Month: March 2021

Deuteronomy 11-13

~ Patricia ~ 8 Comments

Too often we walk around like we are chess pieces and God will move us where He wants, so we just live how we want to. BUT Deuteronomy 11 is very clear that we have choices to make that may determine His chess move.

13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then…

But he knows us soooo well…we will love “things of the world more”

16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will…

So He tells us again!

22 If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him— 23 then the Lord will 

So the ball is in our court….

26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

Back to the Israelites!   They are about to enter the Promised Land:

31 You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you have taken it over and are living there, 32 be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.

Will they??

Chapter 12:  What is idolatry?  In the Bible, it is anything that replaces the one, true God. The most prevalent form of idolatry was the worship of images that were thought to embody the various pagan deities. In reality, idols were blocks of stone or wood, and their power exists only in the minds of the worshipers. Israelites were forbidden to intermarry with other cultures who embraced false gods because God knew this would lead to compromise.

2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.

ALTARS OF SACRIFICE in the ANCIENT BIBLE WORLD

The people possessing the land (Canaanites) would go to the High Places to worship their gods.

3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.

An Asherah pole was a sacred tree or pole that stood near the High Places to honor the pagan goddess Asherah, also known as Astarte.

Reps & Sets Daily Devotions.Sometimes they made images of her too.

Asherah: God's Forgotten Wife | Ancient Origins

If you missed it, please go back and read Chapter 12.  God will choose the Holy City.  Go back and underline-the place the Lord your God will choose.

When they enter the Promised Land, the land will be distributed between the 12 tribes.  The place the Lord will choose will be on the border of Benjamin and Judah.  Spoiler alert (something to look forward to). The tribes are going to have a civil war against each other and split 10 tribes against 2 tribes.  The 2 tribes that merge are Benjamin and Judah keeping the Holy City: Holy.  Trivia:  What is the name of the city the Lord will choose?

OK, flag on the field.  The Lord does not mince words about HIs feelings regarding idolatry!

31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.

32 See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

Hate is a strong word!

Chapter 13. 

Will the Lord let us be tested by the things of the world?  Who/what do you love more?

13:3 The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Again…I have a lot of thinking to do today!

You Will Become What You Worship | Idols #3 - pursueGOD.org

Deuteronomy 8-10

~ Patricia ~ 11 Comments

Chapter 8 has two bookends: verses 2 and 18 with the word “Remember”.

  • 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
  • 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Read this chapter carefully, Jesus uses this part of His speech when confronted by the devil in Matthew 4:4. (One of the most important things I learned is that the devil knows and uses scripture to manipulate us, so we need to know it too if we are going to stand against him daily).

Read closely and look for something new to pop off the page to you.  I had MANY.  He is retelling the history of his ancestors but this time from God’s viewpoint not the Israelites.

Chapter 9: Obviously I love chapter 9 for so many reasons!  He carries us NOT because of our righteousness but because of HIS righteousness.  By the way,  I never noticed how long Moses lay prostrate before the Lord each time!  I have to reflect on that and my own pitiful prayer habits.

Image result for moses laying prostrate

Chapter 10:  Read it word for word!  Underline all the cool new findings this year that God has revealed to you that you may not have picked up on this time last year…put them in the ark….acacia wood…set apart the tribe of Levi! (If you read ONE scripture and think…I don’t remember that, ASK us to talk about it in the comments.

Verse 12-22

“What does the Lord ask of you??”

  1. Fear the Lord
  2. Walk in Obedience
  3. LOVE HIM
  4. Serve the Lord with all your heart
  5. Observe HIs commands

The Lord is Great, Mighty, and Awesome.  He shows no partiality, accepts no bribes, defends the fatherless, and loves the foreigner.

Did one scripture stick out to you? (I KNOW more than one did).  I kept the post short for a reason, today is a read worth reading twice.  Read it again. If a verse did not pop off the page to you today…we need to talk!

Deuteronomy 5-7

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

This generation is learning about the laws that God gave Moses. Remember, this generation was not at Mt. Sinai, this is the next generation. (Have you taught these to your children?)   Here is the version we tend to know:

Image result for 10 commandments

BUT read them carefully, don’t skip the fine print.  For example:

 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

After the 10 commandments, Moses was then given the Book of the Law which is an additional 613 examples of laws that fall into these 10 categories.  However, if we look at all the laws including the 10 commandments we see it really says 2 things.  LOVE God, LOVE People.  Look at them again:

Image result for 10 commandments old and new testament"

Jesus says it best (always):

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Deuteronomy 6 is one of the most important parts of the Old Testament (Torah) for Jewish people.  This passage is called The Shema or The Great Commandment. 

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

This is what it looks like in Hebrew writing. (It’s beautiful)

וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶֽך
וְהָי֞וּ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֧י מְצַוְּךָ֛ הַיּ֖וֹם עַל־לְבָבֶֽךָ
וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ
וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ
וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזוּזֹ֥ת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ

Read chapter 6 carefully.  Circle the words “so that”.  Also, notice that Moses is given an example of how we should give our testimony to others.  It is not about what WE did, but what God did FOR us.

(if you need Extra-credit homework: research how Jews today take the Shema “literally”: what is a phylactery and a mezuzah?) 😁

Chapter 7: Instructions.   Noitce how the Lord works first, then us.   HE does the hard part:  HE will drive out the nations.  HE will deliver them to you.  HE will bring them into the land.  Now what are they supposed to do.  The easy part:

  • destroy them totally
  • do not make any treaties
  • do not intermarry with them
  • destroy their worship centers for false gods (Asherah poles)

Pin on Lord Jesus Saves︵‿ †

 

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

Image result for moses talking in Deut

I wonder if Moses is thinking “why are they not taking notes?  They are not going to remember all this”

He continues with the promises:

12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will…

Deuteronomy 3-4

~ Patricia ~ 7 Comments

Chapter 3 continues with the retelling of the battle fought in Numbers 23.  The Israelites defeated the well-trained army of Og, King of Bashan taking all 60 cities east of the Jordan.  The Lord defeated the well-trained army of Og, King of Bashan taking all 60 cities east of the Jordan. 😉

Verse 12 describes the land that was taken over from this battle.   Find the Jordan River on either map and you can locate the land they took.  Recall that in Numbers 32 the Reubenites and the Gadites. Two of the 12 tribes of Israel, asked Moses to inhabit the land when they do conquer the Promise Land. If you did not read it, go back and read it.  Moses freaked out because he assumed they weren’t going to participate in the quest to conquer.  The leaders of the tribe clarified that they would still be a part of the army, that they wanted the land AFTER they took the Promise Land.  These tribes will get this land.  Take a look: Reuben, Gad, and 1/2 of Manasseh.  They will be called the Transjordan Tribes. 

Chapter 3 ends with the Lord telling Moses to commission Joshua to replace him.  He tells him to encourage him and strengthen him, for Joshua will lead the people into the inheritance of the Promise Land.

The point of retelling the details of these battles is to remind the next generation that The Lord will fight their battles for them.  I keep going back to Deut. 2:25 “He put terror and fear of all the nations under Heaven”.

Chapter 4 Moses turns from contemplating the past to speaking about the future. (It’s a strong speech that in my head started with “Listen Linda…Listen). 😂

Moses used the illustration of the recent seduction of the Israelites by the Midianites at Baal Peor.  Numbers 32. The word baal is simply the word for “lord,” “master,” or “ruler.” Baal became the name for the gods of the Canaanites. There was not just one god named Baal, but there were many Baals (many Canaanite “gods”). Peor might refer to the mountain top from which Balaam and Balaak observed Israel.

Moses then reminds them about the laws and decrees God gave them at Mt. Sinai.  Reminded them to follow them closely!  Circle words like “be careful”, “if” “so that”.

Verses  1-14 Moses warns against idolatry.  Spoiler Alert: It will be the downfall of the Israelites. (and the Americans)

Next Moses talks about the possibility of being exiled OUT of the Promise Land.  If you don’t know what this means, know that God is saying in verse 25:  After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you.

In other words: If you become corrupt I will take you OUT of this Promised Land, scatter you, and only a few of you will return to it because I will always honor my Covenant.   The term we will use for the few that will survive and return will be the “remnant” of people.

Will this happen?? Will they inhabit the land and then God will remove them from the land??  (to be continued…)

29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. ❤️

He ends this part of the speech (I picture him looking right at Joshua’s face) reminding Joshua of the presence of the Lord that he personally saw with his own eyes!

Chapter 4 is amazing!  I read it twice.   Wake up early tomorrow.  It might be your favorite read. (feel free to read ahead)

Deuteronomy 1-2

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

“These are the words Moses spoke”  but the words he is now speaking were all commanded from the Lord in the past 4 books.  Verse 3 gives us our timeline….

 2 It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.

3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed… 

What should have been an 11-day journey took 40 years!

Chapter 1: Moses begins with the command from the Lord but turns quickly to the sins the Israelites committed that cost them greatly.  Forty years ago, just before they were to enter the Promised Land, the Lord puts them in a battle with the powerful Amorites (a prelude of what God can do for them when they walk into this Land!).  The Lord fought the battle for them. This should have given them all the confidence in Him they needed:

20:“You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.  See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Instead, the spies that “checked out” the land first came back to the Israelites and said “we can’t go in there!  They are big people!!”  They said, “we”.  Oh the humanity!!  They had the Lord!!  (I act like this sometimes.  I know I am one of the 12 spies when I am faced with a big decision.  Can “I”?)

Verse 37: Moses humbles himself and tells this generation that even he, “The Moses”, did not trust the Lord years later and it cost him. (If you are jumping in, go back and read Numbers 20) Or ask in comments.

Chapter 2-Moses recounts a number of times Israel obeyed.  For those who have read from the beginning, I hope you see familiar names like Lot, Moab, Esau… and have a recollection of who they might be.  If it rings a bell, but you cannot remember, look back on your genealogies.

This chapter retells and lengthens the battle against the Amorite king found in Numbers 21.  The purpose of chapter 2 is to reiterate how this next generation will need to obey and have faith in the Lord that is about to GIVE them this Land.

If you read the Bible and occasionally think that the Bible is made up of stories to “teach” us and is not real history, then I guess you can ignore archeological finds like this:

Mesha Stele - Moabite Stone  Detail, Moabite Stone

This is the Moabite Stone named the Mesha Stele.  These battles were recoded by Mesha, the Moabite King on this stone.  There is a word in the Bible ‘herem’ meaning total destruction.  The word ‘herem’ is only found on this stone and in the Bible.

Fun Fact: In 1997 I was at the Louvre Museum in Paris and this was there.  As an atheist (then, not now of course),  I didn’t give it a second look…went straight for the Mona Lisa.  Kicking myself now!!

Deuteronomy Overview for tomorrow

~ Patricia ~ 4 Comments

IF you are behind….THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY to START OVER.  Tomorrow we begin Deuteronomy! If you cannot wait,  start tonight! Click here.

Deuteronomy in Hebrew is ‘Elleh Haddebarim meaning “These Are the Words”.  The Greek translation to English is “Second Law”.  The entire generation that fled Egypt in the Exodus has died except 3 people: Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. Moses’s brother and sister just died this year, and before the year is over Moses will too, leaving only Joshua and Caleb.

Moses will retell the first 4 books.  (So if you are behind, JUMP IN HERE).

Deuteronomy is referenced 350 times in the Bible!  The New Testament alone will refer to it 95 times!

Deuteronomy can be broken into 3 sections:

  1. A review of the past- Chapter 1-4
  2. Requirements for the present -Chapters 5-26 
  3. Readiness for the future-Chapters 27-34

Another breakdown could be:

  • Chapters 1:1-4:43 Moses will teach the new generation the History of their people
  • Chapters 4:44-28:68 Moses will explain the Law to them
  • CHapters 29:1-30:20 Moses will renew the Covenant.
  • Chapters 30:1-34:12 Moses will hand his leadership to Joshua.

It is called “the second” law since it will all be repeated.  Can I just say it is going to be so cool for those who have kept up with the schedule to say “hey, I know what Moses is talking about!”  or “hey, that is still confusing, I am going to ask about it in comments!”.  Listen, we are taking so much in, it is like drinking from a fire hydrant, and between the maps, the genealogies, the foreshadowing, the pace, this is like we are taking a college course.  ASK questions.

Moses is such a faithful servant to the Lord, he makes THREE speeches to the new generation knowing the entire time that his lack of obedience (with the water incident) has already cost him his entry into the Land.

The first 4 books of the Bible are about God choosing His people.  

This book is about His people choosing God. 

Deuteronomy will end with the death of Moses 😢.  The last scriptures will be:

“Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land.  For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

❤️

Numbers 35-36 The End

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

The Levite tribe, which makes its basic living from tithes and offerings for service to God, will not receive territories like the other tribes,  However, the other tribes were to give the Levites 48 towns surrounded by pastures.  This unified the Israelites under one God by distributing the priests among them.

Image result for levite cities of refuge

Six of the towns, 3 on each side to the Jordan were designated as cities of refuge.  People that killed a person accidentally could flee to one of these cities for a fair trial.  If the person was found that it was “accidental” they could stay in the town until the High Priest died and then could return home.  However, if the person was found guilty of murder they would be executed.

So what’s with the High Priest death you ask?  Good question!  The death of the high priest atoned for the sins of the person who killed someone. The death of the High Priest, therefore, had an atoning value like animal sacrifice did.

Click here for a handout.(But you probably won’t need it)

Image result for levite cities of refuge

A verse worth underlining in your Bible is:

30 “‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

Why am I bringing this up?  Another good question!  You have lots of good questions today.  Two witnesses are needed to put someone to death:

Matthew 26:  Jesus’ on Trial

59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally, two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

That’s all they needed ☹️

Chapter 36

Inheritance of Zelophehad’s daughters.  So if you decided to jump in here is the recap from Numbers 27:

Image result for zelophehad's daughters

When a man had no sons, his daughters would divide his property. If he had neither sons nor daughters,  brothers, or uncles, then the father’s nearest relative would receive the inheritance. In chapter 36,  the Lord placed a restriction on daughters who inherited their father’s estate. They had to marry within their own tribe, in order to keep the inheritance within that tribe, just as it would have remained if the father had had sons.

So now what?  The last scripture is: 13 These are the commands and regulations the Lord gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Image result for numbers 21 bible map

Should we send this next generation in? Or should we teach them the past, present, and future of God’s Promises?

Numbers 33-34

~ Patricia ~ 5 Comments

Chapter 33 recaps the journey from the Exodus to the border of the Promise Land.  Click here to print this map.

Image result for the exodus from egypt detailed map

The end of the chapter is very important:

‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52 drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.

(if you did not see the comments from the other day, these are the Urim and Thummim stones)

55 “‘BUT if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain WILL become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56 And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’”

Chapter 34

Promised Land Boundaries.  Click here to print.

Image result for extent of the promise land Numbers 34

We end with two points worth mentioning:

“‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”

13 Moses commanded the Israelites: “Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, 14 because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. 15 These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance east of the Jordan across from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

(From yesterday’s read) TRIVIA:  What is the word we are going to use to title these 2 1/2 tribes on the East side of the Jordan?

The second thing to note today is:

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance:

I know it is skimmable BUT absorb what you do recognize.  Once upon a time, the names would have been white noise…and now you see something familiar.  It is the 12 sons of Jacob.  The 12 tribes of Israel.

Twelve Tribes of Israel - Wikipedia

🤓

 

 

 

Numbers 31-32

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

Chapter 31-Unfinished business!

During the week we read about Balaam the sorcerer who was hired to put a curse on the Israelites.   Plan A (cursing the Israelites) did not work, so Balaam comes back with Plan B (and it bites him in the butt).  Since he cannot curse them, he plans to have the Israelites turn from their Lord in another way.  Sex.  (Men!!)

Back in Numbers 25: While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.

Time for God to take vengeance on  Balaam, the Midianites, and these “fun” women.  The army consists of 1,000 men from each tribe.  The Israelites are successful.  Actually, God protected them and not one Israelite life is spared.  The army recognizes this and gives the Lord a tribute of thanks.  Wait…I said they were to take vengeance on Balaam, the Midianites, and the women….but the women were captured instead (I wonder why they want to keep them? 😠.

This infuriates Moses and orders them to be killed too. I know this is hard for us to understand but you need to think of them as “a cancer”.  You would not go to your Dr. and say “just take some of it out”.  What is left will eventually grow.  When they enter the Promised Land, they will continue to disobey this command and they will not “clean” the land of pagans.  Sure as anything, just like a little yeast (sin), it will grow and take over.

Chapter 32.  We need some visuals:

Image result for numbers 21 bible map

We are coming up the Eastside to the Jordan River.  Look for numbers 13, 14, 15, 16,  and 17 on your map.  As they travel, the Reubenites and the Gadites really like this land and approach Moses with the idea of it being their settlement.  Well, I just LOVE Moses.  I am sure he is stressed out to the max knowing he will not be entering the land himself;  these are his last days as a shepherd to these sheep (and they need a good shepherd!!).  Visualize this awesome scene: Verse 6-15  Moses goes on a major rant about them wanting to do exactly what their forefathers did!  I picture him standing, waving his arms around, while the men cannot get a word in edgewise.  (That is so me!)  He even went as far as calling them a ‘brood of sinners’.  So he must have stopped to catch a breath and they clarified their plan that they were still going to be in the army.    Moses settles down a little (not completely) and says:

20 Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle 21 and if all of you who are armed cross over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him— 22 then when the land is subdued before the Lord, you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the Lord.

23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”

What great timing that these tribes are asking for this right after we read about keeping your oaths. ❤️  He is just making sure everyone is on the same page!!  See the map below.  The land EAST of the Jordan river will be referred to as “Transjordan” so you can see the land “Transjordan” that we are talking about. (Manasseh will also get part of the Transjordan side.  1/2 the tribe on each side).  If this is confusing, don’t be.  We are not in the land yet…this is a future picture.

Division of the Promised Land to the 12 Tribes of Israel Map

What is Jordan now?   It has a huge history with some important events in 1921 and 1946.  But I think this map can give you a modern-day look at the area.  Look at control/influence.  It might as well say “no control”.

Image result for what country was hussein captured map