This may seem an unusually large passage to tackle in a single post, but relatively little happens in these twelve chapters as much of the passage is devoted to detailed descriptions of the allotments of land awarded to each of the tribes of Israel. Each tribe is given a portion of land, and the cities of refuge and Levite cities are chosen, just as God commanded. These boundary definitions and long lists of cities mean little to anyone not familiar with the finer points of ancient Near Easter geography (and I'm guessing that's most of us) so I won't dwell on them too much. However, it's difficult to ignore the fact that the previous chapters' accounts of Israel's battles with neighbouring peoples and now the obvious importance given to who owns what land all sounds terribly familiar. It has been several millennia since the Israelites first arrived in what is now commonly referred to as the Holy Land, but little has changed. The Israel-Palestine conflict is clearly an extremely complex and emotive issue, and I have no desire to offend anyone, so I will not say only this. Under the old covenant, God gave the land to Israel because they were His chosen people; but now we live under a new covenant, and that partiality no longer exists. Surely in that context, Israel's divine right to the land has also ended. That doesn't mean that the Israelis do not have a right to live in that land, just that they must let go of their claim to be the only people with a right to live in that land and learn to live peacefully with their neighbours. For me, it is the logical Christian position, but it also the natural human position. For the sake of peace, a compromise must be made.
But back to the passage, and in and amongst the details of the tribes' allotments, we find the stories of some remarkable women. Caleb (the only man other than Joshua to have remained faithful to God and survived the years of wandering) gives his daughter Ascah away in marriage to a man named Othniel. Ascah is treated like a possession or a bargaining chip, but she's clearly not one to accept that role. She convinces her husband to ask her father to give her a field, and I presume she gets it because next she asks her father for springs of water too, which he also grants her. We also hear of the daughters of Zelophehad asking Joshua to grant them their father's inheritance, as had previously been promised by Moses. Women in ancient Israel did not own property or wealth - the law simply didn't allow for it - and yet here we have two instances of women ignoring or challenging that status quo. In many societies, women are still not automatically afforded the same rights and privileges as their male counterparts, but that doesn't mean that they or we should accept that. We as women need to follow in the footsteps of Ascah, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah, because only when we speak out will things change.
The land having been conquered and allotted, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh return to the east of the Jordan, where they had claimed their inheritance. But before they cross the river, they build an "imposing altar". When the other tribes hear of this, they fear that this marks a rebellion against God and immediately set out to go to war with their brothers. Their zeal and their eagerness to ensure God is obeyed is admirable, but how sad that their first reaction should be war. But even if it is sad, it is perhaps not all that surprising. How often is our first instinct violence, even if that violence is only verbal? Fortunately they have enough sense and self-control to speak to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh before they start killing them, and they explain that they built the altar only as a witness between the tribes on the east and west of the Jordan that they all follow one God, so that later generations of the western Israelites cannot claim that the eastern tribes are nothing to do with Him. If the tribes on west of the Jordan had spoken to the tribes on the east to begin with, there would have been no need for any aggression. Maybe we should not be so quick to judge the motives of others.
Joshua is one hundred and ten now, and he knows it is almost time for him to "go the way of all earth" so he gathers the leaders and reminds them of all God has done for them, and of their duties to Him in return. Then he speaks to all the people, and God speaks through him one last time. It just goes to show that we're never too old to serve God. Joshua challenges the Israelites to choose whom they will serve and questions their commitment to serving God. It's a risky tactic - it would have been very easy for them to have begun to doubt themselves or turn away in anger at his lack of confidence in them - but they respond by affirming their faith and renewing the covenant. Often it is when our faith is challenged, when someone tugs at it, that we discover just how deep its roots go.
Finally, Joshua dies and is buried in the promised land. There are still elders and priests in the community, but Joshua has not appointed a new leader. Maybe Israelite society is about to change...
Monday 25 October 2010
Friday 22 October 2010
Joshua 9-12 - In Which There is More War (and Peace)
Before the Israelites continue their campaign of conquest, we find ‘The Gibeonite Deception’, which sounds rather like an ancient Near Eastern equivalent of the Bourne series. It certainly has an appropriate amount of intrigue and double-crossing. The kings of the Canaanite city-states west of the Jordan hear about the Israelite victories at Jericho and Ai, and join together to make war against them and stop them in their tracks. The Gibeonites, however, have a different plan. They put on old clothes and shoes, and take cracked wine skins and dry bread, and trick the Israelites into believing that they have travelled a great distance in order to make a pact with them because they have heard of the incredible things that God has done. The Israelites seem a little sceptical at first, but they do not consult God, and so in the end they agree a peace treaty with the Gibeonites.
Three days later, the Israelites learn that the Gibeonites are really neighbours, and therefore among the peoples they were meant to destroy, but they can’t attack them now because they have sworn an oath in the name of God. Having been found out, the Gibeonites tell Joshua that they lied because they were scared of the Israelites, and they put themselves at his mercy. And so Joshua makes the Gibeonites water-carriers and woodcutters for the Israelites. Ignoring for the moment the fact that Plan A involved genocide and Plan B involved slavery, we see here that things went wrong because the Israelites did not consult God. We need to involve him in our lives and especially in our big decisions because He knows best. That doesn’t mean handing every decision over to Him and sacrificing our free will – the final call is always ours – but it doesn’t mean talking to God, asking what He thinks, and taking His advice because it’s the best we’re going to get.
The five kings of the Amorites – the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon – hear about the pact the Israelites and the Gibeonites have made, and they’re not happy about it. We are told that Gibeon is an important city with a strong army, and them joining forces with the Israelites can only be bad news for everyone else. Possibly believing that attack is the best form of defence, the five kings join forces and march against Gibeon. They may not have thought this all the way through because of course Gibeon calls on Israel, and Israel honours their treaty and marches to defend them. The combined army is thrown into confusion and driven back by the Israelites, and many of their men are killed by what must have been a freak hailstorm. And then Joshua calls on the sun to stand still, and it does until the enemy armies have been completely destroyed. At this point, the writer declares “Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” as if Israel were in charge and God were merely reinforcement. But it is not for God to fall in with our plans, and we must be careful that we do not treat Him as nothing more than backup or a lucky charm.
Now follows an account of how the Israelites trapped and killed the five kings, then went on to conquer cities in the north and the south of Canaan, wiping out entire peoples as they did so. We also have a list of the thirty-one kings defeated by the Israelites, the literary equivalent of a trophy cabinet. This is a huge campaign being described here, and in the end it amounts to wholesale genocide. Aside from being immoral and inhuman, it’s also totally impossible. I don’t want to spend too much time on exploring the historicity of the Bible in this blog – it’s an important issue that I feel it’s important anyone who reads the Bible, and especially anyone who bases their faith on it wrestles with, but here is not the place – but I will say quickly that there is no literary or archaeological evidence for such a campaign of death and destruction. The ancient Near East was a violent and war-torn place, and many cities were destroyed at various times, but there is nothing to suggest that the biblical account of a single people systematically conquering cities and wiping out their populations is true. In fact, there is much evidence to the contrary. Before we judge the Israelites based on the Bible, maybe we should consider the fact that history is a powerful tool for propaganda, and it is highly likely that the biblical authors invented or exaggerated parts of their history in order to present Israel as a powerful nation.
In between the battle narratives and the list of defeated enemies comes a single sentence – “Then the land had rest from war.” Entire chapters dedicated to war, then not even a whole verse devoted to peace. It seems a bit skewed, doesn’t it? And yet somehow it’s not entirely surprising. We’ve always been more interested in death and misery than in life and hope. You only have to watch half an hour of television or flick through a newspaper or poetry anthology to see that. But is that right? We shouldn’t ignore or shy away from the bad stuff – we have to face up to it and deal with it – but it’s not the whole picture. Seven years ago I read a book called Fran’s War which tells the story of a group of teenagers and young children trying to survive the Bosnian War, and it broke my heart. I couldn’t forget about what I read, and so I started to tell anyone who wanted to listen (and many who didn’t) about Bosnia because I wanted them to care too. And I read more. But the more I read, the more I saw that within the horror were stories of love and sacrifice, beautiful and powerful stories that revealed the best of humanity. And those stories are important too. They don’t make the horror around them any less, but they do remind us that war is not all. And so I began to tell those stories too. Peace deserves more than a single senten
Three days later, the Israelites learn that the Gibeonites are really neighbours, and therefore among the peoples they were meant to destroy, but they can’t attack them now because they have sworn an oath in the name of God. Having been found out, the Gibeonites tell Joshua that they lied because they were scared of the Israelites, and they put themselves at his mercy. And so Joshua makes the Gibeonites water-carriers and woodcutters for the Israelites. Ignoring for the moment the fact that Plan A involved genocide and Plan B involved slavery, we see here that things went wrong because the Israelites did not consult God. We need to involve him in our lives and especially in our big decisions because He knows best. That doesn’t mean handing every decision over to Him and sacrificing our free will – the final call is always ours – but it doesn’t mean talking to God, asking what He thinks, and taking His advice because it’s the best we’re going to get.
The five kings of the Amorites – the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon – hear about the pact the Israelites and the Gibeonites have made, and they’re not happy about it. We are told that Gibeon is an important city with a strong army, and them joining forces with the Israelites can only be bad news for everyone else. Possibly believing that attack is the best form of defence, the five kings join forces and march against Gibeon. They may not have thought this all the way through because of course Gibeon calls on Israel, and Israel honours their treaty and marches to defend them. The combined army is thrown into confusion and driven back by the Israelites, and many of their men are killed by what must have been a freak hailstorm. And then Joshua calls on the sun to stand still, and it does until the enemy armies have been completely destroyed. At this point, the writer declares “Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” as if Israel were in charge and God were merely reinforcement. But it is not for God to fall in with our plans, and we must be careful that we do not treat Him as nothing more than backup or a lucky charm.
Now follows an account of how the Israelites trapped and killed the five kings, then went on to conquer cities in the north and the south of Canaan, wiping out entire peoples as they did so. We also have a list of the thirty-one kings defeated by the Israelites, the literary equivalent of a trophy cabinet. This is a huge campaign being described here, and in the end it amounts to wholesale genocide. Aside from being immoral and inhuman, it’s also totally impossible. I don’t want to spend too much time on exploring the historicity of the Bible in this blog – it’s an important issue that I feel it’s important anyone who reads the Bible, and especially anyone who bases their faith on it wrestles with, but here is not the place – but I will say quickly that there is no literary or archaeological evidence for such a campaign of death and destruction. The ancient Near East was a violent and war-torn place, and many cities were destroyed at various times, but there is nothing to suggest that the biblical account of a single people systematically conquering cities and wiping out their populations is true. In fact, there is much evidence to the contrary. Before we judge the Israelites based on the Bible, maybe we should consider the fact that history is a powerful tool for propaganda, and it is highly likely that the biblical authors invented or exaggerated parts of their history in order to present Israel as a powerful nation.
In between the battle narratives and the list of defeated enemies comes a single sentence – “Then the land had rest from war.” Entire chapters dedicated to war, then not even a whole verse devoted to peace. It seems a bit skewed, doesn’t it? And yet somehow it’s not entirely surprising. We’ve always been more interested in death and misery than in life and hope. You only have to watch half an hour of television or flick through a newspaper or poetry anthology to see that. But is that right? We shouldn’t ignore or shy away from the bad stuff – we have to face up to it and deal with it – but it’s not the whole picture. Seven years ago I read a book called Fran’s War which tells the story of a group of teenagers and young children trying to survive the Bosnian War, and it broke my heart. I couldn’t forget about what I read, and so I started to tell anyone who wanted to listen (and many who didn’t) about Bosnia because I wanted them to care too. And I read more. But the more I read, the more I saw that within the horror were stories of love and sacrifice, beautiful and powerful stories that revealed the best of humanity. And those stories are important too. They don’t make the horror around them any less, but they do remind us that war is not all. And so I began to tell those stories too. Peace deserves more than a single senten
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Joshua 5-8 - Victory at Jericho and Ai
Having brought the people across the Jordan, God now tells Joshua to make flint knifes and circumcise the Israelites again. Again? How can you circumcise anyone twice? It sounds like a bewildering and terrifying prospect but it turns out that no one has been circumcised during the forty years of wandering, so what God is actually asking Joshua to do is circumcise the men who were born in the desert and have not already been circumcised. In this way, they will "[roll] away the reproach of Egypt". Circumcision was a symbol of the covenant, a sign that the Israelites were set apart. But signs and symbols alone are not enough. It was all well and good the men getting circumcised to signal their obedience to the covenant, but if they were not obedient, it was nothing more than an empty gesture. In the same way, we may wear a cross as symbol of our faith, but if we do not live out the truth of the cross, it means nothing.
While the Israelites are camped at Gilgal, they celebrate the Passover, eating the produce of the land of Canaan. That day or the following day, the manna that God had sent every morning stops appearing. It does not mean that God has stopped providing for them, just that that provision has changed - now He has brought them to a place where He can provide for them through the land. God will always be there for us, but He will be there for each of us in different ways depending on how we need Him at any given time. God does not operate a one size fits all system of support.
Around this time, Joshua meets a man with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua asks him if he is for them or their enemies, and the man replies that he is for neither, but he has come as the commander of God's army. Bearing in mind Israel's declared status as God's chosen people, and the fact that God has apparently destroyed Israel's enemies in the past, this apparent neutrality may be quite surprising. Maybe the servants of God do not share His partiality. Or maybe this a reminder to Joshua that God is for them as long as they are faithful and obedient to Him. Maybe, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, we should not worry about whether or not God is on our side, but whether or not we are on His.
And now we come to one of the best-known Old Testament stories - the Fall of Jericho. Like much of the Old Testament, it is doubtful that this ever happened - archaeologists have found no evidence that a city was destroyed at Jericho in this period - but the story was told for a reason and we can still learn something of God from it. In brief, God tells Joshua to instruct seven priests to march around the city, carrying the ark and blowing trumpets, accompanied by all the armed men of Israel. They must do this for six days, making no noise except for the sounding of the trumpets. Then on the seventh day, they must march around the city seven times, making as much noise as they can on the seventh circuit. They do this, and as the people begin to shout, the walls of Jericho fall, allowing the armed men to enter the city and kill everyone inside. It must have sounded like a mad scheme, but it worked. Sometimes God will ask us to do incredible and apparently insane things, and then it's tempting to ignore Him or dismiss those ideas as us getting things wrong, but He knows what He's doing. We just have to trust Him.
It seems like things are going well for the Israelites, but its not longer before someone manages to screw things up. A man named Achan takes some of the devoted things - the wealth of the city that was to be given to God - and God is not happy about it. The first sign that something is wrong comes when a group of three thousand Israelites attack Ai, confident that they can take the city, but are routed and about thirty six of them killed. The people are terrified, fearing that their new neighbours will believe them weak and attack. Joshua cries out to God, and God tells Him that the people have stolen and lied, breaking the covenant, and so they no longer have His protection, leaving them "liable to destruction". Does God remove His protection in anger? Or is it more a case of the people stepping outside of His protection by sinning? Either way, this seems to be in contrast to previous instances, where God actively punished disobedience with curse. So did God employ different methods for disciplining the people? Or is this simply a different interpretation of why things went wrong when the people disobeyed?
Putting those questions aside, God tells Joshua to present the people before Him tribe by tribe. The tribe He chooses must then be presented clan by clan. In the same way, the clan He chooses must be presented family by family. Finally, the family He chooses must be presented man by man. The man He chooses is the one who is guilty of taking the devoted things and he must be killed. The all-knowing, all-seeing God must have know who took them, but maybe He was giving Achan the opportunity to step forwards and confess. God knows everything we do, so there's no point in hiding from Him. We may as well give up our pretences and just be honest. It can be a scary idea, but it can also be extremely liberating.
So Achan is singled out and killed. Atonement has been made, and so God tells Joshua to attack Ai again, because this time they will have the victory. So under God's orders, Joshua sets up an ambush. He sends his best men out at night to hide close to the city, then he and the rest of the fighting men openly camp before the city walls. When the people of Ai see this, they rush out to meet Israel in battle. They have defeated them before, and they see no reason why they can't do so again. Joshua and his men turn and flee, luring the men of Ai away from the city, then at Joshua's signal the men who had been hiding rush into the abandoned city and set it alight. The men of Ai see this and realise they are trapped, as the fleeing Israelites and the ambush both turn to meet them, leaving them trapped in the middle with no hope of escape. And so the men of Israel kill the men of Ai and plunder their city. The Israelites had thought they were done for after the first attack was routed, but God turned the confidence this gave the men of Ai to the Israelites' advantage. There is no need to despair, because when things go wrong, God can find a way of turning that to good.
Finally, Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal and copies on stones the the law of Moses, then reads the law aloud to all the people. The subheading in my Bible calls this "The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal", and I think that this was about the Israelites taking possession of that covenant and that law for themselves. It had been given to Moses, and he had written it down, but now it was theirs. The law of Moses may not be ours, but it is our right and our privilege to take possession of the new covenant and of God's promises. They are for us as much as they were for the people to whom they were originally given.
While the Israelites are camped at Gilgal, they celebrate the Passover, eating the produce of the land of Canaan. That day or the following day, the manna that God had sent every morning stops appearing. It does not mean that God has stopped providing for them, just that that provision has changed - now He has brought them to a place where He can provide for them through the land. God will always be there for us, but He will be there for each of us in different ways depending on how we need Him at any given time. God does not operate a one size fits all system of support.
Around this time, Joshua meets a man with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua asks him if he is for them or their enemies, and the man replies that he is for neither, but he has come as the commander of God's army. Bearing in mind Israel's declared status as God's chosen people, and the fact that God has apparently destroyed Israel's enemies in the past, this apparent neutrality may be quite surprising. Maybe the servants of God do not share His partiality. Or maybe this a reminder to Joshua that God is for them as long as they are faithful and obedient to Him. Maybe, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, we should not worry about whether or not God is on our side, but whether or not we are on His.
And now we come to one of the best-known Old Testament stories - the Fall of Jericho. Like much of the Old Testament, it is doubtful that this ever happened - archaeologists have found no evidence that a city was destroyed at Jericho in this period - but the story was told for a reason and we can still learn something of God from it. In brief, God tells Joshua to instruct seven priests to march around the city, carrying the ark and blowing trumpets, accompanied by all the armed men of Israel. They must do this for six days, making no noise except for the sounding of the trumpets. Then on the seventh day, they must march around the city seven times, making as much noise as they can on the seventh circuit. They do this, and as the people begin to shout, the walls of Jericho fall, allowing the armed men to enter the city and kill everyone inside. It must have sounded like a mad scheme, but it worked. Sometimes God will ask us to do incredible and apparently insane things, and then it's tempting to ignore Him or dismiss those ideas as us getting things wrong, but He knows what He's doing. We just have to trust Him.
It seems like things are going well for the Israelites, but its not longer before someone manages to screw things up. A man named Achan takes some of the devoted things - the wealth of the city that was to be given to God - and God is not happy about it. The first sign that something is wrong comes when a group of three thousand Israelites attack Ai, confident that they can take the city, but are routed and about thirty six of them killed. The people are terrified, fearing that their new neighbours will believe them weak and attack. Joshua cries out to God, and God tells Him that the people have stolen and lied, breaking the covenant, and so they no longer have His protection, leaving them "liable to destruction". Does God remove His protection in anger? Or is it more a case of the people stepping outside of His protection by sinning? Either way, this seems to be in contrast to previous instances, where God actively punished disobedience with curse. So did God employ different methods for disciplining the people? Or is this simply a different interpretation of why things went wrong when the people disobeyed?
Putting those questions aside, God tells Joshua to present the people before Him tribe by tribe. The tribe He chooses must then be presented clan by clan. In the same way, the clan He chooses must be presented family by family. Finally, the family He chooses must be presented man by man. The man He chooses is the one who is guilty of taking the devoted things and he must be killed. The all-knowing, all-seeing God must have know who took them, but maybe He was giving Achan the opportunity to step forwards and confess. God knows everything we do, so there's no point in hiding from Him. We may as well give up our pretences and just be honest. It can be a scary idea, but it can also be extremely liberating.
So Achan is singled out and killed. Atonement has been made, and so God tells Joshua to attack Ai again, because this time they will have the victory. So under God's orders, Joshua sets up an ambush. He sends his best men out at night to hide close to the city, then he and the rest of the fighting men openly camp before the city walls. When the people of Ai see this, they rush out to meet Israel in battle. They have defeated them before, and they see no reason why they can't do so again. Joshua and his men turn and flee, luring the men of Ai away from the city, then at Joshua's signal the men who had been hiding rush into the abandoned city and set it alight. The men of Ai see this and realise they are trapped, as the fleeing Israelites and the ambush both turn to meet them, leaving them trapped in the middle with no hope of escape. And so the men of Israel kill the men of Ai and plunder their city. The Israelites had thought they were done for after the first attack was routed, but God turned the confidence this gave the men of Ai to the Israelites' advantage. There is no need to despair, because when things go wrong, God can find a way of turning that to good.
Finally, Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal and copies on stones the the law of Moses, then reads the law aloud to all the people. The subheading in my Bible calls this "The Covenant Renewed at Mount Ebal", and I think that this was about the Israelites taking possession of that covenant and that law for themselves. It had been given to Moses, and he had written it down, but now it was theirs. The law of Moses may not be ours, but it is our right and our privilege to take possession of the new covenant and of God's promises. They are for us as much as they were for the people to whom they were originally given.
Monday 18 October 2010
Joshua 1-4 - Crossing the Jordan
Moses is dead and now his successor Joshua must step up and lead the Israelites. And he's thrown right in at the deep end, because God comes to him and tells him to prepare the people because at long last it is time for them to cross over the Jordan and take possession of the land He is giving them, and he will lead them. God also exhorts him to follow the Law carefully, meditating on it day and night, presumably because Joshua is to be the people's spiritual leader as well as their guide. It's one heck of a first assignment. Joshua must have been terrified and feeling totally overwhelmed. We can tell this because three times in the course of four verses, God tells tell him to "be strong and courageous". And then He tells him not to be afraid or discouraged. God's really trying hard to encourage him here. But they're not just empty words. God gives him reason to be confident, as He promises that He will be with him wherever he goes. Often we can feel like Joshua, but God doesn't send us out alone and unprepared. Just as He went with Joshua, so He will come with us and strengthen us so that we need not be afraid.
Joshua clearly feels a little better after this pep talk because he gets to work, commanding the officers to tell the people to be ready in three days, and calling on the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to fulfil their promise and fight with their brothers before returning and settling on the east of the Jordan. And the people listen, telling him that they will obey him as they obeyed Moses. That may not have been hugely encouraging as they weren't always totally obedient - Moses had a lot of grumbling to out up with - but at least they recognised Joshua as leader and he had them on side for now.
Joshua's next step is to send out two spies to investigate the land, especially the walled city of Jericho. When these two men arrive in Jericho, they enter the house of a woman named Rahab. The king soon hears of their presence and so Rahab hides them and smuggles them out of the city, even lying to the king's men to keep them from getting caught. She does this, she says, because she recognises that their God is the God of heaven and earth, and that He has given the land to the Israelites. God reveals Himself even where He is not known, and belief can be found in the midst of great unbelief. She also says the the people of the city are afraid of the Israelites because they know what God did to the Egyptians and the Amorites. In return for protecting them, she asks they spare her and her family. The spies agree to this, and tell her to tie a scarlet cord in her window so that when the Israelite army arrives, they will know that house is protected.
The main text of the Bible refers to Rahab as a prostitute, and that is how she is most often known. People talk of "Rahab the prostitute" as though that were here name, or as if her entire being could be summed up by her profession. But are we really defined by our work? Or is there more to us than a job title? And Rahab is not just known by that one word, she is also judged by it. People talk about Rahab and say that "even a prostitute" recognised God. Phrases like that are meant to challenge our preconceptions, but they can only do so by relying on stereotypes. We are only amazed by the faith of a prostitute if we believe that prostitutes are less capable of or prone to spiritual awareness, but that is both ridiculous and insulting. Ideas like this aren't preconcetptions, they're misconceptions, and we must do away with them altogether. But then consider this for a moment, a note in my Bible suggests that Rahab may in fact have been an innkeeper. Would that make her faith any less remarkable? Or the risk she took in protecting the Israelites any less admirable? No, it wouldn't. Or at least it shouldn't. Rahab risked her life for what she believed was right, and that's what makes her a great woman, and would make her a great woman whatever she did for a living.
Anyway, the spies escape Jericho with Rahab's help, and return to the Israelite camp full of confidence. "The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands" they say, "all the people are melting in fear because of us". With this reassurance, the Israelites set out once more, and camp on the banks of the River Jordan. They stay there for a couple of days and then on the third day, the officers go through the camp and tell the people to follow the Ark. Joshua also speaks to the people, telling them "consecrate yourselves because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you". Are we ever so sure that God will do amazing things that we actually prepare ourselves for it? Maybe not, but we should be. It's not presumptuous to expect something that has been promised.
So the next day, God tells Joshua to tell the priests to take up the ark and walk into the Jordan, then the flow of the river will stop so that the people can cross on dry land. We are told that the Jordan was in flood at the time, so it must have been a terrifying prospect, but the priests faithfully did as they were commanded. And their faith was rewarded because as soon as they stepped into the river, "the water from upstream stopped flowing [and] piled up in a heap a great distance away" so that the people could cross in safety. Of course it's reminiscent of the crossing of the sea of reeds, but it is not any less incredible for having happened before. We should expect God to do amazing things, but we should never become complacent about them. Every work of God is a wonder and a miracle, and we should celebrate every single time.
I also think it's really significant that the priests had to step into the river before it stopped flowing. It was God that stopped the waters, but it also took some effort on the priests' part. They needed to step out in faith and show their willingness to trust and obey Him. In the same way, if we want to see miracles, we're going to have to do something about it. We have to believe that He can and will do wondrous things, but we also have to be willing to let God use us to do His work. We have a part to play, and that's both a privilege and a responsibility.
God tells Joshua to choose one man from each tribe to collect one stone each from the river bed, then Joshua calls the priests up out of the river and the waters flow as before. The people move on and set up camp at Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho, where they build an altar from the twelves stones collected from the river bed. Joshua tells the people that when future generations ask what the stones mean, they must tell them the story of how God stopped the waters so that Israel could cross on dry ground, and to show to all the earth that He is mighty. Again, the people must remember what God has done for them.
God is very definite in forbidding the making of idols and yet on numerous occasions He tells the people to build altars. So what's the difference? Well, an idol is worshipped as a god or the embodiment of a god, and as such it is a distraction from the one true God. But an altar is a reminder of God, intended to focus attention on Him and encourage praise and thanksgiving. The Israelites didn't worship their altars, they only worshipped at them, and that's the crucial difference. There's nothing wrong with using an object - a cross or prayer beads, for example - as an aid to worship. It it only when that object becomes the focus and recipient of our worship that it becomes a problem.
Joshua clearly feels a little better after this pep talk because he gets to work, commanding the officers to tell the people to be ready in three days, and calling on the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to fulfil their promise and fight with their brothers before returning and settling on the east of the Jordan. And the people listen, telling him that they will obey him as they obeyed Moses. That may not have been hugely encouraging as they weren't always totally obedient - Moses had a lot of grumbling to out up with - but at least they recognised Joshua as leader and he had them on side for now.
Joshua's next step is to send out two spies to investigate the land, especially the walled city of Jericho. When these two men arrive in Jericho, they enter the house of a woman named Rahab. The king soon hears of their presence and so Rahab hides them and smuggles them out of the city, even lying to the king's men to keep them from getting caught. She does this, she says, because she recognises that their God is the God of heaven and earth, and that He has given the land to the Israelites. God reveals Himself even where He is not known, and belief can be found in the midst of great unbelief. She also says the the people of the city are afraid of the Israelites because they know what God did to the Egyptians and the Amorites. In return for protecting them, she asks they spare her and her family. The spies agree to this, and tell her to tie a scarlet cord in her window so that when the Israelite army arrives, they will know that house is protected.
The main text of the Bible refers to Rahab as a prostitute, and that is how she is most often known. People talk of "Rahab the prostitute" as though that were here name, or as if her entire being could be summed up by her profession. But are we really defined by our work? Or is there more to us than a job title? And Rahab is not just known by that one word, she is also judged by it. People talk about Rahab and say that "even a prostitute" recognised God. Phrases like that are meant to challenge our preconceptions, but they can only do so by relying on stereotypes. We are only amazed by the faith of a prostitute if we believe that prostitutes are less capable of or prone to spiritual awareness, but that is both ridiculous and insulting. Ideas like this aren't preconcetptions, they're misconceptions, and we must do away with them altogether. But then consider this for a moment, a note in my Bible suggests that Rahab may in fact have been an innkeeper. Would that make her faith any less remarkable? Or the risk she took in protecting the Israelites any less admirable? No, it wouldn't. Or at least it shouldn't. Rahab risked her life for what she believed was right, and that's what makes her a great woman, and would make her a great woman whatever she did for a living.
Anyway, the spies escape Jericho with Rahab's help, and return to the Israelite camp full of confidence. "The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands" they say, "all the people are melting in fear because of us". With this reassurance, the Israelites set out once more, and camp on the banks of the River Jordan. They stay there for a couple of days and then on the third day, the officers go through the camp and tell the people to follow the Ark. Joshua also speaks to the people, telling them "consecrate yourselves because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you". Are we ever so sure that God will do amazing things that we actually prepare ourselves for it? Maybe not, but we should be. It's not presumptuous to expect something that has been promised.
So the next day, God tells Joshua to tell the priests to take up the ark and walk into the Jordan, then the flow of the river will stop so that the people can cross on dry land. We are told that the Jordan was in flood at the time, so it must have been a terrifying prospect, but the priests faithfully did as they were commanded. And their faith was rewarded because as soon as they stepped into the river, "the water from upstream stopped flowing [and] piled up in a heap a great distance away" so that the people could cross in safety. Of course it's reminiscent of the crossing of the sea of reeds, but it is not any less incredible for having happened before. We should expect God to do amazing things, but we should never become complacent about them. Every work of God is a wonder and a miracle, and we should celebrate every single time.
I also think it's really significant that the priests had to step into the river before it stopped flowing. It was God that stopped the waters, but it also took some effort on the priests' part. They needed to step out in faith and show their willingness to trust and obey Him. In the same way, if we want to see miracles, we're going to have to do something about it. We have to believe that He can and will do wondrous things, but we also have to be willing to let God use us to do His work. We have a part to play, and that's both a privilege and a responsibility.
God tells Joshua to choose one man from each tribe to collect one stone each from the river bed, then Joshua calls the priests up out of the river and the waters flow as before. The people move on and set up camp at Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho, where they build an altar from the twelves stones collected from the river bed. Joshua tells the people that when future generations ask what the stones mean, they must tell them the story of how God stopped the waters so that Israel could cross on dry ground, and to show to all the earth that He is mighty. Again, the people must remember what God has done for them.
God is very definite in forbidding the making of idols and yet on numerous occasions He tells the people to build altars. So what's the difference? Well, an idol is worshipped as a god or the embodiment of a god, and as such it is a distraction from the one true God. But an altar is a reminder of God, intended to focus attention on Him and encourage praise and thanksgiving. The Israelites didn't worship their altars, they only worshipped at them, and that's the crucial difference. There's nothing wrong with using an object - a cross or prayer beads, for example - as an aid to worship. It it only when that object becomes the focus and recipient of our worship that it becomes a problem.
Saturday 16 October 2010
The Pentateuch - An Overview
So, after twelve weeks and forty two posts, I've blogged my way through the first five books of the Bible, collectively known as the Pentateuch or the Law Books. This seems a good point to stop and reflect, so here a just a few points that jump out at me as I look back over what I've read.
I said when I started this blog that I wanted to learn more about God. So what have I learnt? Well, I have read of a God who is powerful and majestic and glorious. Who guides and provides and protects. And who is abounding in love and mercy. But I've also read of a God who kills the innocent because they belong to the wrong nation. Who strikes down His own servants for seemingly minor disobediences. And who curses as well as He blesses.
I have met the God who loves, but I do not know the God who curses. God is who He is and it is not for us to question Him or His actions, and yet still this disparity niggles. So what am I to believe? Who is God? Is there another side to Him I do not know? Maybe the answer is both yes and no. Maybe He did curse and kill. Under the old covenant, sin had to be punished and it would not make God cruel or abitrary, only just. But then Jesus died, the Law was fulfilled and the system of atonement and punishment was abolished. And so now God no longer needs to punish His people, and He can love us unreservedly.
But then maybe, as I've suggested before, it's all a question of interpretation. The narratives in these early books are presented as history, but no history is totally subjective. We all understand events through the prism of our individual beliefs and preconceptions. The Old Testament writers believed in divine judgement, and so they explained events as blessings or curses. But maybe that was just their interpretation. We as readers must also interpret through our own prisms. There is only one truth, but no way to know for sure what it is, and we so must all wrestle with it for ourselves.
I also said I wanted to know more about God's covenant, and the way He wants me to live. This one is also a little tricky, as the laws which make up the main part of the Pentateuch formed part of the old covenant, but since Jesus' death and resurrection, we live under a new covenant. That doesn't mean we should throw the Old Testament out in its entirety, but it does mean that before we apply it, we need to examine it in the light of New Testament teaching. Sometimes it's obvious whether or not a law still stands - many laws were affirmed by Jesus, while others were flatly contradicted - but often it's not so easy. And then we must employ the intelligence with which God gifted us. And most importantly, we must pray.
Finally, after God, Moses is the most dominant character of these early books. So what can we learn from him? Well, I think he's a fantastic role model. When things get tough, he prays. When things go well, he praises God. And when the people are against him, still he speaks the word of God. He's not perfect by a long stretch - he's slow to trust God and obey his calling, and there's the hiccup that costs him the promised land - but he keeps trying and he keeps coming back to God. In the end that's the best any of us can do.
And so ends my jaunt through the Pentateuch. Next up are the histories, although as I'm about to start a part-time degree on top of my part-time job, my blogging may become a little more sporadic.
I said when I started this blog that I wanted to learn more about God. So what have I learnt? Well, I have read of a God who is powerful and majestic and glorious. Who guides and provides and protects. And who is abounding in love and mercy. But I've also read of a God who kills the innocent because they belong to the wrong nation. Who strikes down His own servants for seemingly minor disobediences. And who curses as well as He blesses.
I have met the God who loves, but I do not know the God who curses. God is who He is and it is not for us to question Him or His actions, and yet still this disparity niggles. So what am I to believe? Who is God? Is there another side to Him I do not know? Maybe the answer is both yes and no. Maybe He did curse and kill. Under the old covenant, sin had to be punished and it would not make God cruel or abitrary, only just. But then Jesus died, the Law was fulfilled and the system of atonement and punishment was abolished. And so now God no longer needs to punish His people, and He can love us unreservedly.
But then maybe, as I've suggested before, it's all a question of interpretation. The narratives in these early books are presented as history, but no history is totally subjective. We all understand events through the prism of our individual beliefs and preconceptions. The Old Testament writers believed in divine judgement, and so they explained events as blessings or curses. But maybe that was just their interpretation. We as readers must also interpret through our own prisms. There is only one truth, but no way to know for sure what it is, and we so must all wrestle with it for ourselves.
I also said I wanted to know more about God's covenant, and the way He wants me to live. This one is also a little tricky, as the laws which make up the main part of the Pentateuch formed part of the old covenant, but since Jesus' death and resurrection, we live under a new covenant. That doesn't mean we should throw the Old Testament out in its entirety, but it does mean that before we apply it, we need to examine it in the light of New Testament teaching. Sometimes it's obvious whether or not a law still stands - many laws were affirmed by Jesus, while others were flatly contradicted - but often it's not so easy. And then we must employ the intelligence with which God gifted us. And most importantly, we must pray.
Finally, after God, Moses is the most dominant character of these early books. So what can we learn from him? Well, I think he's a fantastic role model. When things get tough, he prays. When things go well, he praises God. And when the people are against him, still he speaks the word of God. He's not perfect by a long stretch - he's slow to trust God and obey his calling, and there's the hiccup that costs him the promised land - but he keeps trying and he keeps coming back to God. In the end that's the best any of us can do.
And so ends my jaunt through the Pentateuch. Next up are the histories, although as I'm about to start a part-time degree on top of my part-time job, my blogging may become a little more sporadic.
Friday 15 October 2010
Deuteronomy 31-34 - In Which Moses Blesses the People Then Dies
Moses is now one hundred and twenty years old and he knows he can not enter the promised land, so he tells the people that he can no longer lead them. Interestingly, one hundred and twenty is the age previously given as man's maximum life expectancy. Moses may have died before he reached the promised land, but it wasn't because he died early, it was because they arrived late. And they arrived late because they couldn't get there until Moses was dead. His mistake not only cost him the chance to enter the land he had been dreaming of, but it also set the entire nation of Israel back. Our actions have consequences, not just for ourselves, but for those around us.
He's not dead yet, though. There are a few loose ends to tie up first. He has already named Joshua as his successor, so know he hands responsibility over to him in front of the entire community. He tells the people that not to be afraid because God will go before them and destroy the nations just as He did the Amorites. I have already expressed some doubts over whether or not God really was responsible for or complicit in the Israelites wars, so I won't go into that again now. At any rate, the main point here is that the people can be confident because God will go before them and stand beside. Whether or not God fought their battles for them, that much was true. And it still is true. As Moses says to Joshua,"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Now Moses writes down the law and gives it to the Levites, telling them to read it aloud to to the people one every seven years, in the year for cancelling debts, at the Feast of Tabernacles. It can be really easy to take the basics for granted and forget that we probably don't know them as well as we should, and some people don't know them at all. In our studying and in our teaching, it's really important that we keep going back to the building blocks of our faith, because only if the foundations are strong can everything else stay up.
God calls Moses and Joshua to the Tent of Meeting. He commands Joshua to be strong and courageous and promises to be with him, and once again He predicts the failure and rebellion of the Israelite people, this time through the medium of song. This song tells of the greatness of God and the ingratitude of His people, as they turn away from He who protected and provided for them. It tells also of the trials they will suffer as a result of their disobedience, but it ends with a declaration of God's might and the promise of deliverance for those who remain His people. Moses teaches this song to the people and tells them to learn it because they are not just "idle words" - they are their life. And they're our life too. Our story has not changed that much. We stray and we screw up, but we are saved.
Now Moses praises God and blesses each of the tribes. Each blessing is different, but each is like a prayer. Most of us will pray for others when things are rough or there is a particular need, and that's fantastic, but how often do we pray in the in-between times? How often do we pray for someone just to wish them well? I know I don't do it often enough. As I was writing this the song, "I Say A Little Prayer For You" came to mind. I'd never really thought much about the lyrics before - it was just the song they sang in the restaurant in My Best Friend's Wedding - but it really is a beautiful idea. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every time we thought of someone, we prayed for them?
At long last, Moses climbs Mount Nebo and God shows him the whole of the promised land. I don't think this is God being cruel, teasing Moses with a glimpse of what he could have had. I think this is God giving him a gift. Moses can't enter the land because he screwed up and the old covenant demanded punishment as well as atonement, but still God shows Him this one last kindness and lets him see the land he has spent most of his life walking towards. That's the kind of God we follow.
I'd love to leave it there, with Moses and God sat on the mountain looking out together at the land they have brought the Israelites too, but I really should finish the story. So, Moses dies on the mountain and is buried there, and the people mourn him for thirty days. Joshua receives the spirit of wisdom, and the people listen to him as they had been commanded by Moses. Finally, the book ends with the declaration that since that time, there has been no prophet like Moses, who knew God face to face.
He's not dead yet, though. There are a few loose ends to tie up first. He has already named Joshua as his successor, so know he hands responsibility over to him in front of the entire community. He tells the people that not to be afraid because God will go before them and destroy the nations just as He did the Amorites. I have already expressed some doubts over whether or not God really was responsible for or complicit in the Israelites wars, so I won't go into that again now. At any rate, the main point here is that the people can be confident because God will go before them and stand beside. Whether or not God fought their battles for them, that much was true. And it still is true. As Moses says to Joshua,"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Now Moses writes down the law and gives it to the Levites, telling them to read it aloud to to the people one every seven years, in the year for cancelling debts, at the Feast of Tabernacles. It can be really easy to take the basics for granted and forget that we probably don't know them as well as we should, and some people don't know them at all. In our studying and in our teaching, it's really important that we keep going back to the building blocks of our faith, because only if the foundations are strong can everything else stay up.
God calls Moses and Joshua to the Tent of Meeting. He commands Joshua to be strong and courageous and promises to be with him, and once again He predicts the failure and rebellion of the Israelite people, this time through the medium of song. This song tells of the greatness of God and the ingratitude of His people, as they turn away from He who protected and provided for them. It tells also of the trials they will suffer as a result of their disobedience, but it ends with a declaration of God's might and the promise of deliverance for those who remain His people. Moses teaches this song to the people and tells them to learn it because they are not just "idle words" - they are their life. And they're our life too. Our story has not changed that much. We stray and we screw up, but we are saved.
Now Moses praises God and blesses each of the tribes. Each blessing is different, but each is like a prayer. Most of us will pray for others when things are rough or there is a particular need, and that's fantastic, but how often do we pray in the in-between times? How often do we pray for someone just to wish them well? I know I don't do it often enough. As I was writing this the song, "I Say A Little Prayer For You" came to mind. I'd never really thought much about the lyrics before - it was just the song they sang in the restaurant in My Best Friend's Wedding - but it really is a beautiful idea. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every time we thought of someone, we prayed for them?
At long last, Moses climbs Mount Nebo and God shows him the whole of the promised land. I don't think this is God being cruel, teasing Moses with a glimpse of what he could have had. I think this is God giving him a gift. Moses can't enter the land because he screwed up and the old covenant demanded punishment as well as atonement, but still God shows Him this one last kindness and lets him see the land he has spent most of his life walking towards. That's the kind of God we follow.
I'd love to leave it there, with Moses and God sat on the mountain looking out together at the land they have brought the Israelites too, but I really should finish the story. So, Moses dies on the mountain and is buried there, and the people mourn him for thirty days. Joshua receives the spirit of wisdom, and the people listen to him as they had been commanded by Moses. Finally, the book ends with the declaration that since that time, there has been no prophet like Moses, who knew God face to face.
Thursday 14 October 2010
Deuteronomy 27-30 - Blessings and Curses
Moses and the elders now tell the Israelites that when they cross the Jordan, they must set up some large stones and write on them all the the words of the law. They must have been very large stones. He also says that they must set up an altar on Mount Ebal and sacrifice fellowship offerings there, "eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord". The stones are to be coated in plaster, but they must not be worked with iron tools. God wants His altar to be honest and simple. He wants our worship to be the same.
Moses then tells the people that once they have crossed the Jordan (and presumably after they have set up the altar) six tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and six must stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses. The tribe of Levi is one of those instructed to give the blessings, but now we are told that the Levites must recite a list of twelve curses, all beginning with "Cursed is the man who..." and ending with a violation of the law. These curses don't even come close to covering the entire law, but maybe the sins cursed here were the main problems of the day. Moses understood the times because He listened to God and to the people, and he spoke accordingly. We need to do the same. It's also interesting that after each curse, the people must say "Amen". If we choose to follow God's rule, we must signal our intent.
Now Moses tells the people that if they obey God, He will bless them and grant them "abundant prosperity", but if they disobey Him, He will curse them with disease and famine and oppression. The number and detail of the curses is quite chilling. You get the impression that this was written by the sort of person who comes up with the plots for the more gruesome crime dramas. This passage seems to say that good behaviour will be rewarded, while bad behaviour will be punished. In some ways it's an attractive idea - everyone gets what they deserve, and that's only fair, right? - but it doesn't hold up. A simple look at our own lives and the lives of those around us shows that the world doesn't really work like that. Sometimes we struggle no matter how hard we try to do the right thing, and sometimes we succeed because of our sin. If a multi-national company turns over billions of pounds of profit because it pays it's workers a pittance, is it's prosperity really a reward from God? And if a person who has tried their best to live a good and godly life dies of cancer at the age of forty, is that really a punishment for lying to their parents once when they were thirteen? I don't think so. And as I've said before, I think that way of thinking can actually be quite dangerous, as it can lead to complacency and pride in times of wealth, and feelings of despondency and abandonment in times of trouble.
God clearly doesn't reward the good and punish the bad on an individual basis, so where does that leave this passage? Well, I think we need to remember that we are not reading God's word verbatim, but an interpretation of that word. And if that interpretation doesn't work, we need to rethink it. It doesn't mean the Bible's wrong or that we should reject it entirely, it just means we need to apply a little wisdom and judgement of our own in order to understand what God is really trying to say.
So, if it's not all part of some divine justice system, why do some prosper while others suffer? I think it's important to remember that God isn't the only power at play. He also has our free will and the opposing powers of evil to contend with. He can't make everything work out the way He wants it to because sometimes we make bad decisions which make that impossible. And when we make those bad decisions, when we sin, we allow evil to remain in the world and screw things up even more. And God can't do anything about that because He can't mess with our free will. He is all-powerful but He is not all-controlling. God vs evil vs us means one big mess in which people don't always get what they deserve. But that doesn't mean we should give up or despair. It means we need God even more, because when we walk with Him we can enjoy the good times, but we can also handle the bad times. And it doesn't mean that God doesn't work in our lives at all. When we work with Him and we let Him get involved, He can and will work wonders.
But back to the passage. Moses reminds the people of all that God has done for them, and calls on them to follow the terms of the covenant. It's no coincidence that these two things - remembrance and obedience - come together. You don't obey somebody unless you trust them, and you can only trust them if they've proved themselves worthy of that trust. God had proved Himself worthy when He rescued the Israelites form Egypt and guided and protected and provided for them in the desert, and it was important that they remembered that, because then they could obey Him with confidence and faith. It's important that we do the same.
I knew there was an unforgivable sin in the New Testament, but I hadn't realised there was an unforgivable sin in the Old Testament too. Moses says that if a person hears the covenant and because of it invokes a blessing on himself and thinks that he will be safe even if he persists in going his own way, he will bring down disaster and God will never forgive him. We must not become arrogant in our faith, or treat it as a lucky charm or 'get out of jail free' card. But why is such a sin unforgivable? Maybe because a person who holds this attitude already thinks they've got it sorted and so will never repent, and while the offer of forgiveness always stands and is available to everyone, atonement cannot come without true repentance.
Now Moses prophesies, telling the people that when they have received the blesses and curses he has described and finally turn back to God, He will show compassion and restore their fortunes. So there is always a way back. Whoever we are and whatever we have done, if we turn to God with an honest and willing heart, He will take us into His arms and love us as we never knew was possible. This passage is also interesting as it shows that God knew exactly what would happen to the Israelites. He knew they would stray and suffer and be scattered. So why did He let it happen? Again, it's that age old answer of free will. He couldn't stop it. But that doesn't mean He wanted or enjoyed or condoned their fate. It doesn't mean He planned it. It's like watching Little Women for the umpteenth time. You know Beth's going to catch scarlet fever from the baby, and that that will weaken her and lead to her death, and you want to stop her from visiting the child, but you can't because that's not the way it works. And even though you know what's going to happen, you still weep every single time. I believe it's the same for God. He knows when we'll screw up and He wants to grab hold of us and stop us. He'll scream at us not to do it, but He can't do anything against our will because that's not the way it works either. And so even though He knows the ending, still He weeps.
Finally, Moses tells the people that what he's asking is not too hard for them or beyond their reach. They know what they must do - it is in their hearts and their mouths - now they must just get on and do it. We'll never be perfect, but God knows that. He makes allowances for that. All He asks is that we try, that we do our best. We can all do that.
Moses then tells the people that once they have crossed the Jordan (and presumably after they have set up the altar) six tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, and six must stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses. The tribe of Levi is one of those instructed to give the blessings, but now we are told that the Levites must recite a list of twelve curses, all beginning with "Cursed is the man who..." and ending with a violation of the law. These curses don't even come close to covering the entire law, but maybe the sins cursed here were the main problems of the day. Moses understood the times because He listened to God and to the people, and he spoke accordingly. We need to do the same. It's also interesting that after each curse, the people must say "Amen". If we choose to follow God's rule, we must signal our intent.
Now Moses tells the people that if they obey God, He will bless them and grant them "abundant prosperity", but if they disobey Him, He will curse them with disease and famine and oppression. The number and detail of the curses is quite chilling. You get the impression that this was written by the sort of person who comes up with the plots for the more gruesome crime dramas. This passage seems to say that good behaviour will be rewarded, while bad behaviour will be punished. In some ways it's an attractive idea - everyone gets what they deserve, and that's only fair, right? - but it doesn't hold up. A simple look at our own lives and the lives of those around us shows that the world doesn't really work like that. Sometimes we struggle no matter how hard we try to do the right thing, and sometimes we succeed because of our sin. If a multi-national company turns over billions of pounds of profit because it pays it's workers a pittance, is it's prosperity really a reward from God? And if a person who has tried their best to live a good and godly life dies of cancer at the age of forty, is that really a punishment for lying to their parents once when they were thirteen? I don't think so. And as I've said before, I think that way of thinking can actually be quite dangerous, as it can lead to complacency and pride in times of wealth, and feelings of despondency and abandonment in times of trouble.
God clearly doesn't reward the good and punish the bad on an individual basis, so where does that leave this passage? Well, I think we need to remember that we are not reading God's word verbatim, but an interpretation of that word. And if that interpretation doesn't work, we need to rethink it. It doesn't mean the Bible's wrong or that we should reject it entirely, it just means we need to apply a little wisdom and judgement of our own in order to understand what God is really trying to say.
So, if it's not all part of some divine justice system, why do some prosper while others suffer? I think it's important to remember that God isn't the only power at play. He also has our free will and the opposing powers of evil to contend with. He can't make everything work out the way He wants it to because sometimes we make bad decisions which make that impossible. And when we make those bad decisions, when we sin, we allow evil to remain in the world and screw things up even more. And God can't do anything about that because He can't mess with our free will. He is all-powerful but He is not all-controlling. God vs evil vs us means one big mess in which people don't always get what they deserve. But that doesn't mean we should give up or despair. It means we need God even more, because when we walk with Him we can enjoy the good times, but we can also handle the bad times. And it doesn't mean that God doesn't work in our lives at all. When we work with Him and we let Him get involved, He can and will work wonders.
But back to the passage. Moses reminds the people of all that God has done for them, and calls on them to follow the terms of the covenant. It's no coincidence that these two things - remembrance and obedience - come together. You don't obey somebody unless you trust them, and you can only trust them if they've proved themselves worthy of that trust. God had proved Himself worthy when He rescued the Israelites form Egypt and guided and protected and provided for them in the desert, and it was important that they remembered that, because then they could obey Him with confidence and faith. It's important that we do the same.
I knew there was an unforgivable sin in the New Testament, but I hadn't realised there was an unforgivable sin in the Old Testament too. Moses says that if a person hears the covenant and because of it invokes a blessing on himself and thinks that he will be safe even if he persists in going his own way, he will bring down disaster and God will never forgive him. We must not become arrogant in our faith, or treat it as a lucky charm or 'get out of jail free' card. But why is such a sin unforgivable? Maybe because a person who holds this attitude already thinks they've got it sorted and so will never repent, and while the offer of forgiveness always stands and is available to everyone, atonement cannot come without true repentance.
Now Moses prophesies, telling the people that when they have received the blesses and curses he has described and finally turn back to God, He will show compassion and restore their fortunes. So there is always a way back. Whoever we are and whatever we have done, if we turn to God with an honest and willing heart, He will take us into His arms and love us as we never knew was possible. This passage is also interesting as it shows that God knew exactly what would happen to the Israelites. He knew they would stray and suffer and be scattered. So why did He let it happen? Again, it's that age old answer of free will. He couldn't stop it. But that doesn't mean He wanted or enjoyed or condoned their fate. It doesn't mean He planned it. It's like watching Little Women for the umpteenth time. You know Beth's going to catch scarlet fever from the baby, and that that will weaken her and lead to her death, and you want to stop her from visiting the child, but you can't because that's not the way it works. And even though you know what's going to happen, you still weep every single time. I believe it's the same for God. He knows when we'll screw up and He wants to grab hold of us and stop us. He'll scream at us not to do it, but He can't do anything against our will because that's not the way it works either. And so even though He knows the ending, still He weeps.
Finally, Moses tells the people that what he's asking is not too hard for them or beyond their reach. They know what they must do - it is in their hearts and their mouths - now they must just get on and do it. We'll never be perfect, but God knows that. He makes allowances for that. All He asks is that we try, that we do our best. We can all do that.
Wednesday 13 October 2010
Deuteronomy 22-26 - A Reminder of the Law: Part Three
Moses continues drawing from his mixed bag of laws. He says that if a person sees livestock wandering loose, they must return it to the owner or care for it until they claim it. The important thing is, they must not ignore it. We all know that doing the wrong thing is a sin, but it's easy to forget that so is not doing the right thing. If we know something has to be done, we must do it. Feigning ignorance won't wash. Moses also instructs the people to put parapets around their roofs so that they may not be guilty of bloodshed if anyone falls off. I guess it's common sense really, and a little common sense can go a long way. But now things get really random, as Moses forbids cross-dressing, taking a bird with young (although taking the young is fine), planting two kinds of seed in the same field, ploughing with both an ox and a donkey, and wearing clothes of wool and linen woven together. Say what now? Answers on a postcard.
Now we move on to marriage violations. If a man becomes dissatisfied with his wife and tries to get rid of her by saying she was not a virgin when they married, and she can prove that she was, then he must pay a fine to her father and he will not be allowed to divorce her "as long as he lives". But if she was not a virgin, then she must be stoned. This all seems distinctly unfair. Firstly, it is the woman who is slandered, yet it is her father who receives compensation. Secondly, the punishment includes not being allowed to get a divorce. That doesn't really say much for the law's attitude to the poor woman if being stuck married to her constitutes a punishment, and it also condemns her to a lifelong unhappy marriage. Thirdly, Moses has previously said that if anyone bears false witness, they must suffer the punishment that the accused would have faced, and yet that isn't followed through here. The woman would be stoned if found guilty of promiscuity, so why isn't the man stoned for lying?
Moses also says that if a man meets a betrothed woman in a town and sleeps with her, they must both be put to death, but if a man rapes a woman in the country where no one can hear her scream, only he must die because she is guilty of no sin. This law isn't exactly foolproof - it seems to work on the assumption that it's only rape if it happens in the country, which clearly isn't true - but at least there seems to be a recognition that when a woman is raped, she is innocent. Many people are quick to blame the woman - rape victims have been killed to protect their families' honour, and a depressing number of people think that if a woman was drunk or wearing a short skirt she was "asking for it" - so this is really important. Rape is a crime and any woman (or man) who is raped is a victim of that crime. They should not be made to feel guilty or ashamed on top of everything else they have been through.
These last two points reveal some of the contradictions and discrepancies in the way the Old Testament law treats women. It seems to give with one hand and take away with the other, protecting and oppressing, empowering and imprisoning. The same could be said of the culture we still live in. But we don't have to accept that. I said in my first post that God created men and women equal, and I stand by that. The dominance of men was a consequence of the fall, but it was never God's plan, and it's not how things should be now. We need to set things right and redress the imbalance.
But back to marriage violations. Moses says that if a man sleeps with a young woman who is not pledged to be married, he must pay her father and marry her. The Law may not say "no sex before marriage" in quite those terms, but that is what this really means. If you want to have sex, you've got to get married. But why is that? Well, it's difficult to talk about this without sounding overly sentimental, but sex is more than just a physical act. It is the ultimate expression of love and intimacy, and we degrade it if we take it lightly.
Now we have some rules about exclusion from the assembly. The emasculated are banned for life, the illegitimate and the Ammonites and Moabites to the tenth generation, and the Edomites and Egyptians to the third generation. These sorts of exclusions no longer apply, and we must careful that me do not attempt to keep people away from God, either by putting up barriers or by putting people off.
Moses now tells the people that when they are encamped against their enemies, they must keep away from anything that is unclean, and any man who has been made unclean by an emission must stay outside of the camp during the day. The men must also designate a place outside the camp where they can relieve themselves, and whenever they go they must dig a hole for and cover up their excrement. This is about physical cleanliness as much as spiritual cleanliness - God is as interested in our health and wellbeing as He is in our spiritual lives. It's also interesting to note that the purity laws still stood even when the men left the community and went to war. If we choose to live God's way, that applies wherever we are.
Next come some more miscellaneous laws. The people must protect runaway slaves seeking refuge. They must not work as shrine-prostitutes or use the profits of prostitution to pay a vow to God. They must not charge interest on loans to fellow Israelites, although they may charge interest on loans to foreigners. If they make a vow to God, they must be quick to pay it, but they will not be condemned for not making a vow. They may eat grapes from a neighbour's vineyard, but they may not collect them in a basket; and they may pick ears of corn with their hands, but not use a sickle. To put it colloquially, they must not take the mick.
If a man divorces his wife (because apparently men could dispose of their wives like unwanted property, but women did not have the same rights) he may not remarry her later. If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or given any other duty. He must be allowed one year to stay at home and make his wife happy. Kidnapping is punishable by death. In cases of leprosy, the people must follow the orders of the priests. If a person makes a loan, they must not take a pair of millstones as security as they must not deprive a man of his livelihood. Neither must they keep a poor man's cloak overnight, or enter a man's house to take whatever he is offering as a pledge. In short, they must be honourable and considerate in their lending.
The people must not take advantage of poor hired workers, whether they are Israelites or aliens, but they must pay them every day. Fathers must not be put to death for their children or vice versa - everyone must take responsibility for their own actions. They must not deprive anyone of justice. They must leave any crops not harvested first time round for the alien, the widow and the orphan, so that the vulnerable will not be destitute. When men have a dispute, they must take it to court and let those elected to judge to decide the case. Again we see fairness and justice, but we also see compassion.
If two brothers are living together and one dies without a son, his brother must marry his widow so that his brother may have an heir to continue his name. If the brother refuses, he must be shamed before the community. As the Mitchells would say, family's important. If two men are fighting, and the wife of one of them seizes the other by the "private parts", her hand must be cut off. I don't know why God would feel the need to legislate for such an event, but there you have it. The next one sounds pretty weird too - no one should carry two different weights in their bag or have two different measures at home - but I think it's explained by the following verse, which calls for accurate and honest weights. I think what this really means is that people should only use one set of weights and measures so that everyone knows where they stands.
Finally, we come back to firstfruits and tithes. Moses tells the people that when they enter the promised land, they must take some of the firstfruits of all that they produce and present them before God, acknowledging and thanking Him for all that He has done for them. And when they have gathered their tithe in the third year, that tithe is to be given to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans and the widows, so that they may eat and be satisfied. Then they must say to God that they have taken their sacred portion and given it as required, and that they have followed all of His commands and not forgotten any of them, although presumably they could only say that if it was true. We shouldn't give thoughtlessly or simply out of habit, we need to remember why we're giving and give with a good heart.
Now we move on to marriage violations. If a man becomes dissatisfied with his wife and tries to get rid of her by saying she was not a virgin when they married, and she can prove that she was, then he must pay a fine to her father and he will not be allowed to divorce her "as long as he lives". But if she was not a virgin, then she must be stoned. This all seems distinctly unfair. Firstly, it is the woman who is slandered, yet it is her father who receives compensation. Secondly, the punishment includes not being allowed to get a divorce. That doesn't really say much for the law's attitude to the poor woman if being stuck married to her constitutes a punishment, and it also condemns her to a lifelong unhappy marriage. Thirdly, Moses has previously said that if anyone bears false witness, they must suffer the punishment that the accused would have faced, and yet that isn't followed through here. The woman would be stoned if found guilty of promiscuity, so why isn't the man stoned for lying?
Moses also says that if a man meets a betrothed woman in a town and sleeps with her, they must both be put to death, but if a man rapes a woman in the country where no one can hear her scream, only he must die because she is guilty of no sin. This law isn't exactly foolproof - it seems to work on the assumption that it's only rape if it happens in the country, which clearly isn't true - but at least there seems to be a recognition that when a woman is raped, she is innocent. Many people are quick to blame the woman - rape victims have been killed to protect their families' honour, and a depressing number of people think that if a woman was drunk or wearing a short skirt she was "asking for it" - so this is really important. Rape is a crime and any woman (or man) who is raped is a victim of that crime. They should not be made to feel guilty or ashamed on top of everything else they have been through.
These last two points reveal some of the contradictions and discrepancies in the way the Old Testament law treats women. It seems to give with one hand and take away with the other, protecting and oppressing, empowering and imprisoning. The same could be said of the culture we still live in. But we don't have to accept that. I said in my first post that God created men and women equal, and I stand by that. The dominance of men was a consequence of the fall, but it was never God's plan, and it's not how things should be now. We need to set things right and redress the imbalance.
But back to marriage violations. Moses says that if a man sleeps with a young woman who is not pledged to be married, he must pay her father and marry her. The Law may not say "no sex before marriage" in quite those terms, but that is what this really means. If you want to have sex, you've got to get married. But why is that? Well, it's difficult to talk about this without sounding overly sentimental, but sex is more than just a physical act. It is the ultimate expression of love and intimacy, and we degrade it if we take it lightly.
Now we have some rules about exclusion from the assembly. The emasculated are banned for life, the illegitimate and the Ammonites and Moabites to the tenth generation, and the Edomites and Egyptians to the third generation. These sorts of exclusions no longer apply, and we must careful that me do not attempt to keep people away from God, either by putting up barriers or by putting people off.
Moses now tells the people that when they are encamped against their enemies, they must keep away from anything that is unclean, and any man who has been made unclean by an emission must stay outside of the camp during the day. The men must also designate a place outside the camp where they can relieve themselves, and whenever they go they must dig a hole for and cover up their excrement. This is about physical cleanliness as much as spiritual cleanliness - God is as interested in our health and wellbeing as He is in our spiritual lives. It's also interesting to note that the purity laws still stood even when the men left the community and went to war. If we choose to live God's way, that applies wherever we are.
Next come some more miscellaneous laws. The people must protect runaway slaves seeking refuge. They must not work as shrine-prostitutes or use the profits of prostitution to pay a vow to God. They must not charge interest on loans to fellow Israelites, although they may charge interest on loans to foreigners. If they make a vow to God, they must be quick to pay it, but they will not be condemned for not making a vow. They may eat grapes from a neighbour's vineyard, but they may not collect them in a basket; and they may pick ears of corn with their hands, but not use a sickle. To put it colloquially, they must not take the mick.
If a man divorces his wife (because apparently men could dispose of their wives like unwanted property, but women did not have the same rights) he may not remarry her later. If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or given any other duty. He must be allowed one year to stay at home and make his wife happy. Kidnapping is punishable by death. In cases of leprosy, the people must follow the orders of the priests. If a person makes a loan, they must not take a pair of millstones as security as they must not deprive a man of his livelihood. Neither must they keep a poor man's cloak overnight, or enter a man's house to take whatever he is offering as a pledge. In short, they must be honourable and considerate in their lending.
The people must not take advantage of poor hired workers, whether they are Israelites or aliens, but they must pay them every day. Fathers must not be put to death for their children or vice versa - everyone must take responsibility for their own actions. They must not deprive anyone of justice. They must leave any crops not harvested first time round for the alien, the widow and the orphan, so that the vulnerable will not be destitute. When men have a dispute, they must take it to court and let those elected to judge to decide the case. Again we see fairness and justice, but we also see compassion.
If two brothers are living together and one dies without a son, his brother must marry his widow so that his brother may have an heir to continue his name. If the brother refuses, he must be shamed before the community. As the Mitchells would say, family's important. If two men are fighting, and the wife of one of them seizes the other by the "private parts", her hand must be cut off. I don't know why God would feel the need to legislate for such an event, but there you have it. The next one sounds pretty weird too - no one should carry two different weights in their bag or have two different measures at home - but I think it's explained by the following verse, which calls for accurate and honest weights. I think what this really means is that people should only use one set of weights and measures so that everyone knows where they stands.
Finally, we come back to firstfruits and tithes. Moses tells the people that when they enter the promised land, they must take some of the firstfruits of all that they produce and present them before God, acknowledging and thanking Him for all that He has done for them. And when they have gathered their tithe in the third year, that tithe is to be given to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans and the widows, so that they may eat and be satisfied. Then they must say to God that they have taken their sacred portion and given it as required, and that they have followed all of His commands and not forgotten any of them, although presumably they could only say that if it was true. We shouldn't give thoughtlessly or simply out of habit, we need to remember why we're giving and give with a good heart.
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Deuteronomy 18 -21 - A Reminder of the Law: Part Two
Moses continues his recap of the Law by restating the position of the Levites. They are to "have no inheritance among their brothers [because] the Lord is their inheritance". This means they can claim no land as their own, but must instead live off the offerings the people bring to God. I've said before that this practice shows how important it is to support those who minister for God, but I think there is another lesson for us here. It may sound like the priests were in a vulnerable position, relying on others for everything, but it was actually a position of great privilege. What was God's was theirs. The priests received this honour because they alone were holy, but through grace we are all made holy and so it is no longer the privilege of a few, but the right of all. We can all claim God as our inheritance. But we can only do so if we forsake our inheritance on earth. We must choose between God and worldly treasures, between the birthright and the bowl.
From the priests, Moses now moves to the opposite end of the spiritual spectrum, and those who indulge in "detestable practices" such as child sacrifice, divination, sorcery, witchraft, spellcasting and talking to the dead, all of which carried the death penalty. It's very easy, and perhaps tempting, to dismiss such things as faiytales or supersitions. We refuse to believe in them through cynicism or fear, but they are very real. There are many who would testify to that fact. And they are not only real, but they are dangerous. They draw on a power that is not of God, a power that wants to cause pain and destruction. Using or calling on this power may seem harmless or even beneficial in the short term, but in the end it will do great damage and pull us further away from Him. But under the new covenant of grace, there is always a way back.
Moses now speaks of a prophet who God will raise up from among the people. Prophecy may not seem a million miles away from divination and fortune telling, but there is a world of difference. Those practices rely on dark powers to find answers to questions which often shouldn't be asked, but prophecy is a gift from God. The people must listen to this prophet, because it is through him that God will continue to speak to them, but they must also take care and judge what he says so that they know it is the true word of God. We too need to take the same care. There are still false prophets at work - the malicious and the genuinely mistaken - and so we must consider everything we hear that claims to be the word of God and test it against what we know of Him. We must ask ourselves, would God say that? If we believe He would, then we can accept that word as prophecy and learn from it; if not, we must reject it. That includes anything I write here.
Next up, reminders about the cities of refuge and the need for two or three witnesses to convict anyone of a crime. Here Moses elaborates this second point, saying that if anyone maliciously bears false witness, they are to suffer the punishment that would have been dealt out to the accused person. This must be done not only to atone for the liar's sin and "purge the evil", but also to act as a deterrent to others, because we can learn from other people's mistakes as well as our own. We still have a similar principle today, as perverting the course of justice carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. It may seem a little harsh, but lies can destroy lives. We need to be as careful about what we say as about what we do.
Now we find instructions about preparing for war. Before the Israelites go into battle, the priest is to encourage them to be brave and trust that God is with them, and then the officers will allow any man who has built a house and not dedicated it, or become betrothed to a woman and not married her, or planted a vineyard and not harvested from it to go home and do those things. God wants us to put Him first, but He also knows that there are other things in our lives, and He gives us permission to enjoy them. The officers are also to release any men who are afraid. God will not push us into doing anything we don't want to do. He wants us to choose to follow Him, and to do so only with a glad and joyful heart.
When the Israelites attack distant cities, they must first offer peace to their inhabitants. If the people accept this offer, they will become the Israelites' slaves. If they don't, the Israelites may kill all of the men and take the women, children, livestock and wealth as plunder for themselves. But when they attack the cities of the nations God gives them, they must leave nothing alive. They must kill every person living in those cities so they cannot tempt them away from God. In previous passages, God talked only of destroying their idols and altars, and I made a point about the fact that He said nothing about slaughering the people, but now I must take that back. According to this passage, God really did orchestrate mass murder. But as I've said before, we must decide for ourselves whether or not we believe that is the truth. Would God really have said that? Whatever conclusion we come to, I think there is still a lesson for us here. The Israelites killed the people so they could not tempt them away from God. Of course we should not take it that far, but sometimes we will need to take drastic measures and cut people or things out of our lives in order to lead ourselves away from temptation.
And now we have a mixed bag of various laws. In cases of unsolved murder, the people must sacrifice a young bull to atone for the innocent blood shed so that the community will not be held responsible. The rights of the firstborn must always pass to the firstborn, even if he is not born to the favoured wife - there is to be no partiality like that shown to Joseph by Jacob, because we know what sort of trouble that can lead to. A rebellious son must be stoned to death, to purge the evil and warn the people. And if a man is executed by hanging, his body must not be left overnight as this would desecrate the land.
Finally, if an Israelite wishes to marry a captive woman, he must first let her mourn for her parents, then he may take her to be his wife. If he is later dissatisfied with her, he must let her go, but he may not sell her or treat her as a slave as he has dishonoured her. Although the woman is a captive, if her husband cannot treat her as a slave, then presumably he could not force her to marry him in the first place - it must be a mutual decision. And while I find the idea of a man so easily discarding his wife distasteful, the instruction to give her her freedom actually affords her a great deal of respect. This almost feels like progress.
From the priests, Moses now moves to the opposite end of the spiritual spectrum, and those who indulge in "detestable practices" such as child sacrifice, divination, sorcery, witchraft, spellcasting and talking to the dead, all of which carried the death penalty. It's very easy, and perhaps tempting, to dismiss such things as faiytales or supersitions. We refuse to believe in them through cynicism or fear, but they are very real. There are many who would testify to that fact. And they are not only real, but they are dangerous. They draw on a power that is not of God, a power that wants to cause pain and destruction. Using or calling on this power may seem harmless or even beneficial in the short term, but in the end it will do great damage and pull us further away from Him. But under the new covenant of grace, there is always a way back.
Moses now speaks of a prophet who God will raise up from among the people. Prophecy may not seem a million miles away from divination and fortune telling, but there is a world of difference. Those practices rely on dark powers to find answers to questions which often shouldn't be asked, but prophecy is a gift from God. The people must listen to this prophet, because it is through him that God will continue to speak to them, but they must also take care and judge what he says so that they know it is the true word of God. We too need to take the same care. There are still false prophets at work - the malicious and the genuinely mistaken - and so we must consider everything we hear that claims to be the word of God and test it against what we know of Him. We must ask ourselves, would God say that? If we believe He would, then we can accept that word as prophecy and learn from it; if not, we must reject it. That includes anything I write here.
Next up, reminders about the cities of refuge and the need for two or three witnesses to convict anyone of a crime. Here Moses elaborates this second point, saying that if anyone maliciously bears false witness, they are to suffer the punishment that would have been dealt out to the accused person. This must be done not only to atone for the liar's sin and "purge the evil", but also to act as a deterrent to others, because we can learn from other people's mistakes as well as our own. We still have a similar principle today, as perverting the course of justice carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. It may seem a little harsh, but lies can destroy lives. We need to be as careful about what we say as about what we do.
Now we find instructions about preparing for war. Before the Israelites go into battle, the priest is to encourage them to be brave and trust that God is with them, and then the officers will allow any man who has built a house and not dedicated it, or become betrothed to a woman and not married her, or planted a vineyard and not harvested from it to go home and do those things. God wants us to put Him first, but He also knows that there are other things in our lives, and He gives us permission to enjoy them. The officers are also to release any men who are afraid. God will not push us into doing anything we don't want to do. He wants us to choose to follow Him, and to do so only with a glad and joyful heart.
When the Israelites attack distant cities, they must first offer peace to their inhabitants. If the people accept this offer, they will become the Israelites' slaves. If they don't, the Israelites may kill all of the men and take the women, children, livestock and wealth as plunder for themselves. But when they attack the cities of the nations God gives them, they must leave nothing alive. They must kill every person living in those cities so they cannot tempt them away from God. In previous passages, God talked only of destroying their idols and altars, and I made a point about the fact that He said nothing about slaughering the people, but now I must take that back. According to this passage, God really did orchestrate mass murder. But as I've said before, we must decide for ourselves whether or not we believe that is the truth. Would God really have said that? Whatever conclusion we come to, I think there is still a lesson for us here. The Israelites killed the people so they could not tempt them away from God. Of course we should not take it that far, but sometimes we will need to take drastic measures and cut people or things out of our lives in order to lead ourselves away from temptation.
And now we have a mixed bag of various laws. In cases of unsolved murder, the people must sacrifice a young bull to atone for the innocent blood shed so that the community will not be held responsible. The rights of the firstborn must always pass to the firstborn, even if he is not born to the favoured wife - there is to be no partiality like that shown to Joseph by Jacob, because we know what sort of trouble that can lead to. A rebellious son must be stoned to death, to purge the evil and warn the people. And if a man is executed by hanging, his body must not be left overnight as this would desecrate the land.
Finally, if an Israelite wishes to marry a captive woman, he must first let her mourn for her parents, then he may take her to be his wife. If he is later dissatisfied with her, he must let her go, but he may not sell her or treat her as a slave as he has dishonoured her. Although the woman is a captive, if her husband cannot treat her as a slave, then presumably he could not force her to marry him in the first place - it must be a mutual decision. And while I find the idea of a man so easily discarding his wife distasteful, the instruction to give her her freedom actually affords her a great deal of respect. This almost feels like progress.
Monday 11 October 2010
Deuteronomy 14-17 - A Reminder of the Law: Part One
Now begins a recap of the law. Moses starts by going over the rules regarding clean and unclean food, what can and can't be eaten. I've never really understood this. What made an animal unclean? And why did that it mean it couldn't be eaten? The rules seem so arbitrary that I can't see any sense to them. But maybe they don't need to make sense. Maybe they were just a test of obedience.
Next, Moses talks about tithes, and he tells the people to set aside one tenth of everything they harvest. I always thought the tithes were given over completely to God, and seeing as He had no use for food I figured they were burnt like sacrifices or just left to rot, but it appears that was not the case. The food was eaten in the presence of God in the place that He decreed so that the people would revere Him. So it seems tithes were more about honouring God than they were about giving to Him. For most of us, a tenth of what we harvest now means a tenth of what we earn, but the reason for tithing has not changed. We may give money rather than food, but it is still important that we set aside a percentage of our incomes to glorify God, in whatever way we best see fit.
Now Moses moves on to talk about debt. Every seventh year, all Israelite debts were to be cancelled, although loans to foreigners could still be called in, perhaps explaining to some degree where the stereotype about Jewish moneylenders came from. This practice was intended as a safety net, so that people who found themselves in difficulty could wipe the slate clean and start again. I think it's great. Debt is a major problem in our society, and this simple solution could help so many people. To the person who has lent the money it may seem unfair, but to the person in debt it would be a lifeline. Maybe we need to put fairness to one side sometimes, and focus instead on generosity. Maybe we need to be more willing to give people second chances. After all, we'd all want someone else to give us that chance.
In talking about debt, Moses says that there should be no poor, then a few verse later he says that there will always be poor. He knows because God knows that nothing ever goes as it should. But God doesn't leave us with our messes. Just as He sewed clothes for Adam and Eve after their sin made them ashamed of their nakedness, so He built into the Law protection for those who would screw up or get let down. And so Moses tells the people not to "be hard-hearted or tight-fisted" toward someone in need, but to "freely lend whatever he needs". We too need to soften our hearts and open our hands, but not just because we are commanded to. People don't donate millions of pounds after natural disasters because someone tells them to. They do it out of love and compassion, because they know instinctively that it is right. And it is in that spirit that we must give.
Charity and the cancellation of debt weren't the only ways in which a person could get a second chance. An Israelite who had fallen on hard times could also sell themselves into servitude, guaranteeing them food and accommodation. Then after six years, if they wished to leave, their master was obliged to release them, giving them a chance to start over. But that wasn't all. Their master was to supply them "liberally" with livestock, grain and wine, providing a foundation on which to build a new life. The master really had to go out of his way to help, but God said they must do this because they were once slaves too. God rescued them and gave them hope and a new life, so they must do the same for others. Our experiences should change us for the better, especially the bad ones. Otherwise, we have suffered for nothing. And we can not expect to receive something that we are not willing to give in return.
Now Moses tells the people that every year the firstborn animals from their flocks and herds must be set apart and eaten in the presence of the Lord, just as with the tithes. Notice how they must set aside not just any animals, but the firstborn. We must give to God first because He deserves no less. In all things, He must take priority.
Next, Moses reminds the people of some of the feasts God has already instituted. He tells them once again how they must celebrate Passover and instructs them to eat unleavened bread just as they did when they left Egypt, "so that all the days of [their] life [they] may remember". Moses is talking about a festival which lasts only a few days of every year, but he still wants them to remember every single day. Because God is for life, not just for holidays. He also talks about the Feast of Weeks, celebrated seven weeks after the beginning of the harvest, when the entire community is to come together and "rejoice" before God; and the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated seven days after the threshing and pressing has finished, when they are to "be joyful". It seems strange that God should have to command His people to be joyful, but so often we need that reminder. In taking our faith seriously, we can become too serious about our faith. We try to be on our best behaviour and we forget that we are allowed to have fun. God wants us to be committed, but He also wants us to be happy.
Moving on, we find Moses talking about justice. He instructs the people to appoint judges and officials for every town. Those appointed must judge fairly, showing no partiality and accepting no bribes. Anyone found guilty of worshipping other gods must be put to death, but no one is to be executed on the testimony of only one witness, presumably to prevent false accusations arising from personal grudges. There must be two or three witnesses, and they must be the first to carry out the death penalty, possibly so that witnesses would think more carefully before condemning a person to death. As you can see, this was a fairly sophisticated system. Justice was important. It still is, but it must always be tempered by mercy.
Finally, Moses tells the people that when they enter the promised land and ask for a king, they must appoint the man God chooses. He must be an Israelite and he must copy and learn the Law so that he may revere God and follow Him carefully. He must not acquire a great many horses or take many wives or accumulate a great deal of wealth, and he must not consider himself better than his people or above the Law. In other words, he must be humble and obedient,a figurehead and representative of God not a ruler in his own right. That doesn't sound much like any of the monarchs or world leaders I can think of. It's no wonder we're in such a mess.
Next, Moses talks about tithes, and he tells the people to set aside one tenth of everything they harvest. I always thought the tithes were given over completely to God, and seeing as He had no use for food I figured they were burnt like sacrifices or just left to rot, but it appears that was not the case. The food was eaten in the presence of God in the place that He decreed so that the people would revere Him. So it seems tithes were more about honouring God than they were about giving to Him. For most of us, a tenth of what we harvest now means a tenth of what we earn, but the reason for tithing has not changed. We may give money rather than food, but it is still important that we set aside a percentage of our incomes to glorify God, in whatever way we best see fit.
Now Moses moves on to talk about debt. Every seventh year, all Israelite debts were to be cancelled, although loans to foreigners could still be called in, perhaps explaining to some degree where the stereotype about Jewish moneylenders came from. This practice was intended as a safety net, so that people who found themselves in difficulty could wipe the slate clean and start again. I think it's great. Debt is a major problem in our society, and this simple solution could help so many people. To the person who has lent the money it may seem unfair, but to the person in debt it would be a lifeline. Maybe we need to put fairness to one side sometimes, and focus instead on generosity. Maybe we need to be more willing to give people second chances. After all, we'd all want someone else to give us that chance.
In talking about debt, Moses says that there should be no poor, then a few verse later he says that there will always be poor. He knows because God knows that nothing ever goes as it should. But God doesn't leave us with our messes. Just as He sewed clothes for Adam and Eve after their sin made them ashamed of their nakedness, so He built into the Law protection for those who would screw up or get let down. And so Moses tells the people not to "be hard-hearted or tight-fisted" toward someone in need, but to "freely lend whatever he needs". We too need to soften our hearts and open our hands, but not just because we are commanded to. People don't donate millions of pounds after natural disasters because someone tells them to. They do it out of love and compassion, because they know instinctively that it is right. And it is in that spirit that we must give.
Charity and the cancellation of debt weren't the only ways in which a person could get a second chance. An Israelite who had fallen on hard times could also sell themselves into servitude, guaranteeing them food and accommodation. Then after six years, if they wished to leave, their master was obliged to release them, giving them a chance to start over. But that wasn't all. Their master was to supply them "liberally" with livestock, grain and wine, providing a foundation on which to build a new life. The master really had to go out of his way to help, but God said they must do this because they were once slaves too. God rescued them and gave them hope and a new life, so they must do the same for others. Our experiences should change us for the better, especially the bad ones. Otherwise, we have suffered for nothing. And we can not expect to receive something that we are not willing to give in return.
Now Moses tells the people that every year the firstborn animals from their flocks and herds must be set apart and eaten in the presence of the Lord, just as with the tithes. Notice how they must set aside not just any animals, but the firstborn. We must give to God first because He deserves no less. In all things, He must take priority.
Next, Moses reminds the people of some of the feasts God has already instituted. He tells them once again how they must celebrate Passover and instructs them to eat unleavened bread just as they did when they left Egypt, "so that all the days of [their] life [they] may remember". Moses is talking about a festival which lasts only a few days of every year, but he still wants them to remember every single day. Because God is for life, not just for holidays. He also talks about the Feast of Weeks, celebrated seven weeks after the beginning of the harvest, when the entire community is to come together and "rejoice" before God; and the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated seven days after the threshing and pressing has finished, when they are to "be joyful". It seems strange that God should have to command His people to be joyful, but so often we need that reminder. In taking our faith seriously, we can become too serious about our faith. We try to be on our best behaviour and we forget that we are allowed to have fun. God wants us to be committed, but He also wants us to be happy.
Moving on, we find Moses talking about justice. He instructs the people to appoint judges and officials for every town. Those appointed must judge fairly, showing no partiality and accepting no bribes. Anyone found guilty of worshipping other gods must be put to death, but no one is to be executed on the testimony of only one witness, presumably to prevent false accusations arising from personal grudges. There must be two or three witnesses, and they must be the first to carry out the death penalty, possibly so that witnesses would think more carefully before condemning a person to death. As you can see, this was a fairly sophisticated system. Justice was important. It still is, but it must always be tempered by mercy.
Finally, Moses tells the people that when they enter the promised land and ask for a king, they must appoint the man God chooses. He must be an Israelite and he must copy and learn the Law so that he may revere God and follow Him carefully. He must not acquire a great many horses or take many wives or accumulate a great deal of wealth, and he must not consider himself better than his people or above the Law. In other words, he must be humble and obedient,a figurehead and representative of God not a ruler in his own right. That doesn't sound much like any of the monarchs or world leaders I can think of. It's no wonder we're in such a mess.
Thursday 7 October 2010
Deuteronomy 11-13 - Love, Obedience, Worship
Moses tells the people to remember that it was not their children who witnessed the power and majesty of God both in Egypt and in the desert, but they themselves. The miracles and wonders God has performed are not just hearsay or second hand stories, they have happened before their very eyes. Their children will surely see miracles of their own, but the exodus and all that has happened in the desert belong to them. That's their story, and no one can take that away from them. It's easy to hear amazing testimonies and forget that we have incredible experiences of our own, but then we do ourselves and God a disservice. We should give thanks for and celebrate God's work in the lives of others, but it's also really important that we don't forget or diminish the wonderful things he does in our own lives.
Next Moses talks some more about love and obedience. There's nothing new here - he even uses some of the same phrases he used just a few chapters earlier - but this time it occurred to me that there is a tendency to separate the two, associating obedience with the Old Testament and love with the New Testament. Sadly, that means we miss just how much love there is in the Old Testament. God has been a god of love right from the very beginning. Unfortunately, this separation also means we sometimes forget that the New Testament also calls for obedience, but we're missing something here as well. In our relationship with God, the two cannot be separated. We obey God because we love Him, and as we obey Him we draw closer to Him and grow to love Him more.
Moses tells the people that he is setting before them a blessing and a curse - a blessing if they obey and a curse if they don't. As I've said before, I'm not entirely sure I believe that God ever blessed or cursed people depending on how well-behaved they were - if that were true, bad things would never have happened to good people, and the wicked would never have prospered - but the point is that the Israelites had a choice. They could choose to obey or they could choose to disboey. Whatever they did, it was by their own free will. God will show us our options, and He knows which one He would rather us take, but He will never force us to do anything. He loves and respects us enough to give us that freedom. And that in itself can be both a blessing and a curse.
Now Moses moves on to talk about worship, and again he instructs the people to destroy all of the places of worship belonging to the nations they dispossess. It may sound like the Israelites had never heard of religious tolerance, but I don't think this is about persecution. The Israelites were told to destroy the idols and the altars after they had driven the people from the land, when they were no longer going to be using them anyway. So it seems this wasn't about preventing the other nations from following their religions, it was about making sure the Israelites didn't follow them too. We too must be careful of the influences around us and guard our hearts so we are not tempted to stray away from God, but at the same we must always be respectful of other faiths. Free will includes the freedom to worship whoever and however we choose, so if someone chooses not to worship God, that is their right. God gave them that right, and it is not for us to take it away. All we have to do is be open in talking about Him so that people know they have that choice to make.
Moses also tells them that once they have settled in their new land, God will select for Himself a dwelling-place, and it is to that place that they must bring all of their offerings and sacrifices. This section is headed "The One Place of Worship" in my Bible, but I think that's slightly misleading. There is nothing here that says the people can't pray to or praise God wherever they choose, only that offerings and sacrifices must be made in a specific place. This isn't about putting restrictions on worship, or tying God down to one particular spot. It's about discipline and commitment. God wanted His people to make the effort to go and see Him. Maybe He also wanted His dwelling-place to be a point of contact for the whole community, bringing them together to share in worship and fellowship. It's like going to church. We can read our Bibles and talk to God and worship Him in any number of ways wherever and whenever we want, but we still get out of bed every Sunday morning and go to church because, among other things, we know it's important that we make that effort and engage in a kind of worship we can't do alone and meet with other Christians.
Finally, we have another warning about worshipping other gods. God knows how easily we are tempted and distracted, so He's using Moses to really drive this point home. The essence of this section is that anybody who worships other gods and tries to induce others to do the same must be put to death. Moses makes it quite clear that that applies even to family members, because our loyalty is to God first. As I have explained before, the death penalty does not stand, but the fact that it was ever given for this crime shows just how serious it is. It may not always be deliberate, but our words and actions have an impact on others, and so we must be aware of that and seek always to be an influence for good. Or you might say an influence for God. That doesn't mean forcing people to do what we believe is right, it means encouraging them to make good decisions and striving to set a good example.
Next Moses talks some more about love and obedience. There's nothing new here - he even uses some of the same phrases he used just a few chapters earlier - but this time it occurred to me that there is a tendency to separate the two, associating obedience with the Old Testament and love with the New Testament. Sadly, that means we miss just how much love there is in the Old Testament. God has been a god of love right from the very beginning. Unfortunately, this separation also means we sometimes forget that the New Testament also calls for obedience, but we're missing something here as well. In our relationship with God, the two cannot be separated. We obey God because we love Him, and as we obey Him we draw closer to Him and grow to love Him more.
Moses tells the people that he is setting before them a blessing and a curse - a blessing if they obey and a curse if they don't. As I've said before, I'm not entirely sure I believe that God ever blessed or cursed people depending on how well-behaved they were - if that were true, bad things would never have happened to good people, and the wicked would never have prospered - but the point is that the Israelites had a choice. They could choose to obey or they could choose to disboey. Whatever they did, it was by their own free will. God will show us our options, and He knows which one He would rather us take, but He will never force us to do anything. He loves and respects us enough to give us that freedom. And that in itself can be both a blessing and a curse.
Now Moses moves on to talk about worship, and again he instructs the people to destroy all of the places of worship belonging to the nations they dispossess. It may sound like the Israelites had never heard of religious tolerance, but I don't think this is about persecution. The Israelites were told to destroy the idols and the altars after they had driven the people from the land, when they were no longer going to be using them anyway. So it seems this wasn't about preventing the other nations from following their religions, it was about making sure the Israelites didn't follow them too. We too must be careful of the influences around us and guard our hearts so we are not tempted to stray away from God, but at the same we must always be respectful of other faiths. Free will includes the freedom to worship whoever and however we choose, so if someone chooses not to worship God, that is their right. God gave them that right, and it is not for us to take it away. All we have to do is be open in talking about Him so that people know they have that choice to make.
Moses also tells them that once they have settled in their new land, God will select for Himself a dwelling-place, and it is to that place that they must bring all of their offerings and sacrifices. This section is headed "The One Place of Worship" in my Bible, but I think that's slightly misleading. There is nothing here that says the people can't pray to or praise God wherever they choose, only that offerings and sacrifices must be made in a specific place. This isn't about putting restrictions on worship, or tying God down to one particular spot. It's about discipline and commitment. God wanted His people to make the effort to go and see Him. Maybe He also wanted His dwelling-place to be a point of contact for the whole community, bringing them together to share in worship and fellowship. It's like going to church. We can read our Bibles and talk to God and worship Him in any number of ways wherever and whenever we want, but we still get out of bed every Sunday morning and go to church because, among other things, we know it's important that we make that effort and engage in a kind of worship we can't do alone and meet with other Christians.
Finally, we have another warning about worshipping other gods. God knows how easily we are tempted and distracted, so He's using Moses to really drive this point home. The essence of this section is that anybody who worships other gods and tries to induce others to do the same must be put to death. Moses makes it quite clear that that applies even to family members, because our loyalty is to God first. As I have explained before, the death penalty does not stand, but the fact that it was ever given for this crime shows just how serious it is. It may not always be deliberate, but our words and actions have an impact on others, and so we must be aware of that and seek always to be an influence for good. Or you might say an influence for God. That doesn't mean forcing people to do what we believe is right, it means encouraging them to make good decisions and striving to set a good example.
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Deuteronomy 6-10 - Moses Instructs the People
Moses now calls the people to obey and fear the Lord, keeping all of His decrees and commands. Obedience and respect seem reasonable responses to an all-powerful God, but they don't make for much of a relationship. Moses doesn't stop there though. He tells the people to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength". Now that's more like it. So often we stop at fear and obedience and we miss out on so much. God doesn't want servants, He wants children. He wants to build relationships with each one of us, relationships built on love. Strong, deep, passionate love. Twenty two years and it still amazes me. I don't think we'll ever get our heads around that fact, but maybe we don't need to. Maybe we should just embrace it and give in to love.
Following from that theme of love, Moses tells the people that the commandments he gives them are to be on their hearts. They need to do more than just learn them, they need to let them sink in so deep that as the heart powers the body, so God's word powers their lives. So do we. Moses also tells the people to tell these commands to their children, to talk about them at home and on the road, to tie them as symbols to their hands and forehead, and to write them on their doors and gates. In other words, they should write them everywhere and talk about them always. There's a sense of excitement here, as though this were as much about celebrating God as about remembering His commands.
The Israelites were subtle as a sledgehammer when it came to their religion. Are we? Or do we like to keep our faith private? We need to respect other people and be careful not to force our beliefs on them, but at the same time we need to be open about what we believe in. There's nothing wrong with adding a Christian perspective to a debate or telling our work colleagues what happened at church on Sunday. And there's certainly nothing wrong with talking seriously about our relationship with God with those who are willing to listen. Moses was excited and we should be excited too. God is awesome, so let's talk about Him.
Moses seems particularly keen that the Israelites should talk about God to their children, as he now tells the people that when their children ask what the law means, they should tell them that God rescued them from Egypt and performed many miraculous signs and wonders, then gave them these commands so that they should prosper and their obedience become their righteousness. For us Gentiles, that isn't our story, but we have another to tell. We too were brought out of exile and made children of God. We should never forget that, and we should never forget to give thanks and celebrate it.
Moses now says that God has told him that when He has driven out the nations that stand between the Israelites and the promised land, they must destroy them totally. But He still doesn't actually say kill them. He talks only of destroying their altars and their idols. I think maybe this is about destroying their sacrilege, that which offends God, not destroying the people. God doesn't smite those who don't love him, He just wants to sweep away their idols and their false gods so that they can see Him.
Moses tells the people that God will bless them if they keep His law. They will increase in number and grow good harvests. No man or woman will be childless and no livestock without young. And there will be no disease. Maybe God really did bless them for their obedience and curse them for their sin. Or maybe when things went right the people wrongly decided it was God's favour, and when things went wrong they falsely attributed it to God's anger. Or maybe, as I suggested yesterday, things went better when they followed God because simply because His was the right path. Whatever the case, it's clear that the Israelites never did live up to the ideal, because even a cursory knowledge of the rest of the Old Testament reveals more sickness and famine and childlessness. They couldn't do it and neither can we. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
Next we have a warning against pride, as Moses tells the Israelites not to forget God. He knows that once they are settled in their new land, living in fine houses with large flocks and great stores of wealth, it will be all too easy for them to grow comfortable and proud, congratulating themselves on their own success. But he also knows that if the people forget God and try to continue in their own strength, they will fall. And so he reminds them of their time in the desert, when they were helpless as babies and relied entirely on Him for food and water. It's a lesson in humility, reminding them that they owe everything to God and are nothing without Him. Sometimes we need lessons like that too. How many times do we pray to God for help with something, then puff up with pride when we actually do it, so forgetting to thank Him? Too many times, I fear.
Continuing his warning against pride, Moses tells them that it is not because of their righteousness that God will grant them victory in battle, but because of the wickedness of the other nations. God shows favour to the Israelites because they at least worship Him, but that doesn't make them perfect. As if to drive this point home, Moses then goes on to remind the people of the times they have rebelled against God, from the making of the golden calf to their refusal to take possession of the promised land. We shouldn't dwell on our mistakes - guilt and regret are not healthy in large doses - but we shouldn't forget them either. If we do, how will we learn from them?
And now Moses calls once again for the Israelites to "fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees". The word "fear" can cause some difficulty in this context, but I don't think it's about being scared of God, it's about respecting Him. So all He asks is for us to respect, love and obey Him. Not too much for the omnipotent creator of the universe to ask, is it? It's not easy, but it's not unreasonable. Moses tells the people that to do this they must circumcise their hearts, because their physical circumcision means nothing if it does not affect them on an emotional and spritual level, just as a baptism is just a bath if it doesn't change our hearts.
Moses then gives the people this beautiful description of God - "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing...Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes". And I'm going to leave it there, because I don't think I could better that.
Following from that theme of love, Moses tells the people that the commandments he gives them are to be on their hearts. They need to do more than just learn them, they need to let them sink in so deep that as the heart powers the body, so God's word powers their lives. So do we. Moses also tells the people to tell these commands to their children, to talk about them at home and on the road, to tie them as symbols to their hands and forehead, and to write them on their doors and gates. In other words, they should write them everywhere and talk about them always. There's a sense of excitement here, as though this were as much about celebrating God as about remembering His commands.
The Israelites were subtle as a sledgehammer when it came to their religion. Are we? Or do we like to keep our faith private? We need to respect other people and be careful not to force our beliefs on them, but at the same time we need to be open about what we believe in. There's nothing wrong with adding a Christian perspective to a debate or telling our work colleagues what happened at church on Sunday. And there's certainly nothing wrong with talking seriously about our relationship with God with those who are willing to listen. Moses was excited and we should be excited too. God is awesome, so let's talk about Him.
Moses seems particularly keen that the Israelites should talk about God to their children, as he now tells the people that when their children ask what the law means, they should tell them that God rescued them from Egypt and performed many miraculous signs and wonders, then gave them these commands so that they should prosper and their obedience become their righteousness. For us Gentiles, that isn't our story, but we have another to tell. We too were brought out of exile and made children of God. We should never forget that, and we should never forget to give thanks and celebrate it.
Moses now says that God has told him that when He has driven out the nations that stand between the Israelites and the promised land, they must destroy them totally. But He still doesn't actually say kill them. He talks only of destroying their altars and their idols. I think maybe this is about destroying their sacrilege, that which offends God, not destroying the people. God doesn't smite those who don't love him, He just wants to sweep away their idols and their false gods so that they can see Him.
Moses tells the people that God will bless them if they keep His law. They will increase in number and grow good harvests. No man or woman will be childless and no livestock without young. And there will be no disease. Maybe God really did bless them for their obedience and curse them for their sin. Or maybe when things went right the people wrongly decided it was God's favour, and when things went wrong they falsely attributed it to God's anger. Or maybe, as I suggested yesterday, things went better when they followed God because simply because His was the right path. Whatever the case, it's clear that the Israelites never did live up to the ideal, because even a cursory knowledge of the rest of the Old Testament reveals more sickness and famine and childlessness. They couldn't do it and neither can we. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
Next we have a warning against pride, as Moses tells the Israelites not to forget God. He knows that once they are settled in their new land, living in fine houses with large flocks and great stores of wealth, it will be all too easy for them to grow comfortable and proud, congratulating themselves on their own success. But he also knows that if the people forget God and try to continue in their own strength, they will fall. And so he reminds them of their time in the desert, when they were helpless as babies and relied entirely on Him for food and water. It's a lesson in humility, reminding them that they owe everything to God and are nothing without Him. Sometimes we need lessons like that too. How many times do we pray to God for help with something, then puff up with pride when we actually do it, so forgetting to thank Him? Too many times, I fear.
Continuing his warning against pride, Moses tells them that it is not because of their righteousness that God will grant them victory in battle, but because of the wickedness of the other nations. God shows favour to the Israelites because they at least worship Him, but that doesn't make them perfect. As if to drive this point home, Moses then goes on to remind the people of the times they have rebelled against God, from the making of the golden calf to their refusal to take possession of the promised land. We shouldn't dwell on our mistakes - guilt and regret are not healthy in large doses - but we shouldn't forget them either. If we do, how will we learn from them?
And now Moses calls once again for the Israelites to "fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees". The word "fear" can cause some difficulty in this context, but I don't think it's about being scared of God, it's about respecting Him. So all He asks is for us to respect, love and obey Him. Not too much for the omnipotent creator of the universe to ask, is it? It's not easy, but it's not unreasonable. Moses tells the people that to do this they must circumcise their hearts, because their physical circumcision means nothing if it does not affect them on an emotional and spritual level, just as a baptism is just a bath if it doesn't change our hearts.
Moses then gives the people this beautiful description of God - "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing...Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes". And I'm going to leave it there, because I don't think I could better that.
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Deuteronomy 1-5 - Previously in the New Testament...
I commented last week on how the Bible often repeats itself, and here we have a prime example, as the first five chapters of Deuteronomy recap several important moments in Israel's journey. It's like the montage sequence you get at the beginning of a tv programme, reminding you what happened in the last episode. I'm not sure why it was written like this, and I will admit that the feeling of going over old ground can be frustrating, but maybe it only seems strange to us because of the format in which we now experience the Bible. We have it all down in black and white so we can read it at our own leisure, and we can always flick back a few pages to remind ourselves of something, but the Scriptures were originally composed in an oral culture when the people did not have that luxury, so these repeats were built in to ensure the listeners didn't miss anything. It's also worth noting that Deuteronomy is stylistically different to the preceding books, being one long speech given by Moses to the Israelites, so it seems reasonable to suggest that this book was by a different author or authors, and was intended to stand alone from the other books. Of course, none of this really affects our understanding of the content of the book. It's just interesting to stop and think for a moment about it's origins and context.
But enough background. Let's start looking at the book itself. As Deuteronomy opens, the Israelites have defeated King Sihon and King Og and are about to make their big push across the Jordan. Moses knows he doesn't have long left, and he knows the Israelites are finally about to claim the land God promised them many generations ago, so he takes this opportunity to speak to the people and remind them of what has been and what must be. It's part farewell and part pre-battle pep talk.
Moses starts by talking about the appointment of leaders, when he decided that there were too many people for him to lead on his own and so asked each tribe to select wise, understanding and respected men to act as commanders and judges for them. I've looked back through the Bible and through this blog, and the nearest I can find to a reference to this is way back in Exodus, when Moses appointed judges to deal with smaller cases. However, that happened long before this passage indicates, and there it was at the suggestion of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro. So how does that work? Maybe there were two distinct occasions on which Moses appointed judges, and it's just that this is the first time we've heard of the second occasion. Or maybe Moses' memory was a bit faulty and he got the timeline confused a little? Or maybe the oral method of passing on information isn't foolproof and something got a bit mixed up along the way so that different books give slightly different accounts. It doesn't really matter, and it doesn't make the Bible unreliable. It makes it human. Remember, it may record the word of God but it was still written by men, and sometimes we make mistakes.
Moses then recalls the time that spies were sent out into the promised land and returned saying that the land was good but the people were too strong, causing the people to rebel and refuse to enter the land, saying that God hated them and would deliver them into the hands of their enemies. He also recalls how God declared that because of this rebellion, and because of their lack of faith in him, no man who had failed to trust him would enter the land God was giving to them. He then claims that because of the Israelites God grew angry with him too, and declared that he would not enter that land either. That's not the story we heard earlier though. According to Numbers, Moses was barred from the promised land not because of anything the Israelites did, but because he failed to honour God properly. Maybe this too is down to a misunderstanding or mix up. But then again, maybe it's Moses trying to excuse himself and make the Israelites responsible for his punishment. It can be really tempting to try and blame others for our mistakes or deliberate wrongdoings, but that only compounds the wrong and puts somebody else is in a difficult position. It's better for everybody if we just own up and do what we can to put things right.
Now Moses talks about some of their wanderings in the desert. He says that "for a long time [they] made [their] way around the hill country of Seir" until God told them to turn north. For a while they had no idea where they were going, so they just kept wandering around waiting for some direction. Sometimes our lives can feel like that. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. Life is more than a journey, it's an experience. And that's even more true of life with God. I don't think I can explain it better than by quoting the film Bright Star. In one scene, Keats compares reading a poem to jumping into a lake, saying that "A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving into a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water". It's a wonderful metaphor that works just as well for life as it does for poetry. We need to get to the shore eventually, but first we must enjoy the water.
Moses then goes onto recall the defeats of King Sihon and King Og, and the subsequent division of the conquered land. There's not much new here, but I did notice that Moses says that God hardened King Sihon's heart so that he could deliver him to the Israelites. It's the same phrase used in relation to Pharoah back in Exodus, but it's the first time it's been applied to King Sihon. The account of his defeat in Numbers made no mention of God working on his heart or affecting his behaviour. So did God harden his heart or not? Maybe it's all in the interpretation. Maybe one writer believes in free will and so King Sihon's actions are of his own doing, while another believes in the absolute authority of God and so his actions are God's doing. Personally, I'm on the side of the former.
Next Moses reminds the Israelites of some of God's instructions and commands obedience. He reminds them of how blessed they are that they alone among the nations are near to God, and have seen His glory and heard His voice. He tells them to watch themselves closely so that they do not forget the things they have seen, and instructs them to pass them onto their children and their children's children. He warns them again against idolatry, saying that if they do worhip idols they will be scattered, but that if they then seek God with all their hearts they will find Him. He tells them that the Lord is God and there is no other. He reminds them once more of the cities of refuge. And then he restates the Ten Commandments. I won't go over them again here, but I'd definitely encourage you to go back and read them again or maybe read the post on them, because they are the foundation of the law and the best of moral codes.
Finally, this passage ends with a call to "be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days". Many interpret messages like this as "do as you're told or else" and are rather understandably put off by that, but I don't believe that's what this really means. I don't believe that God punishes us with pitfalls and traps if we wander off His path. I believe that He sees the pitfalls and the traps more clearly than we do and so He lays out a path for us in order that we may avoid them. God has the map, so surely it makes sense to follow His directions.
But enough background. Let's start looking at the book itself. As Deuteronomy opens, the Israelites have defeated King Sihon and King Og and are about to make their big push across the Jordan. Moses knows he doesn't have long left, and he knows the Israelites are finally about to claim the land God promised them many generations ago, so he takes this opportunity to speak to the people and remind them of what has been and what must be. It's part farewell and part pre-battle pep talk.
Moses starts by talking about the appointment of leaders, when he decided that there were too many people for him to lead on his own and so asked each tribe to select wise, understanding and respected men to act as commanders and judges for them. I've looked back through the Bible and through this blog, and the nearest I can find to a reference to this is way back in Exodus, when Moses appointed judges to deal with smaller cases. However, that happened long before this passage indicates, and there it was at the suggestion of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro. So how does that work? Maybe there were two distinct occasions on which Moses appointed judges, and it's just that this is the first time we've heard of the second occasion. Or maybe Moses' memory was a bit faulty and he got the timeline confused a little? Or maybe the oral method of passing on information isn't foolproof and something got a bit mixed up along the way so that different books give slightly different accounts. It doesn't really matter, and it doesn't make the Bible unreliable. It makes it human. Remember, it may record the word of God but it was still written by men, and sometimes we make mistakes.
Moses then recalls the time that spies were sent out into the promised land and returned saying that the land was good but the people were too strong, causing the people to rebel and refuse to enter the land, saying that God hated them and would deliver them into the hands of their enemies. He also recalls how God declared that because of this rebellion, and because of their lack of faith in him, no man who had failed to trust him would enter the land God was giving to them. He then claims that because of the Israelites God grew angry with him too, and declared that he would not enter that land either. That's not the story we heard earlier though. According to Numbers, Moses was barred from the promised land not because of anything the Israelites did, but because he failed to honour God properly. Maybe this too is down to a misunderstanding or mix up. But then again, maybe it's Moses trying to excuse himself and make the Israelites responsible for his punishment. It can be really tempting to try and blame others for our mistakes or deliberate wrongdoings, but that only compounds the wrong and puts somebody else is in a difficult position. It's better for everybody if we just own up and do what we can to put things right.
Now Moses talks about some of their wanderings in the desert. He says that "for a long time [they] made [their] way around the hill country of Seir" until God told them to turn north. For a while they had no idea where they were going, so they just kept wandering around waiting for some direction. Sometimes our lives can feel like that. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. Life is more than a journey, it's an experience. And that's even more true of life with God. I don't think I can explain it better than by quoting the film Bright Star. In one scene, Keats compares reading a poem to jumping into a lake, saying that "A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving into a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water". It's a wonderful metaphor that works just as well for life as it does for poetry. We need to get to the shore eventually, but first we must enjoy the water.
Moses then goes onto recall the defeats of King Sihon and King Og, and the subsequent division of the conquered land. There's not much new here, but I did notice that Moses says that God hardened King Sihon's heart so that he could deliver him to the Israelites. It's the same phrase used in relation to Pharoah back in Exodus, but it's the first time it's been applied to King Sihon. The account of his defeat in Numbers made no mention of God working on his heart or affecting his behaviour. So did God harden his heart or not? Maybe it's all in the interpretation. Maybe one writer believes in free will and so King Sihon's actions are of his own doing, while another believes in the absolute authority of God and so his actions are God's doing. Personally, I'm on the side of the former.
Next Moses reminds the Israelites of some of God's instructions and commands obedience. He reminds them of how blessed they are that they alone among the nations are near to God, and have seen His glory and heard His voice. He tells them to watch themselves closely so that they do not forget the things they have seen, and instructs them to pass them onto their children and their children's children. He warns them again against idolatry, saying that if they do worhip idols they will be scattered, but that if they then seek God with all their hearts they will find Him. He tells them that the Lord is God and there is no other. He reminds them once more of the cities of refuge. And then he restates the Ten Commandments. I won't go over them again here, but I'd definitely encourage you to go back and read them again or maybe read the post on them, because they are the foundation of the law and the best of moral codes.
Finally, this passage ends with a call to "be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days". Many interpret messages like this as "do as you're told or else" and are rather understandably put off by that, but I don't believe that's what this really means. I don't believe that God punishes us with pitfalls and traps if we wander off His path. I believe that He sees the pitfalls and the traps more clearly than we do and so He lays out a path for us in order that we may avoid them. God has the map, so surely it makes sense to follow His directions.
Friday 1 October 2010
Numbers 32-36 - Of War and Wandering
The Israelites have come a long way from Egypt, but they're not there yet. The promised land is still on the other side of the River Jordan and at some point they're going to have to cross it. However, not everybody wants to do that. The Reubenites and the Gadites have large herds and flocks, and they've noticed that the land on the eastern side of the river (the side on which they are currently camping) is good for livestock, so they approach Moses and ask to be allowed to stay and claim that land for themselves. It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request, but Moses is not happy.
He calls them a brood of sinners and accuses them of disobeying God and refusing to go to war, just as their fathers did a generation before. Either he got the wrong end of the stick entirely or the Reubenites and Gadites are good at thinking on their feet, because they tell him that they are willing to cross the Jordan and fight with the other tribe, it's just that once the other tribes are settled, they want to return to the eastern side of the river and settle there instead. Moses agrees to this proposal, promising that they will receive their inheritance on the eastern side of the river, as long as they keep to their word and fight with the other tribes. And so the Reubenites and the Gadites, now joined by the half-tribe of Manesseh, build cities for their women and children and pens for their flocks, knowing that they will have a home to return to.
And now for another brief interlude. Here we have a recap of the Israelites travels since they left Egypt around eighty years earlier. It's been a long journey, and it's not been easy. They've been through deserts and mountains, they've camped by springs and in places with no water, and they've lost family and friends and leaders along the way. But they've come through it because at every step, God has been with them. It's important that we remember where we've come from and where we've been, and it's really important that we see that God's been there too. And when we see that, we need to give thanks.
But the Israelites haven't just been sightseeing. All of that travelling has been to bring them to this point, where they are ready to claim their inheritance, and so God has some instructions for them. He tells Moses to tell the Israelites to drive the people out from the land, destroy their idols, demolish their high places and take possession of the land. He also warns him that any people they do not drive out will become a thorn in their side. But at no point does He tell them to kill anybody. Making refugees of an entire nation is still a big deal, and I'm not dismissing or excusing it, but it's a world away from genocide. When God speaks, it's worth paying attention to the details. Pushing something too far is just as bad as not doing enough. And sometimes it can be far worse.
God tells Moses that the land is to be divided between the nine and a half tribes who are to settle across the Jordan, and assigns men to help him with that task. He also makes provision for the Levites, commanding the Israelites to give them towns and pasture lands. The Levites are to be given forty-eight towns in total, six of which are to be refuge towns for all the people. Anybody who kills a person accidentally may seek refuge in one of these towns where they will be protected from the vengeance of the dead person's family. God knows that sometimes we make genuine mistakes, and in His great love and understanding, He makes allowances and provisions for that. An honest mistake shouldn't cost us everything. But this provision is only to protect the innocent, and He's quick to remind the people that bloodshed defiles the land. As we have seen time and time again, our actions have lasting and far-reaching consequences.
Numbers ends now with the return of Zelophehad's daughters. A number of family clan leaders approach Moses because they are concerned that if the daughters marry outside of their tribe, the land they have inherited will then pass to that tribe. God tells Moses that the leaders are right. Land must not pass from tribe to tribe and so any women who inherit land may only marry within their own tribe. This would only be a problem if when a woman married, her property passed to her husband, so we have to presume that's the case. That means women can inherit, but only if there are no brothers, and they can't keep their property. It feels like one step forward and two steps back. Sadly that's the way these things seem to go. Fighting any cause can feel like an uphill struggle, but that doesn't mean we should lose heart. It just means we should keep pushing forward.
He calls them a brood of sinners and accuses them of disobeying God and refusing to go to war, just as their fathers did a generation before. Either he got the wrong end of the stick entirely or the Reubenites and Gadites are good at thinking on their feet, because they tell him that they are willing to cross the Jordan and fight with the other tribe, it's just that once the other tribes are settled, they want to return to the eastern side of the river and settle there instead. Moses agrees to this proposal, promising that they will receive their inheritance on the eastern side of the river, as long as they keep to their word and fight with the other tribes. And so the Reubenites and the Gadites, now joined by the half-tribe of Manesseh, build cities for their women and children and pens for their flocks, knowing that they will have a home to return to.
And now for another brief interlude. Here we have a recap of the Israelites travels since they left Egypt around eighty years earlier. It's been a long journey, and it's not been easy. They've been through deserts and mountains, they've camped by springs and in places with no water, and they've lost family and friends and leaders along the way. But they've come through it because at every step, God has been with them. It's important that we remember where we've come from and where we've been, and it's really important that we see that God's been there too. And when we see that, we need to give thanks.
But the Israelites haven't just been sightseeing. All of that travelling has been to bring them to this point, where they are ready to claim their inheritance, and so God has some instructions for them. He tells Moses to tell the Israelites to drive the people out from the land, destroy their idols, demolish their high places and take possession of the land. He also warns him that any people they do not drive out will become a thorn in their side. But at no point does He tell them to kill anybody. Making refugees of an entire nation is still a big deal, and I'm not dismissing or excusing it, but it's a world away from genocide. When God speaks, it's worth paying attention to the details. Pushing something too far is just as bad as not doing enough. And sometimes it can be far worse.
God tells Moses that the land is to be divided between the nine and a half tribes who are to settle across the Jordan, and assigns men to help him with that task. He also makes provision for the Levites, commanding the Israelites to give them towns and pasture lands. The Levites are to be given forty-eight towns in total, six of which are to be refuge towns for all the people. Anybody who kills a person accidentally may seek refuge in one of these towns where they will be protected from the vengeance of the dead person's family. God knows that sometimes we make genuine mistakes, and in His great love and understanding, He makes allowances and provisions for that. An honest mistake shouldn't cost us everything. But this provision is only to protect the innocent, and He's quick to remind the people that bloodshed defiles the land. As we have seen time and time again, our actions have lasting and far-reaching consequences.
Numbers ends now with the return of Zelophehad's daughters. A number of family clan leaders approach Moses because they are concerned that if the daughters marry outside of their tribe, the land they have inherited will then pass to that tribe. God tells Moses that the leaders are right. Land must not pass from tribe to tribe and so any women who inherit land may only marry within their own tribe. This would only be a problem if when a woman married, her property passed to her husband, so we have to presume that's the case. That means women can inherit, but only if there are no brothers, and they can't keep their property. It feels like one step forward and two steps back. Sadly that's the way these things seem to go. Fighting any cause can feel like an uphill struggle, but that doesn't mean we should lose heart. It just means we should keep pushing forward.
Thursday 30 September 2010
Numbers 28-31 - Reminders and Revenge
Joshua may have been commissioned but Moses is still in charge, and God has some housekeeping notices for him. He reminds him of the daily, weekly and monthly offerings, as well as the offerings for the annual festivals. Of course we've heard all of this before, but there are some subtle changes and additions. And anyway, the people have not proved themselves to be the most obedient. They need reminding. At times the Bible can feel really repetitive, and it can be tempting to skip passages in search of something new, but I don't believe God repeated Himself simply because He liked the sound of His own voice. He kept going back to things because He wanted to make sure that the people remembered them and understood them, and sometimes He would slip a new promise or commandment in among the repeats. When we get a sense of deja vu while reading the Bible, we need to ask ourselves why. What's so important that God needed to say it again? Have I been missing something? Is there a new angle this time? And that applies even more in our own lives. If God keeps saying something, it's because we need to listen.
Now God moves on to talk about vows, and he says that if any man makes a vow, he must stay true to his word. That seems fair enough. If we promise to do something, honesty and honour demand that we do it. And if we know that we must keep our word, then maybe we will think more carefully before giving it and avoid making rash promises or speaking insincerely. God doesn't stop there though. He goes on to say that if a woman who lives at home makes a vow and her father confirms it or remains silent, then she is bound to her word; but if her father forbids it, her pledge no longer stands. In the same way, if a married woman made a vow, her husband had the power to confirm or nullify it. If a widow or a divorced woman makes a vow, it is binding, presumably because there is no one to release her from it. Basically, if a woman lived with a man, be it her father or her husband, he had authority over her and all of her decisions. A woman was only free and empowered to make her own decisions if she was on her own, and therefore in a more vulnerable position where her choices were limited anyway. The implication is that women are not capable of making sensible or reasonable decisions, and so if there is a man on hand, it should really be up to him. Remember I said yesterday that it was impossible to deny that there was misogyny in the Bible? Well this is a prime example. And it's not right. God gave every one of us free will and that means we all have the right and the power to make our own decisions, women included.
God then tells Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, and then he will be "gathered to [his] people". In other words, he has one last mission and then he'll die. It's not much of an incentive to get on and do what God says, but Moses chooses obedience anyway. He goes straight to the people and instructs them to arm one thousand men from each tribe and send them into battle. They destroy the Midianites, killing every man, including the five Midianite kings and Balaam (who it turns out who do hear of again) and burning their towns. Apparently that's not enough though. When the Israelite warriors return, Moses instructs them to kill the Midianite women also, as they were the ones who led the Israelite men into sin. It's bloody and it's brutal and it's hard to believe that it was ever the will of God. Especially when you consider that Moses tells the people that all those who have killed or touched anyone who has killed must purify themselves and their garments and all that they took into battle. Killing their enemies has made them unclean, and that means that it is wrong. Even if God really did send them into battle, to defend themselves or their honour or whatever, it was clearly never His ideal.
All that remains now is for the Israelites to divide the spoils of war. Half is set aside for the soldiers, and half for the community. From the soldiers' half, 1/500th is to be given to God; while from the community's half, 1/50th is to be given to God. I pointed out yesterday that the land was divided equally between the people because they were all equal, so this uneven distrubition may seem strange, but the circumstances here are different. The people got an equal share in the land because it was a gift from God, but the soldiers got more of the bounty because it was a reward for their actions. They got more because they did more. We shouldn't try to apply this too literally - God doesn't work a rewards-based system and there are no heavenly brownie points - but I do believe that the more we put in to life, the more we get out of it. It may sound like a hideously cheesy motivational speech cliche, but cliches are only repeated so often because there is truth in them.
Now God moves on to talk about vows, and he says that if any man makes a vow, he must stay true to his word. That seems fair enough. If we promise to do something, honesty and honour demand that we do it. And if we know that we must keep our word, then maybe we will think more carefully before giving it and avoid making rash promises or speaking insincerely. God doesn't stop there though. He goes on to say that if a woman who lives at home makes a vow and her father confirms it or remains silent, then she is bound to her word; but if her father forbids it, her pledge no longer stands. In the same way, if a married woman made a vow, her husband had the power to confirm or nullify it. If a widow or a divorced woman makes a vow, it is binding, presumably because there is no one to release her from it. Basically, if a woman lived with a man, be it her father or her husband, he had authority over her and all of her decisions. A woman was only free and empowered to make her own decisions if she was on her own, and therefore in a more vulnerable position where her choices were limited anyway. The implication is that women are not capable of making sensible or reasonable decisions, and so if there is a man on hand, it should really be up to him. Remember I said yesterday that it was impossible to deny that there was misogyny in the Bible? Well this is a prime example. And it's not right. God gave every one of us free will and that means we all have the right and the power to make our own decisions, women included.
God then tells Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, and then he will be "gathered to [his] people". In other words, he has one last mission and then he'll die. It's not much of an incentive to get on and do what God says, but Moses chooses obedience anyway. He goes straight to the people and instructs them to arm one thousand men from each tribe and send them into battle. They destroy the Midianites, killing every man, including the five Midianite kings and Balaam (who it turns out who do hear of again) and burning their towns. Apparently that's not enough though. When the Israelite warriors return, Moses instructs them to kill the Midianite women also, as they were the ones who led the Israelite men into sin. It's bloody and it's brutal and it's hard to believe that it was ever the will of God. Especially when you consider that Moses tells the people that all those who have killed or touched anyone who has killed must purify themselves and their garments and all that they took into battle. Killing their enemies has made them unclean, and that means that it is wrong. Even if God really did send them into battle, to defend themselves or their honour or whatever, it was clearly never His ideal.
All that remains now is for the Israelites to divide the spoils of war. Half is set aside for the soldiers, and half for the community. From the soldiers' half, 1/500th is to be given to God; while from the community's half, 1/50th is to be given to God. I pointed out yesterday that the land was divided equally between the people because they were all equal, so this uneven distrubition may seem strange, but the circumstances here are different. The people got an equal share in the land because it was a gift from God, but the soldiers got more of the bounty because it was a reward for their actions. They got more because they did more. We shouldn't try to apply this too literally - God doesn't work a rewards-based system and there are no heavenly brownie points - but I do believe that the more we put in to life, the more we get out of it. It may sound like a hideously cheesy motivational speech cliche, but cliches are only repeated so often because there is truth in them.
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Numbers 25-27 - In Which the Israelites are Seduced and a New Leader is Appointed
Balak's plan to curse the Israelites may have failed, but he's not totally out of luck because they seem determined to do his job for him. The Israelites are seduced by Moab and some of the men start to indulge in improper sexual relations with Moabite woman and worship their god, the Baal of Peor. God is not happy and orders Moses to kill the leaders of the guilty people. However, when Moses passes the message on, he instead orders the leaders to put to death the guilty people. Moses' way seems fairer, so I'm not going to argue. We need to take responsibility for our own actions.
Unfortunately, when people are stuck in a hole, they don't always know when to stop digging. While the rest of the community are gathered outside the Tent of Meeting, apparently weeping because of a plague that is affecting them, an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into camp. This clearly isn't going to make God any happier so Aaron's grandson, Phinehas, decides to take action. He grabs a spear and follows the couple into the man's tent, where he impales them both. God sees this and declares that because Phinehas was zealous for His honour, He has turned His anger away from the Israelites and stopped the plague. He also makes a covenant of peace and lasting priesthood with Phinehas and his descendants. I'm not suggesting we should all go out and commit double murder in God's name - we should most definitely not be doing that - but maybe we do need to be more zealous about His honour. We need to stand up for Him, not because He can't stand up for Himself, but because we care about Him that much.
God now commands Moses to take a second census of the people, which He does. There are now 601, 730 Israelites. This is slightly fewer than before, but that shouldn't really be surprising, given the number of plagues God has sent. The census also reveals that of all the men who were counted in the last census, only Caleb and Joshua are still alive. You may or may not remember that back in chapter 14, God said that none of the men who grumbled against Him after the exploration of Canaan would live to see the promised land and His word has come true. He knows what He's talking about. And now that Moses knows how many people there are, God tells him that the land is to be allotted "as an inheritance to them based on the number of names", so that larger groups get more land and smaller groups get less land. Everybody gets the same amount of land, because everybody is equal.
Now we have a slight diversion. A man named Zelophehad has died leaving five daughters but no sons. His daughters come to the Tent of Meeting to ask that they inherit his property so that his name does not disappear simply because he has no sons. I'm pretty sure guaranteeing personal wealth and security for themselves was also a factor, but that doesn't necessarily make them greedy. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be able to support yourself. Moses agrees with their request, and so they inherit their father's property. But more than that, Moses goes on to make this a permanent law, saying that daughters should always inherit if there are no sons. The law was changed and generations of Israelite women benefited because the daughters of Zelophehad dared. What can we do if we dare? Much is made of the anti-feminism of the Bible, and it is undeniable that there is a depressing amount of misogyny and female suppression within its pages, but there are the odd glimpses of something approaching equality and respect. That doesn't make the sexism any less serious, but it does weaken the argument that women are inferior because the Bible says so.
This section ends with God calling Moses up another mountain. He says He will show him the promised land, but he will die and he will not enter the land because of his previous disobedience. Moses doesn't argue - he knows he screwed up and he has to ace the consequences - but he asks God to give the people a new leader. God immediately recommends Joshua, one of the two men that did not speak out against Him and "a man in whom is the spirit". That's what God looks for in us. He doesn't look at our curriculum vitae or our personal profile. He doesn't look at our past achievements or our references. And He certainly doesn't look at our own promotional material. What He really wants to know is if we are full of the spirit. His spirit.
Moses does as God commands and commissions Joshua through the laying on of hands in front of the whole assembly, and so Israel has a new leader-in-waiting. But this isn't the end of Moses' story. Not yet.
Unfortunately, when people are stuck in a hole, they don't always know when to stop digging. While the rest of the community are gathered outside the Tent of Meeting, apparently weeping because of a plague that is affecting them, an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into camp. This clearly isn't going to make God any happier so Aaron's grandson, Phinehas, decides to take action. He grabs a spear and follows the couple into the man's tent, where he impales them both. God sees this and declares that because Phinehas was zealous for His honour, He has turned His anger away from the Israelites and stopped the plague. He also makes a covenant of peace and lasting priesthood with Phinehas and his descendants. I'm not suggesting we should all go out and commit double murder in God's name - we should most definitely not be doing that - but maybe we do need to be more zealous about His honour. We need to stand up for Him, not because He can't stand up for Himself, but because we care about Him that much.
God now commands Moses to take a second census of the people, which He does. There are now 601, 730 Israelites. This is slightly fewer than before, but that shouldn't really be surprising, given the number of plagues God has sent. The census also reveals that of all the men who were counted in the last census, only Caleb and Joshua are still alive. You may or may not remember that back in chapter 14, God said that none of the men who grumbled against Him after the exploration of Canaan would live to see the promised land and His word has come true. He knows what He's talking about. And now that Moses knows how many people there are, God tells him that the land is to be allotted "as an inheritance to them based on the number of names", so that larger groups get more land and smaller groups get less land. Everybody gets the same amount of land, because everybody is equal.
Now we have a slight diversion. A man named Zelophehad has died leaving five daughters but no sons. His daughters come to the Tent of Meeting to ask that they inherit his property so that his name does not disappear simply because he has no sons. I'm pretty sure guaranteeing personal wealth and security for themselves was also a factor, but that doesn't necessarily make them greedy. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be able to support yourself. Moses agrees with their request, and so they inherit their father's property. But more than that, Moses goes on to make this a permanent law, saying that daughters should always inherit if there are no sons. The law was changed and generations of Israelite women benefited because the daughters of Zelophehad dared. What can we do if we dare? Much is made of the anti-feminism of the Bible, and it is undeniable that there is a depressing amount of misogyny and female suppression within its pages, but there are the odd glimpses of something approaching equality and respect. That doesn't make the sexism any less serious, but it does weaken the argument that women are inferior because the Bible says so.
This section ends with God calling Moses up another mountain. He says He will show him the promised land, but he will die and he will not enter the land because of his previous disobedience. Moses doesn't argue - he knows he screwed up and he has to ace the consequences - but he asks God to give the people a new leader. God immediately recommends Joshua, one of the two men that did not speak out against Him and "a man in whom is the spirit". That's what God looks for in us. He doesn't look at our curriculum vitae or our personal profile. He doesn't look at our past achievements or our references. And He certainly doesn't look at our own promotional material. What He really wants to know is if we are full of the spirit. His spirit.
Moses does as God commands and commissions Joshua through the laying on of hands in front of the whole assembly, and so Israel has a new leader-in-waiting. But this isn't the end of Moses' story. Not yet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)