More review, as a teacher I love review as a student, not so much...
I tell you what I did to make it a little more interesting though, remember the Chris Farley character on SNL.."remember that time........fill in the blank............that was awesome." I read it in that voice.
"Hey, 'member that time when Lord God hated EVERYONE else on the planet but us?........that was awesome"
"member that one time, when he said he said he would take all our diseases away and put on them!........that was awesome......remember it was for no reason other than he loved us and not them and remember they really did nothing wrong.......that was awesome"
Its really MUCH funnier if you know the charecter.
Anyway, we have Moses talking to the people and reminding them of the commandments, and the graven images and the bowing down and teach your children well......
Reminding them to not forget that they were chosen, don't forget it is God he gave them this land, their homes, their olives, their livestock...
No one will be barren, the peeps or the animals...
They are to actively speak the word of God. Sometimes because I have a very strange and childish mind, I visualize this stuff literally. So when it says to write it on your house and hands, and headbands and talk of it when you rise up and go to bed. I actually "see" all of this going on and its funny.
I must say that as a lover of history and art and as an Indiana Jones wannabe it pained me greatly that they were told to burn and destroy other people's alters, pillars, and images of their gods. I have to wonder how many beautiful works of art were destroyed for no reason other than they not be tempted by them?
8 comments:
Chris[t] Farley voice is funny. Butt, and there's always one of those, and some are bigger than others. It never said God didn't love other people beside the Jews, etc. etc. And the giving of diseases and defeat was to the people who cursed or wronged the Jews, not just arbitrary devestation to everyone else...so simmer.
There is a lot in these three verses. Review of the commandments, etc. Very important for Christians to speak to their children about the commandments. I do this regularly. So, I did take that literally. If we're going for a walk, or riding bikes, or just sitting on the swing, I talk to them about the commandments and the Bible...I ask them what they think about different things in the Bible, etc. Also, writing them on your doorposts, etc.....same thing....literally. This is why many Christians, including us, have copies of the commandments and scriptures framed and put near our front doors and all around our house. This help remind us to "diligently" follow them.
Since we're talking a little about raisng/teaching children, I wanted to bring up an important point about the 'honor your father and mother' commandment. If you'll notice this is the only commandment with a promise, "that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you..". Big for Christians to teach their children. In a world and time where so many kids lack respect for their parents, and their parents do nothing about it.
It says over and over again, how punishments can carry over to the 3rd and 4th generation beyond the person who committed the sin (assuming the successive generations follow suit in living sinfully). But if you repent you'll notice that God's blessings will extend to 1,000 generations.
Again, at the end of ch5 we see, clearly, that the Israelites freely entered into this covenant with God. And He, of course, expects them to abide by it. You'll notice in the middle of ch6 how it references again how God is or wants to be in our midst. He wants to be a very personal God. To have a very personal relationship with us, and to be a part of every aspect of our lives, big and small. Too many times people, Christian and non-Christian alike, call upon Him only in bad times. Do you have friends like that? ...they only call you when they need something. How does that make you feel?
In vs 16 (of ch 6) it says we should not "tempt and try" or test God. So to all those people who want to test God, challenge Him, etc. this should be a warning. He has nothing to prove to us. All of the evidence for His creation and greatness is before us, many times we just refuse to acknowledge it.
God will fight our battles for us. vs. 19
tbc..
vs 7 has a lot in it all by itself, I'll try not to repeat. God calls for the Israelites to completely destroy and/or drive out its enemies...this time He gives a more clear/direct reason - so that they (their enemies) don't live among them and entice them to worship other gods causing them to break their covenant with the one and only true God, thereby leading to their destruction. I know, it seems harsh, but is very practical. This too has to do with separating what has been set apart for God (the Israelites) from what is not set apart holy to God (the existing inhabitants). Remember, righteousness and unrighteousness cannot be mixed when it comes to the things set apart for God. This theme has been broadened from sacrifices, articles, priests, and individuals, to the people as a whole. Just like the priests are set apart from the lay-Israelites...but are all "eligible" for his promises, so are all of the people of the world. The Israelites may be set apart, but we've already seen that anyone can come to God. We've already read many verses that say strangers and sojourners can worship God as well. So it's not as though God, even back then, didn't love the rest of the people on Earth, it's just that the Israelites were set apart for Him.
We see in the middle of this ch, again, that God tells us to not be afraid of how large or insurmountable our enemies, problems, and obstacles in life may be; with Him, we can overcome them all. We shouldn't talk about how big our problems are, but instead, we should talk about how big our God is.
22 is an interesting verse...applies well today in the military. Shows how wise God is (and since we haven't learned from it, how not wise we are despite claims to the contrary); and that is, this getting rid of their enemies little by little as to not cause what we call in the military today, a power vacuum. Here it applied to the wild beasts, but is equally wise and practical. I don't think I need to expound on that, but I could if anyone wants.
Lastly, the artistic thing Crystal brought up. God knew those things could be a snare to the Israelites, and they needed to separate unholy from holy; as we all know by now God is not a big fan of inter-mixing of the holies. Maybe, just maybe, if they had Public Storage or Pods back then they could have stored them in there for later viewing and admiration of the craftsmanship, but...now I'm just being silly.
Tomorrow, Deut. 8-10
Crystal, I know you may not be able to do it for a few days, but when you have a chance can you find a map of the original "Promised Land"? I think it's much larger than today's Israeli borders. I would be very interested in seeing it.
NOT a fan of the red
Aren't all Jesus' words red in the KJV Bible?
Jaime, you said: "But if you repent you'll notice that God's blessings will extend to 1,000 generations."
This is off the cuff, so my math might be wrong here, but...
If we conservatively say each generation reproduces by the time they're 30 years old (30*1000). That's equal to 30,000 years!
According to the Bible the earth is only 6,000 years old. Does that mean the old testament blessings carry over into the Jesus/New Testament era for another 26K years or so? Or Does that mean the rapture can't occur until the year 28,000?
That kind of sucks for the future Christian children in the year 28,001.
There were a couple of things I failed to mention...the tremendous amount of blessing God wants and is willing to bestow on the Israelites (and us, today). He will not only bless the work of your hands, but He will cause you to enjoy things which you were not responsible for attaining (because of the righteousness and obedience of possibly your parents, grandparents, great grandparents). I know this is true because it has happened to me in my own life. The life and blessing I enjoy now I know are not because of anything I've done, but because of the obedience my family in previous generations has shown to God and His precepts. God has been faithful to keep His promises to us. He promised the Israelites that they'd eat from fields they did not plant, and that they'd drink from well they did not dig. He is on your side, and He is against those who turn from Him (yet anxiously looking for them to turn toward Him (proof in the New Testament)). He can and use bad people to bless you...their works, their blessing from Satan, from their own hands.
God will explain much more in the next couple of chapters of why He did many of the things he did for the Israelites and to the people that were there before them. As well as remind them by whose might this was accomplished, their promise of future rewards and stern warnings. So pay attention because many questions will be answered.
Jamie,
How do you distinguish:
A. The blessings from God you receive due to the pious actions of your ancestors.
B. Benefits you receive because your ancestors worked hard, invested wisely and educated themselves.
Please be as specific as possible in your reply. Thank you.
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