Getting Biblical in Daily Life
Animal Rights
Ever enjoyed a hamburger? Ever felt a teeny little bit guilty about it? Then you know what we mean when we say that animal rights are a hot topic nowadays. Is it okay to kill animals for food and clothes? Do our four-legged friends have a right to be treated humanely? Or can humans just do whatever the heck they want with the animals in our midst?
What Does The Bible Say?
The Book of Numbers is pretty big on animal sacrifice. That's right—tons of cute critters were harmed in the making of this story. The text gives detailed instructions for what kinds of animals are to be slaughtered and left as offerings for God (he just loves the smell of their burning carcasses):
"The priest shall present them before the Lord and offer their sin offering and burnt offering, and shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord." (6:16-17)
One young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and for the sacrifice of well-being, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. (7:15-17)
"An individual who sins unintentionally shall present a female goat a year old for a sin offering." (15:27)
"The firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall dash their blood on the altar, and shall turn their fat into smoke as an offering by fire for a pleasing odor to the Lord; but their flesh shall be yours, just as the breast that is elevated and as the right thigh are yours." (18:17-18)
"You shall give [the red heifer] to the priest Eleazar, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. The priest Eleazar shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times towards the front of the tent of meeting. Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned." (19:3-5)
Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent them to Balaam and to the officials who were with him. (22:40)
It's hard out there for livestock!
So, what does all this mean? Does God care not care about animals? Is he cool with using them for whatever purpose—food, clothing, sacrifices, cock fighting? Basically, can humans do whatever they like with their four-legged friends? They're just dumb sheep anyway, right?
Have You Hugged A Goat Today?
Not quite.
Even though God orders the slaughter of animals left and right and he's clearly cool with the people eating them, Jewish tradition also has standards for how animals are supposed to be treated. Even if they're on their way to the chopping block.
Animals can be used for food and clothing and other genuine human needs (Torah scrolls are printed on animal skin and a shofar is made of a ram's horn). But human beings can't needlessly cause pain and suffering to innocent animals. In fact, for an animal to be considered kosher, it has to be slaughtered as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Sure, it's still dead in the end, but at least it didn't suffer.
Remember that Moses was also a shepherd, so his whole job was caring for animals (and after that, the Israelites, who gave him way more trouble). God also provides miraculous water for humans and the animals that are with them—"You shall bring water out of the rock for them; thus you shall provide drink for the congregation and their livestock" (20:8). See, the Big Guy does care about his little furry creations, after all.
Now What?
Today, no one still follows the laws from Numbers on animal sacrifice. Why? Because these laws only apply to offerings presented in the Temple in Jerusalem. When the second temple was destroyed in 70 CE, there was no place to sacrifice animals and leave them to make a "pleasing odor" for the Lord. Bummer.
So, animal sacrifice isn't really a modern issue, but ethical treatment of animals definitely is. Many cows, pigs, and chickens that are slaughtered for food are sometimes kept in deplorable conditions. They might live their lives crammed in tiny stalls and are sometimes slaughtered in cruel and painful ways. While the ancient Israelites personally cared for their animals before killing them for food, clothing, or sacrifice, modern folks are pretty removed from this process and can't really be sure how that chicken was treated before it wound up on our plate in nugget form.
Some Jews and Christians have become vegetarians or vegans as a response to modern slaughterhouse practices. The Jewish Vegetarians of North America urge all people to look at the way their meat is being produced. Is the practice in line with how God would want our four-legged friends treated? Some Christians and Jews think not.
Either way, bacon will remain delicious. We just have to decide if eating it is kosher. Oh, wait…
Death Penalty
The death penalty is used throughout the Hebrew Bible and no one seems to bat an eye. So, how can these thousands-year-old stories influence the way we think about capital punishment today?
What Does The Bible Say?
As you might expect, God is pretty down with killing people. Not only does he regularly do it himself (ah, a plague!), but he also commands his people to dish out death sentences. So, what kinds of offenses merit capital punishment there in the wilderness?
- Walking inside forbidden areas of the tabernacle (1:51).
- Gathering sticks on the Sabbath. That'll get you stoned (15:32-36).
- Worshipping other gods. It's a big no-no (25:1-5).
- Intentionally murdering someone. The victim's next of kin gets to be the one that kills you (35:16:21). How… nice?
It's clear that God is pretty big on people respecting him and his laws. But also that he doesn't want everyone just running around killing each other. This makes sense. You've gotta keep order going. And what better way to do it then by hurling stones at people until they're dead. That'll learn 'em.
Not Everybody Must Get Stoned
God does put limits on the kinds of things that you can be put to death for. For example, if you murder someone accidentally, you can book it to one of the cities of refuge and that person's relatives can't touch you. Sanctuary! He also says that:
If anyone kills another, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses; but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness. (35:30)
The right to be accused by more than one person. Sounds good to us. Clearly God doesn't take this whole killing-people-to-show-that-killing-is-wrong thing lightly.
Now What?
It's definitely true that capital punishment was part of the landscape of the Bible and is something the people who wrote these books would have been regularly exposed to. However, as some of the passages in Numbers show, each crime had its own unique circumstance. There was a difference between killing someone maliciously and accidentally. Maybe the folks who fell in the latter group didn't have to be put to death? Or, if you're standing your ground in Florida, even go to jail at all.
Some people also point out that these biblical laws have one key advantage over ours today—they come straight from God. If God says it's okay to stone someone to death for collecting sticks, then, hey, go ahead and do it. But we're not God, remember? Do fallible judges, lawyers, and juries have the right to dole out such a permanent sentence?
Today, our Constitution outlaws cruel and unusual punishments like those in Numbers. We don't stone people and the victim's relatives don't get to rip the murderer limb from limb with their bare hands (though some would probably like to). A lengthy appeals process is involved to make sure that innocent people aren't put to death.
But is it ever enough? Can we replace God's judgment with our own? Some questions just can't be settled easily.
Feminism
Women have come a long way since the days of the Book of Numbers. Suffrage. Equal pay for equal work (in theory, anyway). Push-up bras. But the role of women in law and society is still a hot topic today. So, what does our story have to say about it?
What Does The Bible Say?
There's one pretty crazy episode where God gives instructions for how a man can tell if his wife has been unfaithful:
If any man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, if a man has had intercourse with her but it is hidden from her husband, so that she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her since she was not caught in the act; if a spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself; or if a spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself; then the man shall bring his wife to the priest[…] Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, "If no man has lain with you, if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while under your husband's authority, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings the curse. But if you have gone astray while under your husband's authority, if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had intercourse with you[…] the Lord make you an execration and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge." (5:12-15, 19-21)
This whole story is topped off with the reminder: "The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity" (5:31). In other words, only the lady will be punished for her adulterous crimes. Not the guy she got busy with. And what if the husband turns out to be wrong? No biggie. Wives just have to live with the fact that their hubbies might get jealous sometimes. Oh, you know how Stanley gets.
There's also this little gem about taking vows while having a vagina:
When a woman makes a vow to the Lord, or binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house, in her youth, and her father hears of her vow or her pledge by which she has bound herself, and says nothing to her; then all her vows shall stand[…] But if her father expresses disapproval to her at the time that he hears of it, no vow of hers, and no pledge by which she has bound herself, shall stand. If she marries[…] and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her at the time that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if, at the time that her husband hears of it, he expresses disapproval to her, then he shall nullify the vow by which she was obligated." (30:3-8)
Men, on the other hand, don't need anyone's approval to make a vow to God—"When a man makes a vow to the Lord[…] he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth" (30:2). It's good to be a guy.
All The Submissive Ladies
Both these stories highlight the inferior status of women in biblical texts. Here, we have two commands that emphasize the fact that a woman is not in charge of her own life. She shouldn't commit adultery because she's "under [her] husband's authority." Likewise, when she's unmarried, it's her father who gets to tell her what promises she can and can't make. Verses like this have contributed to the idea held by some modern folks that women should be submissive to men.
On the plus side though, these laws do lay out some limits. A jealous husband can't have his wife stoned for suspected adultery. He has to go through the ritual and see what happens. Fingers crossed, right ladies? And a dad can't nullify his daughter's religious vows if too much time has passed. That's a small victory for the more delicate sex at least.
Feminists Have A Fighting Chance
There is one story in Numbers that does a little bit more to imply that women might be equal to men. It's the whole business involving the Daughters of Zelophehad:
[The daughters of Zelophehad] said, "Our father died in the wilderness; he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father's brothers." (27:2-4)
Basically, because they're women, the girls are gonna be shut out of all that good Promised Land. Is that their fault? Let's have a little justice for the ladies here. Can't they inherit through some other (male) relative? Luckilyy for them, Moses and God are sympathetic. God tells everyone, "The daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they are saying[…] If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter" (27:7-8).
Property rights for the ladies! Woo-hoo! Hey, this idea may not seem like a big deal, but Numbers is way ahead of its time here. Ever seen Downton Abbey? None of the Crawley sisters can inherit their father's huge estate just because they happen to be daughters instead of sons. Sure, we love British melodramas as much as the next person, but we're pretty wild about women owning land, too.
Of course, there is one amendment to these new proto-feminist rules. Any woman who inherits her father's land has to marry a man who's already in her father's tribe (36:5-9). This means that the land promised to one tribe will always stay with that tribe. We're looking forward to all the stories of star-crossed lovers this is sure to inspire.
So, women have to submit to their husbands and fathers and can only marry from certain pools of eligible men? But they can also own land?! Color us excited.
Baby steps, guys. Baby steps.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Nothing in the modern world has ruffled more feathers than the conflict over the area known as either Israel or Palestine. Does the Book of Numbers have any words of wisdom to offer on the subject?
What Does The Bible Say?
In Genesis, God first gave the area that's now part of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to Abraham and his descendants.
The Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you[…] They set forth to go to the land of Canaan[…] Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." (Genesis 12:1, 5, 7)
Numbers reaffirms this promise of land as the Israelites trek to Canaan and get ready to take over the country and set up their own divinely given homeland:
"None of the people who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." (32:11)
So, that settles it right. Israel belongs to the descendants of Abraham, right? Oh, if only it were that simple.
Can't We All Just Get Along?
Remember, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are all Abrahamic faiths. That means that these guys claim a spiritual origin with Abraham. Islam, specifically identifies with Abraham's other son, Ishmael (who he sent to wander in the wilderness with Hagar). Due to their shared connection with Abraham, all three faiths have a claim to this land. Yikes.
Basically, the whole situation in Israel/Palestine is a mess and no single Bible verse is going to solve it all. Since 1947, when the United Nations passed a resolution officially giving some of this land back to the Jewish people, there's been tension. Wars. Death. Violence. And peace talk after peace talk, none of which have come to much of anything. Some groups estimate over 16,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 1948. Double yikes.
One of the more popular ideas for peace that's been promoted is the two-state solution opinion. This just basically means that Israel would control certain areas, while Palestine would get others. Both nations would share access to Jerusalem, since this is the site of all kinds of important holy places from Jewish, Muslim, and Christian history.
So far, both sides haven't been able to agree on anything. Maybe all these years of fighting and hostility have just taken their toll. Or maybe, like in the days of the Bible, it's just up to God to sort it out. If so, He's definitely got his work cut out for him.
For a light-hearted take on the whole conflict (yes, it's possible), check out this Oscar-winning short film, West Bank Story. It's a musical parody of West Side Story, but instead of Shark vs. Jets, you've got Israelis vs. Palestinians all against the background of young, forbidden love.