Bible Read 2010

March 11 - Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy Chapters 1-2

Today we begin Deuteronomy and I already like it.  The first few chapters are told in the first-person as Moses is speaking to the Israelites.  Verse 1:1 starts, "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel."  

Chapter 1 is Moses recapping what happened from the end of their stay at Mt. Sinai to the wanderings in the desert.  The tone is very conversational with Moses telling the people like it is.  

In Chapter 2, we actually get to see some of the gaps filled in from Numbers when there we see the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites deny passage to the Israelites.  The Lord was protecting those people because they were descendants of Esau and Lot.  

It is just a different from the previous books because Moses talks in the first-person and shares his feelings.  Deut 1:23 about the idea of sending out spies, "The idea seemed good to me."  Then in 1:37, "Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, 'You shall not enter it, either,'" about Moses entering the promise land.  In Numbers, the reason is that Moses lacks faith and hits the rock instead of just speaking to it.  But now we get Moses' first-person account and he clearly puts some of the blame on the Israelites.  

Those are just a couple examples of the incite given in Deuteronomy - hopefully more to come.

March 10 - Noah is a girl's name

Numbers 35 is a detailed description of who the Lord deems as a murderer and what the consequences of a death - intentional or unintentional - may be.  Basically, if you kill some one, you deserve to die - in OT term.  However, there must be more than one testimony to convict a murderer.  The testimony of just one can not convict.

In the case of an accidental death, the one who caused the death can escape to a city of refuge.  The only major caveat is that he/she must stay in that city until the death of the high priest.  If he/she leaves the city before then, he/she can be killed by the avenger of blood (sounds like a Marvel comic character).

Numbers 36 talks about the inheritance of land of Zelophehad's daughters.  The most interesting thing in this chapter is the names of his daughters - Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah.  I didn't know Noah was a unisex name.  Now I do.

March 9 - Numbers 33-34

Numbers 33 - 34

Numbers 33 is an account of lots of the places the Israelites camped in their 40 years wandering in the desert.  The only men older than 20 when they left Egypt who would be allowed to enter the Promised Land were Caleb and Joshua - even Aaron and Moses were not allowed to enter because of their lack of faith in Number 20.  Aaron died about halfway through the 40th year when he was a 123.  

Number 33:50-55 are significant because this is where the Lord commands the Israelites to drive out all of the inhabitants and to destroy all of the carved images, idols, and high places in the land.  

The Israelites did not obey this command of the Lord and would forever pay for it.  We also must not ignore the Lord's complete commands or there will be consequences.  It is important to try and fully understand what God wants us to do and to the full extent - otherwise we are being disobedient.

Chapter 34 is just an account of the how the land was to be divided up amongst the tribes.

Slowly Catching Up - Zombieland in Numbers

Numbers 25 - Moab Seduces Israel

I just couldn't pass up writing about this episode in Numbers.  Israelite men (presumably) start getting it on with Moabite women and this did not make the Lord happy.

So what does the Lord do when he gets upset with his people - kill them of course.  It is a bit confusing how they actually die though.  The Lord told Moses to kill them but then later, there is talk of a plague.  

So I'm going to stick with the plague idea because it fits my theme of zombies better.  Imagine a bunch of Israelites having sex with Moabites, then getting some nasty flesh-eating plague, then getting killed by their fellow Israelites.  Sounds very much like Zombieland - huh.  That's what I thought.

It all obviously didn't really go down like this but that was how I envisioned it.

And how did the plague end - well Phinehas got real mad and took care of Zimri and Cozbi together.  He "followed the Israelite into the tent.  He drove the spear through both of them - through the Israelite and into the woman's body," (Num 25:8).  24,000 were killed in this episode.

And I am officially caught up (just in my reading).

March 9 - Numbers 33-34

Numbers 3 and 4

Faydra here.  I was doing this with Kevin but have done worse than Kevin with keeping up.  But it's Lent and what better time to renew the goal, right?

A few thoughts on Numbers 3 and 4.  Chapter 3 starts off with Aaron's two oldest sons dying because they offered unauthorized sacrifice.  And then the middle of Chapter 4 (vs 5-20) goes into great detail as to how Aaron and his sons are to take care of the most holy things needed for the alter.  It reads like a how-to-break-down-camp manual.  Only since we know people can DIE if they don't do this stuff right, it also reads like an order of worship. This is their duty, their act of obedience, and they have very exact instructions as to how to do this exactly as it will please God.  And then the Kohathites have the duty of carrying these holy things, but they cannot touch them directly or they with die.  The task of wrapping the holy items for Aaron and his sons is a matter of life or death for the Kahathites because if a corner is left exposed...

As we read about what exactly Aaron and his sons are packing away I'm reminded of how beautiful the alter, the place of worship, was for the people of Israel.  It was designed by God as the perfect place to worship God.  It was so important that God left instructions as to how it should be cared for and if the wrong people so much as touched the items they would die.  Holy.  Mysterious.  Powerful.  

I think of our places of worship today.  Our Longview church met in a warehouse and moved to a movie theater.  I've attended a church here in Florida which meets in a high school auditorium.  Another church we visited had little distinction between a very casual foyer with cafe tables and bagels set up and the place where the service was held - just a half wall separated this two areas so some sat at cafe tables munching bagels while the pastor spoke while other sat in rows of cushioned blue chairs.  How far we have come!  Does this matter?

I also think of all that God required of his people at this time.  Such specific tasks and assignments!  And yet, I think if God gave me a very specific how-to it would be so much easier.  These days we don't get: wrap this in blue cloth, remove the ashes and cover that in purple.  We get: Love your neighbor as yourself.  Much greater room for interpretation on that one.  

But God has called us to sacrifice and He does have specific ideas in mind as to how we should be sacrificing.  Maybe my task today isn't to wrap anything in dolphin skins.  Maybe my task is to maintain a gentle voice when I respond to my kids.  Whew.  That is so. much. harder.  BUT grace as also increased. If (when) I fail, I get to try again the next day and the next.

***

If you are reading through the Bible too, I hope you've discovered the Reading Plans feature on biblegateway.com.  On the left click on reading plans.  In the top boxes choose "Chronological" and a version of the Bible you want to use.  Then hit "update" and get reading!

February 6 - February 10

Exodus

Crazy OT Laws

22:2-3 "If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. "

22:19 "Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death. "

22:31-33 "I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. ³² Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. ³³ Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you."  The Israelites pay for not obeying verse 33.  They never drive out all the foreigners and that will be their downfall.

Chapter 24 - Moses spends 40 days and 40 nights on top of the mountain with God receiving his laws and commands.

Chapter 25 - God gives Moses instructions for making the Tabernacle, the ark, the table, and the lampstand (menorah).  It is here that God command for the Testimony from God to be put in the ark.

Chapter 26 - Specific directions for the construction of the Tabernacle.  It would end up being 45' by 15' with a wall around it being 150' by 75'.  If you want a good description and picture, go here - Tabernacle.

 This is an interesting tidbit from that website:

"The whole compound was surrounded by a high fence with only one entrance. A person could not simply come from any direction into the tabernacle as he pleased — he had to enter through the one gate, which was always located to the east (so that people were facing west when they entered the tabernacle — a direct opposition to the pagan sun worshippers of the day who always faced east). Upon entering the gate, he encountered the brazen altar, where he was to present his animal offering, and then hand the reigns over to the priests, who make atonement and intercession for him in the tent."

Chapter 27 - Aaron and his sons are given leave to "keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening to morning."  This would become their duty for generations to come as the Levites.

Chapter 31 - "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- ⁴ to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ⁵ to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. "  Art is a very important part with respect to worship of the Lord.  He specifically blessed Bezalel and Oholiab with abilities so they could correctly build the items the Lord required.

Rebellion and Restoration

Chapter 32 - This is one crazy chapter.  While Moses is up on the mountain for 40 days, the people get restless and have Aaron make them a golden calf for them to worship to.  God then tells Moses to leave him alone so that he can destroy them and then make Moses into a great nation.  This kind of stuff confuses a bit because it makes God seem a bit fickle. 

Moses sees them dancing around the calf and he loses it - breaking the tablets.  Then he does something cool.  verse 22 "And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. "  I wonder what gold-powdered drink would taste like.

verse 35, "And the Lord struck the people with a plague beause of what they did with the calf Aaron had made."

Chapter 33 - God's Grace and Glory

verse 3, "Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way."  Just makes me laugh.

Chapter 35 - Covenant Restored

²⁸ Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

God restored his covenant with the Israelites and regave them the Law.

My Take on the Ten Commandments

Exodus Chapter 20 and Deuteronomy Chapter 5

1.  "You shall have no other gods before me."  I think we violate this quite regularly with all the stuff we put before God - such as our families, our jobs, money, tv, church, etc.

2.  "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God."

I don't think we "bow down" and worship as often as the Israelites did.  It seems silly how often they violated this commandment.  However, we definitely have idols that we worship - very similar to number 1.  We worship movie stars, political figures, money, cars, pastors, etc.

3.  "You shall not misuse the name of the name of the Lord your God."  I grew up getting slapped (figuratively) if I ever used the Lord's name in vain.  Such as OMG, or the worst one of all, GD.  I still cringe a little when I hear it used that way.  While I think those might apply, I'm not sure that's what this really means.  To me, misusing the name of God means misrepresenting him.  Claiming to be a Christian, a follower of Christ and a follower of the Lord, while not obeying him and living as we should, is a much bigger misuse of the name of the Lord our God than saying OMG.  Claiming to be a Christian and then slandering and gossiping is much worse than saying the occasional GD.  I'm not saying those sayings aren't sinful, I'm just saying the emphasis could be better put elsewhere.

4.  "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."  We do have to remember that these commandments were to the Jewish people of the OT.  This is the old covenant and we do not live underneath this.  So "keeping the Sabbath holy" can mean something totally different to us.  FIrst of all, our "Sabbath" is on Sunday while there's was on Saturday.  So if you want to be literal, be literal.  I used to understand this as we are not supposed to work on Sunday - but going to church for a few hours (where the ministers are working) and then spending the rest of the day watching football or taking or a nap or eating out was ok.  My grandma took this to the extreme and wouldn't buy anything on Sunday because that caused someone else to have to work - I respected that.

But some people have to work on Sunday.  Some people have to work 7 days a week for some periods of time.  Ultimately, I think we have to take time out of our weeks to spend time with the Lord.  Time to worship him and honor him.  That may be some morning.  That may be a few lunch hours during the week.  It may be Sunday.  Whatever it may be for you, I think this commandment teaches that there should be a time of rest where we focus on the Lord in our week.

5.  "Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you."  Some of the synonyms for "honor" in my Bible text notes are "prize highly", "care for", "show respect for", and "obey".  Lots of words could be written on this.  I think this can be treated exactly the same as it was 3000 years ago.  Do I still have to obey my parents as a 32 year old?  I don't think so.  But I should show them respect if I choose not to obey them.  I should honor them with phone calls, and letters, and visits, and most importantly, let them take the grandkids one weekend a month.

6.  "You shall not murder."  Pretty self-explanatory.  Until Jesus got a hold of it.  He said in Matthew 5:22, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment."  Now that is tough.  And we thought the Pharisees took some of the laws a little far.

7.  "You shall not commit adultery."  Matthew 5:28, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  This one is a little tougher.  But there is definitely a difference between noticing a woman's beauty and looking at her lustfully.  Looking lustfully involves dwelling on the image and that can be avoided.  I guess the woman get completely off the hook here, unless, of course, they are looking lustfully at a woman.

8.  "You shall not steal."  This includes music, videos, intellectual property (such as someone's answers or essays), and others.  Stealing is much more broad than just physically taking that which does not belong to you.

9.  "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."  Lying and gossiping I think fall in this category.  We all have our little pet peeves and sins that bother us.  Some can't handle those that copy DVD's or torrent files.  Mine is gossip.  I absolutely abhor hearing people talk badly about others.

10.  "You shall not covet your neighbor's house ...  neighbor's wife ... or anything that belongs to your neighbor."  Be content with how the Lord has blessed you.  Be happy for your neighbor.  Thank the Lord for how he has blessed you.

Matthew 22:37-40.  Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment in the Law.  He replies, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." 

All the above commandments are moot when we treat these two as the greatest.  If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, you won't have any other gods, or make idols, or misuse God's name, and you will keep some time holy and spend it with the Lord.  If you love your neighbor, you will honor your parents, you won't murder/hate, you won't cheat/lust, you won't steal, you won't lie/gossip, and you will not covet.

It's just that easy.

February 3 - February 5

Chapter 13 - Lots of talk about the consecration of the firstborn male - either man or animal.  Moses did bring the bones of Joseph with him out of Egypt because of the oath made long before.  This is where we are introduced to the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.  This is how the Lord led the people.

Chapter 14 - The Egyptians pursue the Israelites and catch up to them.  The angel of the Lord (the cloud/fire) moves between the two peoples and keeps them separated.  Through the night the cloud brought darkness to one side but allowed there to be light on the other.  The Lord then blows a wind all night and separates the sea for them to pass through.  I love this scene in Prince of Egypt because it shows the sea animals just on the other side of the wall of water.

The Egyptians follow through the sea and the Lord starts messing with them.  Causing wheels to fall off of the chariots and general chaos.  The water fell down and killed them demonstrating the power of the Lord.

Chapter 15 - A song is sung to the Lord.  Moses throws a stick in the bitter water and it becomes sweet.  Then the Lord makes a promise that he must know is completely futile, "if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you," (vs 26).

Chapter 16 - "In the desert the whole community grumbles against Moses and Aaron," (vs 2).  I think this is going to be a theme.  God sends manna to feed his people.  I know the Bible says it is bread that tastes like wafers made with honey but I imagine it as being some magnificent creation of the Lord that tastes whatever you want it to taste like.  So for breakfast it might taste like pancakes one day and then a chicken the biscuit the next.  Dinner could be either prime rib with potatoes or salmon with fresh veggies.  I just couldn't imagine eating the same thing for every meal for 40 years.

Chapter 17 - Moses strikes a rock for water to come forth after some more grumbling.  Joshua had to fight the Amalekites.  The odd thing about this fight was that they would only win as long Moses kept his hands held aloft.  The Lord once again was showing them that he was in charge.  That he was responsible for their victories.  

Chapter 18 - Jethro comes to see Moses with Moses' wife and two sons.  Jethro gives Moses some good advice about leadership and the ability to delegate.  Moses listens to his father-in-law and his burden is eased.

Chapter 19 - After three months, they arrive at Mr. Sinai and the Lord is going to speak to them.  "Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire.  The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembles violently and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder," (vs 18-19).  This would have been cool to see.

Chapter 20 - The Ten Commandments are given to Moses and Aaron.  I never knew Aaron was present for this too but in 19:21, the Lord told Moses to "Go down and bring Aaron up with you."  I will give my opinions on these commandments in the next post.

Chapter 21 - Some new laws for the people.  Hebrew servants can only for six years and then must be freed in the seventh.  Murder is punishable with execution.  Kidnapping is punishable by death.  Cursing ones father or mother is punishable by death.  If servant is hit and his/her eye is hurt or a tooth is knocked out, the servant must be set free.  There are other random stuff too.

January 31 - February 2

Exodus

Chapter 4 - God finally convinces Moses to go to Egypt but twice Moses makes God mad.  Moses kept complaining about not being a good speaker, therefore, "the Lord's anger burned against [him]" (4:14).  And then in verse 24, "at a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him."  The explanations in the Bible are so strange sometimes.  Why would the Lord go through all this work of preparing Moses to save his people, and then all of a sudden decide to kill him?  If Zipporah had not circumcised their son would the Lord really have struck down Moses right there?

Chapter 5 - Initially, all Moses asked for was to let the Hebrews hold a festival to the Lord in the desert.  After that first visit, Pharaoh start punishing the workers.  

Chapter 6 - God makes a cool statement in verse 1, "Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country."  Pharaoh is going to get so angry he is going to force the Israelites to leave the country.

Chapter 7 - Moses is to be like God and Aaron will be his prophet.  This is an interesting set up.  God could have just gone straight through Aaron since Moses was such a baby - but he knew Moses was the leader and he was the one God chose to lead the people out of Egypt.  I've always liked the first demonstration of God's power when Aaron's staff/snake eats the sorcerer's snakes. 

The plagues are interesting because some believe these were just intensifications of natural occurring events. River to blood may have just been sediment because in verse 24, digging along the Nile (through sand) made the water ok to drink.

Chapter 8 - Frogs come next and the Egyptian guys are able to repeat the feat.  However, God shows his power by having all the frogs die on his command with his timing.  Gnats are next and the Egyptian magicians can't reproduce this plague and they acknowledge God's hand in it.  Flies come after the gnats and the Lord keeps the flies from bothering the Israelites - something only God could do.

Chapter 9 - The flies from the previous plague may have brought a bacteria with them that killed all the Egyptian livestock - once again not touching the Israelite animals.  Boils are next.  Hail came next and destroyed everything not covered.  Some Egyptians were beginning the fear these plagues because some listened to Moses and Aaron and brought in their animals.  Hail did not fall on Goshen.

Chapter 10 - Locusts are next and they eat everything in the land.  Pharaoh still does not let the people go on their three-day journey to sacrifice to the Lord.  The plague of darkness is ninth and it covers the land for three days but the Israelites are able to see in their houses.

Chapter 11 - At the beginning of this chapter the Lord tells Moses Pharaoh is going to let them go and "will drive [them] out completely."  

Chapter 12 - Moses prepares the Israelites for the Passover.  They are to kill a year-old sheep or goat, put the blood over the door, and cook and eat the rest.  They are to eat ready to go, with shoes and jackets on.  At midnight, the Lord killed the firstborn of every human and animal in the land except for those with blood over their doors.  That night they were told to leave - about 600,000 men.  They were in Egypt for 430 years.

January 27 - January 30

I am way behind so I'm going to combine multiple days into one post.

Gen 43 - Joseph sees his brothers again after the return with Benjamin.  They have dinner and the brothers seem a bit confused.

Gen 44 - I guess Joseph just has a perverse sense of humor.  He obviously loves his brothers still, especially Benjamin - yet he proceeds to accuse them of stealing and make them think he is going to either kill Benjamin or make him his slave.

Gen 45 - Joseph reveals himself and send for his family. It is confusing how they switch Jacob's name back and forth from Jacob and Israel.  Jacob never confronts his other sons about how Jacob is still alive when they told him Jacob had died.

Gen 46 - Jacob's family travels to Goshen to live.

Gen 47 - Joseph acquires everything in Egypt for the Pharaoh in exchange for food.  This is interesting because where did he get this grain in the first place?  Did this grain come from the people or did it come from the Pharaoh's fields?

Gen 48 - Jacob is about to die so Joseph brings his two sons to see his father.  Jacob then blesses the two boys, making them as his sons.  This is why there is not a tribe of Joseph, but two other tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Gen 49 - Jacob dies and "blesses" his sons.  These are interesting blessing to read through because they aren't all good.  He tells Rueben "he will no longer excel" because he slept with one of Jacob's wives.  Some of the sons get good blessings, others not so much

Gen 50 - Everyone goes to Canaan to bury Jacob and it was one super crazy funeral processional.  Joseph then has to reassure his brothers that he's not going to kill them now that their father is dead.  Joseph has forgiven them because he knows it was God's will for him to be sold into slavery so he could end up in Egypt - effectively saving God's chosen people.  Upon Joseph's death, he made his brothers swear an oath that God will eventually come to their aid and they are to remove Joseph's bones at that time.

Exodus 1 - Joseph's generation dies and we get a fast-forward ahead many years (about 400 if I remember correctly).  The Hebrews are numerous and the Egyptians enslave them out of fear.  The order is given to kill all the newborn boys and this begins the story of Moses.

Ex 2 - Moses is born and hid and then put in a basket.  Pharaoh's daughter finds him and then pays Moses' mother to raise.  We don't know how old Moses is when he is returned to Pharaoh's daughter, just that when he grew older.  She named him Moses, meaning "I drew him out of water".  We don't know what his Hebrew name is.  Moses kills and Egyptian and has to run away.  He meets some hotty sisters at the well and ends up marrying one of them, Zipporah.  Moses father-in-law has two names, Reuel and Jethro.

Ex 3 - Moses sees the burning bush.  I don't understand why in verse 2 it says "the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire in the bush."  But then in verse 4, it's the Lord God calling to him from within the bush.  So what's the deal with the angel?

God then lays out the plan for Moses.  The Egyptians won't let them go so God will strike them with many wonders.  He will also allow the Hebrews to plunder as they leave. 

Persistence is the key.  The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for a while now and they had probably forgotten quite a bit about their forefathers and their relationship with the one and only God.  But the Lord was faithful to his covenant with Abraham and heard their suffering.  The Lord is also faithful to us.  We have to be persistent in our prayers and never lose faith.  As stated when Moses asked who he was to say had sent him, the Lord has been around since the beginning and will always be there.  He understands what we are to go through and he has control over those situations.  No matter what the length of our sufferings, God hears us – whether we are delivered from that suffering or not.