Rich Nelson Uncategorized

14: Judges — Introduction & Deborah and Barak — Judges 4:1-24

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God intended that the Israelites would see him as their earthly leader as well as their God; but the people did not follow God – either spiritually or civilly. When the people ignored God he withdrew from them. When they realized their situation and repented God raised up a leader to rescue them.

Author

We do not know who wrote Judges or when, which is the case with most of the history books of the Old Testament. However, there is some evidence about when the book was written: the author twice says “in those days there was no king in Israel,” [17:6, 21:25], so the book was written after the events it describes. Most scholars believe it was written during Saul or David’s reign (approximately 1050 – 1000 BCE). Some suggest that Samuel, the first prophet (after Moses) whose own history [1 and 2 Samuel] picks up after Judges, wrote this book; but there is no conclusive evidence.

Context

After Joshua died some of the Israelite tribes (notably Judah and Joseph) continued the conquest of the land assigned to them, but most did not. As the elders died the people settled into a co-existence with the Canaanites in violation of God’s command [2:1-3]. Further, they began worshipping the Baals and Asherahs, the Canaanite gods.

When the people refused to follow God as the national and spiritual leader, Israel remained a collection of tribes. This made them easy targets for the more organized Canaanites, who could defeat and oppress the individual tribes one at a time.

Eventually the Israelites would realize their disobedience was causing the oppression and repent. God would then raise up a leader – often military – who would defeat the Canaanites and free the Israelites. But eventually the cycle of disobedience–defeat and oppression–repentance and deliverance would repeat itself. This situation lasts roughly 300 years (1380 – 1050 BCE). Judges recounts eleven cycles.

Structure

Judges has three primary parts:

  • A brief introduction: describing Israel after Joshua’s death and introducing the sin–oppression–repentance–delivery cycle.
  • The stories of the judges: six judges and their work are described in detail and the other seven judges are briefly mentioned [chapters 3:7-16; see Notes on page 52 for a list of the judges].
  • An “appendix” focusing on two incidents from the same period: the first involves the idol image of Micah and the tribe of Dan’s worship of it. The second incident is the tribe of Benjamin’s support of Gibeah and its subsequent defeat by the other tribes [chapters 19-21].

Major Themes

The major theme of this book is the consequences of obedience and disobedience. When the Israelites followed God and obeyed the commandments God supported them and defeated their very real enemies in the land. When the people ignored God and disobeyed the commandments God ignored them and allowed their enemies to defeat and oppress them.

The other primary theme is God’s forgiving response to repentance: when the Israelites realized their situation and turned back to God and obeyed the commandments, God forgave them and restored them to their lands and their homes.

The other message that is woven through the judges’ stories is the imperfect leadership of humans. God calls each judge and provides the necessary resources but they all carry out their mission only partially. Only Jesus was able to fulfill his mission to fully and completely deliver us from our defeat and oppression and restore us to a relationship with God.

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who wrote this book? When was the book written? Who might have been the author?

2.   When do the events of this book take place? Where are the Israelites? What have they done with their land? What is their civic structure? What is their relationship with other people? 

3.   What is the spiritual situation of the Israelites? How does it change during the course of the book? How is this similar to other times (such as ours)? Who are the significant figures during this time?

4.   What is the spiritual situation of the Israelites? How does it change during the course of the book? How is this similar to other times (such as ours)? Who are the significant figures during this time?

5.   What is the major focus or theme of this book? What does it tell us about God? About the Israelites? How are they like people today? How are they different?

6.   What other messages does this book include? Why are these themes important to the Israelites? Why might they be important to us today?

NOTES . . .

Roster of Judges:

  • Othniel – defeated Cushan-rishathaim.
  • Ehud – killed the Moabite king Eglon after 18 years of slavery to them.
  • Deborah and Barak – defeated the Canaanite king Jabin and killed his army commander Sisera.
  • Gideon – defeated the Midianites and Amalekites – refused the offer to become king.
  • Tola – served 23 years.
  • Jair – served 22 years.
  • Jephthah – defeated the Philistines and Ammonites – leaders of Gilead had agreed to name him judge when he won the victory.
  • Ibzan – served 7 years.
  • Elon – served 10 years.
  • Abdon – served 8 years.
  • Samson – defeated Philistines – he was blinded after Delilah cut his hair but he regained his strength when
  • his hair grew back so he destroyed their temple, killing their leaders as well as himself.

Micah the Ephraimite: his mother made an idol of silver and he hired a Levite to be his priest, but a group of warriors from the tribe of Dan took the idol and priestly gear and the priest. The Danites then conquered the city of Laish and settled there with the idol and priest [chapters 17-18].
Benjamin’s support of Gibeah: the men of Gibeah raped and murdered the concubine of a Levite. The Levite sent a piece of the concubine’s body to each of the twelve tribes and demanded a response. When Benjamin would not give up the guilty men, Israel agreed to attack Benjamin. They killed all but 600 Benjamite men, but then made peace and worked to get the men wives so the tribe would not die out [chapters 19-21].

16: Deborah and Barak — Judges 4:1-24

GET READY

When you have a major project ahead of you do you prefer to do it yourself? Or do you recruit some folks who will follow your leadership? Or do you work to build a team of people with different skills and strengths to tackle the project together?

THE WORD

4The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years. 

4 At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.'” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him. 

11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites, that is, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had encamped as far away as Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 

12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the troops who were with him, from Haro-sheth-ha-goiim to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. The Lord is indeed going out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand warriors following him. 

15 And the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his army into a panic before Barak; Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot, 16 while Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim. All the army of Sisera fell by the sword; no one was left. 

17 Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael came out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.'” 21 But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground — he was lying fast asleep from weariness — and he died. 22 Then, as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent; and there was Sisera lying dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 

23 So on that day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 Then the hand of the Israelites bore harder and harder on King Jabin of Canaan, until they destroyed King Jabin of Canaan.  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   What is the situation as this chapter opens? What did the Israelites do? Where are they now? How long has this been happening?

2.   Who is introduced next? What is she doing? Where? Who does she call for? What does she tell him to do? How does she justify this order? Who is really in charge?

3.   How does the man respond to Deborah? How does she deal with this situation? What does she say will happen at the end? Who will get the glory?

4.   What does the Israelite army do? How does the enemy respond to their actions? Which army has the advantage at the beginning [see Notes]? What happens as the battle begins? What does the Israelite army do in victory?

5.   Who escapes from the battle? Where does he go? Who greets him? How does he respond to her hospitality? How does she react to these requests? What does she do next? Who does she tell about this incident?

6.   Who is the real victor in this story?

GET PERSONAL

Have there been times in your life when you have not trusted or followed Christ? How was your life different? How did you become aware of the situation? What did you do about it? How did your life change? 

NOTES . . .

4:2. Jabin— interestingly, the king Joshua defeated was also named Jabin [Joshua 11:9].
      Hazor— a strategic city on the trade route between Damascus and Megiddo.
4:5. Ramah and Bethel— the location is about 5 miles north of Jerusalem.
      Judgment— Deborah is the only female judge and the only person in the book who actually worked as a judge.
4:6. God commands— the primary role of a prophet was to speak God’s word to the people. Here Deborah conveys God’s command and promise of victory to Barak.
      Mount Tabor— a flat-topped mesa near the junction of the tribes named.
4:7. Wadi Kishon— a river south of Tabor that had evidently overflowed [5:20-21] which would trap Sisera’s chariots in the mud.
4:8. If you will go with me— Barak gives only a conditional acceptance of God’s commission.

4:9. Nevertheless . . . hand of a woman— Deborah tells him he will not get the acclaim of the victory and predicts that a woman will finish the job [check 4:17-22].
4:11. Kenite— a tribe of non-Israelites supposedly descended from Moses’ father-in-law (but they are also mentioned in Genesis 15:19). Heber’s camp would have been close enough for someone fleeing the battle to reach.
4:14. Went down— when the chariots became stuck Barak had the advantage with a downhill charge into Sisera’s floundering army. The Israelites killed every Canaanite soldier except Sisera (who deserted).
4:19. Please give me— normal courtesy required a guest to accept what was offered but not make requests (as for a drink and guard duty).
4:21. Tent peg— an unusual weapon, but Jael would have been very familiar with it and the hammer.

Memory Verse
Perish all your enemies, O Lord! But may your friends be like the sun
as it rises in its might, [Judges 5:31 – part of Deborah’s Song].

Next Lesson
Ruth: Excerpts of Ruth’s story.

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

14: Joshua — Introduction & Battle for Jericho: Joshua 6:1-25

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Joshua was the leader who followed Moses and led the Israelites in conquering Canaan. In Hebrew his name is pronounced “Yeh-shoo-uh” and means “Lord our Salvation.” The Greek form of Joshua is “Jesus.”

Author

Most scholars believe that Joshua or someone close to him (such as one of the priests) wrote most of this book. Obviously someone other than Joshua wrote the final section describing his death and burial. At the same time, the description and detail of the book points to an author who was actually a participant in the events. The book probably reached its finished form fairly soon after Joshua’s death (which is commonly accepted as about 1375 BC).

Context

The book begins with God telling Joshua: My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites,[1:2].

After forty years in the desert the Israelites are poised to enter the land God promised Abraham. The years have hardened them and built them into a nation and an army. Joshua and his lieutenant, Caleb, are the only men still alive who walked out of Egypt with Moses (who died because he disobeyed God at Meribath-kadesh [Deut 32:51]).

The generally accepted date is 1406 BCE. Most authorities agree that the conquest of Canaan took twenty-five years (an Egyptian record of Merenptah from c. 1200 BCE refers to Israel as an established nation).

Structure

Joshua has four main sections:

  • Opening: a brief introduction of Joshua and God’s directive: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,[1:9].
  • Military Campaign: the narrative account of Joshua’s leadership of the Israelite conquest of Canaan [chapters 1-12].
  • Distribution of the land: a detailed description of the division and distribution of the land to the twelve tribes of Israel, including the Cities of Refuge and the Levite towns [chapters 13-21].
  • Conclusion: Joshua’s last years and his final message to the people [chapters 22-24].

Major Themes

      Even though Joshua is primarily a history of the conquest of Canaan, the book contributes to our understanding of God and faith.

  • Trust: Joshua trusted God’s promise to be with him [1:5, 9] throughout the campaign. The Israelites were successful when they trusted God and Joshua; they failed utterly when they did not trust.
  • Faithfulness: God warns Joshua to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go,[1:7]. God wanted to eliminate the idolatry of the Canaanites because he knew that trying to mix true and false religion will lead to turning away from worshipping God. At the end of the book Joshua challenges his people to choose who they will worship – as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord, [24:15].
  • Preparation: At the very start of the campaign Joshua gives the Israelites three days to “get their provisions ready,” [1:11]. There are two aspects of preparation: the first is prayer – making sure we know what God is directing us to do, and the second is the physical planning and preparation of provisions and weapons – which even includes strategic offensives, night marches and trumpets [actually ram’s horns, 6:3]. Joshua was successful because he trusted God, but he was also a smart military planner and leader.

Joshua is unusual in that it includes the failures as well as the victories, the scoundrels along with the heroes.

The book also includes the detailed (almost legalistic) distribution of the land among the tribes. Here is one example: And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan; and the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah, and passes along north of Beth-arabah; and the boundary goes up to the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son; and the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the boundary passes along to the waters of En-shemesh, and ends at En-rogel; then the boundary goes up by the valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem); and the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim; then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the towns of Mount Ephron; then the boundary bends around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim), [Josh 15:5-10]. 

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who wrote this book? When was it most likely written? What is the author’s position with the people? Who is his boss? Why is his name significant?

2.   What is the situation as the book opens? What is the challenge for the writer? What is the challenge for the people? How have they prepared for this challenge? 

3.   What are the major parts of the book? Who is the central figure in the narrative? Who is the real commander of this campaign?

4.   Why do you suppose the author included the detailed description of the distribution of the land? What does this tell us about God’s plan for the Israelites? What might it tell us about God’s plan for our lives?

5.   What does Joshua teach about God and faith? What are the major themes of this book? What does the book teach us about God’s purposes for his people? How might these teachings apply to the church today? How might they apply in our daily lives?

NOTES . . .

Major events of the conquest of Canaan:

  • Spies are sent into Jericho.
  • Israel crosses the Jordan (Note that God again stops the water so the people can cross).
  • Israel circumcises all the men.
  • Jericho is destroyed.
  • Achan sins and is punished.
  • Ai is destroyed.
  • Joshua renews the Mosaic covenant.
  • The Gibeonites trick Israel and are not killed.
  • The sun stands still and Israel defeats the Amorites.
  • Israel defeats five kings.
  • Israel defeats the northern kings.
  • Israel does not conquer all of the Canaanite rulers, although God promises Joshua he will complete the conquest.

Things devoted to destruction:
God had said that an individual or property involved in idolatry must be destroyed: A person specially set apart by the Lord for destruction cannot be redeemed. Such a person must be put to death, [Lev 27:29]. God wanted to keep the Israelites from being infected by the Canaanites’ sin.

14: Jericho taken and destroyed — Joshua 6:1-25

GET READY

What’s the most unusual or difficult project you’ve had to tackle recently? How did you prepare for your work? Who did you consult about good approaches? Did you get any weird advice? How did you react to it? Did you follow it? How did things work out?

THE WORD

6Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. 2The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers.3 You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, 4 with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. 5When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.” 6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 To the people he said, “Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.” 

8 As Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; the rear guard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. 10 To the people Joshua gave this command: “You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp. 

12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and then returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

15 On the seventh day they rose early, at dawn, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 21 Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys. 

22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” 23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought Rahab out, along with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her — they brought all her kindred out — and set them outside the camp of Israel. 24 They burned down the city, and everything in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 But Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her family has lived in Israel ever since. For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who is in charge of the campaign against Jericho? How does God direct Joshua to attack the city? What do you suppose he thought about the plan? How would you have responded?

2.   What does Joshua tell the people about the plan? How do you suppose they felt when they heard it? What sort of questions might they have asked Joshua? 

3.   How did the people respond to the plan? How many days did the plan take to carry out? What do you think they did when they weren’t marching around the city? 

4.   What was different about the seventh day? How many times did they march around the city? Why is this number significant [see Notes]? What did the people do after the last circuit of the city? What happened then?

5.   What did Joshua direct the Israelites to do after they had taken Jericho? What happened to the people? To their livestock? To their possessions? Why was this drastic action necessary [see Notes]?

6.   Who was the only group spared in the destruction of the city? Why were they not killed? What happened to the family [see Notes]?

GET PERSONAL

When you face a difficult situation do you ask God to be on your side – or do you seek to be on God’s side? Are you currently involved in one of God’s “crazy” campaigns to extend his kingdom? What keeps you going even though it looks like it will never work?

NOTES . . .

6:1. Jericho— the town is already more than 4,000 years old when the Israelites arrive. It is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world because it sits on the major north-south trade route at the entrance to the pass into the interior of 
Palestine.
6:2. I have handed — God makes his promise to Joshua specific regarding Jericho – but then gives Joshua a battle plan that appears to be absolute nonsense. Even though it goes against all his military experience, Joshua doesn’t even wince. He gathers his priests and leaders and repeats God’s instructions.
6:3. March around — Jericho was not a very large city at the time — soldiers could easily march around it in less than a day.
6:4. Seven — Biblical writers use “seven” as the symbol for completeness.

      Ark — God will lead the campaign against Jericho by his presence in the Ark of the Covenant, just as he led the Israelites during the Exodus.
      Ram’s horn [Hebrew “Shophar”] — a type of trumpet made from the horn of a ram; it was a ritual horn used primarily for summoning people or leading them (as here), not for music.
6:17. Devoted to the Lord for destruction — see Note above. 
6:23. Rahab — Joshua honored the spies’ promise to Rahab and her family [get the details at Joshua 2:]. They were placed outside the Israelites’ camp in accor-dance with the Mosaic Law on cleanli-ness. Rahab’s faith saved her family and put her in the Messianic line [check Matt 1:5].

Memory Verse
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord, [Joshua 24:15].

Next Lesson:
Judges 4: Deborah and Barak

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

13: Deuteronomy — Introduction and the Great Commandment — Deuteronomy 6:1-25

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Moses used his last opportunity to speak to the Israelites to give them another look at their relationship with God and the covenant that makes the relationship possible. “Deuteronomy” means “second statement” or repetition of the law that God gave the people at Sinai thirty-eight years earlier.

Author

“These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan,” [Deut 1:1]. Most scholars accept this opening statement at face value. Deuteronomy is Moses’ last chance to give the Israelites the direction and guidance they so obviously need. In fact he directs the people to re-read “this law before all Israel in their hearing,” [31:12] every seven years, so the children “may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing over the Jordan to possess,” [31:13].

Interestingly, a copy of this book was discovered 800 years later when King Josiah ordered repairs to the temple in Jerusalem. The discovery fueled a reformation and (unfortunately brief) return to following the law during the remainder of Josiah’s reign. The discovery also leads some modern scholars to propose the book was written by an unknown reformer to initiate Josiah’s reforms—clearly an answer to a question that does not need asking.

Context

The Israelites have arrived at the plain on the east side of the Jordan River after wandering in the “wilderness” for 38 years [check Lesson 12 for the background]. , Except Joshua and Caleb, all of the men who walked out of Egypt have died and Moses knows he is about to die—without crossing into the Promised Land. God has appointed Joshua as Moses’ successor who will lead the actual conquest of Canaan.

The people who are about to enter the land God promised Abraham were not alive when God rescued the Israelites from their Egyptian slavery, or when he gave them the Ten Commandments and all the other laws governing their relationship with him and with each other as his holy people. So Moses uses this series of speeches to review the Israelites’ history and their relationship with the Lord.

Structure

      Deuteronomy is a set of three speeches plus a concluding narrative. The speeches deal with:

  • The primary events during the Israelites’ forty-year trek from Egypt to Palestine [chapters 1-4].
  • God’s law – Moses restates all the major components of the law that God had delivered to the people [chapters 5-26].
  • The consequences of following the law: blessings; or not following the law: curses and punishment [chapters 27-30].

The short narrative at the end includes a song, Moses’ blessings on each of the tribes, and an account of Moses’ death and burial.

Major Themes

The book seems to be almost entirely about the law: how it came to the Israelites, what it commands, and what happens when the people follow—or don’t follow—it.

But the law is not an end in itself. In Deuteronomy Moses is telling the people the purpose of the law: to establish and maintain the covenant between God and his chosen people, Israel; and why it is important for the people to follow the law: so they will be successful and prosperous in the land God is giving them: to set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor; and for you to be a people holy to the Lord your God, [26:19].

Moses also makes it clear that the Israelites are “special” only because God has called them: It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you—for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors . . . Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
[7:6-9]. 

Deuteronomy is mentioned several times in other parts of the Bible. The Old Testament refers to it in the historical books [check Josh 8:31; 1 Kings 2:9; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chron 23:18; 25:4; 34:14; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Neh 8:1; Dan 9:11,13], while Peter and Paul mention it in the New Testament [Acts 3:22 and Rom 10:19]. Jesus used quotations to refute Satan [Matt 4:4; Luke 4:4–Deut 8:3; Matt 4:7; Luke 4:12–Deut 6:16; Matt 4:10; Luke 4:8–Deut 6:13), and to identify the Great Commandment [Matt 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27].

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who is generally accepted as the author of this book? What evidence points in this direction? What other possible writers do some suggest wrote Deuteronomy?

2.   What is the historical setting? Where are the Israelites now? How are they different than the situation with the other books of the Torah? Why is this important to understanding the book?

3.   Who is the primary person in the book? What does he talk about in the book? Why is this message important to the Israelites at this time in their history?

4.   What are the major parts of Deuteronomy? What does each part discuss? How do you suppose the people reacted to these lengthy lessons on the law? How might you have responded if you had been there?

5.   What are the primary themes of the book? What does it say about the law? About God’s relationship with the Israelites? Why is it important for the people to know and follow the law?

6.   What does Moses say about the Israelites’ status with God? What makes them a “special” people?

7.   What makes Deuteronomy a “foundational” book in the Bible? Who refers to it in the New Testament? What does this say about God’s plan for his creation? For the Israelites? For Christians?

Moses was a shadow or “preview” of Christ: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command, [Deut 18:15-19].

Doctrine Notes . . .

The Torah presents the foundation for our knowledge of God and his plan for his creation.

  • Yahweh—the Lord—is God alone: he is the creator of all that exists.
  • God created humans to be like him—capable of choosing to be in a relationship with him.
  • Humans used their ability to make decisions to choose their own way, not God’s way.
  • God wants humans to be in relationship with him and he continues to act to make this possible.
  • God chose the family of Abraham to be his people, set apart to represent his kingdom in this world.

13: The Great Commandment — Deuteronomy 6:1-25

GET READY

How do you generally respond to orders or directions? Are you the type that just goes ahead and does it? Or do you ask questions until you understand the reason for the direction or order? Or do you try to figure out the rationale by yourself or by talking with a third person?

THE WORD

6Now this is the commandment — the statutes and the ordinances — that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, 2 so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. 

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.  6Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

Caution against Disobedience

10 When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you — a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, 11 houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant — and when you have eaten your fill, 12 take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear. 14 Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you, 15 because the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a jealous God. The anger of the Lord your God would be kindled against you and he would destroy you from the face of the earth. 

16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his decrees, and his statutes that he has commanded you. 18 Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you, thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.

20 When your children ask you in time to come, “What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21then you shall say to your children, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 The Lord displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household. 23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as to keep us alive, as is now the case. 25 If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right.”  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   Who is speaking in this chapter? Who is his audience? What is he talking about? What reasons does he give for the commandments? How do you think the people felt about his speech?

2.   What does Moses say about God? How should the people respond to God? How should they keep the commandments in the future? 

3.   How does Moses describe the land God is going to give the Israelites? What warning does he give the people about this gift? What are the people to do about the Canaanite gods? What could happen if they disobey this statute?

4.   What does Moses tell the Israelites to avoid doing? What happened in that incident [see Notes]? How should the people respond to the law?

5.   What does Moses tell the people to do in the future? How should they respond to questions about the commandments? Why should they “diligently observe” the commandments?

GET PERSONAL

How would you describe your relationship with God? How does he help you to remember his expectations for your life? 

NOTES . . .

6:2-3. So that . . .— Moses gives the Israelites three outcomes from following the law: the life of the people will be long, things will go well for them, and they will “multiply greatly.” Jesus told the disciples: Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them, [John 14:21].
6:4. Hear, O Israel— Jews call this verse the “Shema,” which is the Hebrew word for “Hear.” It is the foundation of Jewish belief: Yahweh is the only God. When the Pharisees asked Jesus “which command-ment in the law was the greatest,” he quoted this verse along with verse 5 [Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27]. Jesus also added the “second like it:” You shall love your neighbor as yourself,
[Lev 19:18].
6:5. Love . . . with all . . .— God wants the people’s relationship with him to be complete and comprehensive; every aspect of our life should be dedicated to God. You might say Moses is fixated on loving God [check v. 5; 7:9; 10:12; 11:1, 13, 22; 13:3; 19:9; 30:6, 16, 20].
6:6. Keep these words . . . in your heart— God intends the commandments to be

a living sign of the people’s relationship with him. Later he will tell Jeremiah he will make a “new covenant” and put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, [Jer 31:33].
6:7-9. Recite – talk about – bind – fix – write— Moses urges the people to make the laws part of their daily lives in as many ways as possible. By Jesus’ time the Pharisees wore a head band with a small “box” on the forehead with these verses on a parchment inside (“phylacteries” in Matt 23:5).
6:10-11. Take care that you do not forget— Moses knew that remembering what God has done is most difficult when things are going well; we tend to forget the source of all our blessings when it seems we are successful [check Proverbs 30:7-9 to understand “just enough”].
6:13. By his name alone— even though God was giving the Israelites the land, cities, homes and crops of the Canaanites, the people were not to follow or swear by their false gods.
6:16. Massah— the place where the Israelites complained to Moses about the lack of water and wanted to know if God was with them or not, (God did provide water) [Exodus 17:1-7.

Memory Verse
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might, [Deut 6:5].

Next Lesson
Joshua 6:1-27: Jericho

Comment . . .

If you are reading this you have finished the Torah, first major chunk of God’s Big Book of Faith. For many folks this is one of the most important chunks because it gives us an image of who God is and what he has in mind for his creation in general and for us individually.

If you have been following this journey you also know there hasn’t been much comment or interaction about any of the lessons. In my own joyful journey I have learned best from hearing how other folks are experiencing and learning from God. If I rely on my personal experience God is pretty one-dimensional. When I hear others’ stories of their adventures following Jesus Christ, I can learn about the multiple dimensions of God.

So please let us know how you are learning from or reacting to this Bible study. Especially let us know how we can improve God’s Big Book of Faith to enhance your joyful journey. If you would prefer to keep your name and email address to yourself, just create a “display name” when you register and all your comments will appear with that.

Thanks for journeying with us. Rich

Rich Nelson Uncategorized

12: Numbers — Introduction & The people’s rebellion — Numbers 14:1-45

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The fourth book of the Torah is called “Numbers” because it records two numberings of the Israelites: first as they leave Sinai and then after they arrive at the border of Canaan. The Jewish title translates as “Wilderness” because the book chronicles the forty years in wandering in the desert.

Author

As with the other books of the Torah, most scholars accept Moses as the principal author of Numbers. The book picks up the journey of the Israelites after the “time out” for receiving the Ten Commandments and building the tabernacle, and Moses continues as the central figure in all the events. One passage even says, “Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the Lord,” [33:2].

Context

Numbers resumes the narrative of the Israelites travels after the two major events at Mount Sinai. It describes the thirty-eight years they spent in the “wilderness” before they arrived at the east side of the Jordan River, across from the “promised land.” These travels (and travails) lasted from approximately 1444 BCE until 1406 BCE. 

The key event in the book is the Israelites’ refusal to trust God and enter Canaan. As they approached the first time Moses sent twelve spies into the land to see what awaited them. When they returned only two spies encouraged the people to invade. The other ten spies reported on the “giants” in the land and said they would not be able to defeat them. God responded to this lack of trust by threatening to kill all the people and start over with Moses and the two trusting spies, but Moses intervened with God and he relented. Instead of immediate death the people would wander in the wilderness until all the doubters had died, and a new generation would enter and take the land. 

Numbers records the wandering and the events leading up to the Israelites’ arrival at the Jordan River.

Structure

As I noted above, Numbers is second part of the Israelites’ journey to the land God promised Abraham more than 500 years earlier. Exodus is “Part 1.” The book is primarily a chronological narrative of their travels from Sinai to Moab. It also is the story of their transition from slaves into a nation and their preparation to conquer the people then living in Canaan. 

In addition to the people’s refusal to trust God and enter Canaan and the resulting punishment, there are other events in Numbers that are important in Israel’s history:

  • Moses conducts the initial census of Israelite fighting men and prepares the people – at God’s direction – for the journey to Canaan, [chapters 1-3].
  • God provided manna, quail and water for the people after they complained about their food and pressed Moses to return to Egypt where they at least had “something to eat.” God provided manna – evidently a bread-like food – each morning and instructed the people to gather only enough for their family for that day (and a two-day supply for the Sabbath, so they would not have to “work”). If people attempted to hoard the manna it spoiled overnight, [chapter 11]. 
  • Moses disobeys God and strikes a rock with his staff to get water, rather than speaking to the rock as God had commanded. This led to God forbidding Moses from entering Canaan; he died after viewing the promised land from Moab, [chapter 20].
  • Balaam, a priest of Baal, blesses the Israelites in defiance of his protector, King Balak, and prophesies complete defeat for Balak and his allies, [chapters 22-24].

Major Themes

Even though it is primarily a story of the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness, Numbers also presents a picture of God’s character and his covenant with the people. There are three major themes:

  • God is holy and his people must also be holy. This includes designating the Levite tribe to be the priests and describing their duties and responsibilities [chapters 3-4, 16-17, 18 and 35], describing Holy days [chapters 15 and 28-29], commandments on holiness and impurity [chapters 5-6, 16-17, 19 and 35] and the Nazarite vow [chapter 6]. 
  • There are consequences to peoples’ actions, whether they are actions in obedience to our covenant with God or actions that break that covenant. This includes instructions on sacrifices and offerings [chapters 15, 17, and 28-29].
  • God is determined to carry out his plan for his people and keep his promises to them. God gives instructions for distributing the land among the Israelite tribes [chapters 27, 32 and 34-36].

Numbers affirms, as do the other books of the Pentateuch, that God has a plan and that humans are an integral part of that plan.

Get into the Word:

1.   Who is presumed to have written this book? What is the book’s subject? When do the events in Numbers take place? Where?

2.   What is the critical event in Numbers? What happened? What did the people do? How did God respond to this situation? What did Moses do? What was the final outcome?

3.   How did God feed the people during the exodus? What guidelines did he give regarding the food? 

4.   What does Numbers tell us about God? What examples does the book give that demonstrate these characteristics? What does the book tell us about sin? 

5.   What does Numbers tell us about God’s plan for the Israelites? Are there parallels in his plan for the church? What might this tell us about God’s plan for our lives?

NOTES . . .

Dates: Old Testament dates are derived from the known date that Solomon started constructing the temple: 966 BCE. The exodus began 480 years earlier.

Numbers: Some folks question the number of Israelites in the exodus and rely on an ambiguity between the Hebrew words for “thousand” and “army unit,” which means the exodus involved 600 military units, rather than 600,000 men.

The law concerning the jealous husband: Numbers clearly reflects a patriarchal culture. It contains a detailed commandment concerning a jealous husband who suspects his wife has cheated on him but has no proof. The husband must bring his wife, with an offering of barley, to the priest and state his complaint. The priest then questions the wife under oath. When the wife denies any cheating the priest is supposed to mix some dust from the temple floor with water and the paper with the prescribed curses written on it. The priest then speaks the curses and gives the woman the water to drink. If she is guilty of adultery she will get sick and become sterile; if she is innocent nothing will happen to her. In either case nothing happens to the husband, [5:11-31].

12: The people rebel and Moses intercedes — Numbers 14:1-45

GET READY

How do you approach a major project? Are you optimistic that things will go well and you are ready to jump in and get to work? Or do you tend to think about all the things that can go wrong with the project and all the potential hardships you will face?

THE WORD

14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4So they said to one another, “Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.” 

5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. 6And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, “The land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land. 8If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9Only, do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10But the whole congregation threatened to stone them.

Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” 

13But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for in your might you brought up this people from among them, 14and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people; for you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go in front of them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15Now if you kill this people all at one time, then the nations who have heard about you will say, 16‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them that he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17And now, therefore, let the power of the Lord be great in the way that you promised when you spoke, saying, 

18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children to the third and the fourth generation.

19Forgive the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have pardoned this people, from Egypt even until now.” 

20Then the Lord said, “I do forgive, just as you have asked; 21nevertheless — as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord—  22none of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tested me these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors; none of those who despised me shall see it. 24But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me wholeheartedly, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”  NRSV

GET INTO THE WORD

1.   How do the people react to the negative report from the spies? Who do they blame for this situation? What alternative do they want?

2.   How do Moses and Aaron respond to the people? Who else reacts strongly? What do they say to the people? How do they describe the land? How do the people react to their ideas?

3.   How does God respond to the Israelites’ rebellion? What does God propose to do to the people? What does he suggest for Moses?

4.   How does Moses react to God’s proposal? How does he make his argument to God? What does he say about other peoples’ reactions to killing all the Israelites? Who does he quote in making his argument? How effective is he?

5.   What does Moses suggest God do instead? How does God respond to this idea? How is the punishment modified? What will happen to the people? Who is spared from the punishment [see Notes]? Why would they be exempt? How do you suppose Moses felt about this result?

GET PERSONAL

When you ask God for forgiveness, what promises do you rely on? What gives you confidence in these promises? How does God help you understand that he is good for his word? 

NOTES . . .

14:6. Tore their clothes— this was a common way to mourn in many ancient cultures [check 2 Sam 3:31]. (Putting ashes in one’s hair was another).
14:8. Flowing with milk and honey— this is more a metaphor than a literal descrip-tion. It means it is a very good land that will provide for the people living there.
14:9. The Lord is with us— people believed that one or more gods protected them and their city or nation in every part of the Middle East at this time; but Joshua and Caleb trust the Lord, who has already defeated Pharaoh, the strongest ruler of the time. Moses will use this belief when he argues with God about the punishment of the Israelites [vv. 13-16].
14:12. I will strike them— God’s initial response is to get rid of the disobedient people and start over with Moses, but Moses intercedes on behalf of his people.
14:15. It is because . . .— Moses’ argument is based in the widespread belief in a god’s patronage of a city or nation: if God kills all the Israelites, other nations will believe he was not powerful enough to complete his promise to give Canaan to his people,

14:18. The Lord is . . .— Moses quotes God’s own words [from the burning bush: Exodus 34:6-7] back to him in arguing for mercy for the Israelites.
14:20. Nevertheless– God agrees to forgive the people and not kill them, but sin has consequences. Because the people did not trust God, they will suffer forty years of wandering in the desert and they will not receive the promised inheritance in Canaan, (they will die in the wilderness as they wished for in verse 2). God further orders the Israelites to leave the area the next day.
14:24. My servant Caleb— He and Joshua were the only two spies to avoid the plague, and the only two adults to actually enter Canaan.
14:25. Set out for the wilderness— after the 10 spies die the people are willing to attack Canaan, ignoring God’s explicit direction to go back to the wilderness – a second act of disobedience almost immediately after seeing the conse-quences of the first. Even though Moses warns them they will fail, they plow ahead . . . and get beat badly.

Memory Verse
The Lord is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression,[Numbers 14:18].

Lesson 13
Deuteronomy 6: The Great Commandment.

Comment . . .

A lot of folks know the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness on their way from Egypt to the “promised land.” But few have ever asked why it took so long.

In truth it took just a little over two years. The first time.

After Sinai, God led the Israelites in a fairly direct route to the east side of Canaan. He then had Moses send a team of 12 Israelite men to spy out the land. When the team returned and reported to the people, only Joshua and Caleb said the land was good and the people should trust God and take the land. All the other men said the land was full of powerful “giants” and the Israelites had no chance to invade and conquer the land. 

As this passage shows, the people believed the 10 and started whining, which led to the 40-year wandering. Only Caleb and Joshua walked out of Egypt and into Canaan (even Moses died without entering the promised land, but that’s a different story). The Israelites traded God’s promised life in a land “of milk and honey,” for a life of hardship in the deserts of the Arabian peninsula. This is a dramatic demonstration of what happens when we don’t trust God and follow him.*

There are times when we hold back from Jesus’s invitation to follow him. We’re “too busy” because we focus on all the things we think we have to do. Or we missed or didn’t fully appreciate the things God has already done in our lives. Or we think about all the things that could go wrong if we changed our lives. Or we like the way things are going right now too much.

Jesus said he came so that we could have “life abundantly.” When we don’t follow him, what are we missing? Rich

* In God’s typical both/andstrategy, those 40 years did allow the Israelites to grow from a mob of former slaves who knew only to respond to their masters into a disciplined and strong army ready to conquer Canaan when they finally got back there.