Chapter 6
The city of Jericho is closed down in preparation for a siege/battle with the Israelites. God instructed Joshua and the Israelite soldiers to walk in a circle around the walls of the entire city, once a day, for six days. On the seventh day they would circle the city 7 times, and 7 priests were to blow on 7 trumpets and the people were supposed to yell and shout. Then the walls of the city would fall, and the Israelites could enter the city- so this is what happened.
Joshua 6: 24-25
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.
And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dewlleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Chapter 7
A man named Achan from the tribe of Judah took an object from Jericho that was something other than gold & silver, which was forbidden. We come back to him later.
Joshua sends two men to scout out the city of Ai next, and the scouts report that only about 3,000 men need to go conquer it. However, the 3,000 Israelites flee from Ai...
Joshua 7:5
And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people (the Israelites) melted, and became as water.
When Joshua heard this, it says he "rent his clothes". This is an eastern custom which means that the clothes get torn, and is a sign of extreme distress or sadness. Joshua asks the Lord what the Israelites should do, now that everyone in Canaan will know they lost a battle.
God tells Joshua that the Israelites lost the battle because of the accursed things that were taken out of Jericho. God says he won't help the Israelites any more until the accursed things are destroyed. God tell Joshua to call all the tribes, families, and individuals to inspection to find the accursed thing. He searches through the tribe of Judah and Achan confesses to taking a garment, silver, and gold for himself, and that it is all buried under his tent. Joshua's instructions from God were to kill whoever had the accursed thing, so that's what he did.
Chapter 8
God then instructed Joshua to take all the men of the Hebrew army and take the city of Ai. So Joshua sends 30,000 men to go behind the city. The plan is for Joshua and the other men to draw out the soldiers from the city by running away. When the soldiers are gone, the 30,000 will go into the city and overtake it, then set the city on fire. When this happened, they killed all the men of Ai and hanged their king.
Then Joshua built an altar made of stones, and the people sacrificed a peace offering to God. (war and peace in the same day, these people are busy!) Joshua then wrote the law of Moses on the stones, and read all the law to the people of Israel.
Chapter 9
All the other kings of cities in Canaan heard about what happened to Jericho and Ai and decided to band together to fight Joshua and the Israelites. The inhabitants of the city of Gibeon went so far as to disguise themselves as foreigners, come to pay tribute to the Israelites and trick them into signing a treaty with them.
Joshua 9:14-15
And the men (Israelites) took of their (Gibeonites) victuals and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
Three days later the children of Israel learned that the people were their neighbors, but since they had sworn on the Lord to have peace with them, they could not attack them. Instead, they made the people to be the lowest class of people in Israel. The Gibeonites then said:
Joshua 9:24-26
...it was told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore aftread of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.
And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
Chapter 10
King Adonizekek of Jeruselem hears about the fate of Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon, and became afraid. He asks 4 other kings of nearby cities to help him battle Gibeon, because of the peace they made with Israel. Joshua and the Israelites battled with the 5 armies and chased them away from Gibeon. God sent stones falling from the sky to finish off those which ran away.
Joshua 10:11
...they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
Joshua asks God to keep the sun and moon still in their orbits so that they can fight longer against these other armies. So the sun stayed in the sky a whole extra day.
Joshua 10:14
And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of man: for the Lord fought for Israel.
Adonizekek and his 4 allied kings hid in a cave, when they were found, they were kept there until all their soldiers had been destroyed, then they were taken to the Israelits camp and hanged. The Israelites then went on to conquer the cities of Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, the men of Gezer, and the cities of Eglon, Hebron, and Debir.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Joshua 1-5
Chapter 1
God is getting Joshua prepared to lead the people over the Jordan to claim the Promised Land. God tells them the boundaries of the land that will be theirs, and tells Joshua repeatedly that He will not fail them or forsake them.
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.
A couple of the tribes had previously asked Moses if they could have the land on the east of the Jordan instead. God told Moses that yes, they could have the land on the east of the Jordan, but only if they crossed over with the other tribes to help them fight for the land. Then they could go back. So Joshua reminds these tribes of their duty. The people told Joshua that they would obey his command.
Chapter 2
Joshua has two men scout out a city named Jericho. These two men end up meeting a woman named Rahab. The king of Jericho finds out that there are spies from the children of Israel in his city, so he sends men to Rahab's house to find the scouts. Rahab hides the scouts on her roof and tell the men that the scouts had left the city already. The men leave the city to pursue them, and Rahab then tells the scouts how the fame of their God has reached the inhabitants of the city, and she knows that God has given them the land. Rahab says:
Joshua 2:11
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in a any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
She makes the scouts promise that her family will be spared when they inavde the city, and helps them escape to the mountains. The scouts then make it back to Johsua and the camp and report back all that has happened.
Chapter 3
The children of Israel move right next to the river Jordan to prepare to cross it. They are instructed to follow the ark of the covenant (a special container, box-like- which held holy objects, like the Ten Commandments) wherever it goes, because they are in a new land and don't know where they are going.
Joshua tells the people that when the priests carrying the ark step into the water, that the flow from upriver would cease and the priests would stand on dry land.
Joshua 3:17
And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over ond ry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
Chapter 4
After the people crossed the river, God told Joshua to have one man from each tribe go back to the dry river and take one stone each from it to be a memorial of the miracle that had happened there. God then told Joshua to have the priests with the ark cross over the Jordan, and when they did, the waters started to flow again. They set up the 12 stones at their next camp site.
Chapter 5
The news of this miracle spread to the kings in the land, who became discourged because of it.
Next, God told Joshua all the men were to be circumcised, and then the Israelites celebrated the yearly festival of Passover at the normal time. The manna (bread-like substance) that had been on the ground every day for the people for 40 years ceased to be there, because now they would eat of the food of Canaan instead. Look how God always meets a need!
Jeeze this is a great story I can't wait to read what happens next.
God is getting Joshua prepared to lead the people over the Jordan to claim the Promised Land. God tells them the boundaries of the land that will be theirs, and tells Joshua repeatedly that He will not fail them or forsake them.
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.
A couple of the tribes had previously asked Moses if they could have the land on the east of the Jordan instead. God told Moses that yes, they could have the land on the east of the Jordan, but only if they crossed over with the other tribes to help them fight for the land. Then they could go back. So Joshua reminds these tribes of their duty. The people told Joshua that they would obey his command.
Chapter 2
Joshua has two men scout out a city named Jericho. These two men end up meeting a woman named Rahab. The king of Jericho finds out that there are spies from the children of Israel in his city, so he sends men to Rahab's house to find the scouts. Rahab hides the scouts on her roof and tell the men that the scouts had left the city already. The men leave the city to pursue them, and Rahab then tells the scouts how the fame of their God has reached the inhabitants of the city, and she knows that God has given them the land. Rahab says:
Joshua 2:11
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in a any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
She makes the scouts promise that her family will be spared when they inavde the city, and helps them escape to the mountains. The scouts then make it back to Johsua and the camp and report back all that has happened.
Chapter 3
The children of Israel move right next to the river Jordan to prepare to cross it. They are instructed to follow the ark of the covenant (a special container, box-like- which held holy objects, like the Ten Commandments) wherever it goes, because they are in a new land and don't know where they are going.
Joshua tells the people that when the priests carrying the ark step into the water, that the flow from upriver would cease and the priests would stand on dry land.
Joshua 3:17
And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over ond ry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
Chapter 4
After the people crossed the river, God told Joshua to have one man from each tribe go back to the dry river and take one stone each from it to be a memorial of the miracle that had happened there. God then told Joshua to have the priests with the ark cross over the Jordan, and when they did, the waters started to flow again. They set up the 12 stones at their next camp site.
Chapter 5
The news of this miracle spread to the kings in the land, who became discourged because of it.
Next, God told Joshua all the men were to be circumcised, and then the Israelites celebrated the yearly festival of Passover at the normal time. The manna (bread-like substance) that had been on the ground every day for the people for 40 years ceased to be there, because now they would eat of the food of Canaan instead. Look how God always meets a need!
Jeeze this is a great story I can't wait to read what happens next.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Deuteronomy
This is the 5th book of the Bible, coming from the greek word "deuteronomion", which means "second law". (thanks wikipedia)
This book doesn't talk as much about stories that happen to the Israelites as it talks about what God tells Moses about the impending move into Canaan. It is very uplifting. It talks about what God will do for the children of Israel once they go into the Promised Land. God gives them exhortation to obey His commandments and tells of his love for the people, and things that would really edify them before they were to cross the Jordan river to get to the Promised Land.
One thing I thought was really cool was Deuteronomy 18, when God explains the Cities of Refuge. A city of refuge is a place a man could flee to if he killed someone on accident. Once there, the family of the person who was killed could not kill him. This was necessary because vengeance for deaths was very common back then, and sometimes expected. There were to be three cities of refuge in Canaan to start with, and three more were to be added as the land of the Israelites grew.
Since the Israelites were going into a land that was already inhabited, they knew they had to conquer the people- and because of this, God gave them laws for warfare.
At the end of the book, Moses blesses the children of Israel, because he knows that he will not live to go into Canaan. Instead, God has him go up onto a mountain so that he can see the land that the people will inhabit. In the last chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses dies just before the Israelites are getting ready to go into Canaan and claim the promised land.
This is way too short of a summary for this book, and there is a lot of stuff in the book that I didn't mention, but it's laste and I'm tired, so this is it. I just want to end by saying that except for Jesus Christ, I believe Moses is the only man in the Bible who is the main character in 4 books of the Bible. I think the verses say it best:
Deuteronomy 34: 8-12
And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.
And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,
And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.
Moses is one of the greatest men of God in the Bible. I can't really think of anybody that God gave more responsibility to (except JC). Moses was born a slave, became a prince of Egypt, chose to be a shepherd, talked to God, freed 2 million people from bondage against the most powerful country in the world at that time, managed to organize and lead these people through a wilderness for 40 years, all the while trying to teach them what what right and wrong and how God wanted them to live. He had to put up with constant complainers and the Isrealites disobeyed God all the time. Yet he managed not only to lead them, but oversaw the building of the first temple and the consecration of the first priests for that temple. Talk about an amazing guy. At times he got frustrated and angry with the people but he always relayed what God had told him to the children of Israel and several times interceded on their behalf when God wanted to give up on the whole operation.
Now I'm caught up with the synopsis of the first 5 books and from now on I'll be updating this as I go along, hopefully with more detail into individual chapters.
Thanks Moses, now it's time for The Office.
This book doesn't talk as much about stories that happen to the Israelites as it talks about what God tells Moses about the impending move into Canaan. It is very uplifting. It talks about what God will do for the children of Israel once they go into the Promised Land. God gives them exhortation to obey His commandments and tells of his love for the people, and things that would really edify them before they were to cross the Jordan river to get to the Promised Land.
One thing I thought was really cool was Deuteronomy 18, when God explains the Cities of Refuge. A city of refuge is a place a man could flee to if he killed someone on accident. Once there, the family of the person who was killed could not kill him. This was necessary because vengeance for deaths was very common back then, and sometimes expected. There were to be three cities of refuge in Canaan to start with, and three more were to be added as the land of the Israelites grew.
Since the Israelites were going into a land that was already inhabited, they knew they had to conquer the people- and because of this, God gave them laws for warfare.
At the end of the book, Moses blesses the children of Israel, because he knows that he will not live to go into Canaan. Instead, God has him go up onto a mountain so that he can see the land that the people will inhabit. In the last chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses dies just before the Israelites are getting ready to go into Canaan and claim the promised land.
This is way too short of a summary for this book, and there is a lot of stuff in the book that I didn't mention, but it's laste and I'm tired, so this is it. I just want to end by saying that except for Jesus Christ, I believe Moses is the only man in the Bible who is the main character in 4 books of the Bible. I think the verses say it best:
Deuteronomy 34: 8-12
And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.
And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,
And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.
Moses is one of the greatest men of God in the Bible. I can't really think of anybody that God gave more responsibility to (except JC). Moses was born a slave, became a prince of Egypt, chose to be a shepherd, talked to God, freed 2 million people from bondage against the most powerful country in the world at that time, managed to organize and lead these people through a wilderness for 40 years, all the while trying to teach them what what right and wrong and how God wanted them to live. He had to put up with constant complainers and the Isrealites disobeyed God all the time. Yet he managed not only to lead them, but oversaw the building of the first temple and the consecration of the first priests for that temple. Talk about an amazing guy. At times he got frustrated and angry with the people but he always relayed what God had told him to the children of Israel and several times interceded on their behalf when God wanted to give up on the whole operation.
Now I'm caught up with the synopsis of the first 5 books and from now on I'll be updating this as I go along, hopefully with more detail into individual chapters.
Thanks Moses, now it's time for The Office.
Numbers (Part 2)
So at the beginning of Numbers 11, the Israelites are finally leaving the area near Mt. Sinai and heading out for the Promised Land.
As soon as they leave, the Hebrews start to...guess what....complain. You will find this is a trend with them. They are upset because they have no meat (they had bread- made from manna- which was kind of like crumbs or large flakes that appeared on the ground every morning wherever the Israelites traveled). Moses is aggravated by the people's complaints and vents his feelings to God. These next verses almost made me laugh out loud.
Numbers 11:11-14
And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?
Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
Personally I like this little bit of sarcasm on Moses' part. It makes me really able to imagine him being frustrated and having all these emotions.
So God sends the people quails to eat, but He says there will be so many that they will be coming out of the people's nostrils, and they will eat meat until they are sick from it.
Chapter 13 talks about how one man from each tribe is selected to scout out the land of Canaan (The Promised Land) and report what it's like back to Moses. They come back from the scouting expedition with evidence of the richness of the land. Unfortunately, 10 out of the 12 scouts come back with negative reports regarding the power and number of the inhabitants of the land, which they would have to conquer. God had already told them that they would be victorious over their enemies and receive the land that He had promised them. However, these ten men became fearful, and spread their fears verbally throughout the camp, so that soon all the people thought that what God had promised could never really come to pass. This amazes me- these are the same people who saw the 10 plagues of Egypt, the Red Sea part, manna appear every morning, and other miracles too! And they still lost hope. Well, that is human nature I guess.
Because of the people's unbelief in this area, God said they would wander the wilderness for 40 years, until the current generation of adults was deceased.
So the Israelites roam the wilderness for 40 years, but during these 40 years there are different things that happen to Moses and the children of Israel. Moses and Aaron have to deal with a rebellion, the Israelites conquer some cities, the army is re-counted towards the end of the 40 years, and Joshua (one of the two scouts that did not fear the people of Canaan) is chosen to be Moses' successor.
As soon as they leave, the Hebrews start to...guess what....complain. You will find this is a trend with them. They are upset because they have no meat (they had bread- made from manna- which was kind of like crumbs or large flakes that appeared on the ground every morning wherever the Israelites traveled). Moses is aggravated by the people's complaints and vents his feelings to God. These next verses almost made me laugh out loud.
Numbers 11:11-14
And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?
Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
Personally I like this little bit of sarcasm on Moses' part. It makes me really able to imagine him being frustrated and having all these emotions.
So God sends the people quails to eat, but He says there will be so many that they will be coming out of the people's nostrils, and they will eat meat until they are sick from it.
Chapter 13 talks about how one man from each tribe is selected to scout out the land of Canaan (The Promised Land) and report what it's like back to Moses. They come back from the scouting expedition with evidence of the richness of the land. Unfortunately, 10 out of the 12 scouts come back with negative reports regarding the power and number of the inhabitants of the land, which they would have to conquer. God had already told them that they would be victorious over their enemies and receive the land that He had promised them. However, these ten men became fearful, and spread their fears verbally throughout the camp, so that soon all the people thought that what God had promised could never really come to pass. This amazes me- these are the same people who saw the 10 plagues of Egypt, the Red Sea part, manna appear every morning, and other miracles too! And they still lost hope. Well, that is human nature I guess.
Because of the people's unbelief in this area, God said they would wander the wilderness for 40 years, until the current generation of adults was deceased.
So the Israelites roam the wilderness for 40 years, but during these 40 years there are different things that happen to Moses and the children of Israel. Moses and Aaron have to deal with a rebellion, the Israelites conquer some cities, the army is re-counted towards the end of the 40 years, and Joshua (one of the two scouts that did not fear the people of Canaan) is chosen to be Moses' successor.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Numbers (Part 1)
The book of Numbers really surprised me. I never had really known what it was about. But the name is pretty self-explanatory, because this book is all about counting the number of people in each tribe, assigning jobs to each tribe, and counting out men from each tribe to be in the Israelite army.
The neatest thing about the whole book, I thought, was that it very specifically described where each tribe was to camp when the people stopped traveling and set up camp. I didn't even know that the people had rules about this- I thought they just picked whatever grass spot looked best to them. I will try to post a picture of this configuration, but it may not look very professional. :(
Basically Moses was instructed to do a census of the children of Israel. God named the head of each of the tribes (btw- there was no tribe of Joseph- there was a tribe each for Ephraim and Manasseh, his children, instead. There would be 13 tribes, but remember the Levites were supposed to take care of the temple, so that left an even twelve to tally for the Israelite army- good thinkin', God!)
The tally for the men of the army of Israel ended up at 603, 550.
After all of this information, there is instruction for various things regarding the temple, mostly different types of sacrifices. Then the alter of the temple was dedicated. The instructions for the design, building/materials, and dedication of the temple and objects that were supposed to go inside it make up a large portion of this book, as well as Leviticus, the previous book.
Moses and the people were in the wilderness next to Mount Sinai for about a year, building the temple and organizing themselves and getting all of God's commandments. After this, they were more "ready" to travel, and they camped at many different places, always taking the temple with them and setting it up (it was a tent) wherever they went. Church on the go. Alright.
Leviticus
Leviticus is the third book of the Bible, and deals mostly with instructions for the men designated to be priests in the temple. The book is called Leviticus because only men from the tribe of Levi could be priests; God had separated that tribe from all the others to take care of the Temple and everything that went in it.
This book goes into detail about the different types of animal offerings that can be made.
Aaron is consecrated at the first ever high priest of the temple, Aaron's sons were also priests.
There are specifications for what makes an animal clean or unclean to eat.
There are several chapters about how the people were to spot leprosy, and how the priests were supposed to handle people that were diseased with it. This makes sense because of the large number of people traveling together- they didn't want a plague breaking out.
Rules for sexual conduct are written.
Reminders of the holy feasts throughout the year are written down; this includes Passover.
There are other various chapters on how to treat servants, the rules about tithing (giving 10%).
My favorite chapter from this book is chapter 26, towards the end of the book. This chapter talks about all the blessings the people will receive when they do God's commandments, and all the negative things that would happen to them if they didn't. This was written to show obvious contrasts- life and victory versus death and defeat.
Leviticus 26
3: If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
4:Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
6: And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
7: And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
8: And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
14: But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
16: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17: And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
30: And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
40: If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
44: And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
If you get a chance, read chapter 26, it's really cool.
This book goes into detail about the different types of animal offerings that can be made.
Aaron is consecrated at the first ever high priest of the temple, Aaron's sons were also priests.
There are specifications for what makes an animal clean or unclean to eat.
There are several chapters about how the people were to spot leprosy, and how the priests were supposed to handle people that were diseased with it. This makes sense because of the large number of people traveling together- they didn't want a plague breaking out.
Rules for sexual conduct are written.
Reminders of the holy feasts throughout the year are written down; this includes Passover.
There are other various chapters on how to treat servants, the rules about tithing (giving 10%).
My favorite chapter from this book is chapter 26, towards the end of the book. This chapter talks about all the blessings the people will receive when they do God's commandments, and all the negative things that would happen to them if they didn't. This was written to show obvious contrasts- life and victory versus death and defeat.
Leviticus 26
3: If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
4:Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
6: And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
7: And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
8: And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
14: But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
16: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17: And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
30: And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
40: If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
44: And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
If you get a chance, read chapter 26, it's really cool.
Exodus (Part 2)
So we left off with Moses finally getting to lead the children of Israel, or the Hebrews, out of Egypt. I learned something really cool when I read this part:
Exodus 13:19
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he (Joseph) had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
This would be like George Washington asking that people in this day and time move his body to a new location. How neat that would have been- not only do you have roughly 2 million people leaving Egypt, you are carrying the bones of one of your most famous ancestors out with you, because he asked you to! Sometimes it's the most random verses like this one that astound me the most.
So God led the children of Israel (btw, Israel was Jacob's other name- sorry for not mentioning that before) day and night through the wilderness until they got to the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, pharoh had decided that he wanted revenge on the Hebrews, and gathered his army to go after them and kill them. They caught up with Moses and the Hebrews at the Red Sea. God caused a pillar of fire to make a barrier between the Egyptian army and the Hebrews. Then God parted the Red Sea for the Hebrews to walk across. All the Hebrews got to the other side, and then the pillar of fire went away, and the Egyptians followed them. When all the Hebrews were safe on the other side of the sea, God caused the waters to come crashing down on the Egyptian army and destroyed them. The Israelites were finally safe!
Chapter 15 of Exodus is really neat to read because it is a song of thankfulness from the Israelites to God for saving them. It reminds me of something out of Pslams.
But, soon after this, the Israelites ran out of water and they started to "murmur" against Moses about their need not being met. God ended up leading them to water, but this is just one of many, many.......MANY times the Israelites complained or disobeyed what God wanted them to do. God definitely had a lot of patience with them because they just kept messing up!
The rest of the book of Exodus is about the travel of the Israelites, how Moses set up men to help him govern the people, Moses going up into Mount Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments, and various laws that were given to Moses by God to give to the Hebrews. There are also instructions (very specific instructions.....tedious, actually, if I can be honest) for building the Ark, the Temple, the altar, and the priest's clothing.
One cool thing I noticed out of all these tedious instructions was that after Moses was instructed to do something, the Word always says that Moses did exactly what he was supposed to do. I can't remember how many times it says this, but several for sure: "Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he." God wanted us to know that Moses, the greatest prophet, was very obedient!
One thing I learned while reading this part of the book of Exodus was that Moses broke the first set of stone tablets when he came down from Mount Sinai, because he was angry at the people for worshipping an idol. God made him a second set of stone tablets later on.
Exodus ends with the rules about giving sacrificial offerings to the Lord.
Exodus 13:19
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he (Joseph) had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
This would be like George Washington asking that people in this day and time move his body to a new location. How neat that would have been- not only do you have roughly 2 million people leaving Egypt, you are carrying the bones of one of your most famous ancestors out with you, because he asked you to! Sometimes it's the most random verses like this one that astound me the most.
So God led the children of Israel (btw, Israel was Jacob's other name- sorry for not mentioning that before) day and night through the wilderness until they got to the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, pharoh had decided that he wanted revenge on the Hebrews, and gathered his army to go after them and kill them. They caught up with Moses and the Hebrews at the Red Sea. God caused a pillar of fire to make a barrier between the Egyptian army and the Hebrews. Then God parted the Red Sea for the Hebrews to walk across. All the Hebrews got to the other side, and then the pillar of fire went away, and the Egyptians followed them. When all the Hebrews were safe on the other side of the sea, God caused the waters to come crashing down on the Egyptian army and destroyed them. The Israelites were finally safe!
Chapter 15 of Exodus is really neat to read because it is a song of thankfulness from the Israelites to God for saving them. It reminds me of something out of Pslams.
But, soon after this, the Israelites ran out of water and they started to "murmur" against Moses about their need not being met. God ended up leading them to water, but this is just one of many, many.......MANY times the Israelites complained or disobeyed what God wanted them to do. God definitely had a lot of patience with them because they just kept messing up!
The rest of the book of Exodus is about the travel of the Israelites, how Moses set up men to help him govern the people, Moses going up into Mount Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments, and various laws that were given to Moses by God to give to the Hebrews. There are also instructions (very specific instructions.....tedious, actually, if I can be honest) for building the Ark, the Temple, the altar, and the priest's clothing.
One cool thing I noticed out of all these tedious instructions was that after Moses was instructed to do something, the Word always says that Moses did exactly what he was supposed to do. I can't remember how many times it says this, but several for sure: "Thus did Moses: according to all that the Lord commanded him, so did he." God wanted us to know that Moses, the greatest prophet, was very obedient!
One thing I learned while reading this part of the book of Exodus was that Moses broke the first set of stone tablets when he came down from Mount Sinai, because he was angry at the people for worshipping an idol. God made him a second set of stone tablets later on.
Exodus ends with the rules about giving sacrificial offerings to the Lord.
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