Numbers 26 - Deuteronomy 1: Women's rights, revenge, & idol destruction

- Women's rights:  Women were pretty much treated like property in Old Testament times, so I loved the fact that God granted women the right to inherit sections of the Promised Land, even though their father was dead (Numbers 27).

- Balaam was not a good guy: The Israelites exacted revenge on Midian for the whole Baal/orgy event we read about in yesterday's reading. Phinehas (the same priest who speared the Israelite who flaunted the Midianite woman and defiantly took her into his tent in front of everyone) was the priest of the 12,000-strong army which marched on Midian and killed every man, including Balaam (this blows my theory in yesterday's post that Balaam was a godly man because he blessed Israel instead of cursing them. In fact, Numbers 31:13-18 reports that the Baal orgy at Peor was under Balaam's direction, and the women were seducing the people of Israel away from God).
- Why so much killing? Numbers 32 explains that God is cleaning his enemies out of the land via the Israelites. As they advanced into the Promised Land, they were to destroy the idols, level the worship mounds, and divide up the land for the Israelite clans.
- Sermon on the plains of Moab:  Deuteronomy is a sermon by Moses to review God's plan for Israel. Can't wait to read more!

Elena's verse of the day: "The Lord has taken care of us the whole time....in the desert, just as you might carry one of your children" (Deuteronomy 1:31).

Numbers 14 - 25: A talking donkey, ripe almonds, & the gathering

This morning I set out to do my reading and I was distracted by the newspapers lying on the table. For some reason, the newspapers beckoned and I had a hard time concentrating. This was my first day of being really tempted to break my vow of reading my Bible first and leaving the papers until the end of the day, if I have time. I did not give in to temptation! But it was a struggle.

The reading today was extremely intense. Lots of death and disobedience. I got a real sense of the struggle against sin and the difficulty of living a holy life in those times.

- Back to slavery?  The Israelites were in an uproar when the scouting party returned with their report after surveying the Promised Land. Rumors abounded regarding the power of the land's occupants. The Israelites lost their nerve and wanted a new leader. "Let's head back to Egypt," they said (Numbers 14:4). This shocked me. Head back into their oppressive slavery under a brutal pharoah?
- Voices of courage:  But Joshua and Caleb, two of the scouts, spoke up and vouched for God's plan. They believed the Israelites could take the land from the occupants: "They have no protection and God is on our side," they said. "Don't be afraid of them!" (Num 14:6-9).

- Cycles of disobedience:  I could not believe how, time after time, the Israelites forgot God's supremacy and decided to go their own way. Each time, God's anger flared and Moses had to intercede for them. Some of the results of their disobedience: the current generation of adults would not get to enter the land, they were sentenced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and at one point the earth opened up and swallowed a group of insurgents, along with their families. God also used lightning to destroy 250 men who were part of a conspiracy to get rid of Moses. (Numbers 16).
- Almonds from a staff:  God caused Aaron's staff to sprout buds, blossoms, and ripe almonds as a demonstration that he was God's chosen priest. A beautiful story of life coming from something quite dead (Numbers 17).
- The gathering:  When the time came for Aaron's death, God directed him to ascend Mount Hor, explaining that "Aaron will be gathered there." What a great way to describe a godly person's death (Numbers 20:26).
- Talking donkey:  Love, love, love the story of Balaam and the talking donkey (Numbers 22). It also appeared that Balaam was a godly man chosen and used as a prophet, even though he was not an Israelite (Num 23:26). Balaam blessed Israel and said this about God: "Only what he speaks, I speak."
- Wow:  I don't know what else to say about the story of Phinehas. It's in chapter 25, and I don't remember ever reading it before. Suffice it to say that you could not make this story up. It really came alive in the Message version.

Elena's Verse of the day:  "Show us your great power, Lord. You promised that you love to show mercy and kindness" (Numbers 14:17-8 CEV)