Day 52: Deuteronomy 4, 5 and 6

If from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him (Deuteronomy 4:29).

We started the year with the premise that these writings came to their final form during the Babylonian exile. I asked you to put yourself in the place of a Jewish expatriate. Things haven’t been particularly rough in Babylon; you’ve settled down, raised a family, and been relatively prosperous – but inside you is a longing for home. The faraway look in your parents’ eyes when speaking of Jerusalem has made you vow to return there if you ever get the chance.

Now there are rumors that your fantasy may soon become reality. Whoever wants may return to Judah with the new king’s blessing. To prepare, the priests have been reading stories from Israel’s beginnings – stories of enslavement and escape, temptation and failure, desert wanderings and battles of conquest.

These stories explain why Judah was exiled seventy years ago. It was her unwillingness to obey the first commandment: You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). But these stories also include a promise: Even if you’ve been scattered among the nations, …seek the Lord your God, [and] you will find him.

It was a reminder that Yahweh would not be trifled with, and a promise that Israel would not be forgotten. You vow that if you ever see Jerusalem you will not make the same mistakes as did your parents and grandparents.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Are there lessons you should be learning from your mistakes? …from the mistakes of others?

Day 51: Deuteronomy 1, 2 and 3

It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road (Deuteronomy 1:2).

Just a parenthetical note, that’s all. Apparently common knowledge – It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road. It was from Kadesh Barnea, the southern entrance to Canaan, the spies were dispatched to survey the Promised Land. It was at Kadesh Barnea the people balked at going in and taking what was rightfully theirs.

It takes stamina, determination and careful planning to squeeze an eleven-day journey into forty years.

The people who followed Moses out of Egypt were not prepared to follow him into Canaan – not once the cold reality of battle and hardship pierced the fog of their naïve expectations. They were slaves, not soldiers, and they needed to grow up if they were ever to claim their inheritance.

There may be times in our lives when it seems things are taking longer than they should, when we take inventory of our lives and insist we should have come further and accomplished more. Rather than becoming frustrated, those are the times we need to remember that God alone knows how far we’ve really traveled and the battles we’ve fought to get from where we were to where we are now.

The straight-line distance from where we started to where we end up may not tell the whole story of how far we’ve come.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Acknowledge God’s presence in your journey, and thank him for bringing you this far.

Day 50: Numbers 34, 35 and 36

Select some towns to be your cities of refuge (Numbers 35:11).

These closing chapters of Numbers deal with boundaries to define tribal allotments, boundaries to protect land from osmosing from one tribe to another, and boundaries to protect innocent people accused of murder.

People who think Old Testament laws are harsh must not realize the lengths to which these statutes go in protecting the accused. Customs often demanded the death penalty for injuring someone or even simple theft. Biblical laws affirmed the concept that the punishment must fit the crime. An eye for an eye was not cruel; it was a limit placed on punishment to protect the defendant.

Another example of these limits is that a person could not be executed on the witness of only one person. The biblical laws stated that testimony in a capital case must be corroborated at the very least by a second witness.

Likewise, cities of refuge were set up to protect people who had accidentally killed someone. Even though the death may have been accidental, vigilantes would sometimes hunt down the offender and avenge the wounded. The defendant might be executed before getting the chance to tell his side of the story.

Harsh? Maybe not as harsh as some would believe.

Considering Jesus’ admonishment to have compassion on the prisoner (Mt. 25:34-40), should we be surprised that same compassion would be extended to defendants prior to conviction?

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Is anyone fearing for his life – or maybe his dignity – while awaiting your verdict?

Day 49: Numbers 31, 32 and 33

The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock (Numbers 32:1).

As Israel was camped on the Plains of Moab, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh took inventory of their surroundings. They looked around on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, and couldn’t understand how Canaan could be any better than the lands already under their feet. They came to Moses and said, “Gilead been veddy, veddy goood to me.” (Okay, this is a very, very obscure 1970s Saturday Night Live Garrett Morris reference – one would require a misspent youth and too much time on their hands to get it.)

At first, Moses was incensed, thinking these three tribes were abandoning the rest of the nation just as they were about to cross into Canaan to drive out the inhabitants of the land. This didn’t set well with Moses until they assured him they would participate in the battle campaigns for Canaan, and then return to their wives and children in Gilead.

While Moses gave his blessing to the request of these three tribes, it really didn’t end well. There was never really a strong connection between these transJordan tribes and the rest of Israel. As we continue to read, we will find the references to them become fewer and farther between.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Do you have any distant family members with whom it would be good to reconnect? …any for whom you should be praying? Take steps to contact them.

Day 48: Numbers 28, 29 and 30

If her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her (Numbers 30:8).

In this passage Moses emphasizes the sanctity of a promise. He starts out saying a man must absolutely keep his word to the Lord, and if he takes an oath he’d better make good his pledge. He doesn’t stop at how important it is to keep a promise already made; he also warns against making rash vows in the first place.

We’d all be better off if everyone took promises as seriously as Moses.

The rules are different when it comes to women. A young woman still living at home can have her promises annulled by her father, and a wife can have her promises overruled by her husband. But if the husband or father knows about the promise and says nothing, it stands.

At first glance, it might seem this passage is demeaning to women; however, that’s not the point. The purpose of this regulation is not to be condescending to women, but to protect them [6]. On the other hand, it also protects husbands and families from being burdened with debts racked up by non-worldly wise wives and daughters. These are not the arbitrary restrictions of a woman-hating God, but the sheltering embrace of a benevolent parent.

As an example of another biblical writer’s honor and respect for successful businesswomen, see Proverbs 31:10-31.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Have you ever made a promise and later wished someone could get you out of it? Do you need to let someone off the hook for a bad promise they made?

Day 47: Numbers 25, 26 and 27

The men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods (Numbers 25:1,2).

This is the second installment of Balaam’s story. I never really understood why, from the reporting of chapters 23 and 24, that Balaam would have been sentenced to death. After all, he didn’t curse Israel. Then I gained some pertinent information. Even though his name is not mentioned again until the report of his death in chapter 31, many biblical scholars think Balaam was behind Moab’s last ditch attack – namely the seduction of the Israelites.

On the surface, this speaks to the determination of Moab to defeat the Hebrew people. Balak felt threatened by Israel, and when a frontal military assault (Plan A) proved impractical, he attempted a side door attack (Plan B) through his agent Balaam. When that was also unsuccessful, Balaam apparently discovered where the men of Israel were weak, and attacked them via their sexual appetites (Plan C).

For a spiritual application, Satan possesses this same dogged determination to interfere with our connection to God. Just because he is blocked on one front doesn’t mean he will give up. That’s why we need to be honest about our weaknesses, put on our spiritual armor and stand guard every day.

Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed (James 1:14).

TODAY’S MEDITATION

The front door to your heart is probably locked and well-guarded. What about the back door? How can you protect yourself?

Day 46: Numbers 22, 23 and 24

Donkey: What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?

Balaam: You have made a fool of me! (Numbers 22:28,29).

I love this story. We have the Israelites camping on the Plains of Moab (north end of the Dead Sea – east side of the Jordan opposite Jericho), which is where they will stay until Joshua leads them across the river. While they are camped there, Balak king of Moab sees their large numbers (he no doubt saw this as a strategic threat) and decides on a preemptive strike, enlisting the help of an internationally renowned diviner named Balaam.

When Balaam gives in to Balak’s demands, he protests that he cannot do anything counter to what God tells him. However, that doesn’t mean Balaam served Yahweh, God of the Israelites. To Balaam, Yahweh was just another tribal god who could be manipulated by magic arts.

Even though Balaam was warned not to curse the people of Israel, he still didn’t take seriously the power of Yahweh. The image of his donkey reading him the riot act always makes me smile. Say it with me: Wil – il – il – bur – ur – ur! I think the conversation should have gone more like this:

Donkey: What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?

Balaam: You made me look like a fool!

Donkey: You look like a fool all right, but I didn’t make you look that way!

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Think about a time when you, like Balaam, misunderestimated God. How did that turn out?