When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD and said, If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction. And the LORD heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.
Numbers 21:1-3 ESV
In the area in which I live, some houses close to the Prior Lake High School in Minnesota had a particular problem. The students who drove themselves to school parked on the streets within the housing area when the student parking lot became too full. The streets became lined with parked cars every day. To put an end to this, a group of residence took their plight to the city council.
However, rather than just complaining and demanding action, the group came up with a plan. They asked for signs to be put up banning roadside parking during school hours Monday through Friday. The city council was so impressed that they came with their own plan of action, the city granted their request. A win win situation for everyone and now the residence have their roadside parking back. Had they gone in with a complaint and without a plan, the city council may not have acted so swiftly.
In this passage, the Isrealites lose part of their community due to a surprise attack. An attack that God never warned them about. Generally, in the Old Testament, when Israel is attacked, it is because they are not following God the way they should be. But here, there is no indication of that. Instead, this seams to be sort of a test by God. A lowering of the hedge of protection so that they could learn how to initiate faith on their own. And this, without the prodding of the Lord.
And, that is just what they do. They take action. They not only believe they can conquer their enemy with God’s help, they secure the victory through the Lord by faith by making a covenant with the Lord. A vow that makes a sacrifice. A sacrifice to destroy everything even though it may be pleasing to their sight.
God grants their request and everyone acts together as a community. None of them take for themselves anything. All is destroyed. How do I know this? Because in the past when someone has taken something, God punishes the Israelites. In the past, they would have cried out to God, beat their chest, and ask why they were brought out to the desert to be slaughtered by their enemies. Instead, they finally learn who God really is. They learn that community faith is not just an individual thing but a united vision.
Their vow was to devote everything to the Lord. The Hebrew word for the devotion of destruction refers to an irrevocable giving to the Lord. In the past, some things were given to the Lord but they were devoted to the Levites. Here, they are completely destroyed. They completely erase any temptation to take for themselves anything that belonged to Arad. There were times in my life where I felt I needed to rid myself completely of things. I remember a music tape I had that was not particularly bad but I felt I needed to get rid of it so I threw it away as sort of a devotion to the Lord. By doing this, I felt a release that I was not tied to the things of this world and that my devotion is with God. Sometimes it may be simple things, but we all should find ways to devote our very nature to God.
Perhaps taking a plan of action is a key to success in the Kingdom. If you are presented with an idea, would you not be more apt to consider it than if you heard a complaint? Before we cry out to God, we should think about two distinct things. One, what can we devote to God in return? and two, what plan of action can we present to God that can be worked on together? Just like the city council, I believe God is more willing to act when we have a definite plan of action.
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