Summer Series: #7 - A Family Matter?

In Exodus 3 Moses marries Zipporah, a Midianite woman. In Exodus 18 we see Jethro, Moses' father-in-law and the priest of Midian, offering Moses some valuable advice. In Numbers 10:29-32 Moses asks his Midianite brother-in-law to come with the Israelites as a guide. As far as I am able to tell Moses had a very good relationship with his Midianite family. Imagine, then, how difficult is would have been for Moses to hear these words from God:

"Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."
(Numbers 31:2)

Moses heeds God's word and commands the Israelites to fight the Midianites and to kill every one of them. Imagine the pain that this must have brought Moses and his family. I wonder if this passage can shed any light on the words of Jesus in Luke 14:26:

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple."

Summer Series: #5 - Family

As I read through the Pentateuch I am continuously struck by the way I see God's care for the less fortunate. The laws of the Old Covenant aren't just pointless rules. They were created to give us a taste of God's Shalom, the way things were intended to be. Leviticus 25 is full of examples of God's concern for social justice. What really stood out for me, though, is the responsibility of family:

If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold. -Leviticus 25:25

While society as a whole is charged to care for the poor, it is the family in particular that bears this responsibility. The word "some" in this verse makes me ask some questions. If a family member loses all of their property than it makes sense that I should help them out; but if they lose only part of it, it appears that God still expects me to step in and help out. What implications, if any, does this have for us today?