So, what is my presupposition as I read on in Numbers and through the Old Testament? It is Christological. Christology-the science of Jesus Christ. Where do themes of the New Testament and of Jesus flow from this, the only bible that Jesus and his disciples had?
Numbers 5 and 6 move out of the census and into some rather weird rituals for the people of Israel. Unclean people are cast out of camp, crimes of theft demand a 120% return, there is a really weird ritual for husbands who suspect their wives of cheating-something that could make their uterus drop if they lie about it, and then the ritual of the nazirite.
This makes for an interesting comparison and contrast. The law of jealousy runs one way. The husband thinks the wife is cheating, can't find any evidence, not in her cellphone or email accounts, so he can accuse her in front of the priests, who then subject her to a rather degrading ritual. And the penalty for lying-she can't conceive children. Such was the measure of womanhood in the Old Testament (see the story of Hannah, the mother of Samuel).
I see Jesus fulfilling the first laws. The unclean were to be put of the Camp of Israel. What was Jesus' response: heal them and cleanse them. The law of jealousy, Jesus did away with the division of male and female-Paul speaks of that in Galatians.
But, while the family law is so very sexist, the law concerning consecration to God, is liberating. Women or men can take this vow, and there is no hint of permission needed by the woman from whoever the boss-male (husband or father) might be.
That is probably the most interesting, because there are a few cases in the Scripture when this vow is undertaken. Samson, the strong man with the long hair, is the most obvious potential example. But at the end of Acts, before Paul is deported to Rome to appear before the emperor, it appears he was also taking a nazirite vow. There is also a case to be made of this nazarite vow and Jesus, the Nazarene (from Nazareth, but come on, it sounds close!)
Onto Acts 9 and 10, the Holy Spirit comes in the baptism of the "ends of the earth", in this case, a Roman Centurion named Cornelius. Again comes the question of fulfilling the law of God. Peter, the devout Jew, goes to the Gentile when Jesus gives permission to move beyond the dietary laws of Moses. The dietary laws marked the people of God as separate from the rest of the world. Now, the people of God are spreading out into the rest of the world (us Gentiles).
It is an arc, the vision, the baptism of Cornelius, then Peter defending the vision before 'the circumcised believers' in Jerusalem.
Then we switch gears back to Paul. In chapter 8, Saul's persecution scattered the members of Jesus' following. In the scattering, many Hellenist Jews were brought into the fold, centered in Antioch, north and out on the coast. Barnabas was dispatched by the church in Jerusalem to check things out, and he brought with him the newbee to the ministry, the one who caused the followers of Jesus to scatter in the first place, Paul.
The Reza Aslan view is of Paul rising in rank and the church in Jerusalem attempting to keep him down. I am looking for that root in the Acts and in Paul's letters. From here, we begin Paul's ministry, so now we can really begin to look for those troubles.
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