Finally Joseph's bones rest in Shechem, modern day Nablus. Interesting link to a 2008 article concerning Joseph's tomb.http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56238

According to other historical writings the bones of all Jacob's sons were brought back and buried in Israel, in the area of their inheritances.  Something to ponder...at Jesus' crucifixion.
Matthew 27:50-53
And crying again with a loud voice, Jesus released His spirit. And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared, and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose, and coming out of the tomb after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 

Are the holy ones, raised at Jesus' crucifixion the patriarchs of the past - Abraham, Sarah, Isaac,
Rebekah, Jacob's wives and sons?  

Judges 1:1
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?"
God had already told them earlier that He (God) would do their fighting for them (Joshua 23).  A better question for them to ask would have been, "Who will be the first to go into the land?"

The Lord answered with, "Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands."  And yet, the men of Judah asked their brothers the Simeonites to go and fight with them. Then Judah and Simeon join forces and fight for Jerusalem, a city in Benjamin's territory. They were unsuccessful in part because they were influenced with pagan culture in the land. Not so sure that Jerusalem was supposed to be burned.  And where was the tribe of Benjamin?  Why wasn't his tribe helping take Jerusalem?

The people were again disobedient in part and suffered the consequence of being unable to drive out some of the inhabitants of the land.

The commentary in the Chronological Bible, "The danger of incomplete conquest is the lingering presence of pagan influence." Not much difference today.  The Israelites were fascinated with the pagan culture around them.  Again, not much difference for us today.  Many people are fascinated with paganism, witchcraft, and the occult (at times even in the Christian church portrayed as innocent events).

Judah and Simeon join forces and attack the Canaanites and Perizzites. A rather unique thing happens with a ruler named Adoni-Bezek.
Judges 1:6
And Adoni-bezek fled. And they ran after him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
This makes a person rather handicapped. He can no longer run or wield a sword or bow.

Interesting connection with the angel of the Lord in Judges 2:1-5 and the angel of the Lord in Exodus 23:20-22. Seems as if we are seeing a pattern here.

Another pattern emerges as well. The people were told to break down the altars of the pagan gods. They did not and the gods became a snare. The people wept when the Angel of the Lord revealed this to them and they offered sacrifices to the Lord. The question remains. Were they only giving "lip-service"?

In Joshua's farewell address, he reminds the people then, and us Believers today, of the following:
1. Love the Lord your God
2. Walk in all His ways
3. Obey His commands
4. Hold fast to Him
5. Serve Him with all your heart and soul

How are we as Believers doing on these five things? Loving the Lord is easy, holding fast to Him is easy, serving Him is another matter, and walking in His ways and obeying His commands... well that's another matter entirely.

Oops, guess we forgot about Deuteronomy 30:1.
"The command that I am giving you today is not too difficult or beyond your reach.

However, in order to walk in His ways and obey His commands, we must know what they are. We know that by studying His word and listening to the Holy Spirit speak.

Joshua also reminds the people...
Joshua 23:6
And be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the Law of Moses, so that you do not turn aside from it to the right or to the left;

To keep those five things listed above, we must be courageous. We must be different. There will always be something there on the left or the right for us to turn to. That takes many forms today.

God offers again to push the current inhabitants out of the land if only His people would obey His laws and commandments.  He had already prepared the land for them.  All they had to do was to go in and claim it as their own.  It seems as if God is, in effect saying that even though they have been disobedient in the past, He is offering them a "do-over", a chance to obey Him and start over. But do they take Him up on His offer?  They said they would and even set up a monument of stone as a witness.

The Eastern tribes (those who wanted to settle on the eastern side of the Jordan River - the half-tribe of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad) built an altar by the Jordan.  This angered all the other tribes because they thought the altar was for sacrificing.  They knew that sacrificing was to be done at the tabernacle by the Levites. In truth, the Eastern tribes wanted the altar there as a reminder, a memorial and not for sacrificing.

What great words from Joshua, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”Joshua was the decision maker for his family. He was the spiritual leader of his house. Again, how are we as Believers doing with that one? We must choose every day, even several times a day, whether or not we will serve the Lord. When we are tempted to turn to the right or to the left, we must choose to serve Him. He's given us this promise.
Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

“He is a holy God; he is a jealous God.”God tells us early on that He views our relationship with Him as a   marriage. He doesn’t want any other “god” taking our attention. We (Phil and Patti) find great comfort in that!

Chapters 18-21 of the book of Joshua are filled with specifications for the land allotments of the tribes.  Remember, this land allotment was significantly smaller than the land promised to Abraham.  The land would have been much larger had Abraham only walked the land promised to him.  That land would have extended from Turkey to the Persian Gulf following the Euphrates River, from the Persian Gulf to the Nile River, up the Mediterranean coast and back to Turkey.  Because of their disobedience, the land promised to them was never claimed and what they did have eventually was taken away from them and the people were taken into captivity.  There are consequences to disobedience then and now.

Only the tribe of Dan is listed as having difficulty taking possession of their territory. The tribe of Dan took property that was not given to them by God. They will pay for this sin later. None of the other tribes seemed to have had any problems.

Six cities are named as Cities of Refuge. This appears to be a foreshadowing of the places of safety that will be provided during the last days and also a foreshadowing of the protection from the wrath of God that only Jesus can provide. Notice that for each of Aaron's descendants is a City of Refuge.

Going back to the tribe of Dan and their difficulty in taking their God-given land, could it be that they did not trust the Lord's provisions for them? We have this promise listed , “Not one of the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”

God kept His promises then. He keeps His promises now. Here are a few of our favorite promises. John 14:15-18, John 14:1-3, I Corinthians 12, Isaiah 35:10, I John 5:14-15, John 14:27.

Claiming His promises is all about trust! We trust Him, we obey Him, He keeps His promises.  Pretty simple!

The commentary in the Chronological Bible for today's reading contains this sentence, "For some unknown reason, the tribes of Judah and Ephraim, and the remaining half-tribe of Manasseh, are given a preferential portion of the land..."  The reason IS known.  Look at pages 92-94 (Genesis 48-49).  Jacob blessed these tribes more than the others.  We can track these blessings all the way back to Abraham and the promises God made to him (Genesis 15:17-21 - page 30).  The blessings continue with Isaac (Genesis 25:29-34 -page 53 and Genesis 27:26-29 - page 56).  And the blessings continue until today and on into our future.  All the blessings will be fulfilled in the Millennium.

Shortly after a general conquest of the land of Canaan, we are told of the land allotment by tribes, all the tribes that is except the tribe of Levi.
Joshua 13:33
But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He spoke unto them.

The tribe of Levi was given no land allotment. The Lord was their inheritance. Compare that to our lives as believers today.
1Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

What a delightful inheritance (pun intended) we have with Him! We are His royal priesthood, a holy nation, His possession. And what are we to do for Him? Praise Him. He has called us out of darkness of sin and into a life of light.

Caleb was 40 years old when he went in to explore the land of Canaan. He, along with Joshua were the only two of the original multitude (fighting age and above) who were able to go into the land of promise. Why? Because Joshua and Caleb trusted in God’s promises. When Caleb settled in the land (Hebron) he was 85 years old, strong and vigorous.  He personally inherited the land he actually walked when he went into the land as one of the spies.  It is in Hebron where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob are buried and a hotly contested site between Muslims and Jews. A Muslim mosque now covers the site.  We must wonder why this is so special to the Muslims since Hagar and Ishmael are not buried there but Sarah and Isaac are - important for Jews but not for Muslims.

In the division of the land Zelophehad of the tribe of Manasseh had no sons and so the daughters petitioned Joshua and the leaders for the right to have an inheritance. This will be extremely significant later. In the culture and customs of that day, the women basically counted for nothing, except for having children. Yet if we read the gospels, Jesus certainly elevated women. He had many women followers. No need for us women to be concerned with Women's Lib!

The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are numerous and they petition Joshua for more land.  Joshua makes this prophetic statement.
Joshua 18:17b-18a
"You are numerous and very powerful.  You will have not only one allotment but the forested hill country as well.  Clear it and its farthest limits will be yours..." 
The tribes were given the farthest limits.  This included more than just the land of Israel!  More details when we reach the reading of the book of Jeremiah.

We are reminded once again from the readings for today that the Israelites had to fight for the land as a result of not obeying God in the beginning.  Had they been obedient, they could have gone straight into the land with no fighting at all.  God had already told them He would drive the inhabitants from the land.  For example, had they been obedient earlier, they could have gone into Jericho without crumbling down the walls.

Another example of  the consequences of disobedience is that they suffered as a result of making a treaty with the Gibeonites.  These are the descendants of the same people that the nation of Israel is dealing with today.  God told them not to make a treaty with the people living in the land.
Exodus 34:12-15
Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.

Their problem was that they did not inquire of the Lord as to what to do. Big mistake! The people of Gibeon tricked Joshua into making a covenant with them claiming that they were from a distant country. Isn’t that just like Satan? He played on Joshua’s mercy. Even after Joshua realized that he had been tricked, he still wanted to hold on to the oath he had made with men rather than to please God. Not a good thing!

How often do we as Believers worry about what others think, and not so much about what God thinks? Shouldn't it be the other way around???

Also, as an application for today - how often do we as Believers make "treaties" with the ways of the world, give in to the "traditions of men" and compromise the truth?  The ways of the world can be just as much a snare to us today.

God's Word is definitely in black and white.  Why would we want to settle for gray?

Today's reading contains much foreshadowing of future events.  There are several connections to the fall of Jericho in the book of Joshua and the fall of evil on earth as recorded in the book of Revelation.  As recorded in Joshua 6, there are seven priests who carry seven trumpets in front of the ark.  On the seventh day, they march seven times around the city of Jericho. The people were to remain quiet until told to shout. On the seventh day on the seventh time around the city the people shouted as the seven priests blew the trumpets.  Then the walls of the city fell.  As recorded in Revelation 8 there is silence in heaven for about half an hour. There were seven angels.  One of the angels sent to the earth thunder, lightning and an earthquake.  Then the seven angles who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them.

The battle of Jericho is a foreshadowing of the beginning of the coming Millennium, the multiple "sevens" in Jericho and the multiple "sevens" in Revelation's seven seals. Even the point of the destruction of Jericho is a symbol of the destruction of evil on earth prior to the Millennium.  The walls of Jericho fell.  The Israelites went into the city, killed every living thing, and burned the remnants of the city, except for those who were protected (Rahab and her family) by going into Rahab's house - her place of safety.  They were brought out alive to live with the Israelites.  The prophecies about the beginning of the Millennium are very similar.  God's people will enter into their "places of safety" (Isaiah 26:20-21). Every other living thing on earth will be killed.  The face of the earth will be burned and only God's people will survive.  They will come out and "leap like calves in the ashes" (Malachi 4:2-3) and  will live with God's people during the Millennium. Other connections can be found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Rahab and her family were saved because of the scarlet rope.  Believers are saved because of the blood of Jesus.

Joshua 4:13 records that there were 40,000 fighting men who crossed the Jordan. When the people were marching around the city they were to keep a distance of 2,000 cubits away from the Ark of the Covenant.  Using the sacred measurements, that would be more than 1,000 yards, more like 1,388 yards both in front of the ark and behind the ark. (see the notes for March 1for clarification on the different measurements).  They encircled the city keeping that distance from the ark. They marched before the presence of the Lord. (Remember, Joshua had earlier encountered the Commander of the army of the Lord. (Joshua 5:13-15)

When the Israelites took Jericho they were told to keep away from the devoted (or accursed) things within the city. These would be things that the people devoted to false gods. Yet Achan acts unfaithfully and takes some of the devoted things. His one act of disobedience brought about God’s anger against all Israel.
A lesson for us today…when we sin others almost always get hurt. Sin has consequences.

In Joshua 7, Joshua prays a prayer similar to one that Moses prayed.  At the time Joshua prayed, it seems as if he was unaware of the sin of Achan so he may have been confused about why God allowed the routing of the Israelites by the men of Ai.  Or was it simply a statement of a slip in faith?

God reminds them that they will not be able to stand against their enemies unless they destroy the sin within the camp. Notice also that when God reveals the guilty party (Achan), He does it publicly.  Most likely the urim and thummim were used to ascertain the one responsible.

Joshua 8 records the battle to attack the city of Ai using an ambush called in today's military terms, "double envelopment".  This same tactic was used in such battles as the Revolutionary War battle of Cowpens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cowpens

Joshua pronounces curses on Jericho. The results of that prophecy happened during Ahab’s reign. Hiel laid the foundations at the cost of his firstborn, the gates at the cost of his youngest son, just exactly what Joshua had predicted as found in 1 Kings 16:34.

IKing 16:34
In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

After Ai was taken Joshua copied on stones the law of Moses (the Ten Commandments?), built an altar and read the total Book of the Law, every word to the whole assembly, including women, children, and aliens.

This is great encouragement to read the entire Bible on a regular basis. Just as all of us are doing this year.

Today's reading contains another reminder.  God gives the Israelites this promise before they enter into the land. He tells them, "I will give you every place where you set your foot..." In other words, in the cultural procedure of the day, whenever a person took ownership of a piece of land, that person would walk the land and claim the land. The problem is that the Israelites did not walk the entire land that God promised them. Look in Joshua 1 for the boundaries of the land. It is much larger than the land of Israel today, but much smaller than the original promise to Abraham.

The people are told to "meditate on the law day and night". This is a good reason to meditate on Scripture. There is a great promise that follows - so that you will be "prosperous and successful". 

Joshua sent two spies into Jericho. Now, was he supposed to do this - or just go in and take the land? The spies stayed at the house of a prostitute. Did the spies go into Rahab’s house because there were many people coming and going there and they wouldn’t be noticed?  How did they know to pick her house?

Rahab was instrumental in protecting the men and in effect helped the Israelites take Jericho.

Rahab said “…for your Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” She as well as many others in Jericho had seen or heard about the pillar of fire and the cloud that guided the Israelites.  Because of the miracles that were done, the people of the land were in fear of the Israelites.  This is one way that God drove the inhabitants out of the land so that the Israelites could take possession.

In Joshua 3, we are told that the focus of the Israelites is no longer on following the cloud and the pillar of fire. They are now to follow the Ark of the Covenant.

When they celebrated the Passover, they ate some of the produce of the land. The day after that, the manna stopped.

The story of Rahab is so significant. It is such a beautiful illustration that God can use ordinary people, even prostitutes to do extraordinary things!  Rahab was the mother of Boaz who was an ancestor of King David.

Joshua 1:16
..."Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go."...
Great verse for us to live by!  These words were spoken to Joshua by the people. However, they followed up this statement with the following;  "Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you."
Wait a minute...they didn't fully obey Moses! And they won't fully obey Joshua either.

Fascinating that most remember the parting of the Red Sea yet seldom remember the parting of the Jordan River – and at flood stage even! Notice that the priests stepped into the water without hesitation and look what happened. Talk about stepping out on faith.

How goes it with us as Believers? Are we obedient to where God is leading us? Do we step out in faith as we go where He leads?

After they crossed over the Jordan River they set up stones as a monument, a memorial or remembrance of the great miracle of the crossing of the Jordan.  What are some of our "memorial stones" today?

Isn't it interesting that Moses did not honor the covenant of circumcision during the forty years of wandering?

Another great story in today's reading is the appearance of the Divine Commander found in Joshua 5:13-15. Note the similarities to what happened with Moses and the burning bush. Joshua was allowed to see face to face...God the Son.

In Deuteronomy 32:48-52 God reminds Moses that he broke faith with Him at the waters of Meribah Kadesh. Because Moses did not uphold God's holiness among the Israelites he will not be allowed to enter into the land.

There are two different places called "Meribah" in the exodus route: The first is at Rephidim before they got to Sinai. It is here that God instructed Moses to strike the rock to bring forth water. (page 119) The second Meribah is at Kadesh Barnea where Moses sinned in striking the rock and taking glory for himself (page 180).  We are reminded of this incident in several other places in Scripture, such as..

Psalm 106:32-33
They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips. 

Compare Moses' blessing of the tribes with Jacob's blessings of the tribes (see pages 93-94 or Genesis 49). We noticed that when blessing the tribe of Levi, Moses relates that the Levites cared more for the keeping of the Word and the covenant than they did for their families. This illustrates the devotion of the Levites toward God and their duties.

God gives a great blessing to the tribe of Levi.
“Bless all his skills, O Lord, and be pleased with the work of his hands.”

Isn’t this a blessing that every Believer should want? No matter what our skills are; manual labor, missionary work, office work, teaching, ministering, nursing, housework, heads of corporations, etc. shouldn’t we want all our skills to be blessed?
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

The people are reminded again that God will drive out their enemies, so that they can live in safety in a land full of grain and new wine.

Deuteronomy 33:29
Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord?  He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword.  Your enemies will cower before you and you will trample down their high places. 

Most often in Scripture when high places are mentioned, it refers to pagan altars.  In subsequent readings, we will find that God instructs His people repeatedly to destroy the high places and every remnant of anything pagan.  Some of the more modern versions of the Bible replace the phrase "high places" with other words, watering down the meaning.  Can we make connections with "high places" in our lives today?

Scripture says that when Moses died “his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.”
Sounds as if he was still healthy and strong. It's just that his time was up. His eyes must have been pretty strong to be able to see all that land from the top of Mount Nebo! Moses was able to “see” from the tip of the Dead Sea (Zoar) to way north of the Sea of Galilee (Dan and Naphalti).
Pretty impressive! But even more impressive than that is the following:

"...no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face..."
Now that's impressive!

Numerous points to ponder and current applications in today's reading.

In Deuteronomy 31 God tells Moses that His people will soon turn away from him and break the covenant.  In verse 17 God says, "I will forsake them...I will hide my face from them."  God is telling Moses that He will remove His hand of protection and allow them to suffer the consequences of their disobedience.

Deuteronomy 31:26
Take this book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, so that it may be there for a witness against you.
God Himself wrote the Ten Commandments on stone.  Moses wrote all the other commandments, laws, decrees, etc at the dictation of God.  The Ten Commandments were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant. Exodus 25:16  And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. 
But God instructed Moses to place what he wrote beside the Ark of the Covenant.  It seems that the Ten Commandments will be preserved forever.

The Song of Moses gave us "food for thought". God told Moses that this song will testify against the Israelites when they sin. It is a judgment against Israel and also a judgment against us as individual believers and us as a church and a nation.

Here is a great verse to ponder.
"Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants."
God is telling us that even though He chastises us, it will be good for us because it gives us an opportunity to change.

Deuteronomy 32:15-22 has a verse hidden away, "...gods that recently appeared..." We thought about many "gods" that have recently appeared in our culture today...sports, leisure activities, rock stars, movie stars, politicians, etc. We can "fill in the blank" with anything that pulls us away from an abiding relationship with HIM.

There are some definite modern day applications to the next few verses.
Deuteronomy 32:23-27,
"wasting famine, consuming pestilence, deadly plague" - sounds like addictions, Aids, STDs, etc.
"in their homes terror will reign" - home invasions?
perish- "infants and gray haired men." - abortions and euthanasia?
"a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them." - bad political and economic decisions, arming our enemies?
"Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah" -homosexuality, sexual perversion?

There is a warning in Deuteronomy 32:34-38 but in Deuteronomy 32:47a God reminds them about the words of the law.
"They are not just idle words for you - they are your life."
How very true!

There is a great book we would recommend, The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn and the video The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment. It relates prophecies for Israel with America today.

In all of our spiritual battles, this promise should empower and encourage us. “The Lord himself goes before you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” 
Of course, we should obey Him to truly benefit from these promises.

Discouragement is one of the Devil’s Deadly Ds. If we give in to discouragement it inevitably leads to doubt. Satan will whisper in our ears the same thing he whispered to Eve, “Did God really say….”

God warns Moses that the people will be unfaithful. He calls it prostitution. When we are unfaithful to God, with some gain for us, that is spiritual prostitution.  When we engage in sinful activities or profit in some way from sinful activities we are committing spiritual prostitution.

The Song of Moses is mentioned again in Revelation 15. John saw those who had been victorious over the beast and his image. They were singing the Song of Moses.
Revelation 15:3-4
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are Your ways, O King of saints. Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You only are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your righteousnesses were made known. 
Compare this song in Revelation to the one in Deuteronomy.  Quite a contrast!

Deuteronomy 32:18
You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.

Ever wonder who the Rock was? Paul tells us.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

Here's a great little verse giving us assurance that our salvation is secure!
Deuteronomy 32:39
"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.

Oh, and here's another one...
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Assurance of salvation?  Any doubts???

As the people prepare to go into the land of Canaan, God through Moses, renews His covenant with His people. There are multiple blessings if they obey and multiple curses if they do not. Look again at Leviticus 26:14-42 from yesterday's reading. Notice the progression of the punishment for their disobedience. Each stage of punishment gets worse than the one before ranging from diseases to hunger so intense that the people resort to eating their children. Finally, their punishment reaches a crescendo when the people no longer have peace. They will suffer physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. They live with an anxious mind and are in constant suspense, fearful of even a "windblown leaf". (Leviticus 26:36).  The biblical and historical record documents that this is exactly what happens to the nations of Israel and Judah.  Because of our national disobedience to God, what is the future for the United States?

And then Moses reminds the people of all that God has done for them. He reminds them that God sets before them "life and prosperity, death and destruction". (Deuteronomy 30:15)

All the promises made to Israel are also promises made to those who believe in Jesus.

Notice all the times the word "if" is used.  The use of the word "if" means the people are given a choice.

One of the curses of oppression found in Deuteronomy 28 was confusion of mind.  This is so prevalent in the religious establishment and in our churches today.  There is confusion. But there shouldn't be.  Truth never changes.  People's perception of the truth is dependent on whether or not they are listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The curses listed in today's reading are literal curses but if we really think about it, they are spiritual as well.
"The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder..." Reminiscent of the dust bowl of the 1930s in the US?  There was a famine in the land.  Is there a spiritual famine today - a famine of hearing the Word - of hearing the truth?

As we read about the curses of captivity in Deuteronomy 28, it seems as if things can't get much worse than this.  It is a description of a totally godless people.

The people are reminded to be cautious in turning to the right or to the left following other gods and serving them. Good advice for all of us today as well. There will always be something on each side for us to follow after instead of keeping our focus on Him.  The ways of the world are very seductive.

In Deuteronomy 27 Moses tells the people to"write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up."  What great advice for the people then.  Are the commands of God being taught clearly to us today?

Deuteronomy 27:15
Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol - a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of the craftsman's hands - and sets it up in secret."
Makes one think about the tradition that some people have of burying the statue of St. Joseph in the yard of a house for sale, and then praying for St. Joseph to intervene in the sale of the house.  Don't think that is pleasing to God for a number of reasons.

Have you ever really thought about the verse, “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.”?

God never asks us to do anything that is beyond our capabilities. He does set a very high standard though doesn’t He? Sometimes we may think it is insurmountable but He promises us that it isn’t. Why?
“…the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”

How do we get the word in our mouth and in our heart? Would that be possible if we only spend a few minutes each week listening to a sermon? Or if we only spend a few minutes each week in prayer? Or if we only spend a few minutes each week in any kind of daily devotional? Or if we only spend a few minutes each week reading His Word?  Don’t think so!

In Leviticus 19:2 we are told to "Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." 
Now this seems to be an impossible task.  What human (other than Jesus) could be holy as God is holy?  That's a rather tall order, wouldn't you say?   Well, of course it is if we try to do it on our own.  But in today's reading, we have this great promise in Leviticus 22.
"I am the Lord who makes you holy..."
Wow!  HE is the one to make us holy!

God again lays out the punishments for disobedience.  In Leviticus 26:27-35 some very specific consequences are spelled out.  All these consequences happened when Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem and the people were taken into Babylonian captivity.  The people were warned way ahead of time.  One of the things listed in this passage is that God collected on his seventy years of violated Sabbaths (in which they were not honored).

And yet another offer is presented from the Father to His children if they follow His decrees and commands. Just read again all the blessings of obedience listed in Leviticus 26:3-13. It sounds almost as a description of the Millennial Kingdom or the Garden of Eden. If they had obeyed, they would have entered the land under millennial conditions. This time He promises them all of this and once again, he promises “I will walk among you.”
2 Corinthians 6:16-18
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.""Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

As in yesterday's reading, we are reminded again of avoiding anything indecent. That means staying away from those who might pull us away from God. And again, we are reminded that we are to be different and separate from the world around us. This is not to say that we must remove ourselves from the world, but we are to show ourselves to the world to be different - different in God's ways!
Ephesians 5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 

Have no fellowship with people and activities of a sinful nature.  Not to say that we shouldn't witness to them, but do not join in their activities. 

Even now He promises us an abundant life with Him if we only listen and obey!

Under the punishments for disobedience, in each stage of punishment, God gives them a chance to repent. Then when they disobey, each stage of the punishment gets worse than the one before. Look at the progression:
1. Sudden terror, diseases, and seeds don't grow
2. Punishment seven times over - soil will not yield
3. Multiple afflictions seven times over, wild animals devour children and cattle
4. Suffer the effects of multiple afflictions - plague, sent into enemies' hands, food cut off
5. Punishment seven times over - they will eat their children, cities are in ruin, land is laid waste, people are scattered among the nations
6. Anything left will live in constant fear even though no one is pursuing them
7. They will perish among the nations

Look at the progression from the first to the seventh. But God....

Leviticus 26:46
These are the decrees, laws, and the regulations that the Lord established on Mount Sinai...
All these were given to Moses during the trips up the mountain.  It all began with only the "Big 10".  God added more because of their disobedience.  Many lessons for us to learn from this!

In all the laws God gave to Moses for the people, He made provisions of benevolence toward others.  In the custom of gleaning, some remnants are left over for the alien, fatherless, and the widow, but the remnants were not picked and handed to them, they had to go gather them for themselves.  This was God's welfare system of that day. Unlike our welfare system today in which recipients are not required to work.  Our government does not always follow Biblical principles. No surprise there.

2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this, that if anyone would not work, neither should he eat. 
Paul was very clear as he related the practical application of the law.  However, there are those who are incapable of working and of course these are the exceptions.

It was through this custom of gleaning and providing for the alien and widow that Boaz was introduced to Ruth…and we know where that led.
Ruth 4:13
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
Ruth 4:17b
And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (ancestor of Jesus)

Again God warns the Israelites about the nations teaching them to follow their detestable ways and not God's ways, the worst of which is the worship of other "gods", a direct violation of the first of the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy 23:14
For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.

Can we even begin to wrap our minds around this one? The Lord moves about in our "camp" to protect us and deliver our enemies to us, spiritually speaking. But in order for the Lord to do this for us, our "camp" must be holy, containing nothing indecent. When we do anything indecent, He will turn away. Makes a person want to evaluate everything; what we say, what we do, who we hang out with, what we watch on TV, what kinds of movies we watch, what kind of books we read, what kind of music we listen to etc.... Would anything we see, say, or do be considered indecent in the Lord's eyes?

Many of the dietary and health regulations listed in Deuteronomy and Leviticus are just plain common sense. It seems that many of the animals, fish, and birds listed as unclean are those who either eat meat or are scavengers.

Leviticus 17:11
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
Couldn’t help but think of Jesus on this one. It is through His shed blood that we have atonement for our sins.

Colossians 1:19-20
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

While we may not want to commit to memory the qualifications for clean and unclean animals, it is good to have it there for us to refer back to, especially when telling the story of Noah's ark.  Not all the animals went into the ark in pairs of two only.
Genesis 7:2
You shall take with you every clean animal by sevens, the male and female. And take two of the animals that are not clean, the male and female. 

Rather a strange command concerning cooking a young goat in its mother's milk.  Mixtures of milk (or cheese) and meat are prohibited according to Jewish law.  Today, strict Jews do not eat cheeseburgers because it is a mixture of cheese and meat. Jesus freed us from that restriction.
According to the Talmud, these almost identical references are the basis for three distinct dietary laws:

• the prohibition against cooking a mixture of milk and meat
• the prohibition against eating a cooked mixture of milk and meat
• the prohibition against deriving any benefit from a cooked mixture of milk and meat.

And there is also this explanation.
"It was a custom with the ancient heathens, when they had gathered in all their fruits, to take a kid, and boil it in the dam's milk; and then in a magical way, to go about and sprinkle all their trees, and fields, and gardens, and orchards with it, thinking by these means, that they should make them fruitful, and bring forth more abundantly in the following year. Wherefore, God forbad his people, at the time of their in-gathering, to use any such superstitious or idolatrous rite.
Dr. Cudworth, from a MS. comment of a Karaïte Jew.

Many of the strict regulations concerning diet are to demonstrate to the nations that Gods people are to be different, that they are to stand out.
Leviticus 20:26
You are to be holy to Me, because I, the Lord, am holy, and have set you apart from the nations, to be my own.

As we struggle through the reading of the laws and regulations, imagine what a struggle it was for the people to keep the law.
Romans 7:6-7a
But now we having been set free from the Law, having died to that in which we were held, so that we serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of the letter.  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Let it not be said! But I did not know sin except through the law. 

The prophet Amos wrote about a plumb line.

“Look, I am setting up a plumb line among my people…”

What a great visual He has given us. His Word is our plumb line that helps us to be aware of our sin. It shows us how far off we are.  It is with this plumb line that we can compare our lives, our actions, our motives, our thoughts. It is through the law that we know what actions and motives and thoughts are sinful. 

“You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean…”
Romans 7:7 spells it out very clearly.  How would the Israelites know what things were unclean if they did not have the law? We hear many sermons and can read many books about God's love, mercy, and grace but we hear few sermons or read few books about God's law.

In all the rituals concerning people with infectious diseases, leprosy, boils, burns, etc. there is no mention of a cure. They were simply separated from the general population. Jesus came with cures, not just for the physical but for the spiritual as well.

2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
If only we would keep ourselves separate from things that contaminate us.
Praise God, He sees us as "clean" through the blood of Jesus!

In today's reading, there is a provision for the Israelite men to marry foreign women. At first this sounds like a contradiction. Earlier God had warned them against marrying the inhabitants of the land saying that the foreigners would lure them away from Him. This provision is for marrying a captive woman. This woman would be considered "spoils of war"." The captive woman has no ties, no surviving family, or anyone to support her in drawing the man away from God.

At the heart of the marriage relationship is the idea of faithfulness to the vows of commitment. Faithfulness is important both in marriage and in the people's relationship with God. Their unfaithfulness to God is considered spiritual adultery."
-quote from the Chronological Bible comments

Spiritual adultery happens when believers in Jesus break their vows of commitment and follow after other gods.

In Leviticus 18 homosexual practices are forbidden. 
Leviticus 18:22
You shall not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination to God. 

This was confirmed by Paul in his letter to the Romans.
Romans 1:27
Likewise, their men have given up natural sexual relations with women and burn with lust for each other. Men commit indecent acts with men, so they experience among themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion. 
There is no room here for interpretation. It says what it says and means what it says!  Homosexuality is wrong!  It is an abomination to God.

Deuteronomy 22:5 forbids women to wear men's clothing and men to wear women's clothing.  Many people use this verse to say that women shouldn't wear pants. But what kind of clothing did men wear at the time this was written?  They didn't wear pants like men do today.  They wore tunics or robes.

According to the law, the penalty for adultery is the death of both parties involved.
(Deuteronomy 22:22, Leviticus 20:10)

There is a New Testament connection.  When the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery, notice they didn’t bring in the man with her. (John 8:3-11) Could it be that some of those men who were standing around the woman were guilty themselves? Is that what Jesus wrote on the ground…their names or their sins?  Was Jesus accusing them one at a time of having committed adultery with her by writing their names on the ground?  Is that why they dropped their stones and left? Just a thought...

All the woman's accusers left, one by one. Jesus told the woman that He didn't condemn her. But He also declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

The sin is condemned, but not the repentant sinner. Praise God for that!

A line in the commentary in today's reading on page 267 concerning God's laws on personal rights and remedies is "These civil laws are designed to regulate daily activities in a fair manner for each citizen and to instill a sense of order throughout society."  Today at times it seems as if there is little order in society. However, it we would obey God's laws we would enjoy an equitable, orderly society.  

One of the promises of obedience that God gave was this.
"...you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none..."
Deuteronomy 15:6
What connections can we make today to the United States in regards to borrowing from other nations?

A great welfare system that God put in place – be openhanded toward your brothers. This command from the Lord has some stipulations. It is based on three important words; brother, lend, and need. Open-handedness should be to the brothers (believers and relatives) first. This was to be a loan with the expectation of being paid back, without interest. And it was to be based on needs, not on wants. God said, “There will always be poor in the land.”

John also recorded these same words from Jesus.
John 12:8
You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

Jesus was probably talking in this case about the poor in worldly possessions. A woman had just poured out some costly perfume on Jesus (a year's wage to be exact).  Judas wanted the perfume sold and given to the poor (or at least that's what he said).  However, there are also spiritually poor among us. What is our responsibility to them?

We should feed the hungry and give water to the thirsty, but we should also tell them about the "Bread of Life" and the "Living Water".
We should house the homeless, but we should also tell them that in "our Father's house are many mansions".
We should clothe the naked, but we should also tell them about the "garments of righteousness".
We shouldn't really do one without the other.  God called us to do both, to take care of physical needs but to also take care of spiritual needs. Tall order!

A BONUS DAY - What will we do???

Since there are no readings listed for today in the Chronological Bible, we thought you might like to view this short 8 minute summary (by a nine year old) of the Bible. Thanks to Vicki for sending this to us quite a while ago. There are a couple of things the little boy missed. He said that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Life. The sinned when they ate from the Tree of the  Knowledge of Good and Evil. He mentions the 400 years of silence. The only "silence" is that things were not printed on our modern Bible. There are many books written, and canonized, but do not appear in our Bible. They are the apocryphal books. Other than those things, he is right on! 

We especially like his insight at the end concerning the importance of reading the entire Bible!!! Have you heard that from us before???

Enjoy!

copy and paste this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu0NVSXM9cY

Provisions are made in Scripture for the avenger of blood. The avenger of blood was the next of kin of the person who had been killed and was allowed to punish the offender, even to the point of killing the accused without being himself guilty of murder.

Reminds me of the revenge attitude of so many people today. "I don't get back, I get even." Not a very godly attitude.

Cities of refuge were to be established where a person who has accidentally killed someone could flee to and be safe. Think about all the times in Scripture that God is described as being our refuge, our safety, our shield and protector.

Jesus was very clear how He felt about a revenge kind of attitude.
Matt 5:38-39
You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Striking on the right cheek was an insult.  Since most people are right-handed, a hit would be on the left cheek of the person being hit.  Striking on the right cheek would be a back-handed kind of hit and considered an insult.  Jesus says if someone insults you, let it go.

If we have an attitude of revenge in our hearts, we are following the crowd in doing wrong like we have been warned about before. It's so much easier to follow the crowd than to stand out in a crowd. But as Believers in Jesus, we are called to be different and to stand out!

There were many restrictions concerning kings in today's reading.

Deuteronomy 17:14-17  
You will enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You will take possession of it and live there. You will say, "Let's have our own king like all the other nations around us." Be sure to appoint the king the LORD your God will choose. He must be one of your own people. Never let a foreigner be king, because he's not one of your own people. The king must never own a large number of horses  or make the people return to Egypt to get more horses. The LORD has told you, "You will never go back there again." The king must never have a large number of wives, or he will turn away from God. And he must never own a lot of gold and silver.

Yet two of the greatest kings, David and Solomon had great numbers of horses, multiple wives, and great wealth.

What kind of country would we have now if our leaders obeyed the following guidelines of a king?
Deuteronomy 17:18-20
When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
It seems as if each king is to hand write these laws for himself, to keep them close at hand and to read them regularly.

There are provisions for respect for rulers. Do not "curse the ruler of your people." No matter how we may feel about a ruler, leader, or boss, we must honor the office.  A good practice would be to pray for them daily.

The two witness rule is listed in today's reading. Any sin must be testified to by at least two witnesses.
Deuteronomy 19:15
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be made sure.
Interestingly, a Jesus' "trials" there were no two witnesses who agreed on the charges brought against Jesus, which the religious leaders would have certainly know about.  And yet....

Deuteronomy 19:18-19
The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 

This penalty was carried out by King Ahasuerus as it concerned Haman and Mordecai recorded in the book of Esther.

Esther 7:9-10  

Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, "Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high."  And the king said, "Hang him on that." So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated. 

What a packed verse this is, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” Exodus 23:2a

What are the ways that we as Believers in Jesus might follow the crowd in doing wrong? Sometimes following the crowd may be just to speak a careless or thoughtless or hurtful word, just as the rest of the crowd does.

Matthew 12:36
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

Ouch!

Numbers 6 lists the requirements for the Nazarite vow. From Scripture we know that there were at least three important Biblical figures that have taken the Nazarite vow. They were Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist. Others, such as Paul may have taken a temporary Nazarite vow.

Acts 18:18
Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken.

Leviticus 27:10a
Don't exchange or substitute animals, a good one for a bad one or a bad one for a good one.
Jesus was quick to demonstrate how dishonest it was to substitute sacrificial animals in the temple area for profit.
John 2:14-15
And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting. And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, also the sheep and the oxen. And He poured out the money-changers' money and overthrew the tables.

Leviticus and Deuteronomy list rules pertaining to vows of dedication.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23
If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.

Some have stiff punishment for not fulfilling a vow that has been made. Just ask Jephthah.
Judges 11:30-35
And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."

There is also a New Testament connection for not fulfilling a vow that has been made.  See Acts 5 for the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

Lessons to be learned here???

Certain mixtures are listed in the laws of separation as forbidden.  While we may not understand why these mixtures are forbidden, it gives us an indication of how God feels about Believers. We are to be set apart as holy, pure, and different from the ways of the world.  God says. "Be holy because I, the Lord your God am holy."  That's telling us that we need to keep ourselves away from unholy living, acting, speaking, thinking, hearing, etc.

The purpose for many of the purification laws are for purely sanitary reasons and much like the dietary laws, they just make good sense.

Moses spent 40 years practicing and maintaining all the laws.  The priests would have had access all this time to Moses and Aaron if they needed clarification on any of the laws.  Praise God, we not only have the written Word of God, we have the Holy Spirit if we need clarification on anything!

Concerning the regulations for cleansing from childbirth - is this a continuation of the repercussions of the sin of Eve?  Also, in these regulations there is a difference in the time frame for boys and girls.  The woman is considered unclean for one week if she gives birth to a boy and for two weeks if she gives birth to a girl.  Also, the days until her purification are 33 days if she gives birth to a boy and 66 days if she gives birth to a girl.  Wonder why the difference?

The following verses show us another connection between the Old and New Testaments.

Leviticus 12:7-8
"'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"

Luke 2:22-24
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"),and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
The atonement offering was given by Mary for her purification after the birth of Jesus. Since they gave either two doves or two pigeons, it meant that Mary and Joseph most likely couldn’t afford a lamb.

When we read the regulations concerning uncleanness when touching a dead body during Passover, we couldn't help but think about Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Because they would have been considered unclean after touching Jesus' body, they would not be allowed to celebrate Passover at the regular time.

After reading about all the rules and regulations for leprosy cleansing in Leviticus 14, it adds a whole new dimension to the story in Luke about the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus. All Jesus said to them was “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” It sure involved a whole lot more than just making an appearance.

Luke 17:12-14
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

An even greater message for us is found in the last part of verse 14... "And as they went, they were cleansed." The lepers were cleansed, as they went. It truly was an ACT of faith on their part. When Jesus cleanses us from our sins, it is up to us to ACT and remove ourselves from our life of sin. Remember the Hebrew word picture for repent is "to burn the house".

God gave specifications that the blemished are not to serve or go near the curtain in the tabernacle. God is a perfectionist! At Jesus’ crucifixion the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Jesus made a new way for us through Him. Now we have confidence to enter even the Most Holy Place, no matter how "blemished" we may seem.

Mark 15:37-38
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Hebrews 10:19-20
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,

The high priest was to keep himself "clean" in order to serve in the holy place of the tabernacle. Since we as Believers are "tabernacles" for the Holy Spirit, shouldn't that make us want to remove ourselves from anything "unclean" or sinful in order to serve HIM?

Leviticus 22:1
The Lord said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings..." 
How would we do that today?  How is the money spent coming into our churches today?  Is it spent for sinful purposes? Ex. salaries for gay or lesbian pastors???  Or any pastor who would teach that homosexuality is acceptable?  Or any other teaching that degrades the truth of God? Would this be treating with respect the sacred offerings?

The commentary under Year of Jubilee - Lev. 25, we find these words, "One of the most remarkable features of the Jubilee is the concept of redemption...." The commentator mentions it is a "foretaste of even greater spiritual redemption in the era of the Messiah." Wonder if the year of Jesus' crucifixion was a year of Jubilee and/or will His return be in a Jubilee year?
Leviticus 25:10
It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.
Scripture tells us that there will be a gathering of the nations into the millennium.  The descendants of Jacob will inherit their land allotments according to the first covenant made by God to Abraham. (Genesis 15:17-21) What a family reunion that will be!!!

In addition to the weekly Sabbath for rest and worship, God also commanded that there was to be a rest for the land on each seventh year. But...not to worry. He made sure that they would have enough in the sixth year to more than make up for the fallow seventh year.

Leviticus 25:21
I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.

Isn't that just like God? When we obey Him completely, he blesses us abundantly!

Again in today's reading, sins of omission or unintentional sins are mentioned. A sin is a sin whether intentional or unintentional.

Two passages of Scripture, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament, seem to have a connection. The one in Leviticus lists one of the many regulations concerning another person's property.

Leviticus 6:2-4
"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do--when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,

Matthew 13:44
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
The passage in Matthew is a parable that Jesus told. At initial reading it appears to be a good thing that the man found a treasure hidden in a field and was so overjoyed that he sold all he had and bought the field. But if we read this passage in light of the previous one in the Old Testament, it appears as if the man who found the treasure is actually doing a bad thing. First of all the treasure wasn't his to begin with and secondly, he hid it again to keep someone else from finding it (most especially the owner of the field). Most of the parables go much deeper if we really dig.

Leviticus 24 mentions that the lamps must be burning continuously outside the curtain of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting.  A light is to be continuously burning.  Also, there is always to be bread.  Hmm...what spiritual connections can we make here?

God makes provisions for bringing the imperfect as offerings when it is a freewill offering. Freewill offerings are just that over and above the required offerings.

God gives Moses this beautiful blessing for the Israelites. What a great way to start the day or end the day!

Numbers 6:24-26
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."

When instructions are given for the sin offerings, there are provisions for unintentional sins. Many times when we think of sin, we automatically think of the intentional sins, the sins of commission. However, there are consequences for sins of omission and unintentional sins. James addresses this very issue.
James 4:17
Whoever knows what is right but doesn't do it is sinning.

Many times the instructions for sacrifices were to burn such things as kidneys and parts of the liver. These two organs are there for filtering out impurities. Figuratively speaking, the sinful things in our lives at repentance are "burned away". This would be like the "aroma pleasing to the Lord". When we repent, we die to sin.

Interestingly the first animal sacrifice was done by God as a covering for Adam and Eve. Lots of connections with the animal sacrifices "covering" the sin temporarily. But praise God, Jesus covers our sins completely! But He is very clear what He expects from us. Once we repent, we turn our back on what we were before.
1 Corinthians 6:11
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

To repent means to turn around completely and go the other way....God's way!
The word, repent, in Hebrew word pictures means, "to burn the house". In other words, burn away the sin and things connected with the sin. We are reminded of the voodoo doctor in Haiti who burned his house and  all his voodoo equipment, his livelihood, once he became a believer in Jesus. He truly understood the word repent in the simplest, but most profound form.

How is it for all of us as Believers in Jesus? When we repent, do we "burn the house" on all our sin?

In today's reading there are instructions for the sacrifices and offerings.  The details are recorded when we need to refer back to them.  Email us if you would like a chart showing the five main offerings in the Old Testament.

In the requirements for the cereal offerings is the admonition to include the salt of the covenant to the offerings.

Also listed in today's reading are instructions for the priests. One of the requirements is that the fire on the altar be kept burning continuously. Any applications for us as Believers today? Should our "fire for the Lord" be kept burning continuously?

Notice the words, “an aroma pleasing to the Lord” follow most offerings made by fire. Why?

Many times in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament we read of sacrifices and burnt offerings given to the Lord, placed on the altar in the temple or tabernacle. God Himself gave the laws regarding these sacrifices to Moses. The Israelite people offered their sacrifices as atonement for sin. It tells us that an offering, without blemish or defect, is an aroma pleasing to the Lord.  But the sacrifices could only cover the sin, not remove the sin. Jesus’ death on the cross gave humanity the opportunity to have their sins removed forever. The ultimate sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice, the most pleasing of all to the Lord…was Jesus. He willingly became our sacrifice to atone for our sins, an aroma that must have been as sweet perfume to God, the Father.  The aroma pleasing to the Lord is the symbolic destruction of sin.

Romans 12:1
"Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy  and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship."

The Bible tells us that we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. Is our sacrifice an aroma pleasing to the Lord?  Have we destroyed sin in our lives?  Do we present to him our very best?

II Corinthians 2:14-15
"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ."

What a joy to be the fragrance of Christ to God! Do we diffuse the fragrance of His knowledge everywhere we go?  Have we destroyed sin in our lives?  If so, then we are living as an aroma pleasing to the Lord?

The three feasts are appointed for the people to celebrate each year; Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of weeks (Harvest or Firstfruits - later called Pentecost) and Feast of Tabernacles. Prior to Feast of Tabernacles is Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).  These feast and festival days are times of celebration, remembrance, and thanksgiving.

There is a promise given to the Israelites for observing these feasts.  God promises in Exodus 34:24 to drive out the nations and enlarge their territory.  This was a specific literal promise.  What does God promise us today for our observance of these feasts?  Does He enlarge our spiritual territory?  Does He give us spiritual blessings?

Honoring the feasts and festivals was not just for the Israelites.  Numbers 9:14 has provisions for anyone who wants to celebrate these days.

All of these feast and festival days were celebrated in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.  As Believers in Jesus, we should look back on these days and remember with thanksgiving Jesus' fulfillment of the prophecies of all these feast and festival days. Hebrews 10 gives clarification concerning the parallels with Jesus.

In giving the specifications for the offerings for the three feast days and the festival days, God says, “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you”
Wow! If we really contemplated the ways that the Lord has blessed us, how would our offerings back to Him look?

There are several types of offerings listed. Gifts are variable and can be whatever the giver feels in his heart to give. The tithe is not. The tithe is the Old Testament way, a tax so to speak, of ten percent for the support and upkeep of the Levites.

In the Feast of Unleavened Bread, leaven is prohibited. Even today, many Jews remove all leaven from their homes. My Jewish friend, Miriam, has often spoken about what procedures she must go through each year during Passover.

It’s intriguing about the scapegoat, being used for the atonement for sin. Is that what we do when we blame someone else for mistakes, problems, sin in our lives? Do we transfer blame to a “scapegoat”?  Jesus is not only our sacrificial lamb, He is our scapegoat as well.

The Lord gives this promise to the Israelites if they will keep His commandments. “God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.”
Complete joy…have we claimed this promise today?

Deuteronomy 8:9
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.

Immediately following this verse, those detestable ways are listed specifically.  Ever wonder if God approves the use of mediums or attempting to consult the dead? Wonder no more! He says those are detestable to Him.  In fact, we are repeatedly warned against this.

There are distinct admonitions listed in Deuteronomy 13 concerning signs and wonders done by false prophets. God warns us that these miraculous signs and wonders are done in order to entice us to follow other gods.  In fact, God says that if we listen to these false prophets and dreamers, we are being tested to see if we love God with all our heart and soul.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 tells of a true prophet. Many think this passage refers to Jesus. Could it be that God is simply telling them that there will always be a "go-between" - a prophet who speaks for Him? And that the people should listen?  It is easy to compare this true prophet to John the Baptist.  John was a prophet like Moses (from the line of Levi) and certainly spoke words from God.

In the laws requiring offerings and sacrifices God gives the Israelites specific instructions. He says time, after time, after time that He wants the firstborn, the first offspring, the best, the firstfruits, etc. God doesn't want the leftovers! What exactly does that mean for us?

Several times we read that the people were to do certain things, "at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name."  The place where God put His Name is Israel, specifically Jerusalem, Mt. Zion.  This is the place where Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son Isaac, the threshing floor of David, and where Solomon built the temple, known today as Temple Mount.

There were specific instructions for the triennial.  At the end of every three years, special tithes were given for the aliens, fatherless, and the widows in their towns.  This is a great example of giving to people today as we see the need, not just giving to an established church.  The results of this obedience?  so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 14:29

The tithe to the Levites was really a tax from the other tribes. The tithe was ten percent off the top. Gifts and offerings were above that. They are not taxes but are free will gifts to be given from the heart as the Lord has blessed.  Tithes and offerings are not the same.

A special instruction for the Israelites when settling in the land was to regard the fruit of any fruit trees as forbidden for the first three years after the planting.  Most gardeners teach that one should not eat the fruit from the fruit trees in their earliest years.  In fact some would say to pluck off the blossoms in order for the trees to thrive better and bear more abundantly afterward. The word forbidden is from the Hebrew word ‛ârêl and means uncircumcised. The fruit for the first three years was to be regarded as having not yet been consecrated to the Lord or as unclean.

When God commanded a Sabbath day of rest, He compared our rest to His rest on the seventh day after creation.  There is much speculation as to what day is the Sabbath.  Some say Saturday.  Some say Sunday.  But did God name the days of the week?  Just when did He start counting?  Do we know which day of the week is the seventh day? How can we know?"

Romans 14:5-6a
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. 

Leviticus 19:30
Observe (hedge, guard, protect) my Sabbaths and have reverence (respect and honor) for my sanctuary (God's holiness).  I am the Lord.
When God says to hedge, guard and protect His Sabbaths, He wasn't just referring to the weekly Sabbath.  He was also referring to all the Sabbath days, including the commanded Holy Days (Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Tabernacles).

Concerning the Sabbath day of rest, the seventh day, did God need to rest? Was He tired? Hardly!
Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

At the end of the creating on each "day" we find these words, "and there was evening and morning.." But at the end of the seventh day, those words are significantly absent.  We are still living the seventh day.  God's seventh day of rest is the carrying out of the plan of salvation and redemption. What God did on the seventh day was to look back on all He had accomplished and decided it was good! We are still enjoying the fruits of God's labor.  Is that how He wants us to spend our Sabbath day, looking back on everything that we have done, said, seen, heard, etc. during the previous week?

What can we say about our week? Can we look back and say that it was good?

As we begin reading about the laws given to Moses, we may be tempted to skip over them, thinking that they have no relevance to us today. If so, think again and read the following verse.

Romans 7:7a
What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.

"Only after struggling through the tedious process of reading and trying to understand these laws does one fully comprehend the bondage of the law of Moses and appreciate the blessings of grace."

Deuteronomy 16:21
Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God...
We cannot "baptize" the pagan and claim it for God.

Mark 7:7
However, they worship Me in vain, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." 

The people are warned about giving their children to Molech.  This is another way of saying that the pagans were sacrificing their children to the god Molech.  God ordered a strict penalty for those who sacrificed their children.  That same warning applies to us today.  Do people in effect sacrifice their children when abortions are performed?

Deuteronomy 14:2
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
Take some time to let this verse sink in. When we choose Jesus as personal Lord and Savior we become His treasured possession. How would our lives look if we lived our lives daily as if we are His treasured possession?

The Biblical "two-witness" rule is commanded.  The punishment for idolatry is death, but only on the testimony of two or three witnesses and then, the witnesses are the ones to be first in putting the offender to death.

God tells the people when they go into the land  "destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.  Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire, cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places."

In other words, they were to destroy any remnant of any worship of other gods.  God continually warns the people about the dangers of worshiping other gods and the life style associated with it.

Deuteronomy 12:31
Do not worship the LORD your God in the way they worship their gods, for in the worship of their gods they do all the disgusting things that the LORD hates.

God says, "Don't worship me in their way."  We are told that even if a family member or our closest friend secretly entices us to move away from worship of God, we are not to yield or even listen.

Deuteronomy 12:9
since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.
What is our resting place? What is our inheritance? Many times in Scripture, rest is synonymous with salvation and eternal life. Our resting place is in heaven. Our inheritance is our eternal life.

The Israelites were promised an inheritance, rest from their enemies, and a life of safety.  These promises however were contingent on destroying all the pagan influences.

The people are told they will be going to a specific place for their burnt offerings and sacrifices.  "Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please."

There are several references in Deuteronomy 12 to slaughtering their animals and eating the meat.  It seems as if God is now giving them permission to eat the animals.  This leads one to believe that they were not allowed to eat the meat of the animals while they were wandering in the wilderness.  Could this be why they were craving meat early on and why God gave them the quail?

God continually reminds us through His Word that there are rewards for obedience, "because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God".

A suggestion for today - live Deuteronomy 14:2! For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
Put the verse on your mirror, on your refrigerator, on the wall of your cubby at work, on your desk, on the dashboard of your car, etc. We think your day will go a lot better if you do!!!

Ouch!  Some powerfully stinging words in today's reading!  God reminds the people that He will go before them and subdue their enemies in the land.  But...He also reminds them that He is doing this NOT because of their righteousness or integrity. Great lesson for us as well.

The people are reminded of their past sins and rebellions against God and the consequences of those sins of disobedience.

Another reminder: Moses stayed on the mountain with God for 40 days and 40 nights. He ate no food and drank no water. Not once, but this visit to the mountain for 40 days and nights without food and drink was done twice!  Normally an average person can survive only 30 days without food and ten days without water. What confirmation of how God can miraculously take care of the physical needs. Should we even think about doubting that He can take care of us?

Listed in the reading today is a Summary of God's Will:
1. Fear the Lord
2. Walk in His ways
3. Love Him
4. Serve Him
5. Observe His commands

We are told that these commands that we are to observe, this summary of God's will are for our own good.

Deuteronomy 11 reminds us that His blessings upon us are contingent.  We must faithfully obey the commands.  The only command listed here is "to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul".  And then the blessings will come.  God promised to send rain so that they would enjoy abundant harvests.  However the Lord's anger will burn against them if they turn away from Him and worship other gods.  We need only look around at our world today and see that there is a famine in the land - a famine of hearing God's truth.

Again God gives this admonition. It is such an easy thing to do, just teach the children... and look at the promise at the end if we do!
Deuteronomy 11:18-21
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

Another reminder: God told the Israelites that He would give them every place they set their foot.
Deuteronomy 11:24-25
Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea. No man will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.
This area is much larger than the area of Israel today. God promised them that He would give them all the land where they would set their foot. Way back to Abraham, God told him to walk the land and He would give him every place he set his foot. The land that He offered Abraham is larger than the land promised to the Israelites in the reading for today in Deuteronomy, because Abraham did not walk the entire land that God promised him. God makes the same offer again, of walking the land, but with a smaller territory.

Interestingly, the boundaries of the present day Israel are the boundaries of the battle of Armageddon.  For more information, click on this link and read Link 3. It shows where the final battle will take place.
https://sites.google.com/a/philandpatti.com/www02/mapsfortheselastdays

Again the people are given a warning against worshiping other gods in the land.  These words are not just for those people 3,500 years ago.  They are equally applicable today.  Do we worship other gods? What form do these gods take? Anything that replaces God in our lives is an idol. That can take many forms.

God sets before us blessing and curse, life and death...that we may choose life!

Oh, today’s readings are so rich! (Deuteronomy 3-8) Where to begin?

The commentary on today's reading says that the purpose of the law was to bring the people into a proper relationship with God and to regulate their conduct. The law was the instrument for measuring.  It was through the law that the people could have a relationship with God and the law measured their conduct.  Today we have Jesus as our instrument for measuring.  It is through Jesus that we can have a close personal relationship.  Jesus is our role model on how to behave.  Jesus is now our righteousness.

Deuteronomy 6:25

And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.

Moses reminds the people that when God SPOKE the Ten Commandments to them, He added nothing more. If only they had listened to God then, and gone in to the land that He promised them, there would have been no need to add all the other regulations, commandments, stipulations, decrees, laws, etc. They would not have even had to build the tabernacle. They could have just gone into the land, straight to Jerusalem and built the temple. God even says to them that if they will keep his commandments, believe Him, trust Him, obey Him, follow Him, make no treaty with the inhabitants, destroy their idols, then they would be blessed that they would prosper, prolong their days, that things would go well with them and their children FOREVER! .....HELLO???

Their first big mistake was when God told them way back in Exodus 19 to listen to Him (God) speak to Moses so that they would put their trust in Moses. But did they listen? Of course not, they were afraid they would die if God Himself spoke to them. If they had heard God speak to Moses, maybe there wouldn't have been all those complaints against Moses.

Commandments concerning children were very specific. We are to talk about the commandments when we sit, when we walk, when we lie down, and when we get up. In other words, we should take advantage of every opportunity to talk to our children about Him. If only we could live out His commands concerning the children. How different would our culture and our world look?

God was very clear about destroying the pagan altars, sacred stones, Asherah poles and idols of the nations. God warns that His people are not to serve other gods.  Do we do that today?  He said He would throw the people into confusion.  There is great confusion today concerning God's Word and His Holy Days. God set His people apart from the pagans and called them to be holy.  Satan still tries to confuse God's people as he did with Eve in the garden when he said, "Did God really say..." (Genesis 3:1-5).  Satan's message is still the same because it is so effective....just create doubt and confusion. 

“Holy to the Lord” What a great phrase! The Lord chose us (believers in Jesus) to be His treasured possession.

There are some very specific blessings listed in Deuteronomy 7 for obedience.  God promises "You will be blessed more than any other people", among the many other blessings that are listed.

Moses reminds the people that they spent time in the desert to be humbled and tested and disciplined.

We are warned to beware of pride. We may be tempted to say...My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. Deuteronomy 8:17b  

Pride – what a debilitating attribute! Often we forget to thank Him when things are going well but are quick to turn to Him in times of trouble.

Deuteronomy 8:18a  
But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you ability to produce wealth, 

Did we say today’s readings are rich???