Warnings against idolatry

Deuteronomy 12 is a preview into what would become the Achilles heel of the nation of Israel. As they moved into the land of Canaan, displacing the pagan nations already there (who were annihilated not in favor of Israel but because of their own wickedness, i.e. not in arbitrary fashion), they failed to fully eradicate the idol worship. Having come from the barrenness of the desert and now witnessing the lush, fertile land of Canaan, perhaps they thought the gods of the previous tenants were responsible and offerred more than what their God had provided. Regardless, God specifically instructed them to tear down the pagan altars and smash their idols. He told them not to "fall into the trap of following their customs" and not to "inquire about their gods, saying 'how do these nations worship their gods?'" Again, because He knows the heart of man, for whom the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, God warned Israel not to even flirt with the religious practices of other nations. Their curiosity was not to be expressed, as God did not want Satan to gain a foothold in their lives. Many of the pagan practices were tied to sexual immorality (to put it mildly...orgies and temple prostitutes say it more clearly) and were very seductive if "dabbled with". Other detestable practices included human sacrifice, which God explicitly denounced in verse 12:31.

Tomorrow's reading: Deuteronomy 13-16:17

More of the recap...

I'm going to combine the next two days because the readings comprise a recap of things already covered, i.e. there's not alot of new ground to cover. But there are a few things I want to point out. First, remember that this recap is not a review for most of the people listening, as they had not lived the experience. The generation that lived the plagues, Red Sea crossing, golden calf, etc. had died in the wilderness. And yet, Moses addresses the crowd in several places as though they had been there. For example, in Deuteronomy 7:19, he says of the plagues, "you saw it with your own eyes!" Who was left besides Joshua and Caleb who had witnessed the plagues? I had to really think about that one, but I remembered that those who died in the wilderness were those who were of fighting age (20) and older. So there would have been a sizable number of people, now in their mid forties to late fifties, who had seen what Moses was describing! I throw that out there just in case it puzzled anyone else but me!

Second, in two places Moses is very clear with the Israelites about why they had been so favored by God. He points out that it was not their might, as evidenced by Deuternomy 7:7, "the Lord did not set His heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations". He later adds in Deuteronomy 9:6, "you must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not- you are a stubborn people". Knowing the sin of pride that lurks in the heart of everyone, God wanted to be certain that His people did not feel they had earned His favor by their own merit. This line of thinking would eventually lead to religious elitism and exclusivity. Back to Deuteronomy 7, the reason for His favor is stated clearly..."it was simply that the Lord loves you and was keeping the oath He had sworn to your ancestors". This sounds alot like the New Testament concept of grace... God's unmerited favor!

Thirdly, I thought that Moses admonition to "beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God " was highly applicable to us today. God was about to bless this nation of people who had been wandering in the desert, homeless and hungry and impoverished for 40 years, which was an upgrade from their previous existence of enslavement to the Egyptians. They were about to enter a land where "food was plentiful and nothing was lacking". In short, they were going from rags to riches. And furthermore, it was going to be handed to them on a silver platter! Again, knowing the heart of man, a specific warning is issued against the tendency to seek God in tough times and ignore Him in the good times. We are equally as guilty today. I can speak to this from first-hand experience. Having a young child with cancer, I can tell you that the early weeks after his diagnosis were filled with more prayer, Bible reading, and desire for God than ever before. And when his condition stabilized and the prognosis became very hopeful, my intense zeal for the Lord waned significantly. I wish that were not true of me, just as I wish it were not true of the Israelites. But God saw what was coming...hundreds of years of the same cycle...Israel's disobedience, God's discipline, Israel's cry for mercy, God's deliverance, and back to Israel's disobedience. They only turned their ears to Him under intense suffering, which is probably why He allowed so much of it, but that's another topic. At any rate, we should all take heed and try not to fall prey to the same spiritual apathy that befell the Israelites.

Tomorrow's reading: Deuteronomy 10-12

Wilderness Recap

The people Moses was addressing in this section were not the ones who lived through the history he recounts. That generation died in the wilderness due to their lack of faith. So before this generation was to step foot into the Promised Land, Moses wanted to be sure that they knew their nation's history. Though he had been instructed by God to leave a written record behind, it was the oral tradition that would be most vital for the people. So few would have access to the written records but all were charged with the responsibility of retelling the stories of God's faithfulness and their own disobedience. Moses was told he was getting ready to die, so his last act of service to God and his people was to leave this reminder of the journey they had taken together. Today's reading is just the beginning of this lengthy sermon.

One thing worth noting in the recounting of the battles for the Promised Land, is the Hebrew word which is translated "completely destroyed" in our Bible. The term refers to the fate of the conquered people groups who were ousted from the Promised Land. It reads to us as the annihilation of everyone...man, woman, and child, but the Hebrew word has a slightly different meaning. According to the footnote in the Chronological Bible, the meaning is "complete consecration of people or things to the Lord, either by destroying them or giving them as an offering". This is in keeping with what was recorded about their conquest of the Midianites, wherein all women (initially) and children were spared and some given in service to the Temple.

Tomorrow's reading: Deuteronomy 3:21-5

Cities of Refuge

Levitical towns were scattered throughout the tribal land of Israel, with land donated by each tribe in proportion to it's size. Some of these towns were designated as "cities of refuge" and were intended to be safe havens for people who had unintentionally killed someone. In order to avoid being killed in an act of vengeance, the slayer had to flee to one of these towns and remain there until the high priest died. Very detailed examples of unintentional killing versus murder show that the difference was found in the heart of the slayer. Death resulting from malice was considered murder and had to be punished by execution. A murderer could not buy his way out of the death penalty (as we sometimes see today in our justice system), nor could an accused murderer be sentenced to death on the basis of only one witness. These laws protected the very serious policies regarding the death penalty from being perverted, and showcase both the merciful and just aspects of God's nature.

Tomorrow's reading: Deuteronomy1-3:20

Preparing to Enter the Land

Tired of wandering and ready to settle down, the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked permission to remain on the east side of the Jordan River instead of crossing over it into the Promised Land. Moses took offense at this for two probable reasons. One was that the request was unfathomable to Moses, who had been denied access to the Promised Land after 40 years of striving to get there. These people had permission to enter it, and were choosing not to! The other problem with the request was that it was likely interpreted as a lack of confidence in Israel's ability to conquer the territory. This was reminiscent of the fear that spread through the camp years earlier after the 10 scouts reported that the land was inhabited by giants. That lack of trust cost the Israelites 38 more years of wandering in the desert and Moses did not want their reticence to enter the land to infect the opinions of the rest of the tribes. When Moses was convinced that Reuben and Gad were willing to fight alongside their brothers for the land, he agreed to their terms.

The remainder of today's reading was a recap of the 40 years in the desert, which was a great review...almost like Cliff's Notes ( I am dating myself I'm sure). The Lord moved them around alot because it was necessary for the well-being of their flocks. They had a considerable amount of livestock and when the resources for grazing had been depleted in an area, it was time to move on to "greener pastures". I love the sentence at the outset of this synopsis..."At the Lord's command Moses recorded the stages of their journey". We have this incredible history of the nation of Israel simply because God told Moses to write it down and he obeyed. It couldn't have been easy to do. They had to make their own paper! But God wanted us to have the Old Testament and ensured that we would.

Tomorrow's reading: Numbers 34-36

Conquest of the Midianites

It appears that participation in pagan sex rituals had become pandemic and flagrant, as evidenced by the altercation involving Phineas and the speared couple. The fall-out for the nation of Israel was the plague that killed 24,000, but there was retribution to be paid to the Midianites as well. At God's command, an army of 12,000 was sent in to destroy them. No doubt His hand was upon the mission, as not a single casualty was sustained on the Israelite side. But all five Midianite kings were executed as well as our old friend Balaam, who was said to have advised the Midianites in the scheme to lure the Israelite men into idolatry. This episode offers a further clue as to who Balaam was. He had been prevented from cursing the Israelites at Balak's request, Balak being the Moabite king and neighbor of the Midianites. He must have hoped for another chance to work with Balak, because he apparently remained in the land as his strategic adviser. So regardless of whether or not he started out as a follower of God, he did not finish as one.

When the soldiers return with the spoils of war, Moses was angry to find that they had not killed the women who were complicit in the sin involving Baal worship . Only the young girls and virgins, neither of whom could possibly have taken part in the sex rites with the Israelite men, were spared. The text reads that the Israelites were told that they could "keep them for themselves", which meant that the girls became their household slaves as was permitted for prisoners of war. A certain percentage were set aside for the Lord, to be servants used by the Levites in the service of the Tabernacle.

This again seems like a really harsh punishment, but I read a great analogy that helped me reconcile it. The pervasive sin of idolatry and intermixing with pagan women was like a cancer in the nation of Israel. If God tolerated it, it would continue to spread. That is human nature and we see it with our own children. The "cancer" had to be cut out from the community in order to maintain it's health and vitality. When a person's life is at stake due to cancer, that tumor must be excised in order to preserve the life of the one afflicted. The cutting away of the cancer is painful and regrettable, but absolutely necessary. We have to remember the bigger picture, that the Israelites could not possibly have seen. God was using their lineage to bring forth the Savior of the world and to set up the back-story for his life and sacrificial death. In God's economy, this would have been a no-brainer, for the integrity of His people and His plan was at stake.

Tomorrow's reading: Numbers 32-33

Zelophehad's daughters

This passage is a big deal, as it relates to the rights of women in a patriarchal society. In doing some research, I thought this gentleman succinctly and clearly outlined the ramifications of the new law. So here it is...


Zelophehad's Daughters

by Wayne Blank

Zelophehad was a man of the tribe of Manasseh who died during the Wilderness Journey. He had five daughters, but no sons. In order to perpetuate their father's name, by means of the allotted share of the promised land that would have gone to him, and then to his sons, if he had any, the daughters asked that the land be given to them instead. Moses brought their request before The Lord and it was granted, thereby establishing a new inheritance law in Israel for men who died without sons.
The new law was immediately a serious potential conflict with another established law that women were legally entitled to their husband's inheritance, not their father's. When Zelophehad's daughters later married, as a family their father's allotment would also become a part of their husband's territory - a serious problem if they married Israelite men from outside of their own tribe i.e. tribal territories were to remain unmixed. A stipulation was then added that daughters who inherited their father's land could marry anyone that they wanted, provided that it was someone within their own tribe. To do otherwise would mean forfeiture of their ancestral land, not as some sort of penalty to the daughter, but to prevent their husband from claiming property in a tribal area of which he was not a member.

Israelite women could marry anyone from any Israelite tribe and live in any tribal territory, whereas, although Israelite men could also marry anyone from any Israelite tribe, the men could only possess land in a tribal territory of which they were a member i.e. women were free to live anywhere in Israel while the men were more restricted to their own tribal territory. On the other hand, if women inherited their father's territory, according to the new law, they were then subject to the same territorial restriction that men already had to adhere to. Although some people have interpreted it as some sort of "feminist" issue that was somehow unfair to women, the fact is that women were already more free than men as to where they could live. But when women inherited land the same as men did, they became subject to the same restrictions as men did i.e. to only possess land within their own tribal territory.

Tomorrow's reading: Num. 30:1-31:54