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 21-23.

We can learn an important lesson about the value of human life from this passage.  When there was an unsolved murder it did not just molder in the record books.  A system was established to determine which authorities were responsible to solve the crime.  Then they were required to take a solemn oath that they had neither committed the murder nor knew who had.  This requirement applied even if the victim was someone of no account.  Yes, there were cases where no one would be able to identify the murderer, and there always will be such cases.  Someone still had to come before God and offer a sacrifice to God for the life which had been taken.  Every human life belongs to God and anyone who takes such a life will be accountable to God for that life.  Those to whom God has given the authority to govern will be held accountable for trying to bring justice to those whose lives have been taken by another.

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 18-20.

Moses warned the Israelites against adopting the detestable practices of the people who already lived in the land they were entering.  The practices they were not to imitate were sacrificing their children, various forms of predicting the future, attempts to control the world around them using spells, and contacting the dead.  Moses then goes on to tell the people how to recognize a genuine prophet of God.  Anyone who claims to be a genuine prophet of God will make predictions about the future.  If those predictions fail to come true, the prophet is a fraud.  So, Moses links sacrificing children with soothsaying, witchcraft, and necromancy.  When I read the Old Testament prophecies against child sacrifice I find myself seeing abortion as a modern form of the same practices.  All of these linked practices represent attempts to gain control over the universe around us and cheat death, rather than turn to the One who does indeed control the universe around us and Who has power over death.

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 8-10.

Moses reminded the Israelites to remember what God had done for them in the past, and to remember the consequences they had suffered when they were unfaithful.  All too often we find it easy to turn to God when times are difficult, but then forget Him when times get better.  Moses’ reminder here is threefold.  First, we must make the effort to remember what God did for us when we were at our lowest.  Second, we must remember the consequences we suffered when we turned from God in the past.  Finally, we must remember that we do not experience good times while others suffer because we are better than they are.  We should seek to be righteous because God has been good to us, not seek to be righteous in order to obtain good things.

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 5-7.

I really liked doing something different yesterday.  Perhaps next year I will seek out a different daily Bible reading schedule.  Now I return to reading my way through the Bible.  Starting today Moses presented the generation of Israelites who would enter the Promised Land with God’s commands for them which He had given to the previous generation.  Many of those listening to Moses on this day had been present when the commands were first given, but they were young and not yet responsible adults when they heard them.  Moses starts by repeating, with slightly different wording, what we know as the Ten Commandments.  In a way, these ten commands build upon each other.  I really think of them from two directions.  First, following the commands which come later in this list of ten is meaningless if you do not follow the ones which come before.  It is of no consequence that you do not steal if you murder someone.  It is of no consequence that you do not murder if you worship anything other than God.  However, as I said, it also goes the other way.  If you murder or steal, you clearly do not worship only God.

Then in chapter 6 Moses says something which tells us the most important part of making any set of rules work.  If we wish to truly be made holy by God we must worship and obey Him with our whole being, we must seek His will whole-heartedly.  Pleasing Him must be our chief desire.  All else must be subordinate to that.  If we do that, we will not look for loopholes or ways to get around God’s commands.  “Do not murder” means that we should value the lives of others.  “Do not steal” means that we should respect others ownership of the things which they have.  Jesus was absolutely correct, all of God’s other commands follow from two commands.  Actually, all other commands follow from this one: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all of your strength.  However, the second command is one that offers clarification as to what doing the first one means: Love your neighbor as your love yourself.  This second one follows from the first, but needs to be stated so that people cannot claim they did not realize that the first one meant the second one.  All of the other commands are just applications of these two.

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 3-4.

Today’s passage has Moses finish his summary of what had happened to the Israelites from the time they had left Mt Sinai until the day when he was speaking.  When Moses finishes summarizing their history, he reminds them that they had experienced some of this history and it should serve as a reminder to obey God’s commands.  In particular, Moses points out that they had seen for themselves the consequences of disobeying God when many of the people had worshiped Baal-peor.   Moses further reminded them that they had not seen God’s form when He spoke to them at Mt Sinai.  Therefore, they should not presume to create something which they present as being the image of God for worship.

I want to touch on one other thing which I come across from time to time.  Throughout the Old Testament we see that the people of Israel did indeed worship other gods and that, at least some of the time, they viewed these other gods as sharing the heavens with God.  From this, some people conclude that it was only later that the religion they followed became monotheistic.  However, if one believes, as I do, that this passage represents what Moses taught at the time this passage would have taken place one reaches the conclusion that Moses taught a monotheistic religion.  The failure of the people of Israel to live according to what Moses taught does not change what he taught anymore than the failure today of people to faithfully follow Christ’s teachings diminishes their value.

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 1-2.

In today’s passage Moses begins a summary of what happened to the people of Israel from the time the left Mt Sinai until they arrived on the east side of the Jordan River.  None of what he said was news to those to whom he spoke.  They had heard this all before.  However, different ones of them would have heard different parts of this.  Some would have experienced some of it, but all were very young, or not yet born, when Israel left Mt Sinai.  Which brings us to an important lesson we can all learn.  It is important to reiterate the history of a group, especially the history which shapes what that group is today, regularly, because there will constantly be new members who never experienced many of those events.  We need to go over why we do things the way we do them time and again in order to not forget.  If we do not go over the stories that formed us as a group, new people will not understand why we do things the way that we do.  We must strive to give people to learn from the mistakes which we, or our predecessors, made so that they do not need to make those mistakes themselves.