Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 14-17.

There are several interesting things in this passage.  Once again we have the laws regarding kosher foods.  As I pointed out earlier in the year when we read the kosher rules in Leviticus, while not every animal in the forbidden categories is a disease risk when eaten, the animals in the clean categories are all essentially safe to eat.  Another point of interest, the tithe was to be consumed as part of a feast by those who made the offering, except every third year, when it was to be given to the Levites for the benefit of the Levites and to aid orphans and widows.

Which brings us to God’s commands regarding debt and dealing with the poor.  I want to focus on what Moses tells them, and us, regarding the poor.  He tells them that there will not need to be any poor among them, if they only fully and faithfully follow God’s commands.  However, Moses essentially acknowledges that they will fail to do so such that there will be poor among them.  Those who are well-to-do and/or wealthy should freely lend to the poor whatever it is that the poor need, and not attempt to profit at the expense of the poor.  My father said on several occasions something which I think sum up how we should apply this today.  “There is nothing wrong with a Christian being a millionaire, and there is nothing wrong with a Christian being on welfare.  But there is something seriously wrong if one congregation has someone who is a millionaire and someone who is on welfare.”  He meant by that that those of us who are wealthy should aid those who would otherwise depend on the government so that they do not need to depend on the government.  I want to note that here, and everywhere else in the Bible where it is discussed, the wealthy have an obligation to God to aid the poor, but the poor do not have a right to that aid.  The Bible does not give the poor the right, or even the standing, to demand that the wealthy help them out.  I also want to point out that this passage makes no provision for the King (the government) to aid the poor (except insomuch as he is one of the wealthy).

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 11-13.

Once again Moses emphasizes loving and serving God with our entire being.  He also reiterates the idea of thinking and talking about God’s commands morning, noon, and night, at home and on the road.  At the same time we should talk about the things God has done for us, both the wonderful blessings He has given us and the discipline He has inflicted on us when we sinned.  We should do these things because otherwise we may be enticed to worship and follow other gods.

Moses goes from talking about not allowing ourselves to be enticed to worship other gods to instructing the Israelites to only conduct their sacrifices at the one place chosen by God from within the land.  They were not to conduct sacrifices and offerings upon any random hill or mountain, but only at the one place chosen for the entire nation to come together.  To me, this resonates with the passage in Hebrews which tells us not to forsake gathering together.  By gathering together people can see how little things which seem innocent are tempting us away from God.  We see that the gathering to worship was for this purpose because Moses goes from talking about gathering to instructions about rejecting those who attempt to entice us to worship other gods.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 8-10.

This passage reminds us of the importance of remembering what God has done in the past, both the glorious blessings He has given us and the punishments He has visited upon us for our sins.  Further, it reminds us that when we profit from other’s suffering it is not because of our righteousness, but because of their wickedness.  This last is one with which I struggle, not the part about it not being because of our righteousness, but because of others’ wickedness. This passage says that the Children of Israel would conquer the Promised Land because of the wickedness of those who lived there when they arrived.  Applying this elsewhere would suggest that the success of the Europeans when they first arrived in the Americas was because of the wickedness of the indigenous peoples.  While that conclusion seems to be consistent with the Bible, one can easily make a very fundamental error when discussing it.  The important point is NOT that the indigenous people were wicked, but that the Europeans success was not because of their righteousness.  Even more important for us is the message Moses communicated by saying this: if we allow ourselves to fall into wickedness the same thing which happened to them will happen to us.
Editing to add a link which provides supporting information
I did not intend to spend so much time on what is in the previous paragraph.  I really wanted to talk about chapter 10 verses 12 and 13.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

God’s commands have been given to us for our own good.  They are not arbitrary, nor are they intended to restrict our fun.  God has given us these commands because He knows what is best for us.  For example, God does not tell us to restrict our sexual activities to a single partner of the opposite sex because He wants to limit our fun.  He does so because He knows that we will have a happier, more fulfilling life if we do so.  In a way, the rest of this provides a roadmap.  IF we fear God, we will walk in obedience to Him.  As we walk in obedience to Him, we will begin to love Him as we see how His commands are in our best interest. As we come to love Him, we will desire to serve Him with all of our being.  Which brings us back to observing, following, His commands because they are for our own good.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 5-7.

The translators footnote on verse 3 of chapter 5 says that it could be translated as “It was not only with our parents that the Lord made this covenant.”  I suspect that to the original readers of that verse it conveyed both that and the way in which the NIV translators chose to translate it.  Each and every one of us must choose to accept God’s covenant for themselves, whether or not our parents did so.  However, I want to focus on chapter 6 verses 4 to 7.

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.

I really find this to be inspirational.  First, it contains what Jesus tells us is the greatest commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  I could spend my whole blog today on that, but I want to focus on what comes next.  God’s commands should be in our hearts at all times.  We should talk about them when we are at home, and when we travel.  We should talk about them as we go to bed, and when we get up in the morning.  We should spend all day every day thinking about what God wants us to do, and then doing it.  Of course, that follows from loving God with all of our heart, soul, and strength, but sometimes we need to spell that out.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 3-4.

I am not quite sure where I am going to go with this, but I want to focus on a couple of contrasting phrases in today’s passage.  First, the passage says, “do not make for yourselves an idol…For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  Then a few verses later when discussing the punishment which will come from breaking that command it says, “ 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… For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you…”  The final quote I want to pull out from today’s passage comes a few verses later and, in my mind, explains all of this, “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.  Keep his decrees and commands, …so that it may go well with you…”  The words I left out are also important, but I want to focus on the parts I quoted.  God is jealous because He knows that the idols we may seek to worship cannot fulfill the desires which lead us to worship, cannot satisfy the needs which we turn to them to fill.  He knows that our worship of idols can only lead to our heartbreak.  God is also a merciful God and has provided that anyone who truly seeks Him will find Him.  That final phrase reminds us that God’s commands are not arbitrary.  He made us and thus knows what we must do so that things will go well for us.   His anger at us when we violate His commands comes from His sorrow at the suffering which He knows our actions will bring us.  Once again, everyone who truly seeks God with their entire being will find Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 1-2.being written

Many scholars believe that the Book of Deuteronomy was the “Book of the Law” found in the Temple under King Josiah and that it was written at that time. While I have my doubts about Deuteronomy being written by Moses, I think it was likely written close to the time of Moses than to the time of Josiah.  I also believe that it is an accurate portrayal of the events it describes (while it is possible that there are some transcription errors, everything of theological significance is accurate).  The Book of Deuteronomy describes what Moses told the Children of Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, something they would be doing without his leadership.  The point of the book is that those Moses addressed had not lived through the Exodus and the giving of God’s Law.  There are a lot of things I would like to write about today’s passage, but I probably will not get to all of them.

Moses begins his recounting of how the Israelites had gotten to where they were at that moment with their departure from Mount Horeb.  The references to Mount Horeb (or often, just Horeb) throughout Deuteronomy, suggest that the camp being referred to was the one at Mount Sinai.  The Hebrew word Horeb derives in a way which suggests that Mount Horeb was “the mountain of the Sun”.  Sinai derives in a way which suggests that Mount Sinai was “the mountain of the Moon”.  Perhaps Horeb and Sinai are two different names for the same mountain.  Or, perhaps Horeb and Sinai were two mountains which were close enough together that the Israelite camp was at the base of both of them at the same time. I would also like to note that Moses’ encounter with the burning bush occurred at the base of Mount Horeb. For all it’s significance to the Exodus and the Israelites covenant with God, Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb never again became significant places for the Israelites to worship.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 32-34.

In his final address to the Israelites, Moses predicted that at some point in the future they would be unfaithful to God.  He further predicted that when that day came terrible things would happen to them.  One could easily read that part of Moses’ prediction and conclude that those responsible for the terrible things suffered by the Jewish people through the centuries were justified.  However, Moses also makes clear that God will not forget the terrible things done to His people and He will deliver justice against those who cause their suffering.  The basic message in Moses’ address applies to all people in some way.  Those who choose to be among God’s people will thrive when they obey and serve Him, but will face great suffering when they rebel against Him.  However, just because God uses someone, or some group, to bring suffering on those who rebelled against does not mean they will be free from suffering the consequences of causing others to suffer.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 29-31.

Each day we are given a choice.  A choice between life and death.  A choice to serve and obey God, or to follow the desires of our stubborn hearts.  Knowing what God wants us to do is not difficult.  He has given us His words and written them on our hearts.  There is no need to go to distant lands, or to seek mysterious teachers.  If we seek to serve and obey God He will give us direction right where we are.  The scary part is that we must make this decision each and every day.  The wonderful part is that, if we chose badly yesterday, we get to make a better choice today.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 27-28.

Moses instructed the Israelites that once they entered into the Promised Land they should assemble in the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.  Then the Levites would call out blessings for obedience from Mount Gerizim and curses for disobedience from Mount Ebal.  The people would acknowledge each blessing and each curse the Levites called out.  One can read the things which would lead to a curse and learn important lessons about our behavior.  However, I want to focus on what this exercise meant for the Israelites and for us today.  The things which the Levites called out and of which the people acknowledged acceptance represented a basic set of values which everyone accepted and agreed to live by.  In order for a society to be functional it must have such a set of values by which everyone agrees to abide if they wish to be part of that society.  The idea that a country needed such a set of common values was rejected during my childhood and early adult years, but today I see an attempt to establish a new set of values to which everyone is required to abide.  This new set of values appears to me to be contrary to those laid out for the people of Israel and to be those which will result in the curses described later in this passage.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 24-26.

Today’s passage contains a lot of commands, some of which seem to have a common theme and some which seem unconnected to the rest.  I suspect that to the Israelites who first heard these commands they would have had greater continuity.  I will focus on the thread which seems to run through the majority of these commands.  The commands make a point that we should not take advantage of others.  So, we should not take as security for a loan the means by which the borrower would earn the money to pay us back.  We should make sure that we leave opportunities for the poor and powerless to work to provide for themselves without forcing them to become dependent on us.  We should make sure that the poor and powerless receive justice.