Tag Archives: Read the Bible in a year

Daily Bible Study

February 17, 2019 Bible Study — One of the Israelite Leaders Was a Woman

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

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

In yesterday’s passage we read about some people who were disappointed in not being able to celebrate the second Passover (and the solution which Moses gave them).  Today’s passage contains examples of how only a short time later the people began to complain about Moses’ leadership.  I was going to write about the people’s ungratefulness, but I realized that I want to focus on the lessons in leadership from this passage.  God told Moses to appoint 70 elders to assist with managing the people and their problems.  The passage gives us no idea how these 70 elders were chosen, but Moses summoned them to the Tabernacle.  Two of the 70, for reasons never disclosed, did not come to the Tabernacle.  Nevertheless, when God poured his Spirit out on the elders, those two received it along with those gathered at the Tabernacle and began prophesying.  Joshua, Moses’ assistant, wanted Moses to stop them.  Moses declined to do so.  What we learn is that these 70 elders had authority given to them from God, not from Moses.  Joshua wanted Moses to exert his authority to establish that these 70 were subordinate to him and were only acting on his authority.  Moses declined to attempt to supersede God’s authority by doing so.

Again I find myself going in a different direction from my original intention.  I had planned to connect the dispute between Moses and his sister and brother (Miriam and Aaron) to the above issues.  However, it struck me that this dispute gives us a lesson on women in leadership (although perhaps not the one you might think).  Miriam and Aaron were wrong in challenging Moses’ authority.  However, the important lesson is that Miriam, a woman, had sufficient authority in the first place to be able to challenge Moses.  Miriam was clearly one of the leaders of the people of Israel.  She had enough authority to challenge Moses for overall leadership of the people (although only with Aaron to act as her proxy).

As a side note, this is the second time where Aaron acted in a way which brought down God’s wrath where he did not directly suffer.  The first time was when he made the golden calf for the people to worship.

Daily Bible Study

February 16, 2019 Bible Study — The Second Passover

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

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

When it came time to celebrate the Passover in remembrance of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt the first time (the first Passover was part of that deliverance), some of the Israelites were unclean and unable to partake.  They came to Moses to ask how they could celebrate this important occasion.  Moses recognized their sincere desire to worship God and celebrate His great power, so he told them to wait while he consulted with God.  The answer God gave Moses was that those who were unable to celebrate the Passover at its appointed time should do so one month later.  However, this special dispensation only applied to those who were truly unable to celebrate at the appointed time because they were ceremonially unclean, or were away on a trip.  It did not apply to those who found it inconvenient to celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. 

Daily Bible Study

February 15, 2019 Bible Study –Dedicating the Tabernacle

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 7.

The tribal leaders all gave gifts for the dedication of the Tabernacle and of the altar.  For the Tabernacle they banded together and gave six wagons and twelve oxen.  These were divided up among the Levite clans according to their duties regarding transporting the Tabernacle in order for them to transport their portion.  Those who were responsible for transporting the Ark of the Covenant and other sacred furnishings were not given any wagons because they were supposed to carry the items for which they were responsible. 

They all wanted to bring their offerings for the dedication of the altar at the same time (so that none of them were seen to have been lax in their giving).  However, because some of their offerings were going to be sacrificed on the altar, Moses instructed them each to bring their offerings on a separate day.  As a result, the dedication of the Tabernacle and its furnishings was a twelve day festival.

Daily Bible Study

February 14, 2019 Bible Study — Hockey Players and the Vow of a Nazirite

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 5-6.

It is at this point where I start looking forward to getting to the end of the Pentateuch.  I really dislike the procedure described for determining if a man’s jealousy about his wife is justified or not.  However, if one truly believes that God will divinely intervene in human affairs, then one can believe that He will intervene to protect an innocent woman unjustly accused by her husband.  Interpreted in light of the later instructions concerning divorce it puts a different light on those instructions: “No, you cannot divorce your wife just because you are convinced she has been unfaithful.  You must have proof.  If you have been unable to catch her being unfaithful, you can follow this procedure.  No, it’s not free.  You need to make an offering along with the request.”  I really don’t think much of a man who puts his wife through such an ordeal.

I have never fully understood the vow of a Nazirite.  What is its purpose?  Moses here describes what one needs to do in order to fulfill such a vow, but makes no mention as to why one would do so.  It appears that Samson’s mother vowed that he would be a lifelong Nazirite before his birth.  The men whom Paul accompanied to the Temple when he was arrested appear to have been completing a vow of a Nazirite.  So, I did a little research and found that most people took the vow of a Nazirite in response to being healed of some great affliction, or in response to receiving something greatly desired (such as the birth of a child).  The example of Samson suggests that some people took the vow of a Nazirite as part of a commitment to God, and a request for His aid, to work towards some godly goal.  As a hockey fan it reminds me of the playoff beards that most (maybe all) hockey players grow.  For those of you who do not follow hockey: NHL players typically stop shaving when their team enters the playoffs and do not shave (and usually do not even trim their beards) until their team has been eliminated.  They do so as a sign of their dedication to winning.  Modern Christians would be well served to have similar traditions to signify our dedication to serving God, or to signify our gratefulness for what He has done for us.

Daily Bible Study

February 12, 2019 Bible Study — Organizing the Israelites

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 1-2.

A year after the Israelites had left Egypt, Moses organized them.  I suspect that the organization had begun before this, but that at this point was far enough along to formalize it.  The first step recorded here was appointing leaders over each of the tribes.  Followed by a census of all of the fighting men of the twelve tribes.  Once the count had been obtained, Moses formalized where each tribe would camp relative to the Tabernacle and where they would march when the people moved on.

It seems likely to me that the leaders of each of the tribes emerged over the course of the time they were camped at Mt. Sinai.   The same would likely have been true of where the tribes camped relative to the Tabernacle.  Over the course of the time they were camped at Mt Sinai, the people would have become more organized.  We could certainly debate the degree to which this organization was top down (God to Moses to the people) vs bottom up (the people organizing themselves and acknowledging certain people as leaders).  I suspect it was a bit of both, with some of the later rebellions against Moses being led by people who had gotten followers during this process but who were not part of the formalized leadership which emerged here.

Daily Bible Study

February 10, 2019 Bible Study — Giving People a Fresh Start

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 24-25.

I struggle with the Jubilee Year as described here.  It seems impractical.  The hard part would be keeping track of to whom ownership should revert when land was sold the year after the last Jubilee.  Forty nine years later, the person who sold the land has likely died.  To which of his children should the land be returned?  Having said that, I think that the idea of the Jubilee has merit.  The idea that we offer people an opportunity to “reset” from the bad decisions which they, or their parents, made has value.  Or, perhaps it was not the result of bad decisions.  Perhaps people were forced into economic hardship by circumstances beyond their control and now do not have the resources to recover.  The point of the Jubilee Year was to periodically give people an opportunity for a fresh start.  We should do what is within our own ability to help those in misfortune start over.

Daily Bible Study

February 9, 2019 Bible Study — Political Unity Is Idolatry

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 22-23.

In today’s passage the priests are instructed to be very careful not to bring shame on God’s name.  As I was reading this I was struck by the fact that the end of the second verse of today’s passage reads to me like it should be translated, “…so they do not bring shame on my holy name, I am the Lord.”  It seems to me that the phrase, “I am the Lord” is God’s name, which is the reason why Jewish tradition is to avoid saying God’s name.  If we speak God’s name it becomes a short step to believing that His name applies to us.  

Later in this passage it describes the various festivals which God commanded the people of Israel to keep.  These festivals were designed to unite the people of Israel and to focus that unity on worshiping God.  Finding a way to unify the people is a challenge which faces every nation.  The effort of a nation’s political leaders to unify the people of that nation behind themselves presents a challenge to those who choose to worship God (and those who worship God present a challenge to those political leaders).  A study of history shows that, no matter how hard people try to avoid it, all attempts to instill political unity become idolatrous.  Sooner or later, political necessity comes into conflict with being faithful to God.  

I want to add at the end here that the title I gave today’s study, “Political Unity is Idolatry”, is not accurate.  More accurate is to say that unity, political or otherwise, quickly replaces serving God as our goal.  Time and again when people strive for unity they set aside being faithful to God to achieve it.  Or, to be more precise, they call on others to set aside being faithful to God in the name of unity.  

Daily Bible Study

February 8, 2019 Bible Study — “I Am the Lord Your God”

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 19-21.

As I read today’s passage I noticed that every couple of verses the writer includes the phrase, “I am the Lord your God”.  As the passage continues, he includes two variations.  Considering that most people would have learned these by hearing them recited (either from memory or by someone reading it to them as part of a group) both this phrase and the fact that it varies make it easier to remain focused on what is being read.  The first variation, “I am the Lord”, seems to be there just to provide variety. 

The second seems designed to remind us that God will hold us accountable even when our fellow man cannot or will not: “Fear your God. I am the Lord.”   The first time this variation appears it comes right after warning against insulting the deaf or causing the blind to stumble (both instances of taking advantage of someone’s disabilities for your own amusement).  Right after this variation is the warning against favoring the poor or the rich.  The next time it occurs is right after telling us to respect the aged and before telling us not to take advantage of those without connections living among us (foreigners).  I am not sure that this was intended to bring these commands into special focus, because I think that most of the commands in chapter 19 contain variations of treating others with respect and concern.

Daily Bible Study

February 7, 2019 Bible Study

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 16-18.

When Aaron wanted to go before the Ark of the Covenant to enter into the presence of God, he needed to perform a series of sacrifices some for himself and some for the people of Israel.  As I read today’s passage, he could do this whenever there was a reason to do so, but he was required to do so at least once a year on the Day of Atonement.  The effort which Aaron needed to go through reminds us that entering into God’s presence is a serious matter.

The command to celebrate the Day of Atonement (celebrate is not really the right word here) each year is immediately followed by the command forbidding sacrifices any place but at the Tabernacle.  Later on in the Law of Moses God commands that the people only perform sacrifices at the place which He designates for such.  The purpose of this command was to create unity of worship among the Children of Israel and to call them away from idol worship.  Tied in with the prohibition on offering sacrifices away from the Tabernacle is a prohibition on consuming blood.  Which suggests that the Old Testament prohibition against consuming blood was partially because if its role in idol worship.

I want to add here that throughout much of the Old Testament the people of Israel worshiped many other gods.  This leads to the conclusion that the people of Israel were polytheists for much of their history, which is correct.  However,  many people reach the conclusion that this means that the religion which was established in the Book of Exodus (before the Book of Exodus the worship of God was not a religion. I don’t want to go into what that means at this point) was polytheistic.  This passage, among many others, makes clear that such was not the case.  While many of those who worshiped God were polytheists, the actual teaching was monotheistic.

Daily Bible Study

February 6, 2019 Bible Study — Bringing the “Outcast” back

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 14-15.

The passage describes the process whereby a person who has been declared to no longer be contagious must go through a ceremony to become ceremonially clean once again.  The process both reduces the risk that the person will become reinfected and shows that there is a spiritual element to recovery from a serious illness.  Once a person has completed a quarantine to determine that they are not contagious, or no longer contagious, they were to remove all of the hair from their body and wash their clothes.  The priest would conduct a purification ceremony over them, then they would remain outside of their tent for seven more days.  At the end of these seven days of purification, they would once more shave all of the hair off of their body, then offer a purification offering and a sin offering.  While I am glad that we no longer need to go through the complex, involved ritual described here, there is a lesson to be learned about welcoming back those who were, for valid reasons, “outcast” from the community and who have done what is necessary to be welcomed back.