary from Leviticus begins with the familiar Levitical refrain: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD am holy” (19:2b). What follows in this chapter is a miscellaneous series of laws beginning with the commands, familiar from the Decalogue, to honor father and mother, keep the Sabbaths, and make no idols in verses 2b-4, … Continue reading “Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 Commentary by Callie Plunket-Brewton”