In today's section, we read about:
Repeated instructions to remember and obey God's commandments
God will choose a place for the people to worship him
Restatement of commands not to worship other gods and to celebrate the festivals
Tithing, release for debtors and slaves
Rules for identifying and dealing with false prophets
Gifts for priests, cities of refuge, and rules for dealing with murder
Miscellaneous other regulations
Some things that struck me:
There is the constant instruction to remember that it was God who has done all these amazing things, and He has not done them because they are wonderful, so you should not get proud and forget Him. "He did all this so that you would never say to yourself 'I have achieved all this wealth with my own strength and energy'. Remember the LORD your God" (8:17-18). See also 9:4-6
Deut 8:15 would seem to indicate that Moses has learnt his lesson
Having said that Moses omits to mention the golden calf and Korah's rebellion, they are here in ch9.
Deut 9:18-21 returns us again to the question of whether God changes His mind. One thing is clear is that God was pleased that Moses threw himself completely into prayer.
The NLT version of 9:21 gives such a vivid image of what Jesus' sacrifice and intervention has done for us "I took your sin ... and I melted it down in the fire and ground it into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain."
I like the fact that God himself wrote the commandments on the stone with his own finger, all Moses did was chisel out the stone tablets (10:1-2)
Deut 10:12-13 reminds me of Micah 6:8 " O people, the Lord has told you what is good /and this is what he requires of you: / to do what is right, to love mercy, /and to walk humbly with your God." Loving justice is also commanded at various other junctures (eg 16:18-20, 19:14ff). Justice is also required in dealing with marriage and family matters (21:10-21).
There is a constant repetition to remember that all the good things come from God, and because it was God who chose the Israelites and brought them out of Egypt, they should deal kindly and justly with strangers in their midst - Deut 10:17-19 is very powerful.
The exhortation in 10:20-21 is very powerful too - "You must fear the LORD your God and worship him and cling to him.... He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise".
The command to obey with the contingent promises of blessing or of curses is repeated so many times that the Israelites can have had no excuses for not knowing what was required. In addition, the festivals are there to help them remember.
Deut 11:26 is a foreshadowing of Deut 30:15-16 - the people are being given a very easy, comprehensible, but nonetheless, stark choice - will they choose life or will they choose death?
A crucial part of their obedience to God is the banishment of idolatry - not just ch 12, but also 18:9-14.
It is God who has told them how to worship and decreed order out of the chaos
Another theme that comes out it that it is the responsibility of each individual to confront sin when he comes across it (eg 13:9), also to go out of their way to look after their neighbour (22:1-4).
Money - 15:4 says "there should be no poor among you", yet a few verses later it says "if there are any poor Israelites..." (v7), and then v11 "there will always be some in the land who are poor". But God commands the people to be generous and share from his blessings. "The LORD will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you." (15:6-7)
Even though God appears to condone slavery, the Israelites are commanded to treat their servants and slaves kindly - cf Eph 6:5-8.
The notion of a king will come from the people, not from God (17:14) The king is subject to God's law and must read the law daily " That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel." Daily reading of God's word will help us stay on the right path!!
Deut 17:16-17 is a number of commands which were broken by Israel's king with disastrous consequences - going to Egypt (Jer 42), the other two by Solomon.
Who is/was the prophet like Moses (18:15)? Elijah? Isaiah? John the Baptist?
Deut 21:22-23 - Gal 3:13
What is the reason behind prohibiting cross-dressing? (22:5)
The Ammonites and Moabites were descendants of Lot, so were not children of the covenant at any stage. The Edomites are descedants of Esau, who renounced his birthright. Interesting that God instructs the Israelites not to detest either the Edomites or Egyptians, even though both felt the wrath of God at different times (Rom 12:19-20).
5 comments:
Day 14! Well, I can scarcely believe this. I was going to put that I had deliberately not read my husband's blog entry as if I had done so, I wouldn't have added my own comments - but, hey, they're not on the blog site yet!! Well, how's it going folks. I'm really enjoying this. Reading the OT in such large quantities makes it all somehow a little easier to understand - sort of! It also pulls me up very short. How very much like the Israelites I am. I see and experience God's huge presence in my life and then very shortly afterwards turn to him and say, "But who are you? Yes, I believe in you but do I trust you?"
So my thoughts about today's reading. A warning I feel to all of us: Deut 8:11-13. Beware! When life is good be careful! Don't "forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands ..." Something I think we all need to take on board.
Deut 11:26 "Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse!" It strikes me that we are given that choice daily just as the Israelites were. Do we chose light over darkness, life instead of death, truth instead of lies, etc, etc?
Deut 13:3 "The Lord your god is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul." I keep on thinking that the OT has taken examples from the NT and just changed them around a bit ... but of course that's not quite accurate is it! James says that we should consider trials as "an opportunity for great joy". 1Peter1 says "These trials will show that your faith is genuine". All situations can be used to glorify God. When evil occurs God asks for it to be excised completely - reminds me (rightly or wrongly) of the gospel passages about cutting off your hand or foot if it causes you to sin.
Oops, jumping around a bit - in Deut 10:17 "... He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed." God cannot be bribed. Maybe I shouldn't own up to this, but I have on occasion said to him, just like my children occasionally say to me, "If I do this, then will you do that". God cannot be bribed. He is interested in a deep, trusting, honest, envigorating relationship with us - just like he had with Moses. Feelings. He wants our heartfelt pleas, not bribery.
Oh, and just as an aside, women seem to be getting a better deal of late!
That's it for now. Happy reading until next time.
Yes, I agree Miriam, women are getting a better time. But also the poor and the foreigners.
As I read more and more, I am amazed how different this God is from my idea of him. I have never read so much Bible in my life and certainly not much of the OT. I had an image of a God who was cruel and not so understanding. To be honest I thought it really was not relative to today’s life at all!
But issues of poverty, diseases and morals for living are perhaps needed more now with all the choices we have?
But as the days go by…very quickly I find!
I am aware of a strong, demanding God.
One who is full of rules and orders, as I thought. But also a God full of such love for his people. He is like a parent who gives out the rules of the house but loves you so much!!
He can change his actions, as he did with Moses as he pleaded with God to save the people. He does this for Love.
For Moses and am sure for us.
I am feeling much closer to him as I spend time out with him. I am beginning to think Why I have never done this before and What am I going to do after this?
It is hard to remember all or many of the facts, numbers and names. But I am being left with a thirst for a God which I never expected and my eyes are being opened to my failings, needs and directions.
Whatever your journey is like for you, I am sure you will be different in someway after this.. How only you will know.
I beg to disagree with the honourable Miriam - how is it better for a woman to be stoned because "she did not cry for help" when someone had sex with her 22 v23 - oh and I must remember not to try and rescue my husband when he is fighting by "grabbing the testicles of the other man" or I'll get my hand chopped off whereas if someone rapes me (assuming I cried for help of course) then fifty pieces of silver and we're all quits! 22 v28
Chapt 24 v 5 is very sweet though -a newly married man must be free to be at home for one year, bringing happiness to the wife he has married..aah
Seriously though I am concerned about the fact that those of illegitimate birth and their descendants for ten generations may not be included in the assembly of the Lord - people don't usually choose to be illegitimate - are we back to the sins of the fathers?
I was also struck that we have failed to heed the warning in 8 v11Beware that in your plenty you do not forget. We are full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in - it is easy then to forget that we can do nothing without God.
Oh and best watch out the next time I'm chopping wood that the axe head is properly secured 19 v4 - probably applies to you golfers as well when you're swinging those clubs around!
I was also struck by Deut 8:11-14 about being careful not to forget God in time of plenty. I was reminded of our study of Ecclesiastes that we have just done at The Link. How much we can fall into the trap of seeking all these material things and then how easily we lose sight of God and what has true meaning. A real challenge to keep a right focus.
I loved the way that all through the passages Moses repeatedly refers to "The Lord your God" God is their Lord, a personal God. Moses retells the stories of an incredible, all powerful God who has performed miracle after miracle and yet at the same time Moses stresses the fact that they are his. Isn't it amazing that He is a mighty God and yet we can have this intimate relationship with him too where we can be called His!
Finally, just to add to the comments on women....I must also say I felt slightly horrified at how the raped women were to be treated if they didn't cry out.
Hey, look, at the very least the woman who may get raped in the field doesn't have to be put to death together with the perpetrator! That in itself is a far better deal than women seemed to have had previously! At least she wasn't told that she should have screamed louder and put to death anyway.
And thanks Jane I had a really good laugh reading your entry.
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