My annual journey through the Bible brought me this morning to the book of Numbers. Israel has left Egypt and is camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses instigates a national census. The total is in the millions!
I read: These were the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari… The Merarite clans: Mahli and Mushi. (Numbers 3:17,20)
From all the millions Merari and his two boys Mahli and Mushi are mentioned by name.
Last night a group of us discussed a recent news story:
Mark Hehir was a London bus driver. A man boarded Mark’s bus, snatched a woman’s necklace and ran off. Mark chased the thief, caught him and returned the jewellery to the woman. The thief returned to attack Mark. Mark punched the man and restrained him until police arrived.
Mark was suspended from duty, accused of ‘bringing the company into disrepute by physically assaulting a passenger’. He also ‘failed to protect his and his passengers’ safety by leaving the bus unattended…’
Yesterday the BBC reported: ‘A six-week road closure has been put in place to allow toads, frogs and newts to cross to their breeding grounds.
Charlcombe Lane, near Bath in Somerset, will be closed until 29 March so more than 3,000 amphibians can reach their ancestral breeding lake in the valley below.
Volunteers from the Charlcombe Toad Rescue Group will go out on patrol each night at dusk and spend more than 600 hours helping them on their journey across the half-mile (0.8km) stretch of road.’
Bill takes great delight in his first grandson who is approaching his first birthday and is increasingly mobile. Yesterday Bill was a bit subdued; he’s just been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is to undergo radiotherapy.
To Bill’s family and friends, Bill is amazingly important… as is each toad to the Charlcombe Toad Rescue Group… as was the unnamed necklaced woman to Mark… as was Merari, Mahli and Mushi to Moses… as is each individual that I shall meet today.
malcolmsmusings.org 