I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
As the decision was being made about how to divide up the land, the heads of the clans of Gilead came to Moses with a concern. Earlier Moses had ruled that the daughters of a man in their clan who had died without sons should be allotted land in his name along with the rest of the people of Israel (this ruling was generalized that the land of a man who died without sons should pass to his daughters). These leaders were concerned that those women who received a portion of land with their tribe would marry outside of the tribe and the land would be lost to the tribe. Moses ruled that women who inherit land from a father must marry within their own tribe so that the land stays within the tribe. He then added a statement to clarify his ruling. The land granted when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land was not to pass from tribe to tribe, but rather it was to stay within the tribe to which it was granted at this time.
Today I begin Deuteronomy, which roughly translates as “Second Law”. There are many who claim that the Book of Deuteronomy was composed during the reign of King Josiah when he ordered the cleaning and restoration of the Temple. I find the reason that the text of Deuteronomy implies for its existence completely satisfying. The Book of Deuteronomy is a retelling of the laws given by God to the people of Israel. Originally, Moses wrote the laws down and gave them to the people at Mt Sinai. Here in the Book of Deuteronomy, all of the adults who were at Mt Sinai have died and there is a new generation about to enter the Promised Land. God has told Moses that he will not live to go with them. So, Moses repeats the Law for this new generation and reminds them of what God has done for them and their parents.
Moses starts by recounting how he worked with the people to find and appoint judges over them to help him resolve their disputes. Those judges were instructed to be impartial and to offer a hearing to everyone, no matter how rich or poor. He also instructed them to bring any case that was too difficult to him for resolution. Moses then tells them how they moved on from Mt Sinai until they came to Kadesh-barnea. Moses told the people of Israel to go in and occupy the land, but the people wanted to send scouts out ahead of them. Moses thought this was a good idea and sent twelve scouts into the land, one from each tribe.
The scouts reported back that it was a good land, but that the people were too powerful and mighty for them. Moses tried to convince the people that they did not need to fear the people of the land because God would fight for them. However, the people refused to trust God and resisted going into the land. God was angry with them and swore that none of them, excepting only Caleb and Joshua, would enter the land of His promise. After the Lord told them that He would not allow them to enter the land because of their rebellion, the people changed their minds and attempted to conquer the land. Moses tried to convince them not to go because God had withdrawn His blessing on the attack. The people did not listen to Moses and were badly defeated.
This passage contains two important lessons for us. The first is that we should judge all people the same. We need to treat the wealthy and the poor, the powerful and the powerless the same. They are all equal before God and we should view them the same. The second lesson is that we need to follow God’s calling when it comes, sometimes the window of opportunity for certain calls is narrow. We need to learn not to fear man when God is calling us to take action. I struggle with this one because I struggle with knowing what God is calling me to.
After Jesus called Levi, the tax collector, to be His disciple, Levi threw a lavish dinner for Jesus at his house. Levi invited his friends and acquaintances. As you might expect these were not the “righteous and upright” members of society. They were the “wild child” people, known for their sinful lifestyles. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law asked Jesus’ disciples why they ate with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus answered them that the healthy do not need a doctor, rather it is the sick who need a doctor. This is a message that we cannot fulfill our mission to reach out to the lost if we never spend any time with them. Jesus spent time socializing with and going to the parties of sinners, we should do the same.
The Pharisees then confronted Jesus with the fact that His disciples did not spend time fasting. Jesus told them that they did not need to fast while He was with them. He goes on to tell them that we do not take cloth from a new garment to patch an old one because that results in a torn new garment and an ugly old one. In a similar manner, we do not put new wine in old wine skins because as the new wine ferments it will break the old wine skins. Interestingly, Jesus follows this up by saying that no one has been drinking old wine says that they want to switch to new wine because old wine is better.
One Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples were walking through some grain fields. The disciples picked a few grains and rubbed them between their hands and ate the kernels. The Pharisees confronted Jesus about His disciples doing that which was not lawful on the Sabbath. Jesus replies by telling them that David took some of the consecrated bread that only priests are allowed to eat and shared it with his men. On another Sabbath, Jesus goes into a synagogue and began to teach. There was a man in the synagogue with a crippled hand. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus had the man stand in front of the entire crowd. He then asked the crowd, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
Having established with His rhetorical question that it is never wrong to do good for someone else, He healed the man’s hand. Jesus made it clear that it is never wrong to do good for someone.
Let all the world praise God for He has done mighty deeds. God has tested us and purified us. I will tell you what God has done for me. He has done marvelous things for me. When I have cried out to Him in frustration and gloom He has answered me. When I was at the end of my endurance He granted me change and relief. I confessed my sins of arrogance and pride (as well as many others) and He listened to me. He has listened to me and provided me with hope when I felt like there was no reason to go on. I will praise the Lord with all of my being.
Those who are generous become wealthy, while those who are stingy become poor. If you are willing to help others when times are good for you, others will help you when times are bad for you. People curse those who hoard necessities in time of trouble, but bless those who are willing to sell to others. When you are kind and generous to others, they will generally be kind and generous in return and even when they are not, generosity is still its own reward.
