Joshua 3:16 "The water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho."
Well, it's finally time to go. Israel is going into the promised land. Joshua gives the orders, and the people listen, because God gave Joshua the same gravitas that He gave to Moses with the people. Joshua prepared his people to move out in three days. "Watch the ark, but don't go near it," was the command. In fact, people had to stay 1000 yards away...which is a little over half a mile.
OK, so the three days go by, and Joshua goes to the river, and as he stands there, he tells everyone to watch, because this is gonna be sweet, and that God will drive out the HACPHAJ. What is the HACPHAJ you may ask? It's my mnemonic device used to remember the Usual Suspects that God stands against in regard to Israel. Hivites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hittites And Jebusites. It would be HACPHAG (Girgashites) in some translations, so lets go with this.
Anyway, and this is amazing...as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the Jordan River, the water flowing downstream cut off and "stood up in a heep." Can you imagine what that would have looked like? Can you imagine seeing that take place. And I love how the Bible sort of predicts what skeptics would say..."Minor miracle, it was the narrowest part of the river..." No, it was at flood stage. I wish I could have seen this. I'm sure the parting of the Red Sea was amazing too. This dividing of the waters at the Jordan River is just as amazing. Yet, I think we look on it as, eh...not as cool as the Red Sea.
And the whole nation crossed on dry ground. Including the 2.5 tribes who were staying on the east side of the Jordan.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Jos. 2: I Spy
Joshua 2:11 "When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."
One of the first cities Israel set its sights on was Jericho. Joshua sent two spies to go check it out. And these spies go and stay at the house of a prostitute. Did they choose this house of ill repute? Maybe it was the only place to stay...maybe it was more like a hotel. At any rate, the concern for their reputations was dwarfed by their need to see what the city was like. I also find it very interesting that the king of Jericho sent a message to Rahab, the prostitute, telling her to be on the lookout for spies that are in the area. Why would the king send a message directly to her? Was she singled out? Maybe all the hotel owners got this message, I don't know. Maybe she was the most well known...hostess.
I also don't know why she helped the spies. She misdirected the king's messengers, while hiding the spies under some flax on the roof. That night, she goes up to the roof to tell the spies about how the entire city is in fear of Israel...as God promised Israel would happen. Israel's military exploits and miracles had preceded them. Rahab figures she can make a deal with these spies that when (not if) they destroy the city, Israel will leave her and her family alive...provided she places a scarlet cord in the window as a sign of an oath. The spies are then let down through a window with a rope. They went to Joshua after a few days when everything settled to tell him the news. It made Joshua happy to know that the people were "melting in fear" because of them.
And this scarlet cord...we have seen that before...Around the wrist of the twin who busted out first but was born second in Genesis 38, woven into the tabernacle curtains in Exodus 26, and used in the process of cleansing...whether from infectious skin diseases or mildew in the home in Leviticus 14. The latter probably the most related to the sign of the oath Rahab and the spies made.
One of the first cities Israel set its sights on was Jericho. Joshua sent two spies to go check it out. And these spies go and stay at the house of a prostitute. Did they choose this house of ill repute? Maybe it was the only place to stay...maybe it was more like a hotel. At any rate, the concern for their reputations was dwarfed by their need to see what the city was like. I also find it very interesting that the king of Jericho sent a message to Rahab, the prostitute, telling her to be on the lookout for spies that are in the area. Why would the king send a message directly to her? Was she singled out? Maybe all the hotel owners got this message, I don't know. Maybe she was the most well known...hostess.
I also don't know why she helped the spies. She misdirected the king's messengers, while hiding the spies under some flax on the roof. That night, she goes up to the roof to tell the spies about how the entire city is in fear of Israel...as God promised Israel would happen. Israel's military exploits and miracles had preceded them. Rahab figures she can make a deal with these spies that when (not if) they destroy the city, Israel will leave her and her family alive...provided she places a scarlet cord in the window as a sign of an oath. The spies are then let down through a window with a rope. They went to Joshua after a few days when everything settled to tell him the news. It made Joshua happy to know that the people were "melting in fear" because of them.
And this scarlet cord...we have seen that before...Around the wrist of the twin who busted out first but was born second in Genesis 38, woven into the tabernacle curtains in Exodus 26, and used in the process of cleansing...whether from infectious skin diseases or mildew in the home in Leviticus 14. The latter probably the most related to the sign of the oath Rahab and the spies made.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Jos. 1: Joshua Takes Over
Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Moses is down. The LORD turns to Joshua, the son of Nun, an Ephraimite. We've met Joshua before, and his leadership capabilities were clear. He led the Israelites to victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17. He accompanied Moses up on the mountain to receive the law in Exodus 24. He and Caleb were the only ones of 12 scouts who brought back confident reports about the land of Canaan back in Numbers 14. He was picked to succeed Moses.
I think Joshua was a very different personality than Moses. Moses seemed kind of laid back, while Joshua seems to be more aggressive. There seemed to be none of the fear of leadership that Moses struggled with early on. Could it be that the LORD tells Joshua to "be strong" and "have courage" in some variant four times in the first chapter?
God makes a couple promises here that are very important and are contingent on following God's commands. One is that God "will give you every place where you set your foot." That would encourage me not to be lazy. I would be wandering constantly unless I had to govern something. The second is that God will be with Joshua all the days of his life. "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life." That would be heartening. The best way to keep the commands of God? To meditate on them day and night. To study them on a daily basis. That leads to prosperity and success. Would God just grant prosperity and success because Joshua studied the word? I doubt it. I think studying of the word leads to practical decisions that lead to wisdom, and in turn bring prosperity and success. Let's not discount, however, the idea that God would bless someone supernaturally because of their devotion.
Joshua's first task is to prepare the Israelites for war in three days. One thing he had to do was to remind the three West Bank tribes of the promise they made to God that they would enter the land with their brothers and fight, as compensation for the land they deemed worthy enough to settle and to farm outside of the promised land.
What a good start for those three tribes, who promised Joshua that they would follow him as they followed Moses...wait. Is that all that good? They did promise to go where ever Joshua sent them, and do whatever he asked of them. But Israel as a whole doesn't have the shiningest record when it comes to following a leader. The good thing is, Joshua didn't appear to face much static as the incoming leader after Moses. After all, he was replacing...Moses. He clearly was chosen by God, but had earned the respect of the people as a leader with his character as Moses' right hand man. Had to have.
Moses is down. The LORD turns to Joshua, the son of Nun, an Ephraimite. We've met Joshua before, and his leadership capabilities were clear. He led the Israelites to victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17. He accompanied Moses up on the mountain to receive the law in Exodus 24. He and Caleb were the only ones of 12 scouts who brought back confident reports about the land of Canaan back in Numbers 14. He was picked to succeed Moses.
I think Joshua was a very different personality than Moses. Moses seemed kind of laid back, while Joshua seems to be more aggressive. There seemed to be none of the fear of leadership that Moses struggled with early on. Could it be that the LORD tells Joshua to "be strong" and "have courage" in some variant four times in the first chapter?
God makes a couple promises here that are very important and are contingent on following God's commands. One is that God "will give you every place where you set your foot." That would encourage me not to be lazy. I would be wandering constantly unless I had to govern something. The second is that God will be with Joshua all the days of his life. "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life." That would be heartening. The best way to keep the commands of God? To meditate on them day and night. To study them on a daily basis. That leads to prosperity and success. Would God just grant prosperity and success because Joshua studied the word? I doubt it. I think studying of the word leads to practical decisions that lead to wisdom, and in turn bring prosperity and success. Let's not discount, however, the idea that God would bless someone supernaturally because of their devotion.
Joshua's first task is to prepare the Israelites for war in three days. One thing he had to do was to remind the three West Bank tribes of the promise they made to God that they would enter the land with their brothers and fight, as compensation for the land they deemed worthy enough to settle and to farm outside of the promised land.
What a good start for those three tribes, who promised Joshua that they would follow him as they followed Moses...wait. Is that all that good? They did promise to go where ever Joshua sent them, and do whatever he asked of them. But Israel as a whole doesn't have the shiningest record when it comes to following a leader. The good thing is, Joshua didn't appear to face much static as the incoming leader after Moses. After all, he was replacing...Moses. He clearly was chosen by God, but had earned the respect of the people as a leader with his character as Moses' right hand man. Had to have.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Dt. 34: Obituary: Moses
Deuteronomy 34:10 "no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,"
So Moses finally climbs Mount Nebo. From His vantage point, Moses could apparently see all the land of the tribes from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea...from Negev to Zoar. God tells him that this is the land that was promised to your forefathers, and will be given to your descendants.
What wonder Moses must have felt. What a great sense of accomplishment and joy must have flooded into him. For I don't believe Moses held this punishment God gave against Him. I believe at this point, Moses, who had just given all these blessings to each tribe, was so happy for Israel, so selflessly hopeful for them to just keep God's commands and to love Him. Moses probably felt that he didn't have to enter the promised land himself. It was enough to look out over the plans and the valley and see where the tribes of his people would be settling in, that Moses could say, "It is finished."
God buried Moses somewhere where we don't know where he is. The interesting thing about this was that Moses was 120 years old at his death, (the post-flood limit) yet the word says his eyes were not weak, nor his strength gone. It was time for Moses to go. Moses had accomplished what God had him set out to do. This same stammering Moses who was so afraid to go into Egypt and stand up to Pharaoh delivers the law to the Israelites, and speaks to God "face to face." An amazing journey. I wonder if that still happens today...you accomplish what God has put you on this earth to do, and then He takes you. Is it too much to want to be compared to Moses in that sense?
Looks like Joshua is ready to take over...filled with the spirit, as Moses had laid hands on him.
So Moses finally climbs Mount Nebo. From His vantage point, Moses could apparently see all the land of the tribes from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea...from Negev to Zoar. God tells him that this is the land that was promised to your forefathers, and will be given to your descendants.
What wonder Moses must have felt. What a great sense of accomplishment and joy must have flooded into him. For I don't believe Moses held this punishment God gave against Him. I believe at this point, Moses, who had just given all these blessings to each tribe, was so happy for Israel, so selflessly hopeful for them to just keep God's commands and to love Him. Moses probably felt that he didn't have to enter the promised land himself. It was enough to look out over the plans and the valley and see where the tribes of his people would be settling in, that Moses could say, "It is finished."
God buried Moses somewhere where we don't know where he is. The interesting thing about this was that Moses was 120 years old at his death, (the post-flood limit) yet the word says his eyes were not weak, nor his strength gone. It was time for Moses to go. Moses had accomplished what God had him set out to do. This same stammering Moses who was so afraid to go into Egypt and stand up to Pharaoh delivers the law to the Israelites, and speaks to God "face to face." An amazing journey. I wonder if that still happens today...you accomplish what God has put you on this earth to do, and then He takes you. Is it too much to want to be compared to Moses in that sense?
Looks like Joshua is ready to take over...filled with the spirit, as Moses had laid hands on him.
Dt. 33: Bless You Boys!
Deuteronomy 33:29 "Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places."
Deuteronomy 33 is a blessing in poetic form of each of the tribes of Israel. Moses' famous last words, it would appear. He's winding down his life, as God has told him already that his death is near, and he would be gathered to his people. Death apparently takes a person to some other place.
Each tribe gets a slightly different blessing. Mostly they have to do with life.
Reuben - to live and not die.
Judah - that God would be his help against his foes
Levi - that God would bless his skills, for all Levi has done to advance God's precepts. To be pleased with the work of his hands (the priesthood), and strike down his foes.
Benjamin - to be shielded, and rest between the LORD's shoulders. I guess that means to carry
Benjamin on His back, literally.
Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) - bless his land with dew from above, and waters from below, from the sun and moon...the best that creation can give, essentially. A prince among his brothers is Joseph.
Zebulun - rejoice in going out
Issachar - rejoice in staying home. Both apparently will be blessed by offering sacrifices on the mountains, be good fisherman, and find treasures in the sand...find good in the extreme adversity?
Gad - An enlarged domain, the best land...for carrying out God's will.
Dan - A lion's cub, springing out of Bashan. Probably referring to the beatdown Israel administered to those kings in that area at the end of Numbers and beginning of Deuteronomy.
Naphtali - abounding with favor...thats an awesome blessing. He will inherit southward to the lake...Galilee?
Asher - will be strong, and rich (bathing his feet in oil).
These are all well and good, but I can't help but wonder if these are contingent on Israel keeping the covenant. All of the above are blessings...I wonder if they are just things Moses wishes for each, or if each will come to fruition? I have read the curses. I have read the blessings. And I have read what God has told Moses will happen to Israel.
Israel has God. The God. The God who is everywhere to help. The God who is a refuge...everlasting, and clearing away the enemy. Israel can choose this safety, this secure spring, where all good things are waiting for them. Will they be able to keep the covenant?
Deuteronomy 33 is a blessing in poetic form of each of the tribes of Israel. Moses' famous last words, it would appear. He's winding down his life, as God has told him already that his death is near, and he would be gathered to his people. Death apparently takes a person to some other place.
Each tribe gets a slightly different blessing. Mostly they have to do with life.
Reuben - to live and not die.
Judah - that God would be his help against his foes
Levi - that God would bless his skills, for all Levi has done to advance God's precepts. To be pleased with the work of his hands (the priesthood), and strike down his foes.
Benjamin - to be shielded, and rest between the LORD's shoulders. I guess that means to carry
Benjamin on His back, literally.
Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) - bless his land with dew from above, and waters from below, from the sun and moon...the best that creation can give, essentially. A prince among his brothers is Joseph.
Zebulun - rejoice in going out
Issachar - rejoice in staying home. Both apparently will be blessed by offering sacrifices on the mountains, be good fisherman, and find treasures in the sand...find good in the extreme adversity?
Gad - An enlarged domain, the best land...for carrying out God's will.
Dan - A lion's cub, springing out of Bashan. Probably referring to the beatdown Israel administered to those kings in that area at the end of Numbers and beginning of Deuteronomy.
Naphtali - abounding with favor...thats an awesome blessing. He will inherit southward to the lake...Galilee?
Asher - will be strong, and rich (bathing his feet in oil).
These are all well and good, but I can't help but wonder if these are contingent on Israel keeping the covenant. All of the above are blessings...I wonder if they are just things Moses wishes for each, or if each will come to fruition? I have read the curses. I have read the blessings. And I have read what God has told Moses will happen to Israel.
Israel has God. The God. The God who is everywhere to help. The God who is a refuge...everlasting, and clearing away the enemy. Israel can choose this safety, this secure spring, where all good things are waiting for them. Will they be able to keep the covenant?
Friday, April 25, 2008
Dt. 32: The Ballad of Moses
Deuteronomy 32:31 "For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede."
Deuteronomy 32 is an epic song. It is God's Stairway to Heaven. It's got it all really...imagery, metaphor...curses, challenges. There's a lot going on.
Moses begins by acknowledging how just God is. Which would be hard for me if I all I did was screw up and hit the rock, while Israel parties like it's 1999 BC. Nevertheless, Moses says that the LORD is "a faithful God who does no wrong." Not "who can do no wrong." Does no wrong. Big difference.
How does Israel repay? Corruption. Foolishness.
Then Moses gives a musical history lesson about how God guided Israel through the desert, shielding them, guarding them, feeding them.
Through Leviticus and Numbers I've read about how the Levites don't inherit land. Instead, their portion is God. Very interesting here in verse 9, where it states "For the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance." It's a ponderous verse to me with a lot of meaning. I thought it would be lame for Levites to watch all these other nations receive land and amass wealth, and their lot is ... a whole lot of responsibility. Their lot is to be a mediator between God and men. I never thought about God having an inheritance. And it is Israel. Who treats Him as a non-entity. Hard to believe that men, God's children are His inheritance. Do you see yourself as an inheritance to God? What kind of inheritance are you? And it makes me wonder...
Verses 15-18 appear to be a description of how Israel, fat on the blessings of God, grow lazy in their faith. Is that possible? Can God bless someone too much? O, that God would bless me too much indeed. Then, presumably, the choice is up to me if I grow in my own self-satisfaction and self-confidence, and turn away, and to "gods that recently appeared" (v. 17).
Then up until around verse 35, its more curses. The calamaties that God will "heap upon them." Too much? Would God withhold the ultimate judgment, blotting their name out from the memory of mankind? Yes. As God says in verse 27, "I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, 'Our hand has triumphed; the LORD has not done all this.'" Basically, their enemies would proclaim themselves the victor over God. God would not be strong enough to preserve His own people. Nothing tries the omnipotent's patience like the free will of his underlings. This would serve to legitimize false gods.
In reading through the song of Moses, you get the idea that you definitely want to be on God's side.
Then God tells Moses to go up a hill and die. Pshhh...read it, he does!
Deuteronomy 32 is an epic song. It is God's Stairway to Heaven. It's got it all really...imagery, metaphor...curses, challenges. There's a lot going on.
Moses begins by acknowledging how just God is. Which would be hard for me if I all I did was screw up and hit the rock, while Israel parties like it's 1999 BC. Nevertheless, Moses says that the LORD is "a faithful God who does no wrong." Not "who can do no wrong." Does no wrong. Big difference.
How does Israel repay? Corruption. Foolishness.
Then Moses gives a musical history lesson about how God guided Israel through the desert, shielding them, guarding them, feeding them.
Through Leviticus and Numbers I've read about how the Levites don't inherit land. Instead, their portion is God. Very interesting here in verse 9, where it states "For the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance." It's a ponderous verse to me with a lot of meaning. I thought it would be lame for Levites to watch all these other nations receive land and amass wealth, and their lot is ... a whole lot of responsibility. Their lot is to be a mediator between God and men. I never thought about God having an inheritance. And it is Israel. Who treats Him as a non-entity. Hard to believe that men, God's children are His inheritance. Do you see yourself as an inheritance to God? What kind of inheritance are you? And it makes me wonder...
Verses 15-18 appear to be a description of how Israel, fat on the blessings of God, grow lazy in their faith. Is that possible? Can God bless someone too much? O, that God would bless me too much indeed. Then, presumably, the choice is up to me if I grow in my own self-satisfaction and self-confidence, and turn away, and to "gods that recently appeared" (v. 17).
Then up until around verse 35, its more curses. The calamaties that God will "heap upon them." Too much? Would God withhold the ultimate judgment, blotting their name out from the memory of mankind? Yes. As God says in verse 27, "I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, 'Our hand has triumphed; the LORD has not done all this.'" Basically, their enemies would proclaim themselves the victor over God. God would not be strong enough to preserve His own people. Nothing tries the omnipotent's patience like the free will of his underlings. This would serve to legitimize false gods.
In reading through the song of Moses, you get the idea that you definitely want to be on God's side.
Then God tells Moses to go up a hill and die. Pshhh...read it, he does!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Dt. 31: I Predict...Uh-Ohs.
Deuteronomy 31:21b "...I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath."
Chapter 31 had to be one of mixed emotions for Moses. On one hand, his death is near. On the other hand, he will rest with his fathers. So...death ushers in rest. On one hand, the people he has been leading for one-third of his 120 years are about to enter the promised land. The big payoff. The fulfillment of everything God has ever promised. On the other hand, Moses got himself banned from the promised land back in Numbers 20. On one hand Moses was telling the Israelites that God would go ahead of them and destroy the current occupants of the Promised land. A few verses later, on the other hand, God reveals how Israel would rebel and great disaster and agony. So...kind of sad.
I think it's interesting that in spite of the untold disobedience and grumbling and commandment-disregarding, all of Israel is still able to enter the promised land, while Moses will not be able to, in spite of his record and rapport with God. Something as seemingly innocuous as striking the rock at Meribah would keep him out of the promised land.
Three times in this chapter is given the command to be strong. Four times to not be discouraged. Is this a harbinger of the adversity to come?
The second half of chapter 31 is God's revelation that Israel will rebel, and it will be a result of their complacency, their self-satisfaction and their outright worship of other gods. God merely says that this will happen. Not that he would step in and stop it. Free will, anyone? God could only offer His end of the covenant. Even before God brought them into the promised land, He knows "what they are disposed to do." I think that is most telling about God. Even though He knows the future...knows what trouble people will get themselves into, He still wants good for them. God still leaves the offering of this great promised land on the table. It's as though... expected...a disposition to sin is not enough for God to break His end of the covenant. God even acknowledges that Israel will place the blame for these disasters on God breaking His promise to them...abandoning them. Even though it is all their fault...their choice...their doing.
Moses reacts with anger to this. Not at God though. He calls Israel a stiff-necked people, and I love how he goes after them fiestily, saying, "I've seen how rotten you can be when I was leading you, how much more evil will you be after I die."
Put yourself in Moses shoes...relief...disappointment...anger...
In the shoes of the tribal leaders...fear?...resolution...resentment?
Joshua...apprehension...fortitude...preparation? But nothing is going to be the way it was meant to be.
God even wrote a song about it...
Chapter 31 had to be one of mixed emotions for Moses. On one hand, his death is near. On the other hand, he will rest with his fathers. So...death ushers in rest. On one hand, the people he has been leading for one-third of his 120 years are about to enter the promised land. The big payoff. The fulfillment of everything God has ever promised. On the other hand, Moses got himself banned from the promised land back in Numbers 20. On one hand Moses was telling the Israelites that God would go ahead of them and destroy the current occupants of the Promised land. A few verses later, on the other hand, God reveals how Israel would rebel and great disaster and agony. So...kind of sad.
I think it's interesting that in spite of the untold disobedience and grumbling and commandment-disregarding, all of Israel is still able to enter the promised land, while Moses will not be able to, in spite of his record and rapport with God. Something as seemingly innocuous as striking the rock at Meribah would keep him out of the promised land.
Three times in this chapter is given the command to be strong. Four times to not be discouraged. Is this a harbinger of the adversity to come?
The second half of chapter 31 is God's revelation that Israel will rebel, and it will be a result of their complacency, their self-satisfaction and their outright worship of other gods. God merely says that this will happen. Not that he would step in and stop it. Free will, anyone? God could only offer His end of the covenant. Even before God brought them into the promised land, He knows "what they are disposed to do." I think that is most telling about God. Even though He knows the future...knows what trouble people will get themselves into, He still wants good for them. God still leaves the offering of this great promised land on the table. It's as though... expected...a disposition to sin is not enough for God to break His end of the covenant. God even acknowledges that Israel will place the blame for these disasters on God breaking His promise to them...abandoning them. Even though it is all their fault...their choice...their doing.
Moses reacts with anger to this. Not at God though. He calls Israel a stiff-necked people, and I love how he goes after them fiestily, saying, "I've seen how rotten you can be when I was leading you, how much more evil will you be after I die."
Put yourself in Moses shoes...relief...disappointment...anger...
In the shoes of the tribal leaders...fear?...resolution...resentment?
Joshua...apprehension...fortitude...preparation? But nothing is going to be the way it was meant to be.
God even wrote a song about it...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dt. 30: It's just a little airborne, it's still good...
Deuteronomy 30:4 "Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back."
Well, after that deluge of curses from the previous chapter, it would be easy to think that life would be hopeless...useless. And it would be. Until the sinner makes a decision to turn back to God. With the pain and horror brought by God as a result of one's falling away, how easy would it be for you to want to turn back to Him? To someone capable of that kind of aggressive punishment? Could/would you trust Him? Bearing in mind that He did give multiple fair warnings against turning away from Him. He gave multitudinous reasons to stick with Him.
Anyway...I love how verse 3 says that "God will restore your fortunes." I don't necessarily believe this has anything to do with monetary wealth. To have the wonder that was before be restored after a great sin is an amazing concept. The way you were before...the way you were intended to be...will be restored. Why would God do that? Does He have to? To keep His covenant, yes. There are many things that are mentioned in the Bible that people can do "so that it may go well with you." God will give back what people have thrown away.
But is simply returning to God the end of it? Hardly. God does so much more on His own here in verses 5 - 10... Just look at this...He will bring you to the promised land. He will make you prosperous. He will circumcise your hearts, so that you can live. He will persecute your enemies. He will make you prosperous. He will delight in you. Your job...obey. That's about it. There is so much responsibility here that God takes upon Himself in order to restore His relationship with his people.
Circumcision of the heart is a little obtuse, but pretty clear...circumcision was an external sign of the covenant. Circumcising the heart was an inward commitment to the covenant.
The end of Chapter 30 breaks down the free will choice people have between life, or death. And it's simple. No one has to ascend into heaven to understand it, or cross a sea to understand it. It is near. It is something easily grasped...within reach. Sure, God commands people to choose life, by why wouldn't you? The free will to choose death is there, but the consequences remain. Just as choosing life will lead to great expectations of blessing.
Well, after that deluge of curses from the previous chapter, it would be easy to think that life would be hopeless...useless. And it would be. Until the sinner makes a decision to turn back to God. With the pain and horror brought by God as a result of one's falling away, how easy would it be for you to want to turn back to Him? To someone capable of that kind of aggressive punishment? Could/would you trust Him? Bearing in mind that He did give multiple fair warnings against turning away from Him. He gave multitudinous reasons to stick with Him.
Anyway...I love how verse 3 says that "God will restore your fortunes." I don't necessarily believe this has anything to do with monetary wealth. To have the wonder that was before be restored after a great sin is an amazing concept. The way you were before...the way you were intended to be...will be restored. Why would God do that? Does He have to? To keep His covenant, yes. There are many things that are mentioned in the Bible that people can do "so that it may go well with you." God will give back what people have thrown away.
But is simply returning to God the end of it? Hardly. God does so much more on His own here in verses 5 - 10... Just look at this...He will bring you to the promised land. He will make you prosperous. He will circumcise your hearts, so that you can live. He will persecute your enemies. He will make you prosperous. He will delight in you. Your job...obey. That's about it. There is so much responsibility here that God takes upon Himself in order to restore His relationship with his people.
Circumcision of the heart is a little obtuse, but pretty clear...circumcision was an external sign of the covenant. Circumcising the heart was an inward commitment to the covenant.
The end of Chapter 30 breaks down the free will choice people have between life, or death. And it's simple. No one has to ascend into heaven to understand it, or cross a sea to understand it. It is near. It is something easily grasped...within reach. Sure, God commands people to choose life, by why wouldn't you? The free will to choose death is there, but the consequences remain. Just as choosing life will lead to great expectations of blessing.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Dt. 29: All Right, Sparky, Here's the Deal...
Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law."
God lays down the terms of His covenant with Israel here in Deuteronomy 29...pretty clearly and succinctly. It was kind of easy to piece it together myself, but I had the advantage of reading and knowing what happened with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph up to this point. The people of Israel had what mom and dad and Moses was telling them. Did anyone write it down? I don't know. Probably a few of them did. That's why this chapter is so important.
In spite of most of Israel seeing what has happened, and personally being witness to what God has done, Moses says "the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear." What does that mean? That Israel could not grasp the meaning of these wonders? That Israel could not extrapolate what the prophecies meant? For the forty years they were in the desert, their clothing and sandals did not wear out. Can you imagine wearing that t-shirt you are wearing right now in 2048? Or still wearing those Chuck Taylors you bought in 1968? I can't. But Israel apparently thought nothing of this miracle.
So, what's the big deal? Why follow this covenant? Very simply to "prosper in everything you do (v.9)." That about sums up the American dream, does it not? Or at least the Earthling dream. If someone was willing to make a deal with me that I could prosper in everything I'd do, I'd say, "Show me where to sign, bub." Especially if all I had to do was pledge my undying devotion to a benevolent deity. This is for every Israelite...verses 14 and 15 say with everyone there, but also "with those who are not here today." Does that mean those who have died already? Or those who are yet to be born?
When you are trying to convince someone that your way is best, I suppose one way is to remind them just how bad off they were in Egypt. Slaves. They were slaves. Whipped and beaten. Other countries treated them like dirt. Serving other gods here is likened to a poison that needs to be rooted out (v.18).
Verses 19-21 place the focus on the person's heart. A person can confess anything with their lips, but God can see what is inward, what is inside the heart. So if a person thinks they can take this oath aloud, while inwardly presuming they can continue in their life's pursuit of sin, God will call "All the curses written in this book" to fall upon him. That's a serious offense...to not have heart and mouth in alignment.
God's anger at an abandoned covenant will be so severe, other nations will take note, and wonder just why it is God was so angry, he turned a land into salt and sulfur, a la Sodom and Gomorrah, and then maybe the not-as-famous, Admah and Zeboiim, which were routed when Abram rescued Lot in Genesis 14.
I find the last verse rather cryptic at this point in my reading. "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." God has things that he keeps a secret...or chooses not to reveal...yet. What are these secret things? As people, we probably think we know all there is to know. Yet, with an eternal God, I could presume that the things we don't know are just as eternal. Ponderous. With the wealth of man's knowledge, and Wikipedia...God has hidden infinite wonders. But the little that God has revealed are enough to satisfy "us and our children forever." Ah, it's a wonder. To be able to be satisfied forever, and still have an eternity of unknowns.
God lays down the terms of His covenant with Israel here in Deuteronomy 29...pretty clearly and succinctly. It was kind of easy to piece it together myself, but I had the advantage of reading and knowing what happened with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph up to this point. The people of Israel had what mom and dad and Moses was telling them. Did anyone write it down? I don't know. Probably a few of them did. That's why this chapter is so important.
In spite of most of Israel seeing what has happened, and personally being witness to what God has done, Moses says "the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear." What does that mean? That Israel could not grasp the meaning of these wonders? That Israel could not extrapolate what the prophecies meant? For the forty years they were in the desert, their clothing and sandals did not wear out. Can you imagine wearing that t-shirt you are wearing right now in 2048? Or still wearing those Chuck Taylors you bought in 1968? I can't. But Israel apparently thought nothing of this miracle.
So, what's the big deal? Why follow this covenant? Very simply to "prosper in everything you do (v.9)." That about sums up the American dream, does it not? Or at least the Earthling dream. If someone was willing to make a deal with me that I could prosper in everything I'd do, I'd say, "Show me where to sign, bub." Especially if all I had to do was pledge my undying devotion to a benevolent deity. This is for every Israelite...verses 14 and 15 say with everyone there, but also "with those who are not here today." Does that mean those who have died already? Or those who are yet to be born?
When you are trying to convince someone that your way is best, I suppose one way is to remind them just how bad off they were in Egypt. Slaves. They were slaves. Whipped and beaten. Other countries treated them like dirt. Serving other gods here is likened to a poison that needs to be rooted out (v.18).
Verses 19-21 place the focus on the person's heart. A person can confess anything with their lips, but God can see what is inward, what is inside the heart. So if a person thinks they can take this oath aloud, while inwardly presuming they can continue in their life's pursuit of sin, God will call "All the curses written in this book" to fall upon him. That's a serious offense...to not have heart and mouth in alignment.
God's anger at an abandoned covenant will be so severe, other nations will take note, and wonder just why it is God was so angry, he turned a land into salt and sulfur, a la Sodom and Gomorrah, and then maybe the not-as-famous, Admah and Zeboiim, which were routed when Abram rescued Lot in Genesis 14.
I find the last verse rather cryptic at this point in my reading. "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." God has things that he keeps a secret...or chooses not to reveal...yet. What are these secret things? As people, we probably think we know all there is to know. Yet, with an eternal God, I could presume that the things we don't know are just as eternal. Ponderous. With the wealth of man's knowledge, and Wikipedia...God has hidden infinite wonders. But the little that God has revealed are enough to satisfy "us and our children forever." Ah, it's a wonder. To be able to be satisfied forever, and still have an eternity of unknowns.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Dt. 28: Do you want a happy God or a vengeful God?
Deuteronomy 28:65-66 "Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life."
God sure is creative. And He is just as creative at destruction as he is with creation. with curses as blessings. So...I was reading through chapter 28, and I thought it was bad enough in Leviticus 26. The horror is brought to a whole new level here.
I can't help but think how serious this warning is. The people simply had to be mindful of God's decrees and commands after this, right? As enticing as sin is, something like eating your own afterbirth during another nation's siege on your land would be horrific enough to make me think twice about worshiping another god made of wood or stone. And as a side note...I found church kinda boring as a kid...as most kids do. And then the idea of worshiping a god I knew was fake would be even more mind numbing...temple prostitutes or not.
Just about every terrible thing that could happen to a people is warned about here for turning away from God. The land wouldn't work. The uterus wouldn't work. Crops wouldn't work. The body's immune system wouldn't work. Justice will not work. Nothing would be as it was intended. The things that brought joy would bring fear and terror.
So why would a loving God even conceive of these tortures? Go ahead, read them. Was there no way out once Israel was in? Israel shouldn't be there to begin with. They have received their warning. They know what to expect for idolatry, immorality, disobedience and ignoring God's covenant. God made a covenant, and will hold Israel to it.
I thought about reacting to every crazy thing that would beset Israel, but I think I would have missed the bigger point. Life in God, walking in His ways will ensure his blessings. Life ignoring God and in disobedience will lead to trouble...eventually.
God sure is creative. And He is just as creative at destruction as he is with creation. with curses as blessings. So...I was reading through chapter 28, and I thought it was bad enough in Leviticus 26. The horror is brought to a whole new level here.
I can't help but think how serious this warning is. The people simply had to be mindful of God's decrees and commands after this, right? As enticing as sin is, something like eating your own afterbirth during another nation's siege on your land would be horrific enough to make me think twice about worshiping another god made of wood or stone. And as a side note...I found church kinda boring as a kid...as most kids do. And then the idea of worshiping a god I knew was fake would be even more mind numbing...temple prostitutes or not.
Just about every terrible thing that could happen to a people is warned about here for turning away from God. The land wouldn't work. The uterus wouldn't work. Crops wouldn't work. The body's immune system wouldn't work. Justice will not work. Nothing would be as it was intended. The things that brought joy would bring fear and terror.
So why would a loving God even conceive of these tortures? Go ahead, read them. Was there no way out once Israel was in? Israel shouldn't be there to begin with. They have received their warning. They know what to expect for idolatry, immorality, disobedience and ignoring God's covenant. God made a covenant, and will hold Israel to it.
I thought about reacting to every crazy thing that would beset Israel, but I think I would have missed the bigger point. Life in God, walking in His ways will ensure his blessings. Life ignoring God and in disobedience will lead to trouble...eventually.
Dt. 27: That Mountain is Ebal, I Tells Ya...Eballllll!
Deuteronomy 27:9 "Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God."
The Israelites may finally be ready to cross into the Promised Land. Moses appears to have wrapped up his speech, his review of the life and times of Israel...he has given out the commands and decrees from God that Israel is to follow in order to uphold their end of the covenant.
The first instruction when Israel crosses Jordan is to set up some field stones, coat them with plaster, and then write down all the laws God gave through Moses. Kind of like, these are the house rules. Anyone who enters the land will know what Israel is all about. Then Israel is to build an altar. In reading through Deuteronomy 27:1-8, I wonder if the altar and the law stones are the same thing. I guess it's two separate rock formations. How can you burn animals on a plaster coated pile of rocks?
Would the blood not run down and blot out the laws? Would the fire not consume the plaster with the law written on it?
Anyway, Moses informs Israel that now they are God's people. Finally. With being God's people, comes great responsibility. They must keep the decrees (v. 10).
Moses has six tribes (Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin) go up to Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and six tribes (Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali) go up to Mount Ebal to pronounce curses. This is more information on these two mountains first mentioned back in Deuteronomy 11.
In Deuteronomy 27, there are 12 curses given. These must be the big time offenses...
Ten Commandments-related:
1. Casting an idol and setting it up in secret
2. Dishonoring Mom and Dad
Meanness-related
3. Moving a neighbor's boundary stone.
4. Leading the blind astray on a road.
5. Withholding justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.
Sexual purity-related
6. Sleeping with his father's wife, for he dishonors his father's bed.
7. Having sexual relations with any animal.
8. Sleeping with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.
9. Sleeping with his mother-in-law.
Murder-incorporated
10. Killing his neighbor secretly.
11. Accepting a bribe to kill an innocent person.
And...basically the capstone:
12. Not upholding the words of this law by carrying them out.
The Israelites may finally be ready to cross into the Promised Land. Moses appears to have wrapped up his speech, his review of the life and times of Israel...he has given out the commands and decrees from God that Israel is to follow in order to uphold their end of the covenant.
The first instruction when Israel crosses Jordan is to set up some field stones, coat them with plaster, and then write down all the laws God gave through Moses. Kind of like, these are the house rules. Anyone who enters the land will know what Israel is all about. Then Israel is to build an altar. In reading through Deuteronomy 27:1-8, I wonder if the altar and the law stones are the same thing. I guess it's two separate rock formations. How can you burn animals on a plaster coated pile of rocks?
Would the blood not run down and blot out the laws? Would the fire not consume the plaster with the law written on it?
Anyway, Moses informs Israel that now they are God's people. Finally. With being God's people, comes great responsibility. They must keep the decrees (v. 10).
Moses has six tribes (Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin) go up to Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and six tribes (Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali) go up to Mount Ebal to pronounce curses. This is more information on these two mountains first mentioned back in Deuteronomy 11.
In Deuteronomy 27, there are 12 curses given. These must be the big time offenses...
Ten Commandments-related:
1. Casting an idol and setting it up in secret
2. Dishonoring Mom and Dad
Meanness-related
3. Moving a neighbor's boundary stone.
4. Leading the blind astray on a road.
5. Withholding justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.
Sexual purity-related
6. Sleeping with his father's wife, for he dishonors his father's bed.
7. Having sexual relations with any animal.
8. Sleeping with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.
9. Sleeping with his mother-in-law.
Murder-incorporated
10. Killing his neighbor secretly.
11. Accepting a bribe to kill an innocent person.
And...basically the capstone:
12. Not upholding the words of this law by carrying them out.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Dt. 26: Firstfruits and Tithes
Deuteronomy 26:18 "And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands."
Here God gives exacting instructions for what he expects the Israelites to do once they enter the promised land. They are to prepare an offering of the firstfruits...whatever they harvest from the land...which will be good if Israel is good because God promised it would be if they would be. The they take it to the priest, and God gives them a line to recite every time they go.
When it comes to tithing, the Israelites had to have their house in order. They were to give their tithe to the Levite, the widow and the orphan. And again they had a recitation to give.
And what a promise to finish out the chapter. Can you imagine being a treasured possession of God? Think about what you hold most dear...that's how God treasures you. You. That's pretty amazing. And all this holiness would lead to a place of high esteem among other nations...that's if they followed Gods decrees and kept his commands.
Here God gives exacting instructions for what he expects the Israelites to do once they enter the promised land. They are to prepare an offering of the firstfruits...whatever they harvest from the land...which will be good if Israel is good because God promised it would be if they would be. The they take it to the priest, and God gives them a line to recite every time they go.
My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me.That's like 6 verses of stuff they had to memorize...a cliff's notes of their entire history. Useful to not forget what God did for them, where they were...who they were, what they went through, and how God delivered them. And then justify their actions with this offering. It would be easy to think that offerings were a solemn time. But I think time and again, the Bible says to make these offerings while rejoicing...it was a celebration of God's goodness. That they were blessed with so much to be able to give so much.
When it comes to tithing, the Israelites had to have their house in order. They were to give their tithe to the Levite, the widow and the orphan. And again they had a recitation to give.
I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything you commanded me. Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.Its a good reminder of why they do what they do, but I'm glad I don't have to say something like this whenever I give offering. Seems these words, while intended to prevent tithing from becoming a mindless ceremony would eventually become a mindless ceremony of their own. And these words had to be true.
And what a promise to finish out the chapter. Can you imagine being a treasured possession of God? Think about what you hold most dear...that's how God treasures you. You. That's pretty amazing. And all this holiness would lead to a place of high esteem among other nations...that's if they followed Gods decrees and kept his commands.
Dt. 25: Justice I Am
Neuteronomy 25: 11-12 "If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."
Deuteronomy's 25th chapter seems to be about justice. The first part is basically saying, if two men have a dispute, take it to court. The judges will acquit the innocent and condemn the guilty. Makes sense. This method of justice survives to this day. The following part doesn't seem to. If the guilty man needs to be beaten, the judge will make him take 40 lashes. One for every night and day it rained on the ark, one for each year the Israelites were in the wilderness. One for every day the scouts were in the promised land. One for each day Moses was on the mountain...you get me. Forty.
But more than forty is degrading. More than forty is outside that perfect, recurring number forty. More than forty is unjust...too much.
Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. OK. Why this random animal rights law in the middle of the human justice laws? I had to consider this a little more than surface level. An ox's job is to drag the millstone over the grain, crushing it. Thats a lot of work. To muzzle it is to keep it's mouth closed, preventing it from eating any of the grain. Why would God want men to allow oxen to eat some of the grain? Its got to be more than just animal rights though.
Verses 5-10 are about family justice, and continuing a family line. I was wondering about why the widow of a dead man could not remarry outside of the family. In fact, that widow was required to marry the brother of the dead man, bear him children, so that the dead man's line could continue. If the brother wasn't into this deal, she could take him to the elders who would try to talk him into it. If that wasn't working, she could take of his sandal (in my head, I see her chasing him down, wrestling him to the ground, taking off his sandal) and spit in his face. What a grave insult it must have been to not carry on your brother's line and reject his grieving widow to warrant God allowing her to spit in his face. I wonder if this was the widow's only shot at at childbearing...the Bible doesn't say...only that his widow must not marry outside the family.
Weird that if two dudes are fighting, the wife of one could not run up and grab the other guys nuts. She was to have her hand cut off because of it. What the heck? She's trying to protect her husband. But this makes me think guys have to settle their dust ups on their own. Is it about the "dishonor" of having a woman come in and "handle"...."things?" Or is it about having two intact balls (so he could keep going to church)? I don't know.
Having differing weights for trade is lame. What kind of terrible person would do that? That blows. It's dishonest and unjust. God detests that because of His being so perfectly just.
Then God orders them to blot the memory of the Amalekites out from under heaven. That's justice, since the Amalekites apparently pestered the Israelites in their wandering. Where have we heard that before?
Deuteronomy's 25th chapter seems to be about justice. The first part is basically saying, if two men have a dispute, take it to court. The judges will acquit the innocent and condemn the guilty. Makes sense. This method of justice survives to this day. The following part doesn't seem to. If the guilty man needs to be beaten, the judge will make him take 40 lashes. One for every night and day it rained on the ark, one for each year the Israelites were in the wilderness. One for every day the scouts were in the promised land. One for each day Moses was on the mountain...you get me. Forty.
But more than forty is degrading. More than forty is outside that perfect, recurring number forty. More than forty is unjust...too much.
Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. OK. Why this random animal rights law in the middle of the human justice laws? I had to consider this a little more than surface level. An ox's job is to drag the millstone over the grain, crushing it. Thats a lot of work. To muzzle it is to keep it's mouth closed, preventing it from eating any of the grain. Why would God want men to allow oxen to eat some of the grain? Its got to be more than just animal rights though.
Verses 5-10 are about family justice, and continuing a family line. I was wondering about why the widow of a dead man could not remarry outside of the family. In fact, that widow was required to marry the brother of the dead man, bear him children, so that the dead man's line could continue. If the brother wasn't into this deal, she could take him to the elders who would try to talk him into it. If that wasn't working, she could take of his sandal (in my head, I see her chasing him down, wrestling him to the ground, taking off his sandal) and spit in his face. What a grave insult it must have been to not carry on your brother's line and reject his grieving widow to warrant God allowing her to spit in his face. I wonder if this was the widow's only shot at at childbearing...the Bible doesn't say...only that his widow must not marry outside the family.
Weird that if two dudes are fighting, the wife of one could not run up and grab the other guys nuts. She was to have her hand cut off because of it. What the heck? She's trying to protect her husband. But this makes me think guys have to settle their dust ups on their own. Is it about the "dishonor" of having a woman come in and "handle"...."things?" Or is it about having two intact balls (so he could keep going to church)? I don't know.
Having differing weights for trade is lame. What kind of terrible person would do that? That blows. It's dishonest and unjust. God detests that because of His being so perfectly just.
Then God orders them to blot the memory of the Amalekites out from under heaven. That's justice, since the Amalekites apparently pestered the Israelites in their wandering. Where have we heard that before?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Dt. 22: Laws and Laws of Laws
Deuteronomy 22:8 "When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof."
Some more laws for Israel to keep track of. Laws. Not suggestions or guidelines. Basically it seems like Israel was being commanded to look out for one another. They were family...brothers. You were to be helpful to your brother.
Help an ox or donkey to its feet if it stumbles, don't you walk on by.
Cross-dressing. Detestable to the LORD God. But why? A man appearing to look like a woman?
Hmm...if you find a nest on the ground, the eggs are yours, but let the bird go...a parapet roof prevents fall off. Why someone else would be on your roof is beyond me...
Two kinds of seed in one field, two species of animal in one yoke, two types of cloth woven into one garment - not allowed. Makes sense, I guess.
I don't get the deal with the tassels on the four corners of the cloak. I assume there is some symbolism there over practicality.
Then we have marriage violations, which just seems like a big embarrassing debacle for all parties. The only physical proof of virginity is blood in the sheets. Bloody sheets are a legal document in times of claiming virginity. The elders of the town had to get involved in the literal dirty laundry of two families, even to life and death.
A man sleeps with a married woman. Stone them both. Purge the evil.
A man sleeps with an engaged virgin in town. Stone them both. He's a rapist, she's promiscuous.
A man sleeps with an engaged virgin out in the countryside. Stone him. He's a rapist. She had no rescuer.
A man sleeps with an unengaged virgin, he has to pay 50 shekels to her dad and marry her and NEVER divorce her. Its nice to have options.
And, it's too bad this had to come up, don't sleep with your father's wife. I said, DON'T.
Some more laws for Israel to keep track of. Laws. Not suggestions or guidelines. Basically it seems like Israel was being commanded to look out for one another. They were family...brothers. You were to be helpful to your brother.
Help an ox or donkey to its feet if it stumbles, don't you walk on by.
Cross-dressing. Detestable to the LORD God. But why? A man appearing to look like a woman?
Hmm...if you find a nest on the ground, the eggs are yours, but let the bird go...a parapet roof prevents fall off. Why someone else would be on your roof is beyond me...
Two kinds of seed in one field, two species of animal in one yoke, two types of cloth woven into one garment - not allowed. Makes sense, I guess.
I don't get the deal with the tassels on the four corners of the cloak. I assume there is some symbolism there over practicality.
Then we have marriage violations, which just seems like a big embarrassing debacle for all parties. The only physical proof of virginity is blood in the sheets. Bloody sheets are a legal document in times of claiming virginity. The elders of the town had to get involved in the literal dirty laundry of two families, even to life and death.
A man sleeps with a married woman. Stone them both. Purge the evil.
A man sleeps with an engaged virgin in town. Stone them both. He's a rapist, she's promiscuous.
A man sleeps with an engaged virgin out in the countryside. Stone him. He's a rapist. She had no rescuer.
A man sleeps with an unengaged virgin, he has to pay 50 shekels to her dad and marry her and NEVER divorce her. Its nice to have options.
And, it's too bad this had to come up, don't sleep with your father's wife. I said, DON'T.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Dt. 24: More Laws to Enjoy!
Deuteronomy 24:5 "If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married."
Lets say a guy ends up not liking his wife. He divorces her, and then the second guy she marries ends up not liking her. It is detestable to God for that first man to remarry her. It is a sin, even. God does not want this sin upon the land.
I love how a man can have no duty forced on him (ie, military service) for one year after he is married. This is so he can bring joy to his wife. That's pretty amazing as to what a husbandly duty is. For one year straight, she must be his lone priority.
Let's see...millstones are a livelihood....kidnapping punishable by death...remember Leviticus 13 for skin diseases....
V. 10-13 are interesting...when you loan something to someone, don't be a jerk and go to his house to get the pledge, let him bring it to you, you greedy jerk. Don't keep what he needs to live overnight like a jerky jerk.
OK...don't take advantage of hired poor...
Fathers are not to be punished for the sins of their children, or vice versa. I wonder what was happening that brought this to mention. I know about the "sins of the fathers" idea, but this is probably a more immediate punishment, like some kid throws a rock at a camel, and the camel owner kills the kid's father...something like that.
The Israelite time of slavery in Egypt is the great source for their empathy for slaves, the poor, the aliens and the oppressed. Good thing they went through that, because they are apparently dealing with that a lot.
Leave some harvest behind in the field for the poor, widow, etc...You know.
Lets say a guy ends up not liking his wife. He divorces her, and then the second guy she marries ends up not liking her. It is detestable to God for that first man to remarry her. It is a sin, even. God does not want this sin upon the land.
I love how a man can have no duty forced on him (ie, military service) for one year after he is married. This is so he can bring joy to his wife. That's pretty amazing as to what a husbandly duty is. For one year straight, she must be his lone priority.
Let's see...millstones are a livelihood....kidnapping punishable by death...remember Leviticus 13 for skin diseases....
V. 10-13 are interesting...when you loan something to someone, don't be a jerk and go to his house to get the pledge, let him bring it to you, you greedy jerk. Don't keep what he needs to live overnight like a jerky jerk.
OK...don't take advantage of hired poor...
Fathers are not to be punished for the sins of their children, or vice versa. I wonder what was happening that brought this to mention. I know about the "sins of the fathers" idea, but this is probably a more immediate punishment, like some kid throws a rock at a camel, and the camel owner kills the kid's father...something like that.
The Israelite time of slavery in Egypt is the great source for their empathy for slaves, the poor, the aliens and the oppressed. Good thing they went through that, because they are apparently dealing with that a lot.
Leave some harvest behind in the field for the poor, widow, etc...You know.
Dt. 23: More Weirdy Laws
Deuteronomy 23:12 "Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself."
Another list of laws... lets see.
The first part of the chapter includes those who will not be admitted to assembly. I don't really find it hard to believe that there were exclusions. Israel was an exclusive nation. God was an exclusive God. Why? Israel was a holy and separate nation. This is why someone who was emasculated by crushing or cutting was not allowed in. I presume that this wasn't just some agricultural accident. I would guess that castration was some sort of ceremonial thing, for a sexually impure faith practice. Forbidden marriages, and anyone who had anything to do with Balak (who hired Balaam to curse Israel) were not allowed in. Edomites, and Egyptians, they were alright, since Edom is Israel's brother nation (Jacob and Esau), and the Israelites were aliens in the Egyptian land.
There seems to be some honor in being an alien in someone's land, and vice versa...someone being an alien in your land. As though they are strangers in an unfamiliar place...needing some sort of hospitality...
Uncleanness through nocturnal emission and defecation was dealt with. The emission more for a purity thing (see Leviticus 15), and the defecation probably for a practical health thing. God did not want to see that sh...stuff laying around the camp, since it was holy ground, presumably.
I had been wondering about paying off loans in a timely fashion after reading through the first half of Deuteronomy...you know, how loans are to be forgiven every 7 years...God will demand vows made to Him in short order, so mean what you say, when you vow to God.
Another list of laws... lets see.
The first part of the chapter includes those who will not be admitted to assembly. I don't really find it hard to believe that there were exclusions. Israel was an exclusive nation. God was an exclusive God. Why? Israel was a holy and separate nation. This is why someone who was emasculated by crushing or cutting was not allowed in. I presume that this wasn't just some agricultural accident. I would guess that castration was some sort of ceremonial thing, for a sexually impure faith practice. Forbidden marriages, and anyone who had anything to do with Balak (who hired Balaam to curse Israel) were not allowed in. Edomites, and Egyptians, they were alright, since Edom is Israel's brother nation (Jacob and Esau), and the Israelites were aliens in the Egyptian land.
There seems to be some honor in being an alien in someone's land, and vice versa...someone being an alien in your land. As though they are strangers in an unfamiliar place...needing some sort of hospitality...
Uncleanness through nocturnal emission and defecation was dealt with. The emission more for a purity thing (see Leviticus 15), and the defecation probably for a practical health thing. God did not want to see that sh...stuff laying around the camp, since it was holy ground, presumably.
I had been wondering about paying off loans in a timely fashion after reading through the first half of Deuteronomy...you know, how loans are to be forgiven every 7 years...God will demand vows made to Him in short order, so mean what you say, when you vow to God.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Dt. 21: Hang 'Em High
Deuteronomy 21:8 "Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man." And the bloodshed will be atoned for."
What do you do when you find a body of a slain man lying in a field? In Israel's day they went to the town nearest the body (they measured it) and broke a heifer's neck to atone for the shedding of blood. Assuming God knew who killed who at all times, I wonder how He dealt with the person? Was this neck-breaking of this heifer enough for atonement? The way I read it, it serves to absolve a certain city of the crime, not the murderer himself...or herself. I guess chicks could murder dudes.
What happens to the women taken in plunder? I thought orgies, but I was wrong. Verses 10-14 explain that marriage is the deal. Sexual slavery was not recommended. The wife had to go through a purification process, and was actually given a month to mourn mom and dad, but eventually, she was a total wife.
So...you marry a chick, have a son, stop loving the chick, and marry another chick. Chick two bares you a son. Who gets the inheritance? This practice wasn't condoned, but kids had to deal with their parents' screw ups. The first son, the symbol of strength, gets the inheritance.
Parents can stone a rebellious son! They can punish and punish, but if he's that naughty, he can be stoned at the city gate, upon approval of the elders. This was a deterrent to strike fear into the hearts of rebellious sons everywhere. I'd sit up and take notice if this happened to a drin...to a buddy of mine.
If a man does something dastardly enough to warrant a hanging from a tree, he is not to be left there overnight. God's curse is on him. Is this law to protect the tree? Again we see trees/creation subject to man's actions. A tree is a life giving thing. I think this is a lot like the law to not boil a lamb in its mother's milk.
What do you do when you find a body of a slain man lying in a field? In Israel's day they went to the town nearest the body (they measured it) and broke a heifer's neck to atone for the shedding of blood. Assuming God knew who killed who at all times, I wonder how He dealt with the person? Was this neck-breaking of this heifer enough for atonement? The way I read it, it serves to absolve a certain city of the crime, not the murderer himself...or herself. I guess chicks could murder dudes.
What happens to the women taken in plunder? I thought orgies, but I was wrong. Verses 10-14 explain that marriage is the deal. Sexual slavery was not recommended. The wife had to go through a purification process, and was actually given a month to mourn mom and dad, but eventually, she was a total wife.
So...you marry a chick, have a son, stop loving the chick, and marry another chick. Chick two bares you a son. Who gets the inheritance? This practice wasn't condoned, but kids had to deal with their parents' screw ups. The first son, the symbol of strength, gets the inheritance.
Parents can stone a rebellious son! They can punish and punish, but if he's that naughty, he can be stoned at the city gate, upon approval of the elders. This was a deterrent to strike fear into the hearts of rebellious sons everywhere. I'd sit up and take notice if this happened to a drin...to a buddy of mine.
If a man does something dastardly enough to warrant a hanging from a tree, he is not to be left there overnight. God's curse is on him. Is this law to protect the tree? Again we see trees/creation subject to man's actions. A tree is a life giving thing. I think this is a lot like the law to not boil a lamb in its mother's milk.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Dt. 20: This Means War!
Deuteronomy 20:1 "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you."
An army greater than yours. Israel has already been said to be the smallest of nations (Dt. 7:7), so every army out there was going to be greater than theirs. And yet it was going to be Israel God would use to wipe out nations greater then theirs. Even with that promise of God going with them, it was still going to be war. God didn't promise Israel that they wouldn't lose men, so there were going to be casualties. In fact, the time they went to war and came back with no casualties was rare enough to merit mention. Doesn't seem like it was commonplace to go to war and come back at 100%.
War is scary, panicky, and makes you want to pee your pants. People will die. In fact, God gave these four ways out of service. One, if a person had built a new house and hadn't dedicated it, the second, if they had a new vineyard and hadn't yet enjoyed it. Three, if they were pledged to a woman and hadn't yet married her. Four, if a person was afraid or fainthearted, they were allowed to leave so they wouldn't spread disheartening among their comrades. A new house, a new vineyard, a new bride, and fear. The recipe for not having to fight in war.
There were two different ways Israel was to take cities based on God's will for them. The first way was if they were just going to attack a city. They had to first make an offer of peace, and enslave the inhabitants of the city if they accepted it. If the city refused, Israel had to swordify all the men, and then plunder the women and children and property.
The cities given by God as an inheritance however, were a completely different story. Israel did not have to make any offer of peace. They were to completely overrun these cities. The usual suspects are mentioned here: The Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites were always mentioned at the forefront of who Israel should crush. Everyone had to be slain, old ladies, little kids...you name it. This was to protect Israel from caving into Idolatry. If Israel were stronger in their own faith in their God, perhaps they wouldn't have had to wipe out entire nations. Seems severe, but at the same time, it was God's world, for His chosen people.
Interesting that God told the Israelites not to wipe out the fruit trees, as they could eat the fruit. In fact, Deuteronomy 20:19 ends with this: "Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?" These fruit trees were held to a higher regard than the people who planted them to begin with. That's amazing. It's a continuation of what I'm discovering about the planet's connection to man, and being special to God.
An army greater than yours. Israel has already been said to be the smallest of nations (Dt. 7:7), so every army out there was going to be greater than theirs. And yet it was going to be Israel God would use to wipe out nations greater then theirs. Even with that promise of God going with them, it was still going to be war. God didn't promise Israel that they wouldn't lose men, so there were going to be casualties. In fact, the time they went to war and came back with no casualties was rare enough to merit mention. Doesn't seem like it was commonplace to go to war and come back at 100%.
War is scary, panicky, and makes you want to pee your pants. People will die. In fact, God gave these four ways out of service. One, if a person had built a new house and hadn't dedicated it, the second, if they had a new vineyard and hadn't yet enjoyed it. Three, if they were pledged to a woman and hadn't yet married her. Four, if a person was afraid or fainthearted, they were allowed to leave so they wouldn't spread disheartening among their comrades. A new house, a new vineyard, a new bride, and fear. The recipe for not having to fight in war.
There were two different ways Israel was to take cities based on God's will for them. The first way was if they were just going to attack a city. They had to first make an offer of peace, and enslave the inhabitants of the city if they accepted it. If the city refused, Israel had to swordify all the men, and then plunder the women and children and property.
The cities given by God as an inheritance however, were a completely different story. Israel did not have to make any offer of peace. They were to completely overrun these cities. The usual suspects are mentioned here: The Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites were always mentioned at the forefront of who Israel should crush. Everyone had to be slain, old ladies, little kids...you name it. This was to protect Israel from caving into Idolatry. If Israel were stronger in their own faith in their God, perhaps they wouldn't have had to wipe out entire nations. Seems severe, but at the same time, it was God's world, for His chosen people.
Interesting that God told the Israelites not to wipe out the fruit trees, as they could eat the fruit. In fact, Deuteronomy 20:19 ends with this: "Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them?" These fruit trees were held to a higher regard than the people who planted them to begin with. That's amazing. It's a continuation of what I'm discovering about the planet's connection to man, and being special to God.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Dt. 19: Justice: Promised Land-Style
Deuteronomy 19:8-9 "If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he promised on oath to your forefathers, and gives you the whole land he promised them, because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the LORD your God and to walk always in his ways—then you are to set aside three more cities."
I love this contingent promise...."If the LORD your God enlarges your territory...then you are to set aside three more cities." Of course this refers to cities of refuge. God will enlarge the territory of the Israelites, if they follow His commands. Without question, this would take place, as God promised He would do.
The greater the territory, it would seem that the potential for killing taking place would increase. This facilitated the need for more cities of refuge, to protect those who accidentally kill someone. They were to be centrally located. Why this emphasis on protecting killers? Murder is a different thing, of course. It just seems odd that this particular..."offense...?" would receive so much press and forethought.
The guilt of murder and false testimony must be purged from Israel with great prejudice, and without pity. Justice must be done.
I love this contingent promise...."If the LORD your God enlarges your territory...then you are to set aside three more cities." Of course this refers to cities of refuge. God will enlarge the territory of the Israelites, if they follow His commands. Without question, this would take place, as God promised He would do.
The greater the territory, it would seem that the potential for killing taking place would increase. This facilitated the need for more cities of refuge, to protect those who accidentally kill someone. They were to be centrally located. Why this emphasis on protecting killers? Murder is a different thing, of course. It just seems odd that this particular..."offense...?" would receive so much press and forethought.
The guilt of murder and false testimony must be purged from Israel with great prejudice, and without pity. Justice must be done.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Dt. 18: The Occult and the Bizarre
Deuteronomy 18:22 "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."
What does it mean that "the LORD is their inheritance?" The Levites, 1/12th of the tribes of Israel have no inheritance as the other tribes. The others get the land and the material things. The Levites live on the offerings and charity of the rest of them. They only ate because of the sin of the people. If there was no need for sacrifice, priests would go hungry. It would follow then that their office would probably be eliminated. But sacrifice was necessary. The priests were the buffer zone between God and man. The priests were consecrated among the consecrated. The priests were also the recipients of tithed material goods. So...tithing was an essential part of man's relationship Godward. This tithe ensured that priests could live, and their mediation could continue. They were clean, and the Israelites were not.
I must confess my own fascination with the occult. Not that I would believe in it, or give any sort of weight to any sort of divination or futurism, but I wonder what it is that makes it physically go. What causes the need to know what happens in the future? Where is this curiosity rooted? God has been revealed to be able to see what happens in the future before it happens, and this isn't just power to make things happen. That ability is amazing, and beyond any of us.
The passage beginning in verse 9 is rather eye opening. There is a command that "no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead." This reveals numerous things. Child sacrifice by fire was taking place...presumably to Molech. We find out that consulting the dead was at least believed to be a reality. The Bible at this point has not revealed much about the dead, other than that they will be gathered together, and are someplace else. What does this mean? Consulting the dead. Why consult the dead? Does this desire for "knowledge" begin with the forbidden tree in the Garden? A desire to become like God?
These practices are all condemned as destestable. They are not permissible. Does this mean that other nations have permission? They are assuredly not held to any standard.
As for future events, God said that he will raise up a prophet from among their brothers who has the word of God in his mouth, and will speak in God's name. This prophet will be so esteemed, that those who do not heed his words will be called to account personally by God Himself. Prophets speaking in the name of other Gods had to be put to death. Joshua is Moses successor, so that's a possibility. Apparently other prophets will rise up and speak presumptuously, make claims to be speaking on behalf of God, whether sincere or not. But there is no cause for alarm.
What does it mean that "the LORD is their inheritance?" The Levites, 1/12th of the tribes of Israel have no inheritance as the other tribes. The others get the land and the material things. The Levites live on the offerings and charity of the rest of them. They only ate because of the sin of the people. If there was no need for sacrifice, priests would go hungry. It would follow then that their office would probably be eliminated. But sacrifice was necessary. The priests were the buffer zone between God and man. The priests were consecrated among the consecrated. The priests were also the recipients of tithed material goods. So...tithing was an essential part of man's relationship Godward. This tithe ensured that priests could live, and their mediation could continue. They were clean, and the Israelites were not.
I must confess my own fascination with the occult. Not that I would believe in it, or give any sort of weight to any sort of divination or futurism, but I wonder what it is that makes it physically go. What causes the need to know what happens in the future? Where is this curiosity rooted? God has been revealed to be able to see what happens in the future before it happens, and this isn't just power to make things happen. That ability is amazing, and beyond any of us.
The passage beginning in verse 9 is rather eye opening. There is a command that "no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead." This reveals numerous things. Child sacrifice by fire was taking place...presumably to Molech. We find out that consulting the dead was at least believed to be a reality. The Bible at this point has not revealed much about the dead, other than that they will be gathered together, and are someplace else. What does this mean? Consulting the dead. Why consult the dead? Does this desire for "knowledge" begin with the forbidden tree in the Garden? A desire to become like God?
These practices are all condemned as destestable. They are not permissible. Does this mean that other nations have permission? They are assuredly not held to any standard.
As for future events, God said that he will raise up a prophet from among their brothers who has the word of God in his mouth, and will speak in God's name. This prophet will be so esteemed, that those who do not heed his words will be called to account personally by God Himself. Prophets speaking in the name of other Gods had to be put to death. Joshua is Moses successor, so that's a possibility. Apparently other prophets will rise up and speak presumptuously, make claims to be speaking on behalf of God, whether sincere or not. But there is no cause for alarm.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Dt. 17: Ruling
Deuteronomy 17:6 "On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness."
More warnings against other religions. God did not want to see things like Asherah Poles or sacred stones erected in Israel. Probably even if these stones were in honor of Him. Also, there is a reiteration that a sacrifice for sin had to be perfect...without defect or deformity. Only perfection could remove imperfection.
So terrible an offense to God is leading others astray that people who do so must be put to death by stoning. Can you imagine? Who ever witnessed this blasphemy was the person who was to cast the first stone. I guess that's a good rule. This probably sought to reduce the number of people who would just go around accusing people of blasphemy so they could be stoned. What a horrific way to kill. You just throw rocks at someone until they die? Horrifying.
The judges were given charge over difficult cases, and my guess is that they were Levites, so God presumably spoke through them, and issued judgment through them. It was because of this divine word that the Israelites were commanded to do exactly as the judges say, without deviating to the right or to left. Straight up. Anyone going against the judges was to be put to death.
Verse 14 is the first mention I can recall of the possibility of Israel having a king over them. But it doesn't seem as though God is encouraging Israel to appoint a king, or to ask for one. Moses just went through a whole ceremony that set Joshua up to replace him as...leader...I guess. A king had several requirements:
1. Appointed by God
2. Must be an Israelite
3. Must not acquire wealth, or return to Egypt to get more horses
4. Most not take many wives, else he be led astray
5. Had to study and learn Gods laws and decrees
Kings were in the habit of compromise and making deals, and we have already seen what happens when Israel gets together with other nations. Idolatry and immorality. That seems to be the underlying reason why God did not want a king over Israel, and set these safeguards in place to ensure that a future king did not screw with Israel. If a king followed God's laws, as verse 20 says, then he and his descendants will reign a long time.
More warnings against other religions. God did not want to see things like Asherah Poles or sacred stones erected in Israel. Probably even if these stones were in honor of Him. Also, there is a reiteration that a sacrifice for sin had to be perfect...without defect or deformity. Only perfection could remove imperfection.
So terrible an offense to God is leading others astray that people who do so must be put to death by stoning. Can you imagine? Who ever witnessed this blasphemy was the person who was to cast the first stone. I guess that's a good rule. This probably sought to reduce the number of people who would just go around accusing people of blasphemy so they could be stoned. What a horrific way to kill. You just throw rocks at someone until they die? Horrifying.
The judges were given charge over difficult cases, and my guess is that they were Levites, so God presumably spoke through them, and issued judgment through them. It was because of this divine word that the Israelites were commanded to do exactly as the judges say, without deviating to the right or to left. Straight up. Anyone going against the judges was to be put to death.
Verse 14 is the first mention I can recall of the possibility of Israel having a king over them. But it doesn't seem as though God is encouraging Israel to appoint a king, or to ask for one. Moses just went through a whole ceremony that set Joshua up to replace him as...leader...I guess. A king had several requirements:
1. Appointed by God
2. Must be an Israelite
3. Must not acquire wealth, or return to Egypt to get more horses
4. Most not take many wives, else he be led astray
5. Had to study and learn Gods laws and decrees
Kings were in the habit of compromise and making deals, and we have already seen what happens when Israel gets together with other nations. Idolatry and immorality. That seems to be the underlying reason why God did not want a king over Israel, and set these safeguards in place to ensure that a future king did not screw with Israel. If a king followed God's laws, as verse 20 says, then he and his descendants will reign a long time.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Dt. 16: Remember Passover?
Deuteronomy 16:3 "Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt."
Well, Passover. And yeast. The Israelites did not have time to put yeast in their bread. They did not have time to waste waiting for their bread to rise as they were about to escape bondage. Deuteronomy calls unleavened bread the "bread of affliction." What is that supposed to mean? You are afflicted with disease, with illness...with inconvenience?
God really hammers this "remember when you were slaves in Egypt" business. I wonder why that is. At some point, I'd want to start being able to look forward completely, and forget that unpleasantness. Would forgetting the slavery unpleasantness mean also forgetting the rescue and redemption God carried out?
Anyway, once again, yeast is not even to be found in the land for seven days.
In verse eight, it says to eat the unleavened bread for six days, while in verse 3 it says seven. Possibly because "seven days" is another word for "a week." A seventh day Sabbath is included in a week.
Here's a little more about the feast of weeks. It actually has something to do with the harvest. Seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest, the people make a freewill offering in proportion to what the LORD has blessed them with in these seven weeks.
Well, Passover. And yeast. The Israelites did not have time to put yeast in their bread. They did not have time to waste waiting for their bread to rise as they were about to escape bondage. Deuteronomy calls unleavened bread the "bread of affliction." What is that supposed to mean? You are afflicted with disease, with illness...with inconvenience?
God really hammers this "remember when you were slaves in Egypt" business. I wonder why that is. At some point, I'd want to start being able to look forward completely, and forget that unpleasantness. Would forgetting the slavery unpleasantness mean also forgetting the rescue and redemption God carried out?
Anyway, once again, yeast is not even to be found in the land for seven days.
In verse eight, it says to eat the unleavened bread for six days, while in verse 3 it says seven. Possibly because "seven days" is another word for "a week." A seventh day Sabbath is included in a week.
Here's a little more about the feast of weeks. It actually has something to do with the harvest. Seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest, the people make a freewill offering in proportion to what the LORD has blessed them with in these seven weeks.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Dt. 15: Generously
Deuteronomy 15:4-5 "However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today."
So God gives these commands. Says He will richly bless you. Richly. Not enough just to scrape by. Richly bless you. Why would God richly bless people? Apparently so that they are able to give "openhandedly" to the poor among them. One reason God bestows wealth is to give it away. "There should be no poor among you," (v. 4), yet "There will always be poor people in the land" (v. 11). God's intent differs from reality. Is that God's fault? Is poverty a result of God preventing someone from living the high life? Or is poverty a result of not being careful to follow His commands? Maybe. Is poverty an indication of someone not being careful to follow His commands? Probably not, but possible.
With the seven-year rule for canceling debts, there were certain to be loopholes found..."I won't pay on my loan, because next year it will be canceled anyway," and "I'm not lending out any money, because next year it will be canceled anyway." God makes lending a heart issue. He proclaims it sin to withhold money-lending based on His seven-year debt cancelation plan.
Also in seven years, slaves are to be set free. Not just set free, loaded down with gifts as they leave. Makes me think the slavery system a million years ago was a bit different than it was 250 years ago.
Weird that driving an awl through a slaves earlobe into the door post was the ceremony that allowed a slave to stay with a master beyond the seven years. Bloody ears are listed throughout Exodus and Leviticus as part of consecrating priests (to serve) and cleansing someone. Whether there is a connection there is up for debate, but that's the only connection I can think of.
I had been wondering about what it actually meant to consecrate the first born male of the herds and flocks. I get a little more of the picture here at the end of chapter 15. Basically the sacrifice is to not put the eldest male to work...having to wait for a second one before you could plow more economically. Same with sheep. Can't produce more clothes or wool until number two comes around. It forces you to wait.
So God gives these commands. Says He will richly bless you. Richly. Not enough just to scrape by. Richly bless you. Why would God richly bless people? Apparently so that they are able to give "openhandedly" to the poor among them. One reason God bestows wealth is to give it away. "There should be no poor among you," (v. 4), yet "There will always be poor people in the land" (v. 11). God's intent differs from reality. Is that God's fault? Is poverty a result of God preventing someone from living the high life? Or is poverty a result of not being careful to follow His commands? Maybe. Is poverty an indication of someone not being careful to follow His commands? Probably not, but possible.
With the seven-year rule for canceling debts, there were certain to be loopholes found..."I won't pay on my loan, because next year it will be canceled anyway," and "I'm not lending out any money, because next year it will be canceled anyway." God makes lending a heart issue. He proclaims it sin to withhold money-lending based on His seven-year debt cancelation plan.
Also in seven years, slaves are to be set free. Not just set free, loaded down with gifts as they leave. Makes me think the slavery system a million years ago was a bit different than it was 250 years ago.
Weird that driving an awl through a slaves earlobe into the door post was the ceremony that allowed a slave to stay with a master beyond the seven years. Bloody ears are listed throughout Exodus and Leviticus as part of consecrating priests (to serve) and cleansing someone. Whether there is a connection there is up for debate, but that's the only connection I can think of.
I had been wondering about what it actually meant to consecrate the first born male of the herds and flocks. I get a little more of the picture here at the end of chapter 15. Basically the sacrifice is to not put the eldest male to work...having to wait for a second one before you could plow more economically. Same with sheep. Can't produce more clothes or wool until number two comes around. It forces you to wait.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Dt. 14: Food and Tithes
Deuteronomy 14:2 "...for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession."
There must have been some cultural thing that the Israelites were witness to that involved cutting the hair for the dead. Leviticus has rules against cutting for the dead. Is this a command to forget the dead, or to pay them no special remembrance? Is it more of that idea of separation of Israel from the world. Other cultures were apparently, at any rate, creeping into the Israelite way of life. Pervasive this must have been, as it warranted a specific command not to do it. Maybe it was a fashion thing. It would look goofy to shave the front of your head, anyway. And if anyone knows fashion, it's Moses.
The rest of the first half of Deuteronomy 14 is almost a word-for-word reminder of Leviticus 11. Here's what I thought the first time around. You can feed already dead carcass to an alien living among you, but you can't eat it yourself. Why? Israel was separate and holy...aliens were not.
The second half is about tithing, covered previously in Leviticus 27, and discussed here. What an interesting way of offering advice to people who would have to travel a long distance in order to offer their tithes. Some people lived way out in the middle of nowhere, and God's tabernacle was quite a distance. The advice then is to sell the tithe for silver, and redeem the silver to buy what was sold to begin with, and then offer that as a tithe. This makes me wonder about the economics of that, and the business systems that sprang up as a result of this advice. I'd want to sell people stuff and jack up the price. After all, they came with no tithe, and only silver. Perfect for a shark like myself. If I were an Israelite. If I hated God. If I lived a million years ago. Of course I'm kidding, but that was my first reaction. How did they maintain 100% value?
Every three years, the tithes went to the Levites and charity...the aliens, fatherless and widows. Everyone was to come, eat, and be satisfied. God offers a blessing in the work of their hands when there is tithing, and helping out the po' folk.
There must have been some cultural thing that the Israelites were witness to that involved cutting the hair for the dead. Leviticus has rules against cutting for the dead. Is this a command to forget the dead, or to pay them no special remembrance? Is it more of that idea of separation of Israel from the world. Other cultures were apparently, at any rate, creeping into the Israelite way of life. Pervasive this must have been, as it warranted a specific command not to do it. Maybe it was a fashion thing. It would look goofy to shave the front of your head, anyway. And if anyone knows fashion, it's Moses.
The rest of the first half of Deuteronomy 14 is almost a word-for-word reminder of Leviticus 11. Here's what I thought the first time around. You can feed already dead carcass to an alien living among you, but you can't eat it yourself. Why? Israel was separate and holy...aliens were not.
The second half is about tithing, covered previously in Leviticus 27, and discussed here. What an interesting way of offering advice to people who would have to travel a long distance in order to offer their tithes. Some people lived way out in the middle of nowhere, and God's tabernacle was quite a distance. The advice then is to sell the tithe for silver, and redeem the silver to buy what was sold to begin with, and then offer that as a tithe. This makes me wonder about the economics of that, and the business systems that sprang up as a result of this advice. I'd want to sell people stuff and jack up the price. After all, they came with no tithe, and only silver. Perfect for a shark like myself. If I were an Israelite. If I hated God. If I lived a million years ago. Of course I'm kidding, but that was my first reaction. How did they maintain 100% value?
Every three years, the tithes went to the Levites and charity...the aliens, fatherless and widows. Everyone was to come, eat, and be satisfied. God offers a blessing in the work of their hands when there is tithing, and helping out the po' folk.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Dt. 13: Other Gods
Deuteronomy 13:17 "None of those condemned things shall be found in your hands, so that the LORD will turn from his fierce anger; he will show you mercy, have compassion on you, and increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your forefathers..."
If you had any doubt about the real power in the paranormal, toss it out the window. In verse 2 of Deuteronomy chapter 13, God reveals that what is dreamed or foretold by prophets can take place. How this power is acquired by those outside of God's covenant is yet a mystery at this point in my reading, though the only opposer with any real power appears to be the serpent this far. Perhaps these prophets belong to God, perhaps not. But if the prophet attempts to convince the nation of Israel to follow after strange and unknown gods, that is where God draws the line. Apparently, the issue is less about others having supernatural power, and more about God being the sole recipient of love and worship.
Further on, it is implied that the coming to pass of these prophecies is a result of God testing the nation of Israel to see if they truly love him with all their hearts and souls. Again, it is less about power, and more about love. Israel is being warned here not to be swayed by signs and prophecies that could deflect any glory from God Himself. Why is that? In fact, the dreamer or prophet must be stoned.
So...if Israel is given a choice, and they follow another (false) god, would this god have Israel's best interests (at a minimum) in mind? Would this other god be able to offer the love and provisions that God does?
So seriously does God take false prophecies, that he would have the immediate family kill the false prophet themselves, for trying to divert Israel to another religion. As if the person were mildew in a garment or a leper in the camp, they had to be stopped, cut out, in order to preserve the rest of the community.
A similar command is given regarding the cities God was giving to the Israelites in the promised land. If a rebellion arose, and was investigated and found to be accurate, the city's entire population had to be put to the sword. The plunder had to be burned in the town square, and the city itself destroyed never to be rebuilt.
In the ruins of sin, God builds compassion.
If you had any doubt about the real power in the paranormal, toss it out the window. In verse 2 of Deuteronomy chapter 13, God reveals that what is dreamed or foretold by prophets can take place. How this power is acquired by those outside of God's covenant is yet a mystery at this point in my reading, though the only opposer with any real power appears to be the serpent this far. Perhaps these prophets belong to God, perhaps not. But if the prophet attempts to convince the nation of Israel to follow after strange and unknown gods, that is where God draws the line. Apparently, the issue is less about others having supernatural power, and more about God being the sole recipient of love and worship.
Further on, it is implied that the coming to pass of these prophecies is a result of God testing the nation of Israel to see if they truly love him with all their hearts and souls. Again, it is less about power, and more about love. Israel is being warned here not to be swayed by signs and prophecies that could deflect any glory from God Himself. Why is that? In fact, the dreamer or prophet must be stoned.
So...if Israel is given a choice, and they follow another (false) god, would this god have Israel's best interests (at a minimum) in mind? Would this other god be able to offer the love and provisions that God does?
So seriously does God take false prophecies, that he would have the immediate family kill the false prophet themselves, for trying to divert Israel to another religion. As if the person were mildew in a garment or a leper in the camp, they had to be stopped, cut out, in order to preserve the rest of the community.
A similar command is given regarding the cities God was giving to the Israelites in the promised land. If a rebellion arose, and was investigated and found to be accurate, the city's entire population had to be put to the sword. The plunder had to be burned in the town square, and the city itself destroyed never to be rebuilt.
In the ruins of sin, God builds compassion.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Dt. 12: House Rules; Meat
Deuteronomy 12:2 "Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods."
Deuteronomy 12 recounts God's commands to destroy idols, and completely demolish any previous religious systems, idols and temples, with extreme prejudice. There is absolutely no room for any other faiths. Consistent with God's commandments not to have any other gods before Him. Not only was Israel not to have other gods, other nations were not to have other gods. Israel was not to have these other nation's gods. It's all pretty explicit here, and the command to destroy other forms of worship cements God's singularity as the subject of worship.
There is also a review of the sacrificial system, and the rules therein, unless someone forgot. They were not to just slaughter and sacrifice and tithe wherever they pleased. There was a specific, exacting commanded location where this was to take place. It was orderly. There was God's command to follow His commands, and then there was the practical sense that the Israelites didn't have burned corpses aflame all over the place. There was a certain dwelling place of God, and there were the Israelites required to come to Him.
I had some confusion when I read Numbers 31, after the massacre of the Midianites as to what exactly God thought about human sacrifice. That question is answered pretty clearly here in Deuteronomy 12:31. In cautioning the Israelites not to bother to learn about other nation's religious practices, which included human sacrifice, God reveals that human sacrifice is detestable to Him. It is part of a religious system God would reach out and destroy using the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 12 recounts God's commands to destroy idols, and completely demolish any previous religious systems, idols and temples, with extreme prejudice. There is absolutely no room for any other faiths. Consistent with God's commandments not to have any other gods before Him. Not only was Israel not to have other gods, other nations were not to have other gods. Israel was not to have these other nation's gods. It's all pretty explicit here, and the command to destroy other forms of worship cements God's singularity as the subject of worship.
There is also a review of the sacrificial system, and the rules therein, unless someone forgot. They were not to just slaughter and sacrifice and tithe wherever they pleased. There was a specific, exacting commanded location where this was to take place. It was orderly. There was God's command to follow His commands, and then there was the practical sense that the Israelites didn't have burned corpses aflame all over the place. There was a certain dwelling place of God, and there were the Israelites required to come to Him.
I had some confusion when I read Numbers 31, after the massacre of the Midianites as to what exactly God thought about human sacrifice. That question is answered pretty clearly here in Deuteronomy 12:31. In cautioning the Israelites not to bother to learn about other nation's religious practices, which included human sacrifice, God reveals that human sacrifice is detestable to Him. It is part of a religious system God would reach out and destroy using the Israelites.
Dt. 11: The Rainmaker
Deuteronomy 11:11 "But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven."
Again, its more review here. But there are some interesting new observations. Outside of the typical "obey my commands or else," type of things, there's actually a lot going on in chapter 11.
There is a reminder that it was this group of people on the threshold of the promised land that it was they who saw all these miracles that God did for them. They witnessed it personally, it wasn't passed down to them. What's the point though? They have also seen what happened when they screwed up. God's punishment and blessings are visual. Very sensational. Obvious, one might say. They weren't relying on secondhand knowledge for what happened. They couldn't sit there and say, "Whatever, that's what you say."
I also love the contrast drawn between Egypt and the Promised Land. Egypt was a land of toil, of labor...of effort. It was the Israelites themselves that were responsible for watering the land, and creating bricks out of the mud. In the Promised Land, that will be a land of relative rest. God will send the rain in season, and Israelites and cattle will be satisfied by what comes from the land. Another chapter in showing the health and vitality of the land is almost entirely contingent on the behavior of the Israelites, although it is God who watches over it. But what is the connection? Why is that so?
Also, upon possession of the Promised Land, two mountains come to prominence. The first, Gerizim, will be the one upon which the blessings of God are proclaimed. The second, Ebal, will be the base for which God's curses will be complained. Gerizim will be the symbol for obedience, while Ebal will represent disobedience. But why? These high places will be prominent. Everyone will be aware of the blessings and the curses, apparently. I wonder what has become of these mountains today, if the curses and blessings stand.
Again, its more review here. But there are some interesting new observations. Outside of the typical "obey my commands or else," type of things, there's actually a lot going on in chapter 11.
There is a reminder that it was this group of people on the threshold of the promised land that it was they who saw all these miracles that God did for them. They witnessed it personally, it wasn't passed down to them. What's the point though? They have also seen what happened when they screwed up. God's punishment and blessings are visual. Very sensational. Obvious, one might say. They weren't relying on secondhand knowledge for what happened. They couldn't sit there and say, "Whatever, that's what you say."
I also love the contrast drawn between Egypt and the Promised Land. Egypt was a land of toil, of labor...of effort. It was the Israelites themselves that were responsible for watering the land, and creating bricks out of the mud. In the Promised Land, that will be a land of relative rest. God will send the rain in season, and Israelites and cattle will be satisfied by what comes from the land. Another chapter in showing the health and vitality of the land is almost entirely contingent on the behavior of the Israelites, although it is God who watches over it. But what is the connection? Why is that so?
Also, upon possession of the Promised Land, two mountains come to prominence. The first, Gerizim, will be the one upon which the blessings of God are proclaimed. The second, Ebal, will be the base for which God's curses will be complained. Gerizim will be the symbol for obedience, while Ebal will represent disobedience. But why? These high places will be prominent. Everyone will be aware of the blessings and the curses, apparently. I wonder what has become of these mountains today, if the curses and blessings stand.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Dt. 10: Commandment Recap
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 "And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?"
I guess the verse above about sums it up. Here Moses recounts the giving of the ten commandments.
Something I realized here is that the Israelites probably don't have any sense of history. They don't have any sense of context for their actions. They probably railed against God because he probably appeared to be punishing them for absolutely no reason whatsoever. They probably thought they were doing pretty darn good for themselves.
They had no play-by-play going on when they screwed stuff up. When they openly rebelled against God. They had the commands and decrees, given numerous times, I might add, and continued to be failures.
What a wonderful revelation of the love of God, to be reminded that everything, the earth, the heavens, the highest heavens...all that belong to God, were created by Him, and he chooses to set His affection upon the Israelites. Humbling.
God is strength for the weak, the widows and orphans. That's how I can sum up chapter 10.
I guess the verse above about sums it up. Here Moses recounts the giving of the ten commandments.
Something I realized here is that the Israelites probably don't have any sense of history. They don't have any sense of context for their actions. They probably railed against God because he probably appeared to be punishing them for absolutely no reason whatsoever. They probably thought they were doing pretty darn good for themselves.
They had no play-by-play going on when they screwed stuff up. When they openly rebelled against God. They had the commands and decrees, given numerous times, I might add, and continued to be failures.
What a wonderful revelation of the love of God, to be reminded that everything, the earth, the heavens, the highest heavens...all that belong to God, were created by Him, and he chooses to set His affection upon the Israelites. Humbling.
God is strength for the weak, the widows and orphans. That's how I can sum up chapter 10.
Dt. 9: It Ain't Me
Deuteronomy 9:5 "After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you."
Ah, yes. That is why these other nations could not live when Israel came around. These weren't just nations minding their own business. These other nations were steeped in idolatry and wickedness. This dispossession of the land of these other nations was more about their wickedness than Israel's righteousness. Because, as Moses says, they had rebelled against the LORD since the day they left Egypt.
This is interesting as a parallel to the Holy of Holies. As only the priests, those who were ceremonially clean could perform priestly duties, only the nation of Israel, the people God set apart in the world, could possess the promised land. Certain death (God's judgment) awaited those who did not follow God's commands in priestly duties...ahem, Nadab and Abihu.
Why were these nations so wicked though? They all came from one source, that being Noah...at least from the text I have read thus far, and therefore had a chance to know what God did for Noah, and God's covenant with Noah. Somewhere along the line, the connection was disrupted. The storyline ceased. People didn't need God or didn't know God. Was God absent from their lives? No, I don't think so. From what I have read, God has worked in many non-Israelite people...Balaam, Abimelech, Pharaoh. Granted, they were in the context of Israel. But God made a promise to Noah.
By this logic, there are no people alive on this earth with any excuse not to know about God. This probably steps on some toes, but someone's ancestry dropping the ball on the existence and knowledge of God results in them being outside His covenant. God's covenants were good from generation to generation, and those who agreed to them were those who were declared righteous.
Ah, yes. That is why these other nations could not live when Israel came around. These weren't just nations minding their own business. These other nations were steeped in idolatry and wickedness. This dispossession of the land of these other nations was more about their wickedness than Israel's righteousness. Because, as Moses says, they had rebelled against the LORD since the day they left Egypt.
This is interesting as a parallel to the Holy of Holies. As only the priests, those who were ceremonially clean could perform priestly duties, only the nation of Israel, the people God set apart in the world, could possess the promised land. Certain death (God's judgment) awaited those who did not follow God's commands in priestly duties...ahem, Nadab and Abihu.
Why were these nations so wicked though? They all came from one source, that being Noah...at least from the text I have read thus far, and therefore had a chance to know what God did for Noah, and God's covenant with Noah. Somewhere along the line, the connection was disrupted. The storyline ceased. People didn't need God or didn't know God. Was God absent from their lives? No, I don't think so. From what I have read, God has worked in many non-Israelite people...Balaam, Abimelech, Pharaoh. Granted, they were in the context of Israel. But God made a promise to Noah.
By this logic, there are no people alive on this earth with any excuse not to know about God. This probably steps on some toes, but someone's ancestry dropping the ball on the existence and knowledge of God results in them being outside His covenant. God's covenants were good from generation to generation, and those who agreed to them were those who were declared righteous.
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