Reestablishing Trust
As the book of Numbers winds to a close, something changed which enabled Moses to recoup his control and offer the Israelites his farewell exhortations, his advice and legal guidance for life in a homeland, and his plea for an able successor. He reestablished trust with the people by questioning their requests, acquiescing when able, and securing commitment through a reassessment of the power of language. Where language served as a mechanism of violence and diminishment in the midsection of Numbers, it transforms into a discussion of oaths by the book’s end. The Israelites used the language of need, greed, and impulse as followers. After Mosaic leadership broke down, it was slowly rebuilt with a different two-way understanding. Moses offered a hand of reconciliation and validation by allowing a few tribes to stay on the other side of the Jordan, an immediate need of self-interest, but one that would ultimately have long-term collective benefits. And the discussion of oaths cemented an understanding that words have consequences and must be taken seriously. Flexibility, accountability, and perspective all melded into the reestablishment of trust. Trust allowed then and allows now a renewed commitment to a shared picture of a collective future.