Posts from February 2023

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 31-34                 As the book of Deuteronomy is about to conclude, I think it is very important to remember just what the book of is about.  The word “Deuteronomy” simply means a “repetition of instructions”.  The instructions that are to be repeated to the Israelites is the Word of God, or simply put, the Law.  In Deuteronomy 31.9-13, Moses writes the Law down and gives it to the priest and the elders of Israel.  He then…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 28-30    “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 24-27                 Police officers, secret-service agents, and soldiers make oaths that they will put their lives on the line, if necessary. Losing one’s life in the course of such duty is honorable, but it’s painful for those who remain behind.  In today’s passage, Moses teaches Israel to put its life on the line. Once they are in the promise land, they will pronounce the blessings and curses of the covenant-blessings for faithful living, curses for disloyalty.…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 20-23                 This verse sounds familiar to us because Jesus’ disciples did this very thing in Matthew: “At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” (Matt. 12:1–2). According to the law of God,…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 16-19                 Moses prophesied that the day would come when Jehovah would raise up, from within the nation of Israel, a prophet who would be like him in many respects. This coming prophet would speak divine words, and those who refused to hear his words would give account for such rebellion (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  One does not have to speculate on the fulfillment of this prediction. The coming prophet was none other than Jesus Christ, as Peter…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 8-11                 “God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart”  (Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV). If every prayer were answered immediately, if every need were instantly met, and if every problem were automatically solved, your faith would never be stretched. You’d be spoiled. You’d have no need for faith! We’re humans, and we don’t like to wait. We hate it!…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 5-7                   “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way”                      – Deuteronomy 6:7      During the Protestant Reformation, the Reformers worked hard to put God’s Word into the hands of the people. Prior to the Reformation, the Bible was accessible mostly to the clergy alone, shut up in the monasteries and churches and written in…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 3-4                 As the Children of Israel are about to embark on the last leg of their long journey into the land of Promise, Moses offers them some very helpful advice to ensure they don’t allow themselves to suffer the same fate as their predecessors.  “…take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make…

  BIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 1-2   “I will start my new diet tomorrow.” “When things slow down, I begin that new exercise program” “This will be the last time I do this, after this one time I will never do it again.” “I’m going to wait till the semester is over before I begin getting back involved at church.” “I am so busy with work and the kids; we just don’t have time to go to church on Wednesday.  We…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 34-36              As we end our journey through the book of Numbers, we see a different side of God from what we saw in His execution of vengeance on the Midianites.   Before the Children of Israel enter the land of promise, God has a few more instructions to give them. After they enter the land, they were to choose cities which will give a person who had killed another person unintentionally…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 31-33                 In the book of Romans, Paul warned that the early Christians should never look to repay evil with evil to anyone. In fact, Paul taught us to do just the opposite “To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” (Romans…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 24-26 In Numbers 1, God commanded Moses to take a census of the people, and then 38 years later, in chapter 26, God commanded him to take another one. In both, all men 20 years of age and older who were fit for military service were counted. The census was used to determine the size of each tribe’s inheritance in the Promised Land, while casting lots determined their geographic location. After the spies went into the…