Sunday, March 13th: Deuteronomy 5-7 ~ Jay

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Deuteronomy 5-7

Today part of the passage is the Ten Commandments.  Many of us can recite these, as we learned them while in Sunday School as kids...but sometimes being too familiar with something cause us to gloss over the content quickly.  Today we take some time to look at a few key points from the Ten Commandments.

1) In chapter 5 vs 7- 7 “You shall have no other gods before[b] me.
The small "g" god can be almost anything in our lives that we focus on with greater attention than the one true God.  When I wake up in the morning and set my priorities for the day...how often do I include God and service to him in those priorities.  If I think of my conversation throughout the day, what percentage would be God focused vs the many other things we discuss- sports, politics, business, etc.For me, perhaps setting priorities first thing in the morning relative to worship / servant related goals, and then taking stock in the evening would certainly help me prioritize better.

2) In chapter 5 vs 8- 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
When we sin, we often think of it relative to the immediate impact it might have on us or our family.  In reviewing this, failure to follow the command to only worship God would have far reaching impacts to the 3rd and 4th generations beyond the individual who did not obey.  The consequences of sin are vast...beyond even the scope of what we can see today.  Thinking in terms of the long term impact or failure to obey God, should give us pause and reflection before we act. The inverse of this is also true as God states he will show love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep his commands.  Interesting to think about the long reaching impact of the choices and decisions I might make today.

3) In chapter 5 vs 16- 16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
When we learn this verse as children, we apply this by saying we should obey and respect our parents.  So what about when we get older...how do we honor them?  To me this involves respect and care for them as they age.  If financial help, physical help, spiritual help, social help is required...we need to be there.  When we speak with our siblings about our aging parents...we need to do so out of love, care and concern.  Bringing forward to our children the strong traditions of faith and obedience to God that our parents taught and demonstrated are a key component of honoring our parents. 

4) In chapter 5 vs 21-You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
If we think of advertising we are exposed to daily, the whole premise is based on creating a perception that if you could only obtain something different than what you have today (new car that your neighbor will envy, trendy clothes that make people turn and take notice, etc) will somehow change your life for the better. This essentially is the American dream and what provides motivation and drives people. Contentment is truly only something God can grant and if we keep our focus on God's gift to us- Eternal Life...anything else that the world has to offer pales in comparison.  God has blessed us with so many things- focusing our attention on his work and praising / thanking him will leave little time to worry about what we might be missing out on.      
   

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:

Saturday, March 12th: Deuteronomy 3-4 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Deuteronomy 3-4

In our passage today we once again see the importance of purposefully remembering God's absolute faithfulness to us in contrast to our own propensity towards faithlessness.  Belief, trust, and obedience go hand in hand.  When we disobey we are acting out of unbelief or lack of faith.

Moses also reminds the people, in no uncertain terms, that God is God alone, there is no other.  He is all powerful and mighty beyond compare.  And this amazing God chose them, out of all the peoples on the earth, to bless and to bless the world through them.  This was not because of them or anything special they had done, but simply because of His grace.  Similarly, He chose us and has invested in us personally - not because we are special or deserving, but because of His grace.

May we live our lives in gratitude, and walk in obedience as an expression of our faith in this One true God!


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Deuteronomy 5-7

Friday March 11th: Deuteronomy 1-2 ~ Conrad

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Deuteronomy 1-2

The wandering is over, and approximately 40 years have passed since the Hebrews left Egypt.  They are ready to go into Canaan to possess it, but before they do, they must take a course in history.

I can only imagine how eager the Israelite's would have been at this point.  They would have been like a child in a candy store.  So close to their destination, but first a speech?  It would be like opening a bag of salt 'n vinegar chips only to look at the chips and smell them, but not being able to taste them.  If their patience wasn't tested before, it might be now.    

So Moses provides a recap of history along with some laws to reiterate. After all, everyone with the exception of Moses, Caleb, and Joshua, had been younger than 20 when the covenant was established at Mount Sinai.

As Moses goes back in time, he talks about the return of the spies.  Despite their initial report of a good land (vs 26), the people were afraid to go into Canaan because they did not have their trust placed in God.  Moses goes on to tell the "children" of these rebels that the penalty for that rebellion was death in the wilderness.  

Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.  Moses did not want history to repeat itself, so this review was crucial.  The next step to avoiding a repeat of disaster is the ability and desire to remember history.

We all know Israel's ability in remembering God's promises, God's words, God's deliverance, God's commands, God's blessings, and God's curses.  But do we?  Will history be repeated in our lives?  Are we a broken record, that just keeps playing the same situations over and over and over again?  Have we given God our whole heart?  Or are we wandering in our Christian walk and taking a much longer, harder journey to the destination that God is calling us to?

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Deuteronomy 3-4

Thursday March 10th: Numbers 35-36 ~Cameron

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 35-36

A few comments from chapter 35:

Never have the stakes for playing hide and go seek been so high, or the rules so complicated.

If you accidentally kill someone, there are six cities you can run to where you will be "home free" and you can get a trial. If the victim's family finds you before you get to the safe city, they can kill you.

For the trial, if you are found innocent, you can't go home but get to live in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. If you leave the city, you are fair game. If you are found guilty, they deliver you to the victim's family and they kill you.

This applies to Jews and strangers so be sure you are aware of the laws in a foreign land before visiting.

On to chapter 36: 

With International Women's Day being only two days removed, I found chapter 36 to be interesting. The daughters Zelophehad were granted the inheritance promised to their father, but would only retain it if they married someone from within their tribe.

Some laws were given because of the historical context. Should we limit the right of women because of Old Testament precedence? I should think not. Should we allow for revenge killings because of the Old Testament precedence? Again, no. These commands were given to a bronze age nation.

In Matthew 19, Jesus makes this clear when he says:

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+19&version=NIV>

This statement goes beyond just divorce as the Pharisees are again questioning Jesus about the law and its intentions. And again Jesus responds with a depth of understanding that can only be found in the One who designed everything at the beginning. At its base, the law is not the Covenant we expect. That was made with Abraham back in Genesis. The law was a framework to keep a society at a specific point in history from tearing itself apart.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Deuteronomy 1-2

Wednesday, March 9th: Numbers 33-34 ~ Nathan

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 33-34

Numbers 33 begins with a brief review of the route the Israelites had taken up to that point. It also gives a brief review of some of the things that happened along the way.

What struck me first was how the journey they took begins in Egypt on an odd day. The Egyptians were almost happy to see the Israelites leave, after years of depending on them for slave labour, this was due to all the plagues they had been through and had each just endured the death of all their firstborn. So as the Israelites were excited to leave, the inhabitants of the place they were leaving were grieving. What an odd tension their must have been there that day.

The journey the Israelites took crisscrossed all over both geographically and spiritually. They had at many times doubted God and had even wished to go back to Egypt to be slaves again. When I look at this storey and the big picture, it's hard to understand how the Israelites couldn't have just been thrilled at what they left behind and what was in store for them.

Maybe we need to look back more often at out own journeys in life and look at the big picture. I too have doubted God and wished for things that at the time looked better, but now seem foolish. How foolish I have been and how wise and loving God has been on my journey. Not only has He guided me, and given me many blessings like an awesome wife and family, but He has also forgiven me and promised me a home in Heaven. How humble I all of a sudden feel.

In chapter 34 we read about Canaan and it's boundaries. From a commentary I read, Canaan in size covered approximately the distance from Winnipeg to just past Brandon, then down to the US/ Canada border. Not a large area, but a land that had rich farmland. God didn't give His people a large piece of land, but a fruitful piece of land. They were to be content there, knowing their true home awaited them in heaven.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Numbers 35-36

Tuesday, March 8th: Numbers 31-32 ~ Danae

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 31-32

My thoughts for today's reading are based on chapter 32. Here we have 3 tribes, Reuben, Gad & the half-tribe of Manasseh, asking to remain on the land they had already conquered east of the Jordan River.

The commentaries I read don't agree on how the whole scene played out, but either way, we can learn from it.

My Bible commentary sees Moses as jumping to conclusions & assuming that these 3 tribes had selfish motives & were trying to get out of helping the others fight for the land across the river.
"Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?"  Numbers 32:6
The 3 tribes, however, respond by saying that they want to make pens for their animals & cities for their families, but then are willing to fight together with the other tribes to gain the promised land.

This should be a good reminder for us to find out all the facts before jumping to conclusions. It is so easy to hear something & react without considering if we actually have the details right or even if what we've heard is in line with that person’s character.

Another version of this story, is that these tribes were actually hoping to just stay behind & had to backpedal when Moses called them out for it in an effort to prevent them from sin.  After considering their options, the 3 tribes promised to help.  Moses, then, warns them that they had better follow through with their promise to help.
"But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; & you may be sure that your sin will find you out”  Number 32:23

Sin can come in different forms; it can be us doing something that is wrong or not doing something that we should. We can't hide our sins from God.

Either way, perhaps what impacted me the most is that these 3 tribes were willing to “settle” without seeing what God had been promising them (the land of milk & honey). They saw what they thought was good & didn't trust God for the good he had promised.  How often do we see what we believe would be good for us & strive for it without giving that situation to God & trusting him to give us what is best.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Numbers 33-34

Monday, March 7th: Numbers 28-30 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 28-30

Did this a little late so I'm going to let Rayburn do the talking for me....

every one of the sacrifices ... began with a worshipper placing his hand on the animal’s head, transferring his sins to the animal that then was killed in his place, and its blood in some way sprinkled or poured on or about the altar. In every one of these acts of worship... the matter of human sin and God’s provision of atonement is front and center. But it is precisely this reality that has largely disappeared from much of evangelical worship today. This concentration on human sin and guilt and the need for atonement – atonement provided by the death of a substitute – long since disappeared from liberal Christianity, but until recently, it was a defining characteristic of the evangelical Christian church service. Christ was our Savior from sin and from death which is the punishment of sin and that fact was central to our worship services...

the order of events is important in worship because order is crucial to the meaning of things in life... Sex before marriage is the way of death; sex after marriage is the way of life. The difference between life and death is only the order in which things are done. In Leviticus 1:3-9, for example, there is scrupulous attention paid to the order of events in the burnt offering. Why? Because it is one religion, paganism, if the worshipper kills the animal and then puts his hands on its head and by so doing identifies the gift as his own. It is another religion entirely, Christianity, if the worshipper puts his hands on the animal’s head and then kills it, thus symbolically transferring his guilt to a substitute. The acts are the same, only the order is different, but the order determines the meaning of the act....

As Paul often made a point of demonstrating in the very structure of his letters, in what we might call the “liturgy” of his letters, it is legalism if ethics (God’s law and our obedience to it) come first and salvation second. It is Christianity if salvation comes first and then ethics. And so his letters always betray that order: first the exposition of God’s work in saving us from sin and death through Christ (Rom. 1-11; Eph. 1-3; Col. 1-2), then a “therefore,” and then, and only then, his exposition of the Christian life (Rom. 12-15; Eph. 4-6; Col. 3-4). We must obey God’s law, but it matters mightily whether that obedience is put before or after our salvation; that is, whether we obey in order to be saved or because we have been saved!...

Do you want to be a very obedient Christian? Then have a living sense of how much you owe to God in Jesus Christ.

Where will the joy in reconciliation be if there is no confession and prayer for pardon, if there is no sense of the alienation that sin created between ourselves and God? Where will be the renewal of our gratitude if we do not know ourselves to have received anew and afresh the forgiveness of our sins?...

It is God whom we meet in worship, who speaks to us, to whom we speak, who grants us forgiveness, who fills our hearts with various good things: from conviction to joy, from love and gratitude to inspiration and commitment....

That is why Israel must come with faith and expectation and why she must so strictly observe the ritual order. This is Yahweh’s house; she is entering his presence, and must do so in that way that he has ordered. To approach the Lord on your own terms is the rankest disrespect toward the Almighty and bound to fail to produce the blessing one seeks when he or she comes to church....

What [Christians] need is to find themselves in the presence of God and be renewed in faith, hope, and love in that encounter with God himself. The Lord has appointed the worship of the church on the Lord’s Day as the principal means of such an encounter and that is why that worship is supremely important to the Christian life and why every effort must be made – from the minister’s study, preparation, and superintendence to the congregation’s expectation, concentration, and participation when at worship – to conduct that worship in the most biblically faithful, interesting, beautiful, serious, and joyful way. 

I also appreciated his summary of Chapter 30....

What we have then in this chapter are two fundamental emphases that are found everywhere in the Bible, proved everywhere in human experience and are fundamental to human happiness and welfare. 1) Honesty and faithfulness are essential to harmony, happiness, and goodness in human life as they are necessary to a right relationship with God, who is himself truth and faithfulness in their highest form; and 2) there is a unity in marriage and family, a unity that must be preserved against all the attacks made upon it – wittingly or unwittingly – including attacks upon that unity made by individuals within the family acting as individuals. Before we think Numbers 30 strange or terribly old-fashioned, we should look around us and see what we think of a society in which both personal integrity and marital and family unity are disappearing. And then we should take great care to put these principles of integrity and unity into practice, to show the world what it is missing!

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Numbers 31-32

Sunday, March 6th: Numbers 26-27 - Kelora

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 26-27

After reading Numbers 26 I looked up some commentaries to help to try and understand the meaning of this second census that was taken before the Israelites entered Canaan.  My understanding is that this census was in preparation for entering the Promised Land.  This numbering was to prepare the men for war but also later on would help in how the land would be divided.  We are reminded in verses 63-66 that no one was left who had been  in Egypt or who had been present in the first census that was taken at Sinai with the exception of Caleb and Joshua.

63 These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 64 Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai.65 For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.


This shows how God keeps his word when He told Moses and Aaron in Numbers 14:29  "In this wilderness your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has rumbled against me."  Also in Numbers 14:35 God tells Moses and Aaron "They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.


I find it interesting in Chapter 7 when the daughters of Zelophehad approached Moses regarding their family's inheritance.  Since there were no sons in this family, the daughters didn't feel it was fair that they shouldn't receive their family's inheritance.  God instructed that these daughters would receive an inheritance which showed all the Israelites that a family wouldn't suffer if there wasn't a male heir.  This must have taken a lot of courage to bring this up to Moses.  After Moses brings this case to God, God shows his fairness by telling Moses in verse 8 "If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Numbers 28-30

Saturday, March 5th: Numbers 23-25 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Numbers 23-25

What a contrast we have in our passage today!

In the first two chapters we have Balaam who, though he doesn't believe in the Lord as the only true God, does acknowledge His power enough to know that he better say what God wants him to say.  And he has to speak blessing instead of cursing on the Israelites.  They are a blessed nation, a people who live apart, a holy nation.  And God refuses to allow him to curse them.

Turns out they don't need anyone else to curse them, they seem to do a fine job all on their own.  Immediately after this glowing report we see the the Israelites involved in sexual immorality and idolatry - both temptations our society encourages and which we need to be purposeful about avoiding!

As Rayburn points out, this pattern repeats itself over and over in the bible....
Over and over again we have juxtaposed to one another descriptions of Israel and the church as the people of God, the bride of Christ, the covenant people, and the saints or holy ones on the one hand, and as rebellious, foolish, worldly ingrates on the other. Time and time again a wonderful account of the Lord’s grace and goodness to this favored people is followed immediately by an account of the people’s ingratitude, rebellion, and foolishness. The lawgiving at Sinai was followed by the making of the golden calf; the covenant the Lord made with David and his house was followed by adultery and murder on David’s part. The Last Supper was followed by Peter’s betrayal and on and on it goes....

We are, in this way, of course, being reminded that our hope must always be in the grace of God and not in our own virtue or even the strength of our faith.
But then we see Phinehas - the ONLY person, including Moses and Aaron BTW, who stepped in to do something when confronted with evil.

Reminds me of the quote The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

Note as well that Phinehas' righteous anger is commended by God, in contrast to Moses more self-centered frustration and rock striking incident.  We should be angered by sin - not because of our own annoyance but because of God's holiness.

Rayburn ends with this challenge....
Believe me when I tell you there will be times and occasions enough in your Christian life when you will have the opportunity to stand up and be counted as a faithful servant of the Lord. Alas there will always be such times. Your Christian friends are speaking in a way or making plans that you know very well are not right, not honoring to the Lord. Will you speak up and declare yourself or will you stand there doing and saying nothing? Your church will begin making compromises with the world. Will you protest or will you simply go along?

Most of the church’s failure in the world has happened because most folk – real Christians all – just stood there. They could not see themselves grabbing a spear, walking into a tent, and running two sinners through! What would have happened if Phinehas had not done what he did? How many more would have died?
When that time comes for you and I - and make no mistake, it will - what will we do?

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage:  Numbers 26-27

Friday, March 4th: Numbers 21-22 ~ Conrad

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Numbers 21-22

Today I want to focus on chapter 22.  We read that Balak sends messengers to summon Balaam with the hopes that he will curse the Israelite's so that Balak can defeat the Israelite's and drive them out of their land.

In verse 12 we read how God intercedes with Balak's plan and speaks these words to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

From a Bible commentary that I read on Balaam, this is what it said of him:

He is altogether a pagan prophet who just happens to get a word from the Lord on this occasion. There's nothing that vindicates his previous or later role as a prophet of the one true God.

This is an interesting point in that once again, God has chosen to use an unlikely person to fulfill His plan.  Often I feel that I am an unlikely person to bring God's plan to fruition.  I am a sinner who continues to struggle, so how could God possibly use me?  After reading this, it has reminded me that God uses different people from different walks of life, so I need to be ready to do God's work, because He can use anyone.  

After a couple of failed attempts to persuade Balaam's cooperation, God came to Balaam at night saying, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”

I was a little confused after this because God told Balaam to go with them, but to only say what God tells him to say.  Yet in verse 22, it says that God was very angry when Balaam went.  

The next few verses I do find myself smiling as I read them.  There is a saying "stubborn as a mule".  Well, this donkey in Balaam's mind has a mind of its own, and unfortunately receives a few beatings for this.

After the third time the donkey reacts in a way that frustrates Balaam, he finally realizes that God is the one who has been opposing him, and tells God that he has sinned.  Just before Balaam's confession of his sin (which it doesn't actually say what it was), in verse 32, God tells Balaam that his "path is a reckless one".  My only thought is that Balaam did as God said, but didn't do it with the right intentions.  (Similarly to Jeannine's comment about Moses striking the rock inappropriately from yesterday's reading).

In the same verse, but in the KJV, it uses the word perverse as opposed to reckless.  According to my google definition of the word perverse, it means "showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences".

Ouch!  Do I do that?  Am I deliberate in acting in an unacceptable way in spite of the consequences?  Do I place my own desires before God's?  I am not proud to say, but yes, I do.  We all do.  God obviously knew Balaam's intentions as He also knows ours.

It is interesting how the donkey could recognize the angel of the Lord, but Balaam could not.  It would reason to say that when we are focused on ourselves, we will not see God and we actually have to go off the path to unknowingly avoid Him.

Up until this point, Balaam's actions and intentions were wrong, are ours?  

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Numbers 23-25