June 30, 2010 (I Chronicles 7-10, Psalm 102-104)

The last verse of I Chronicles 10 is pretty powerful:

¹³ So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord’s command, and he even consulted a medium ¹⁴ instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So the Lord killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

Haunting and makes me consider my walk with God and the devotion He requires.

I have to say, I'm still in a 'funk' - and I know it's because of a lack of faith. God doesn't change. He is always the same - always faithful. But it takes us recognizing that and acknowledging that. Psalm 103 and 104 both start out with "Praise the Lord, I tell myself". I think sometimes we just have to put mind over matter and tell ourselves, "No matter how I feel, I will praise God." That's where I am today.

Then in Psalm 103 I read of the "conditions" of blessing:

¹¹ For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

¹⁷ But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.
His salvation extends to the children’s children
¹⁸ of those who are faithful to his covenant,
of those who obey his commandments!

It's all about perspective. We have to constantly remember we are not alone here on earth. We are not living for ourselves, nor are we 'random'. Everyone and everything needs God, whether we recognize that or not. And the only way to recognize and remember that is to be in His word and be reminded of what He says. Psalm 104 ends this way:

²⁴ O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.

²⁷ They all depend on you
to give them food as they need it.
²⁸ When you supply it, they gather it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they are richly satisfied.
²⁹ But if you turn away from them, they panic.
When you take away their breath,
they die and turn again to dust.
³⁰ When you give them your breath, life is created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!
³² The earth trembles at his glance;
the mountains smoke at his touch.

³³ I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
³⁴ May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
³⁵ Let all sinners vanish from the face of the earth;
let the wicked disappear forever.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

June 28, 2010 (Various Psalms)

Well, it's been a while since blogging. I've been in CA, and although while there I don't think I missed a day of reading, I missed about every day of blogging. So I won't go back, but will go on from here. I love vacations, but I hate vacations. I'm a 'creature of habit'. I need my 'routines'. I am glad to be home. I am glad to be back at church. I am glad to be back into the routine. I also realize how easy it is to get 'sucked into the ways of the world'. I feel like I'm still coming out of a 'funk' that I got into. I wanted to go to CA and be a witness for Christ. But I think I went into the trip being tired with a loss of focus, and the trip never materialized into me being the example for Christ that I wanted to be. I seemed to be 'just like everyone else'. I know that riches and prosperity in the material world account for nothing, and yet it was so easy to 'partake' of that life. I found it interesting that today's reading encompassed those two dynamics. The first part pertains to 'worldly riches', while the last part pertains to having an eternal perspective with 'eternal riches':

The Fate of Those Without Christ:

^{Psalm 49:10} Those who are wise must finally die,
just like the foolish and senseless,
leaving all their wealth behind.
¹¹ The grave is their eternal home,
where they will stay forever.
They may name their estates after themselves,
¹² but their fame will not last.
They will die, just like animals.
¹³ This is the fate of fools,
though they are remembered as being wise.

¹⁴ Like sheep, they are led to the grave,
where death will be their shepherd.
In the morning the godly will rule over them.
Their bodies will rot in the grave,
far from their grand estates.
¹⁵ But as for me, God will redeem my life.
He will snatch me from the power of the grave.

¹⁶ So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich
and their homes become ever more splendid.
¹⁷ For when they die, they take nothing with them.
Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.
¹⁸ In this life they consider themselves fortunate
and are applauded for their success.
¹⁹ But they will die like all before them
and never again see the light of day.
²⁰ People who boast of their wealth don’t understand;
they will die, just like animals.

Reflecting Upon the True Meaning of Life

^{Psalm 73:16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.}

^{But what a difficult task it is!}

¹⁷ Then I went into your sanctuary, O God,
and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
¹⁸ Truly, you put them on a slippery path
and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
¹⁹ In an instant they are destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors.
²⁰ When you arise, O Lord,
you will laugh at their silly ideas
as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.

²¹ Then I realized that my heart was bitter,
and I was all torn up inside.
²² I was so foolish and ignorant—
I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
²³ Yet I still belong to you;
you hold my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
²⁶ My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.

²⁷ Those who desert him will perish,
for you destroy those who abandon you.
²⁸ But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

June 19, 2010 (I Samuel 1-8)

The thing that strikes me in the first chapter of I Samuel is that God is in control of things. Hannah was barren, and year after year she would worship the Lord in spite of her barrenness, but finally she was so distraught about it that she prayed out of deep anguish of soul, and God heard her. We see this over and over in the Bible, that God answers the prayers of the earnest, and yet we approach Him so 'casually' and wonder why we don't receive answers to our prayers. Perhaps it's because we are not 'earnest' in our requests.

Eli was the priest and he had two sons that 'had no respect for the Lord'. The were 'assistant priests' and failed to faithfully perform their duties. Eli heard of it, and confronted them about it, but they wouldn't listen to him. It seems as if after that, Eli let them continue 'doing what they were doing' instead of dealing with them. And because of that, God accused Eli of honoring his sons more than he honored God. Here was God's response to all this:

^2:29 So why do you scorn my sacrifices and offerings? Why do you give your sons more honor than you give me—for you and they have become fat from the best offerings of my people Israel!

³⁰ “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I promised that your branch of the tribe of Levi would always be my priests. But I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me. ³¹ The time is coming when I will put an end to your family, so it will no longer serve as my priests. All the members of your family will die before their time. None will reach old age. ³² You will watch with envy as I pour out prosperity on the people of Israel. But no members of your family will ever live out their days. ³³ Those who survive will live in sadness and grief, and their children will die a violent death. ³⁴ And to prove that what I have said will come true, I will cause your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to die on the same day!

³⁵ “Then I will raise up a faithful priest who will serve me and do what I desire. I will establish his family, and they will be priests to my anointed kings forever. ³⁶ Then all of your surviving family will bow before him, begging for money and food. ‘Please,’ they will say, ‘give us jobs among the priests so we will have enough to eat.’”

Honoring and obeying God - again and again we see that is the path of blessing.

The Philistines attacked Israel and captured the Ark of the Lord. Long story short, Israel got it back, but also kept foreign gods. And because of that "it seemed that the Lord had abandoned them". Then Samuel said:

7:3 “If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the Lord; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” ⁴ So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord.

This section ends with the people demanding a king, like the other nations have. God warned them through Samuel that a king would be greedy and self serving, but the people demanded it anyway. So God told Samuel "Do as they say and give them a king". Sometimes God gives us what we ask for, even to our own hurt. Why don't we always seek what He wants?

June 17, 2010 (Judges 16-21, Ruth 1-4)

The last verse of the book of Judges pretty much sums up the whole thing:

²⁵ In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

That's what happens with us, if we don't make Jesus our king - we do whatever seems right in our own eyes.

I love the book of Ruth. This time as I read it, I was struck by the overwhelming sense of God's name being mentioned all the time by all parties - Naomi saying "May the Lord bless you", Ruth saying "Your God will be my God", Boaz greeting the harvesters with "The Lord be with you", the harvesters replying "The Lord bless you", Boaz telling Ruth ”May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”, Naomi responding to Ruth "May the Lord bless the one who helped you", etc. etc.

I think Ruth was struck by her mother-in-law's faith - and she wanted a part of it. This is total speculation, but I don't think she wanted to go back to her Moabite people after her husband died because she got a "glimpse of God" through Naomi's life. And God rewarded her richly for seeking Him.

June 14, 2010 (Judges 10-15)

This section has a very weird passage - it talks of Jephthah, who makes a vow to the Lord and says "If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give You the first thing coming out of my house to greet me when I return in triumph." I can only imagine that he thought it would be his wife and he didn't like her, so that was his way to be rid of her. But what happened was his daughter - his only child - came out to greet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy! So, she convinced him to let her go into the hills with her friends and weep for two months because she would die a virgin. So that's what happened. Very, very strange.....

Chapter 13 begins with the story of Samson - an angel of the Lord came to Manoah's wife (her name is never mentioned) who was unable to have children and told her she would give birth to a son who was to be dedicated to God as a Nazarite from birth. She told her husband who prayed and asked for the angel to return to give more instructions, and God answered his prayer. So in a land where the Israelites were again doing evil, it seems as if this couple believed in God. So Samsom was born and 'God blessed him as he grew up'.

Chapter 14 is a good example of us not really being able to look at current circumstances and knowing with certainty what God is up to. What I mean is, sometimes God is 'in' the things that seem contrary to His word. Samson saw a Philistine woman that he wanted to marry and told his parents about it. They were furious, and asked him why he couldn't marry someone within the Israelites but had to go to the pagan Philistines. But Samson said "Get her for me. She is the one I want". And then here's the verse -

^14:4 His father and mother didn’t realize the Lordwas at work in this, creating an opportunity to disrupt the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.

It seems Samson was somewhat of a spoiled brat - bossing his parents around and then paying people back for what they did to him.

³ Samson said, “This time I cannot be blamed for everything I am going to do to you Philistines.” ⁴ Then he went out and caught 300 foxes. He tied their tails together in pairs, and he fastened a torch to each pair of tails. ⁵ Then he lit the torches and let the foxes run through the grain fields of the Philistines. He burned all their grain to the ground, including the sheaves and the uncut grain. He also destroyed their vineyards and olive groves.

⁶ “Who did this?” the Philistines demanded.

“Samson,” was the reply, “because his father-in-law from Timnah gave Samson’s wife to be married to his best man.” So the Philistines went and got the woman and her father and burned them to death.

⁷ “Because you did this,” Samson vowed, “I won’t rest until I take my revenge on you!” ⁸ So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam.

And then here is how this story and chapter ends:

⁹ The Philistines retaliated by setting up camp in Judah and spreading out near the town of Lehi. ¹⁰ The men of Judah asked the Philistines, “Why are you attacking us?”

The Philistines replied, “We’ve come to capture Samson. We’ve come to pay him back for what he did to us.”

¹¹ So 3,000 men of Judah went down to get Samson at the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, “Don’t you realize the Philistines rule over us? What are you doing to us?”

But Samson replied, “I only did to them what they did to me.”

¹² But the men of Judah told him, “We have come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

“All right,” Samson said. “But promise that you won’t kill me yourselves.”

¹³ “We will only tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines,” they replied. “We won’t kill you.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

¹⁴ As Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting in triumph. But the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax, and they fell from his wrists. ¹⁵ Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it. ¹⁶ Then Samson said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey,
I’ve piled them in heaps!
With the jawbone of a donkey,
I’ve killed a thousand men!”

¹⁷ When he finished his boasting, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was named Jawbone Hill.

And finally we see that God truly was with him, to the point of doing a miracle for him. I guess it shows that God will fulfill His purposes through whomever He chooses.

¹⁸ Samson was now very thirsty, and he cried out to the Lord, “You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagans?” ¹⁹ So God caused water to gush out of a hollow in the ground at Lehi, and Samson was revived as he drank. Then he named that place “The Spring of the One Who Cried Out,” and it is still in Lehi to this day.

²⁰ Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the period when the Philistines dominated the land.

June 13, 2010 (Judges 6-9)

Chapter 6 starts with the tale of Gideon, but before I even got to that I noticed that it wasn't until the Israelites were at the point of starvation that they cried out to God.

^6:5 These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. ⁶ So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

Why didn't they cry out to the Lord for help as soon as the enemy hordes arrived? Why did they wait until the land was stripped bare?

Chapters 6-8 tell the story of Gideon - the man who was a chicken, but whom God called a Mighty Hero. Gideon was hiding out, threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress when God came to him and said "Mighty hero, the Lord is with you". To which Gideon replied, "Thank you for noticing how brave I am!" - Not - He basically said, "How can I rescue Israel? I'm the weakest person there is!" God told him that He would be with him, and that he would destroy the Midianites. Gideon still had a hard time believing that God had really chosen him, so he gave God some 'tests' to see if it was really true. And God obliged by answering him. So finally, Gideon got up and got his army ready, only to have God tell him he had too many warriors. He ended up with 300 instead of 32,000. The bottom line of this story is that God can/will do anything He wants to do. What He wants from us is a willingness to trust Him and to acknowledge that it is really Him that is fighting for us.

After Gideon and his army defeat the Midianites and their allied armies, Gideon makes a crucial error - I think in his heart he took the credit for what God did through him. Here's the story:

^8:22 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”

²³ But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you! ²⁴ However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)

²⁵ “Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. ²⁶ The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels.

²⁷ Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

His 'one little request' became a trap for him. He didn't ask for much - just one earring from all the many objects they confiscated, but it turned out to be his downfall.

As soon as Gideon died, the people reverted to their corrupt ways:

³ As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. ³⁴ They forgot the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. ³⁵ Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Gideon, despite all the good he had done for Israel.

June 12, 2010 (Judges 1-5)

Judges begins where Joshua ended, and actually overlaps. Chapter 2 says the same thing as Chapter 24 of Joshua - 2:⁷ And the Israelites served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him—those who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.

But it continues with more detail:

¹⁰ After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.

¹¹ The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. ¹² They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord. ¹³ They abandoned the Lord to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. ¹⁴ This made the Lord burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to raiders who stole their possessions. He turned them over to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. ¹⁵ Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.

This kind of reminds me of America - God blessed our country because of it's founders and their belief in Him. But now, another generation has grown up, who does not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things He has done.

Judges is a book that repeats itself over and over. Here is what happens:

¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. ¹⁷ Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands.

¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

So, over and over, the people intermarry with the people around them (they failed to follow God's commands to totally drive them out) and worship their gods. Then God allows them to be defeated by their enemies, they repent and cry out to God, He raises up a judge to deliver them, during that judge's lifetime they serve God, but after his death then they forget about God and go on their merry way, worshipping other gods and the cycle repeats itself.

June 11, 2010 (Joshua 16-24)

The last chapter of Joshua recount the people's requirements and God's faithfulness to the people if they are faithful to Him. Here were Joshua's final words to the people before he died:

Joshua 23

Joshua’s Final Words to Israel

¹ The years passed, and the Lord had given the people of Israel rest from all their enemies. Joshua, who was now very old, ² called together all the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel. He said to them, “I am now a very old man. ³ You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. The Lord your God has fought for you against your enemies.

⁶ “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left. ⁷ Make sure you do not associate with the other people still remaining in the land. Do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or serve them or worship them. ⁸ Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now.

⁹ “For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you. ¹⁰ Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. ¹¹ So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

¹² “But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them, ¹³ then know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive them out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! ¹⁵ But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you. ¹⁶ If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

And then, another passage seen on plaques, etc.:

^24:14 “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

And finally, Joshua ends with what I fear for children who grow up in Christian homes and God is 'familiar' to them, without them seeing and experiencing God for themselves:

^24:31 The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him—those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel.

I believe there has to be a 'personal' experience of God in order to truly follow Him. And even then, as we saw so clearly in the lives of the Israelites, it's so easy to get distracted and turn away. God help us to follow you wholeheartedly.

June 10, 2010 (Joshua 9-15)

Joshua 9 has such a convicting story - every time I read it, I see myself doing the very same things. News of God defeating the current inhabitants of the land and giving the land to the Israelites spread far and wide. People in the town of Gibeon knew they were next on the list, so they disguised themselves as being from a far off country and said they heard of the great God and all He had done and they wanted to come to be their servants. They brought along moldy bread and old wine skins and worn out sandals, thereby looking as if they had come a long distance. Here is the convicting verse:

14 So the Israelite leaders examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

How often do I do the same thing? Look at surrounding circumstances and make a decision without consulting the Lord - too many times, I'm afraid to say. God, please help me to remember this story and consult You with all the details of my life.

At times like I am in now, where I am overwhelmed with life, I need to remember this:

10:42 .... for the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for his people.

I have to remember that God is fighting for me, and give Him the glory. I can't be out here 'on my own'.

June 9, 2010 (Joshua 1-8)

After the death of Moses, Joshua was commissioned by God to lead the Israelites. Here were God's words to him:

^1:6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

What about us? Do we meditate on the "Book of Instruction" continually? Morning and night? God tells us that only then we will prosper and succeed in all we do.

In chapters 7 & 8 we see how the sin of one person affects more than just themselves. The Israelites were told to go and capture Jericho and take nothing for themselves. But one man, named Achan, not only stole some of the goods, but lied about it. So when the Israelites went to attack the next town, 36 of their men were killed because of the sin of Achan. God revealed to Joshua who had done this, and when confronted Achan admitted what he had done. He saw some things he wanted and then he said "I wanted them so much that I took them." That is what sin is - selfishness - wanting things for ourselves at the cost of disobeying God. And we see that because of his sin 36 innocent people died. God takes obedience seriously. He has given us His word to guide us. Again, we all have a choice as to whether we will obey or not.

June 8, 2010 (Deuteronomy 30-34, Psalm 91)

Today and every day, we all have a choice. Moses was reminding the people of this in Chapter 30:

¹⁹ “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! ²⁰You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Moses was talking to the people who had seen the miracles of God - the parting of the Red Sea, the provision of manna, etc. etc. He realized how important it was for them to tell these stories to their children:

¹² Call them all together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns—so they may hear this Book of Instruction and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions. ¹³ Do this so that your children who have not known these instructions will hear them and will learn to fear the Lord your God. Do this as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.”

And then these verses from chapter 33. I've personalized one of them.

²⁶ “There is no one like the God of Israel.
He rides across the heavens to help you,
across the skies in majestic splendor.
²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge,
and his everlasting arms are under you.

²⁹ How blessed you are, Sandy!
Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord?
He is your protecting shield
and your triumphant sword!

June 7, 2010 (Deuteronomy 21-29)

Moses once again reiterated the laws of God to the people. And once again he told them of the promised blessings from obedience and the curses from disobedience. As I read these chapters today it made me think again of my devotion to Him - and how easy it is to 'live according to the ways of the world' instead of as a person totally devoted to Him and His ways. I once again asked for His forgiveness and to make a person of utmost devotion to Him. Here are some very 'scary' verses:

^28:58 “If you refuse to obey all the words of instruction that are written in this book, and if you do not fear the glorious and awesome name of the Lord your God, ⁵⁹ then the Lord will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick. ⁶⁰ He will afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt that you feared so much, and you will have no relief. ⁶¹ The Lord will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed. ⁶² Though you become as numerous as the stars in the sky, few of you will be left because you would not listen to the Lord your God.

⁶³ “Just as the Lord has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy.

^29:19 “Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin! ²⁰ The Lord will never pardon such people. Instead his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and the Lord will erase their names from under heaven.

We are accountable for what we have been shown:

²⁹ “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

June 6, 2010 (Deuteronomy 14-20)

I found the following verse interesting:

^14:23 ...The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to fear the Lord your God.

^15:10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

This following section was given in regards to the king. Words of wisdom for us as well:

^17:19 He must always keep that copy (the laws of God) with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. ²⁰ This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

And then words of encouragement for us as we go "out to battle" every day:

^20:3 ...! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

June 5, 2010 (Deuteronomy 8-13)

When we are being "led through the wilderness" we can never forget verse 2. I was just going to include that, but there is so much good in this whole section, I had to include it all. I've cut a few verses here and there to shorten it:

^8:2 Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. ³ Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. ⁵ Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.

⁶ “So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land..... ¹⁰ When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

¹¹ “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. ¹² For when you have become full and prosperous .... be careful! ¹⁴ Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. ¹⁵ Do not forget that he led you ..... He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. ¹⁷ He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ ¹⁸ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

¹⁹ “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. ²⁰ Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord your God.

^10:12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. ¹³ And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

¹⁴ “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. ¹⁵ Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today. ¹⁶ Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.

And then further exhortations in Chapter 11:

¹³ “If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, ¹⁴ then he will send the rains in their proper seasons.....

¹⁶ “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. ¹⁷ If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain....

¹⁸ “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine.

²² “Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.

²⁶ “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! ²⁷ You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lordyour God that I am giving you today. ²⁸ But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.

June 4, 2010 (Deuteronomy 1-7)

In these beginning chapters, Moses recounts the 'history' of the people's exodus from Egypt. The book opens with this second verse of the first chapter giving us a very clear picture of what sin does to us.

² Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">} to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. ³ But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month,^{c]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">} Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say.

And even though they rebelled those forty years, God was with them every step of the way:

^2:7 For the Lord your God has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’

And then I realized I am responsible for my own actions, regardless of anyone else's sin and how they 'provoke' me:

^3:21 “At that time I gave Joshua this charge: ‘You have seen for yourself everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. ²² Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’

²³ “At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said, ²⁴ ‘O Sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do? ²⁵Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’

²⁶ “But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more.

And then Moses reminds them of all the wonderful promises of God if only they will obey:

Deuteronomy 4

Moses Urges Israel to Obey

“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. ² Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.

³ “You saw for yourself what the Lord did to you at Baal-peor. There the Lord your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor. ⁴ But all of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today—every one of you.

⁵ “Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. ⁶ Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ ⁷For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? ⁸ And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

⁹ “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. ¹⁰ Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai,^{m]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">} where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’

²⁸ There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. ²⁹ But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

³⁰ “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you.

³⁵ “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other.

³⁹ “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. ⁴⁰ If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

June 2, 2010 (Numbers 33-36)

I found this verse interesting - perhaps this is where 'journaling' came from:

^33:2 At the Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places where they stopped along the way.

I think it's good to make a "written record of our progress". Of seeing God's faithfulness demonstrated to us, so that in those dark times we have something to refer back to.

Again we see that forming alliances with the people of the land will do nothing but cause trouble:

^33:55 But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. ⁵⁶ And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

And then, the need for capital punishment:

^35:30 “All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. ³¹ Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death. ³² And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing a slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest. ³³ This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder. ³⁴ You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the Lord, who lives among the people of Israel.”

June 1, 2010 (Numbers 25-32)

How in the world did I do this again? It can't be the 4th already! Aughhh! Oh well, now to try to go back and remember what I read from the highlighting I did. Catching up will be short and sweet.

The first thing that caught my eye was the story in Numbers 25 that tells about God starting to destroy the Israelites because some of the men starting sleeping around with the Moabite women and then worshipping their gods. One Israelite was bold enough to bring one of those women right into camp and into his tent. When Phinehas saw him do this he took his spear, rushed into the tent and ran his spear through both the man and the woman, killing them both. Here is how God responded:

¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by displaying passionate zeal among them on my behalf. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger. ¹² Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. ¹³ In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood, for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the people of Israel, making them right with me.”

Displaying passionate zeal for God - that is what I would like to do.

Here are a couple more highlighted verses:

¹¹ ‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. ¹² The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’