Well, a lot of Bible reading has happened between the last blog and today's post. More or less, the theme of the reading has been to obey the LORD, because then he will bless you and be with you and be for you. Disobedience leads to a curse.
Another big theme in these passages is to purge evil from their nation, at all costs (Duet. 13:5, 17:7, 19:19, 21:21, 22:22, 24:7). Israel had to kill those from among herself that turned from God. Often, this meant that the person who violated the covenant would be stoned so that they would be an example for the rest of Israel. It seems that most things up until now were forgivable with a sacrifice presented at the Tabernacle, but these offenses seem to be particularly wicked to God.
Those who worshiped idols or other gods were to be put to death (Deut. 16:21-17:7).
There is a passage about the kings in Israel. When they conquered a new land, they were to put a king to rule over that land on behalf of God. What I found interesting was that God commanded the king not to own an excessive amount of wealth (measured by horses, number of wives, and gold and silver). He was to have as little of these as possible (Deut. 17:16-17). He was to revere God, and consider himself an equal to his fellow Israelites when it came to the Law (Deut. 17:20). It reminded me of Plato's philosopher king. I think he said something like the best ruler was the one who wanted power the least because they would be least tempted to abuse that power.
I like God's social justice commands. In Deut. 15:10-11, there is a beautiful passage about lending to the poor in Israel. "Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your bothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." I am learning that God is multi-faceted. He can be terrifying and militant, and he can also be immanent, nurturing, and empathic.
In chapter 24, Moses outlines the law for newly weds. Men who are recently married were apparently exempt from military service. He is to love his wife and stay with her. I like this verse: "For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married" (Deut. 24:5).
It was an interesting read, but I am finding that I am growing more and more impatient with these readings. To be honest, they seem awfully repetitive. I like reading them, but at times it feels like drudging through policy text. I am hoping that Joshua will be more exciting to read.
Well, that's all for today. 1667 pages to go!
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