Numbers 17, 18 and Acts 20-21

Following the put down of the attempted coup against Moses and Aaron, in 17, the LORD confirms His choice of Aaron.  Each tribal leader puts in a walking stick with their name on it.  Aaron's turns into an almond tree, complete with nuts.  That staff, along with the tablets with the ten commandments written on them and a jar of manna, are enshrined in the ark as a memorial to the LORD's power.


18 lays out the rights and responsibilities of the Levites in the work and leadership of the people surrounding the tent of meeting.  Their allotment of the tithe is laid out, the tent of meeting is isolated to their control and protection, they are told to be faithful or else.  This is the tribe set aside by the LORD to conduct the LORD's work on behalf of the people.


In Acts 20-21, Paul is finishing his last missionary journey.  He travels back through Ephesus, where they weep for him, because (vs 38), "...they would not see him again." As Paul returns to the region of Judea, the prophet Agabus predicts that he will be bound and handed over to the Gentiles.  Here we are looking at the stark contrast between his ministry to the Gentiles and what Reza Aslan indicates is his full conflict with the church in Jerusalem.


The conflict is laid out in vss 17-26.  Paul is going to be accused of leading the Jews and Gentiles away from the provisions of the Jewish law.  The leaders in Jerusalem are going to come after him for that.  In an effort to forestall those accusations, Paul is ordered to join four men who seem to be undergoing the ritual of a Nazarite (we had a hint of that a few chapters ago when Paul shaved his head).  James and the church leaders then issue a letter reiterating the decision made at the Council of Jerusalem that loosened the restrictions of the Mosaic law on Gentile believers.


That seems to be the textual rub.  On the one hand, ordering Paul to undergo the Nazarite rituals to what looks like atonement for his ending the Mosaic practices in the missionary churches, while still supporting his ministry with the letter saying its okay.


But the real conflict comes when the Jewish leadership gets wind of a rumor that Paul has actually brought a Greek up into the temple.  This may be reflective of a division within the city over the work of the Jesus followers and the Jews as a nation.  A riot ensues and Paul is arrested by the Romans to quell the riot.  Jerusalem is a powder keg, ready to explode.  The tribune, the Roman Colonel, clues us into that when he talks about the Egyptian whose raised an army of 4000 in preparation for revolt. 


The chapter ends as Paul prepares to make his defense before the people.