Deuteronomy 30 - Joshua 8: A harlot, a warrior angel, and life & good

- "Choose life," began one of Moses' last admonitions to the people before he died. Just before, God said this through Moses:

"Look at what I've done for you today: I've placed in front of you Life and Good [or] Death and Evil....Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself" (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

- An amazing promise to hang on to today: "God, your God, will cross the river ahead of you..." (Deut 31:3)

- When things look terrible and you are scared out of your wits:  "Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them [your enemies] a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you" (Deut 31:6)
- Historical note:  The Israelite people had been "landless" for 500 years and these words of admonition by God through Moses are directed to them just as they are about to claim the Promised Land. The land was "an unremarkable stretch of territory sandwiched between two massive and already ancient civilizations," explains Eugene Peterson. Those two civilizations were Egypt and Mesopotamia. But that piece of land, promised to Abraham and his descendants, was about to become very important through God's plan for his people.
- Angelic armies afoot:  Joshua encounters the commander of God's army--an angel, who looked like a man, holding a drawn sword (Joshua 5:13-15).
- The harlot:  Rahab, a harlot in Jericho, housed and protected two Israelite spies. As a result she was saved from destruction, along with all of her family (Joshua 2, 6). She later married an Israelite man named Salmon, and she is listed in the New Testament genealogies as one of Jesus' ancestors. Ancient literature rarely names women as they were not considered very important, but here we have the name of a common woman with great faith, courage, and wisdom. Love this story!

Elena's verse of the day:  "I've commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God" (Joshua 1:9).

Deuteronomy 15 - 29: Business, honeymoons, & the ultimate consequence

- Taking care of business:  Lots of practical guidelines here for the people of Israel. We take these things for granted, but God gave much needed words of guidance and advice in a time of evil and lawlessness. Areas he covers include:

• setting up a legal system, including laws, judges, and procedures (Deut 16, 19). For example, prosecutors had to have more than one witness, and judgment could be handed down only after a thorough investigation. No twisting of the law or bribery, ever.
• checks & balances for a future monarchy (Deut 17:14-17)
• military advice (Deut 20)
• liability issues (Deut 22:6-7)
• farming (Deut 22)
• issues surrounding rape and guidelines to protect women (Deut 22)
• sanitation (Deut 23:12-14)
• a long honeymoon! Newlywed men got a year off: "He gets one year off simply to be at home making his wife happy" (Deut 24:5).
• financial matters & interest (Deut 24)
• charity (Deut 24)
• fair business practices and employment rules (Deut 24-25)
• and much more....

- All together now:  At the end of this setting out of guidelines, Moses had the people do a group verbal recitation of the rules (Deut 27).
- The ultimate consequence:  Moses warned the people that if they didn't follow God's ways, that "God will ship you back to Egypt by a road I promised you'd never see again. There you'll offer yourselves for sale, both men and women, as slaves to your enemies. And not a buyer to be found" (Deut 28:68).
- Not to worry:  If the people followed God's rules and took care of their responsibilities, Moses promised that "God will take care of the hidden things" (Deut 29:29).

Elena's verse of the day:  "The Lord must give you a change of heart before you truly understand what you have seen and heard" (Deuteronomy 29:4).

Deuteronomy 2 - 14: Rules to live by, holy destruction, and God's cherished personal treasure (You!)

- The God who listens:  "What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us?" (Deuteronomy 4:7-8). God knows your name, he loves you, and he hears you.
- Rules to live by:  Practical guidelines from chapter 4 of Deuteronomy, in a sermon given by Moses to the people:

• Stay alert
• Keep close watch over yourselves
• Don't forget anything of what you've seen
• Don't let your heart wander off
• Stay vigilant as long as you live
• Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren

- Holy destruction:  what seems like brutality to us, as God instructed the Israelites to wipe out towns and clans, was actually God getting rid of vile and wicked nations. His actions were justice for their wicked behavior. One of the most vile things they did was burn their children in idol worship. God abhorred this.
- God the gardener:  God personally tended Israel, the Promised Land. "He's the Gardener" (Deut 11:10-12). The gardeners I know are gentle but firm as they tend their plants. They study their garden and know it intimately. They protect it and guard it from anything that would want to damage it. They water and feed it. They prune it. And they look forward to the harvest. Is it any surprise that God hated the vile things going on in his personal garden? And why he wanted to uproot the people doing those things and replace them with his own chosen people?
- You are chosen:  "God chose you out of all the people on earth as his cherished personal treasure" (Deut 14:1-2). Moses said this to the people of Israel, but this verse is for us, too. Through the redemptive work of Christ, we are grafted into the tribe of Israel, adopted as part of God's chosen people. So the promises to Israel are promises to us, as well. Hold that verse close--you are chosen as God's cherished personal treasure.

Elena's verse of the day:  "Be very careful not to forget things you have seen God do...keep reminding yourselves and tell your children and grandchildren" (Deuteronomy 4:9).

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)

Numbers 3 - 13: Strange fire, sacrifice, & God's loyalty

- Strange fire:  The "strange fire" that resulted in the deaths of two of Aaron's sons is explained here in Numbers 3:2-4 as "unauthorized sacrifice." No one is exactly sure what "strange fire" means, but it offended God and violated his specific rules for the sacrificial system, so he responded with his own fire.
- The need for sacrifice:  When you commit a sin, you "break trust with God," according to Num 5:5-10. Thus the need for sacrifice to restore the relationship.

- Grumbling & a firestorm:  The peple "fell to grumbling over their hard life. God heard." His anger flared and fire burned up to the edge of the camp. But Moses, ever faithful and and courageous, prayed to God and the fire died down.
- Kill me:  Moses experienced burnout, though. It got to the point where he'd had enough with the people. The burden of their grumbling and immaturity was just too great: "If this is how you intend to treat me," he cried out to God, "do me a favor and kill me....let me out of here" (Num 11:11-15). God responded by creating a team to help lead the people and take some pressure off of Moses.
- God is loyal:  God got angry when Aaron and Miriam spoke against his servant, Moses. God was loyal and protective of his chosen leader. I think we need to be mindful of how we speak about our leaders. It's all too easy to grumble.

Elena's Verse of the day:  "The Lord answered, 'I can do anything! Watch and you'll see my words come true'" (Numbers 11:23).

I'm sharing a few thoughts from each day's reading. Feel free to jump in and share your own!

Leviticus 20 - Numbers 2: Holiness, slavery, and Jubilee

Yesterday was, by far, the hardest day so far for my Bible Boot Camp reading. Lots of heavy duty laws and punishments outlined in this part of Scripture. It was hard reading. A few thoughts:

-  The key to holiness:  Holiness means being different from the sinful behavior going on around you. To help the Israelite people remember that they were to be holy like God, they kept a holy calendar which included feasts, Sabbath (which was for the people, the land, and the animals, too), and a Jubilee Year every 50th year. Jubilee meant family reunions, no harvest work, and release of obligations.   
- Slavery?  I'm wondering why God permitted slavery? In Lev 25:44-46, the Israelites were allowed to purchase slaves from surrounding tribes, but Israelites themselves were not to be kept as slaves. Perhaps, this gave other peoples access to the Israelite way of life and a chance to get to know God?
- God at the center:  The Tabernacle was the center of the Israelite world. The people were to set up camp around the Tabernacle, facing it. It was the center, as God was to be the center.

- On another note regarding slavery and gender, Vickie wondered why, in Leviticus, women slaves were worth only half what men were worth. This is a great question. Jonalyn Fincher, an author and apologist, wrote an article on this topic called "Is God Playing Favorites in Leviticus 27:1-8?" The articles are here on her blog: Part I and Part II.

 Elena's Verse of the day:  "I am the Lord your God...I have set you free; now walk with your heads held high" (Lev 26:13).

I'm sharing a few thoughts from each day's reading. Feel free to jump in and share your own!