The Lord instructs Moses to take a second census as the Israelites near their entry into Canaan. The second census reveals that the Israelite community has grown. It also reveals that, as God had promised, not a single man is still alive who had been counted in the first census at the base of Sinai, except for Joshua and Caleb (and Moses himself, of course)--the rest had perished as the Lord had promised for their lack of faithfulness. The Lord instructs Moses as to how the Promised Land should be divided among the twelve tribes, and reminds Moses that he himself will see, but not enter, the promised land. Moses accepts his fate gracefully, but does ask the Lord to appoint a successor to guide the people:
Set over the community a man who shall act as their leader in all things, to guide them in all their actions; that the Lord's community may not be like sheep without a shepherd.
God directs Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor. Moses lays his hands on Joshua in a ceremony before the whole community, and in this way the community itself also consecrates Joshua. This is a very interesting, and yes comforting, passage to be reading as we prepare for the election of a new Pope. It is an unsettling time for Catholics, with the historic resignation of BXVI, and we pray for God to guide the cardinals in the task ahead.
This passage ends with more detailed descriptions of the sacrifices that God expects the Israelites to offer on various occasions, all of which have that social dimension to them: a shared assembly of the people.
John, I said I would be here!
ReplyDeleteThe format you are using here is similar to one I am using in my reading of the catechism (catechism-study.blogspot.com). I offer many direct lifts from the text, where it clearly tells the story, and sometimes interspace my own comments and/or learnings --- connections to other things.
A couple of things you may wish to do with the site: Add a search engine; it is one of the options for customization you can do. That way if you (or anyone) wants to see a particular topic, they can find the right post you made. You may also which your blog to be found more easily. Two key sites to list you blog are at the listing of Catholic blogs (catholicblogs.blogspot.com) and at St. Blogs (stblogsparish.com). People cruise those sites searching for new blogs --- and if interested, they'll follow you!
Thanks for checking in! These are great tips, and I have started incorporating. I am not terribly tech savvy, so this was very helpful. I have started "following" Do Not Be Anxious" and as soon as I figure out how I'll post a link to you on my blog! God bless.
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