The book of Ruth is an interesting book and quite a different book compared to those we have been reading thus far.
First of all, my apologies for this late blog entry. Took me a while to have something to write as it seemed very difficult to write about a book that is so simple.
You will notice that the Book of Ruth is a very mundane book compared to previous books we have read, where we see God speaking face to face with Job, Abraham, Moses, Joshua etc. There’s no war going on or great miracles of God being performed in the entire book of Ruth. Even the book of Esther (which has no mention of God) has a theme about God’s salvation for the Jews. The book of Ruth however just seemed like a very nice story of a good daughter in law and a romantic love story between Ruth and Boaz.
To really understand this book better thus requires us to have a little background knowledge of the context of the story. It begins by telling us that Ruth existed in the later times of the Judges, Ruth 1:1. When we read Judges 21:25 it says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” It’s only in this context that the story really makes a lot more sense.
In a time when people live their lives not according to the laws of God but according to their own moral judgments, we see an amazing story of 3 people who decided to live according to the laws of God.
The book of Ruth isn’t only about Ruth, but it’s really about the relationships between Ruth, Naomi and Boaz (the Ruth less man before marriage…heh)
In the Jewish custom, the widows are the poorest of the people. This is true even to the New Testament days when there are special instructions for the churches to care for the widows. We also know that our God is a defender of the widows and the Father to the fatherless. This is so because when a man passed away, his inheritance is not passed on to the wife but to the nearest male next of kin. It was because of this that God instructed special laws such as the allowance of the poor to glean the fields and the next male kin to be the kinsman redeemer in order to care for the widows and the poor.
Naomi was a widow. So she really was very poor. And she was old, so it’s very unlikely that anyone will redeemer her (ie to marry her). Yet despite knowing this, Ruth decided to still to follow Naomi and remain loyal and faithful to her, and to care for her. She has every right like Orpah to care for her own self and leave Naomi and returned to her homeland, yet she made this astounding proclaimation: "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
Now pause to think, this is amazing on two folds, one, in a time when people do as they deemed fit, here comes a woman who did the RIGHT thing, even though it was in a trying circumstance. Second, what’s so special about Naomi that Ruth wanted to follow her and her God?
We do not read much about Naomi in this book, but I believe it is safe to say that she must have been a great testimony so as to have Ruth decide to care for her and to follow her and her God.
Are we such testimonies of our God that people will follow us and our God?
And this was so not just for Naomi, but also for Ruth and Boaz. We see in the lives of Ruth and Boaz that they have a good reputation before men, a living testimony.
Ruth 2:11-12, Ruth 3:11 and Naomi was certain that Boaz will keep his word about redeeming Ruth if the next of kin won’t, I guess it is safe to say that Boaz at least had a reputation of one that keeps his words. (Ruth 3:18)
We also see that he gave special instructions to his servants to make sure that Ruth is not harassed or embarrassed but to allow her to glean and made provision so that she could glean more. Ruth on the other hand worked hard from dawn to dusk gleaning in the fields to provide for her mother in law.
Lesson 1 from the Book of Ruth:
Living our lives as a testimony before God requires us to do only that which is right. It is not just in the big events in our lives, but even in the little things God sees and He rewards.
It is interesting that Ruth is a Moabite and Boaz is a descendent of Rahab the prostitute. But they became the ancestors of King David and later, Jesus Himself. It is interesting that God chose the two of them to be the one whose lineage will come forth our savior. Jesus is a descendant of a prostitute and of the enemy of the Jews!!! What’s more interesting, is that this happened in Bethlehem, the home town of Jesus, a small forgotten town, unlike the great city of Jerusalem.
What does this tell us about God?
Our God is impartial and loves everyone. And He never overlooks the “insignificant” like the world does. And He honors those who honor Him. God looked down and saw a man who did the right thing by redeeming Ruth and caring for her and her mother in law as the law requires, though he has every right not to do so. One who made special arrangements so that Ruth’s dignity will be protected while she worked in the fields. He also saw Ruth who chose to lay down her rights to look after her mother in law and care for her. One who works hard daily to ensure Naomi is well taken care of. One who chose to follow the real God.
And because of that, a descendent of Rahab (who God remembers also since the day of Joshua) and a Moabite received a tremendous inheritance, to be part of the lineage in which the Messiah will come from. And God remembers them to have their story recorded down for us through the generations.
Lesson 2:
Nothing is insignificant before God. God’s eyes are always on the upright. We remember the Lawrence Khongs and the Billy Grahams, but God remembers also those who mentored these great men of God. Sometimes we might feel that the things we do seemed so insignificant, but still continue to do that which is right before God. Just like Ruth abd Boaz, if you think, about it, they didn’t really do anything remotely spectacular, but God saw, and remembers them and gave them an everlasting inheritance. The friend beside you, or your cell member could just be the next Lawrence Khong, but God has chosen you to do impart into that life until the time is right. Will you do that which is right then?
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Friday, April 06, 2007
Judges 19 - 21 (6th April) - Weiling
Judges 19
What unfolds in these chapters is a very scandalous story that would definitely make it to the headlines of The New Paper if it happened in these times.
A Levite’s concubine cheated on him and then returned to her father’s house. However, he still loved her and pursued her there to ask her to return to him. After much delay at her father’s house, they finally set off for home.
They had to find some place to spend the night as it was late. At first, his servant asked him to spend the night in a Jebusites city. However, he refused to spend the night there because they were not Israelites. Perhaps he thought it would be safer staying with his own people. He was so wrong.
The Benjamites of Gibeah harassed them where they were staying for the night and demanded that the old man who put them up to hand over the Levite so that the men could have sex with him. They have lost all conscience. To appease them, the concubine was handed over and she was tortured the whole night until she died. When the Levite realized she was dead, he brought her home and cut her up into twelve parts to send them to all the areas (probably tribes) in Israel as a protest against the violence done.
Judges 20
The Israelites of the different tribes were of course appalled and shocked by what happened. They decided to unite as one and seek justice. But the Benjamites refused to hand the men responsible over and were ready to fight the rest of the Israelites.
The Israelites sought God. They fought the Benjamites and lost 22,000 men.
They encouraged one another and positioned themselves to fight again. They sought God. God told them to go up against the Benjamites. Another 18,000 men were cut down.
The Israelites again inquired of God after weeping and faster. Again, God told them to go and said He would give them victory. They obeyed.
In the beginning, it looked like what it did before and the Benjamites were killing off the Israelites. But the Israelites had a new plan and drew the Benjamites away from the city to the roads. The Benjamites were ambushed and “the Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel” (20:35). All the Benjamites were wiped out save for the 600 who fled into the desert at the rock of Rimmon.
Judges 21
The Israelites had vowed not to give their daughters to the sons of Benjamin for wives because of what had happened before. However, they were grieved because they did not want to see one tribe missing from Israel. They had to figure a way out for the tribe of Benjamin to continue its lineage. They extended peace to those who had fled to the desert and instructed them to seize girls of Shiloh for their wives, because while the daughters cannot be GIVEN to the Benjamites, they could TAKE them.
It is indeed terrible when people simply do as they see fit or as they pleased without God in their lives (21:25). The sin of men and the acts they were capable of committing is frightful and yet we are also all sinners saved by grace.
What struck me in chapter 20 was that even though the Israelites were seeking justice and to redress a wrong, they still suffered great losses in two battles. But the Israelites stayed the course. They did not give up. They sought God. They trusted Him when He said go and they obeyed. They were united. And God gave them victory.
Though we may face struggles or “fights” and sometimes come away a little scratched, a little bruised… But take heart, warrior of God! Stay the course. Fight the fight. God will give you the victory. Amen.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
– 2 Cor 4: 8-10
What unfolds in these chapters is a very scandalous story that would definitely make it to the headlines of The New Paper if it happened in these times.
A Levite’s concubine cheated on him and then returned to her father’s house. However, he still loved her and pursued her there to ask her to return to him. After much delay at her father’s house, they finally set off for home.
They had to find some place to spend the night as it was late. At first, his servant asked him to spend the night in a Jebusites city. However, he refused to spend the night there because they were not Israelites. Perhaps he thought it would be safer staying with his own people. He was so wrong.
The Benjamites of Gibeah harassed them where they were staying for the night and demanded that the old man who put them up to hand over the Levite so that the men could have sex with him. They have lost all conscience. To appease them, the concubine was handed over and she was tortured the whole night until she died. When the Levite realized she was dead, he brought her home and cut her up into twelve parts to send them to all the areas (probably tribes) in Israel as a protest against the violence done.
Judges 20
The Israelites of the different tribes were of course appalled and shocked by what happened. They decided to unite as one and seek justice. But the Benjamites refused to hand the men responsible over and were ready to fight the rest of the Israelites.
The Israelites sought God. They fought the Benjamites and lost 22,000 men.
They encouraged one another and positioned themselves to fight again. They sought God. God told them to go up against the Benjamites. Another 18,000 men were cut down.
The Israelites again inquired of God after weeping and faster. Again, God told them to go and said He would give them victory. They obeyed.
In the beginning, it looked like what it did before and the Benjamites were killing off the Israelites. But the Israelites had a new plan and drew the Benjamites away from the city to the roads. The Benjamites were ambushed and “the Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel” (20:35). All the Benjamites were wiped out save for the 600 who fled into the desert at the rock of Rimmon.
Judges 21
The Israelites had vowed not to give their daughters to the sons of Benjamin for wives because of what had happened before. However, they were grieved because they did not want to see one tribe missing from Israel. They had to figure a way out for the tribe of Benjamin to continue its lineage. They extended peace to those who had fled to the desert and instructed them to seize girls of Shiloh for their wives, because while the daughters cannot be GIVEN to the Benjamites, they could TAKE them.
It is indeed terrible when people simply do as they see fit or as they pleased without God in their lives (21:25). The sin of men and the acts they were capable of committing is frightful and yet we are also all sinners saved by grace.
What struck me in chapter 20 was that even though the Israelites were seeking justice and to redress a wrong, they still suffered great losses in two battles. But the Israelites stayed the course. They did not give up. They sought God. They trusted Him when He said go and they obeyed. They were united. And God gave them victory.
Though we may face struggles or “fights” and sometimes come away a little scratched, a little bruised… But take heart, warrior of God! Stay the course. Fight the fight. God will give you the victory. Amen.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
– 2 Cor 4: 8-10
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Judges 16 - 18 (5th April) - Li Juan
Judges 16 – Samson and Delilah
Samson fell in love with Delilah and the rulers of Philistines wanted her to lure him into showing the secret of his great strength, so that they can overpower and subdue him.
1st Try
Delilah: Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued
Samson: If anyone ties me with 7 fresh thongs that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man
So, Delilah tried it out and it did not work!
2nd Try
Delilah: You have made a fool of me and lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied. (Think she’s a lil angry now!)
Samson: If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become weak as any other man.
And without a doubt, Delilah tried it out and it did not work too!
3rd Try
Delilah: Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied. (Changed tatic, can you sense that there’s this really whinny tone? *shivers*)
Samson: If you weave the 7 braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become weak as any other man.
Of course, Delilah tried it out and it did not work either!
4th Try
Delilah: How can you say ‘I love you’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength. (She’s a really naggy woman! She nagged Samson TO DEATH! This guy can’t resist such nagging, and so he told her..)
Samson: No razor has ever been used on my head because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.
And the Lord left Samson when his head was shaved by Delilah. Samson was seized by the Philistines and they gouged his eyes out (yucks) and made him a prisoner in Gaza.
Moral of the story for the ladies, if you sense that your husband / boyfriend is hiding anything from you, just NAG and NAG and NAG and… =)
Judges 16 – The Death of Samson
God strengthened Samson the last time when he was brought out to entertain the rulers of Philistines. Samson reached the 2 central pillars holding the temple and pushed with all his might. The temple came down on everyone who was in it!
Judges 17 & 18 – Micah’s Idol & Danites Settle in Laish
These chapters show the religious confusion in Israel, and picture the downward path of Israel resulting from the departure from the Word of God. In those days, Israel had no king and everyone did as he saw fit.
Micah and his mother were involved in idolatry, and this symbolizes what the whole nation was into at that time.
The Danites seeked further territory, took Micah’s idol and his priest, attacked the unsuspecting Laish and dwelled there.
Samson fell in love with Delilah and the rulers of Philistines wanted her to lure him into showing the secret of his great strength, so that they can overpower and subdue him.
1st Try
Delilah: Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued
Samson: If anyone ties me with 7 fresh thongs that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man
So, Delilah tried it out and it did not work!
2nd Try
Delilah: You have made a fool of me and lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied. (Think she’s a lil angry now!)
Samson: If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I’ll become weak as any other man.
And without a doubt, Delilah tried it out and it did not work too!
3rd Try
Delilah: Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied. (Changed tatic, can you sense that there’s this really whinny tone? *shivers*)
Samson: If you weave the 7 braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become weak as any other man.
Of course, Delilah tried it out and it did not work either!
4th Try
Delilah: How can you say ‘I love you’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength. (She’s a really naggy woman! She nagged Samson TO DEATH! This guy can’t resist such nagging, and so he told her..)
Samson: No razor has ever been used on my head because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.
And the Lord left Samson when his head was shaved by Delilah. Samson was seized by the Philistines and they gouged his eyes out (yucks) and made him a prisoner in Gaza.
Moral of the story for the ladies, if you sense that your husband / boyfriend is hiding anything from you, just NAG and NAG and NAG and… =)
Judges 16 – The Death of Samson
God strengthened Samson the last time when he was brought out to entertain the rulers of Philistines. Samson reached the 2 central pillars holding the temple and pushed with all his might. The temple came down on everyone who was in it!
Judges 17 & 18 – Micah’s Idol & Danites Settle in Laish
These chapters show the religious confusion in Israel, and picture the downward path of Israel resulting from the departure from the Word of God. In those days, Israel had no king and everyone did as he saw fit.
Micah and his mother were involved in idolatry, and this symbolizes what the whole nation was into at that time.
The Danites seeked further territory, took Micah’s idol and his priest, attacked the unsuspecting Laish and dwelled there.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Judges 13 - 15 (4th April) - Sylvia
Judges 13
The Israelites continued to do evil and were unholy in the eyes of the Lord so He gave them to the Philistines for forty years.
Our god is merciful and gracious. He sent a leader who would grow upto deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. He blessed Manoah, who was sterile and childless with a son, Samson. In return, she had to ensure that during the term of her pregnancy, she could not drink wine or any fermented drink and not eat anything unclean (v 4). When he was born, no razor could be used on his head as he was to be a Nazirite, consecrated and set apart from God.
As Samsom grew up, God blessed him and he began to be filled with the Spirit of the Lord. Samson was blessed with the gifts of strength and ability in physical battle.
The term Nazirite is described as "being holy unto the Lord"
Judges 14
Samson grows up and is of age to marry. Whilst on the streets, he sees a young Philistine woman from Timnah and wants to marry her. (Little do they know that it was actually an opportunity created by the Lord to confront the Philistines.)
As Samson and his father approaches Timnah, a young lion came roaring towards him and Samson was filled with the Spirit so powerfully that he just tore the lion apart with his bare hands. Can you imagine yourself tearing a live lion with your bare hands? Its not by our might or power, but by the strength of the Lord.
Few days later, as Samson goes back to marry the Philistine woman, he saw the lion's carcass and saw honey inside, which he scooped out and ate. He then used it as a riddle to the thirty Philistines. (his companions)
When they were unable find an answer, they got his wife to get the answer from him. After days of her tantrums and pressurising him, Samson finally told her the answer on the seventh day of the feast. When the other Philistines were able to answer his riddle, Samson knew that it was because his wife had told them and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he 'struck down thirty of their men', taking their belongings and giving their clothes to the men who had explained the riddle. His wife was given to the friend who had attended to him at the wedding.
All these were part of God's plan for Samson to go against the Philistines and battle with them.
Judges 15
Samson gets even with the Philistines and takes revenge.
He provokes them by burning up their shocks and standing grain, and vineyards and olive groves. After they retaliate by brning his wife and father to death, he takes revenge by attacking them viciously and slaughtering them.
When the Philistines tried to capture him, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he used a mere jawbone of a donkey and killed a thousand men.
Our God is Almighty indeed. Amen.
The Israelites continued to do evil and were unholy in the eyes of the Lord so He gave them to the Philistines for forty years.
Our god is merciful and gracious. He sent a leader who would grow upto deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. He blessed Manoah, who was sterile and childless with a son, Samson. In return, she had to ensure that during the term of her pregnancy, she could not drink wine or any fermented drink and not eat anything unclean (v 4). When he was born, no razor could be used on his head as he was to be a Nazirite, consecrated and set apart from God.
As Samsom grew up, God blessed him and he began to be filled with the Spirit of the Lord. Samson was blessed with the gifts of strength and ability in physical battle.
The term Nazirite is described as "being holy unto the Lord"
Judges 14
Samson grows up and is of age to marry. Whilst on the streets, he sees a young Philistine woman from Timnah and wants to marry her. (Little do they know that it was actually an opportunity created by the Lord to confront the Philistines.)
As Samson and his father approaches Timnah, a young lion came roaring towards him and Samson was filled with the Spirit so powerfully that he just tore the lion apart with his bare hands. Can you imagine yourself tearing a live lion with your bare hands? Its not by our might or power, but by the strength of the Lord.
Few days later, as Samson goes back to marry the Philistine woman, he saw the lion's carcass and saw honey inside, which he scooped out and ate. He then used it as a riddle to the thirty Philistines. (his companions)
When they were unable find an answer, they got his wife to get the answer from him. After days of her tantrums and pressurising him, Samson finally told her the answer on the seventh day of the feast. When the other Philistines were able to answer his riddle, Samson knew that it was because his wife had told them and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he 'struck down thirty of their men', taking their belongings and giving their clothes to the men who had explained the riddle. His wife was given to the friend who had attended to him at the wedding.
All these were part of God's plan for Samson to go against the Philistines and battle with them.
Judges 15
Samson gets even with the Philistines and takes revenge.
He provokes them by burning up their shocks and standing grain, and vineyards and olive groves. After they retaliate by brning his wife and father to death, he takes revenge by attacking them viciously and slaughtering them.
When the Philistines tried to capture him, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he used a mere jawbone of a donkey and killed a thousand men.
Our God is Almighty indeed. Amen.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Judges 10 - 12 (3rd April)
Judges 10
After Abimelech died, Tola rose to save Israel and he led Israel for 23 years (v 1, 2). Then followed by Jair who led Israel for 22 years (v 3). Then Israel did evil and God was angry with them and for 18 years they lived in oppression and distress (v 6 – 9). Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help and God could not bear Israel’s misery (v 10, 16)
Judges 11
Jephthah was a mighty warrior but was driven away because he was born by a prostitute (v 1, 2). Then the Ammonites came to wage war against Israel and the elders of Gilead went to look for Jephthah for help to lead the army and to be the head. Jephthah vowed to the Lord that if God give the Ammonites into his hands, whatever came out of his house to meet him when he is back from triumph, he will sacrificed to God (v31).
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah (v29) and of course he won the war. He returned home and his one and only daughter came out to meet him and sure Jephthah needed to keep to his promise with God and he sacrificed his daughter.
Judges 12
Can you imagine, if someone comes up to you and ask you whether you know how to pronounce “Shiboleth”, if you pronounce wrongly, you will be killed immediately. That’s what happened in this chapter where Jephthah and his men had victory over Ephraimite.
Jephthah led Israel for 6 years, then
Ibzan led Israel for 7 years,
Elon for 10 years and Abdon led for 8 years.
After Abimelech died, Tola rose to save Israel and he led Israel for 23 years (v 1, 2). Then followed by Jair who led Israel for 22 years (v 3). Then Israel did evil and God was angry with them and for 18 years they lived in oppression and distress (v 6 – 9). Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help and God could not bear Israel’s misery (v 10, 16)
Judges 11
Jephthah was a mighty warrior but was driven away because he was born by a prostitute (v 1, 2). Then the Ammonites came to wage war against Israel and the elders of Gilead went to look for Jephthah for help to lead the army and to be the head. Jephthah vowed to the Lord that if God give the Ammonites into his hands, whatever came out of his house to meet him when he is back from triumph, he will sacrificed to God (v31).
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah (v29) and of course he won the war. He returned home and his one and only daughter came out to meet him and sure Jephthah needed to keep to his promise with God and he sacrificed his daughter.
Judges 12
Can you imagine, if someone comes up to you and ask you whether you know how to pronounce “Shiboleth”, if you pronounce wrongly, you will be killed immediately. That’s what happened in this chapter where Jephthah and his men had victory over Ephraimite.
Jephthah led Israel for 6 years, then
Ibzan led Israel for 7 years,
Elon for 10 years and Abdon led for 8 years.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Judges 8 - 9 (2nd April)
Judges 8
Right from Joshua to Judges, there were so many battles. Troy and Gladiator were movies I like. But if there are movies on Joshua and all the fights going on in Judges, must watch man. This chapter talks about Gideon pursuit the Midianites until all were killed. In verse 22, the Israelites were happy that Gideon saved them and asked Gideon to rule over the Israelites. Gideon replied was that he will not rule over them but the Lord will rule over them.
Lesson to learn: Do not look to man but look to God. It is God that rules over our lives. Put all your hope in God. The Israelites still looked to Gideon to rule over them and when Gideon died, the Israelites started to go back to worship Baal (v 33).
Judges 9
People said you cannot kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Look at this chapter and you will see Abimelech killed 70 of his brothers with 1 stone. Except one of his brother (Jotham) escaped and later cursed Abimelech. This chapter is all about Abimelech and how he and his troop fight in the battle and in the end woman dropped a millstone on his head and fractured his skull. He was full of pride and did not want to die under a woman’s hand, he get his armor-bearer to kill him instead (v 53 & 54). The curse of Jotham came to pass (v 57).
Right from Joshua to Judges, there were so many battles. Troy and Gladiator were movies I like. But if there are movies on Joshua and all the fights going on in Judges, must watch man. This chapter talks about Gideon pursuit the Midianites until all were killed. In verse 22, the Israelites were happy that Gideon saved them and asked Gideon to rule over the Israelites. Gideon replied was that he will not rule over them but the Lord will rule over them.
Lesson to learn: Do not look to man but look to God. It is God that rules over our lives. Put all your hope in God. The Israelites still looked to Gideon to rule over them and when Gideon died, the Israelites started to go back to worship Baal (v 33).
Judges 9
People said you cannot kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Look at this chapter and you will see Abimelech killed 70 of his brothers with 1 stone. Except one of his brother (Jotham) escaped and later cursed Abimelech. This chapter is all about Abimelech and how he and his troop fight in the battle and in the end woman dropped a millstone on his head and fractured his skull. He was full of pride and did not want to die under a woman’s hand, he get his armor-bearer to kill him instead (v 53 & 54). The curse of Jotham came to pass (v 57).
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Judges 6 - 7 (1st April) - Kelvin
Judges 6
Its amazing each time the Israelites cried out to the Lord, He will always send to them a deliverer. This time, Gideon was chosen to set his people free from the powers of the midianites. Gideon was initially unsure whether he was seeing the right thing. But he was wise enough to ask God for signs by giving an offering to make himself sure it was really God’s calling. Then that’s where Gideon begin to grow in faith and believe God. God instructed him to tear down the asherah pole and use the wood for his burnt offering to God.
This is just like our modern day tearing down of religious temples – Only the Spirit filled dare to. Gideon did so and in the end got himself into trouble. The people from the town wants Gideon to die for what he had done.
Over here, I just want to elaborate further in our modern day context. I think this is similar for some of us who are afraid of trouble even though there are some things we as Christians should not compromise with. Are your friends getting you into unright interests? Are your colleagues leading you into tempting activities? God wants you to know that it is perfectly alright to reject the world, lose every favour from the world and follow His decrees. We as Christians must not be afraid to stand our ground!
Then Joash came out to help Gideon and to appease the anger of the people. In the words that he said, I sense great wisdom imparted by the Spirit.
Verse 31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “ Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Who ever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”
The Lord then filled Gideon and revealed to him that Israel would be saved through him. Gideon being cautious, humbly asked the Lord for signs not once but twice to confirm His anointing for him.
Perhaps many of us in our walk with God, we find it very hard to hear God clearly in our future or any other agendas. I believe we can always use the Gideon’s method of communication with God, ask for signs. Of course do not treat this method with contempt and ask with the fear of the Lord.
In this Chapter, there are a few conclusions to it:
1. The Lord loves us even when we know that we are not worthy for Him.
2. Be humble, God chose Gideon because he was not proud.
3. Obey the Lord and He will remain with you.
Judges 7
This a chapter of Miracles.
Gideon led 300 soldiers and fought a Victory against the mighty army of the midianites, amalekites and others. From thirty thousand to 300 men left. God shows us that no matter how strong our enemies are, we are able to overcome them with Him no matter how small we can be. Truly everything is possible with God. Though Gideon’s initial method of battle seems to be foolish ( holding trumpets and jars to war ? ), it caused confusion in the enemy’s camp and that’s where God gave them the Victory.
A point to note here would be, are we willing to do foolish things for God to use us?
In this chapter we can conclude a few points:
1. God uses the weak to overcome the strong.
2. With God, even foolish ideas can work out.
Its amazing each time the Israelites cried out to the Lord, He will always send to them a deliverer. This time, Gideon was chosen to set his people free from the powers of the midianites. Gideon was initially unsure whether he was seeing the right thing. But he was wise enough to ask God for signs by giving an offering to make himself sure it was really God’s calling. Then that’s where Gideon begin to grow in faith and believe God. God instructed him to tear down the asherah pole and use the wood for his burnt offering to God.
This is just like our modern day tearing down of religious temples – Only the Spirit filled dare to. Gideon did so and in the end got himself into trouble. The people from the town wants Gideon to die for what he had done.
Over here, I just want to elaborate further in our modern day context. I think this is similar for some of us who are afraid of trouble even though there are some things we as Christians should not compromise with. Are your friends getting you into unright interests? Are your colleagues leading you into tempting activities? God wants you to know that it is perfectly alright to reject the world, lose every favour from the world and follow His decrees. We as Christians must not be afraid to stand our ground!
Then Joash came out to help Gideon and to appease the anger of the people. In the words that he said, I sense great wisdom imparted by the Spirit.
Verse 31 But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “ Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Who ever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.”
The Lord then filled Gideon and revealed to him that Israel would be saved through him. Gideon being cautious, humbly asked the Lord for signs not once but twice to confirm His anointing for him.
Perhaps many of us in our walk with God, we find it very hard to hear God clearly in our future or any other agendas. I believe we can always use the Gideon’s method of communication with God, ask for signs. Of course do not treat this method with contempt and ask with the fear of the Lord.
In this Chapter, there are a few conclusions to it:
1. The Lord loves us even when we know that we are not worthy for Him.
2. Be humble, God chose Gideon because he was not proud.
3. Obey the Lord and He will remain with you.
Judges 7
This a chapter of Miracles.
Gideon led 300 soldiers and fought a Victory against the mighty army of the midianites, amalekites and others. From thirty thousand to 300 men left. God shows us that no matter how strong our enemies are, we are able to overcome them with Him no matter how small we can be. Truly everything is possible with God. Though Gideon’s initial method of battle seems to be foolish ( holding trumpets and jars to war ? ), it caused confusion in the enemy’s camp and that’s where God gave them the Victory.
A point to note here would be, are we willing to do foolish things for God to use us?
In this chapter we can conclude a few points:
1. God uses the weak to overcome the strong.
2. With God, even foolish ideas can work out.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Judges 3 - 5 (31st Mar) - Weiling
Judges 3 – 5
Theme and Message: It is a number of accounts of recurring cycles (apostasy – to abandon one’s faith, oppression, distress and deliverance).
Judges revealed an age when “Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (17:6)
Judges were leaders that the Lord raised up to save the people of Israel out of the hands of the enemies. (2:16)
Because of incomplete conquest/ obedience and a turning away from their faith, God said that He will no longer drive the occupiers out. Instead, He will use them to test Israel to see if they would obey the Lord’s commands.
Recurring Cycles
Very often they don’t keep the God’s commands. In a recurring cycle:
1. Apostasy & Oppression.
The Israelites would do evil and provoke God’s chastening. (3:5-7,12; 4:1) One of it was inter-marrying with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, etc. They ended up serving their gods (3:6)
2. Distress & Deliverance.
When the people faced oppression by the enemies or foreign invaders, they would cry out to God. God would be moved and have compassion on them. He would then deliver them through a judge. (3:9,15; Deborah)
Sadly, the Israelites often sin against God again.
Deborah
Now, to highlight an interesting personality. Deborah was one of the leaders God rose up. She was a wife, a mother (5:7) and had a powerful prophetic anointing. God appointed her and she awoke to His calling.
G12’s vision in rising up women to be leaders and to be all that God wants us to be is very much affirmed in Deborah’s life.
In fact, God also used the hands of another woman Jael, wife of Heber to kill the enemy in a shrewd way. Barak was going to be given the honour of killing Jabin, a powerful king who had 900 iron chariots. However, because he was fearful and said that he would only go if Deborah did, he lost out on that honour. Indeed, the enemy was very intimidating, but we see that somehow Deborah was not fearful. She knows God and hears His voice.
Theme and Message: It is a number of accounts of recurring cycles (apostasy – to abandon one’s faith, oppression, distress and deliverance).
Judges revealed an age when “Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (17:6)
Judges were leaders that the Lord raised up to save the people of Israel out of the hands of the enemies. (2:16)
Because of incomplete conquest/ obedience and a turning away from their faith, God said that He will no longer drive the occupiers out. Instead, He will use them to test Israel to see if they would obey the Lord’s commands.
Recurring Cycles
Very often they don’t keep the God’s commands. In a recurring cycle:
1. Apostasy & Oppression.
The Israelites would do evil and provoke God’s chastening. (3:5-7,12; 4:1) One of it was inter-marrying with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, etc. They ended up serving their gods (3:6)
2. Distress & Deliverance.
When the people faced oppression by the enemies or foreign invaders, they would cry out to God. God would be moved and have compassion on them. He would then deliver them through a judge. (3:9,15; Deborah)
Sadly, the Israelites often sin against God again.
Deborah
Now, to highlight an interesting personality. Deborah was one of the leaders God rose up. She was a wife, a mother (5:7) and had a powerful prophetic anointing. God appointed her and she awoke to His calling.
G12’s vision in rising up women to be leaders and to be all that God wants us to be is very much affirmed in Deborah’s life.
In fact, God also used the hands of another woman Jael, wife of Heber to kill the enemy in a shrewd way. Barak was going to be given the honour of killing Jabin, a powerful king who had 900 iron chariots. However, because he was fearful and said that he would only go if Deborah did, he lost out on that honour. Indeed, the enemy was very intimidating, but we see that somehow Deborah was not fearful. She knows God and hears His voice.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Judges 1 - 2 (30th Mar) - Sylvia
As we look into the book of judges, we also see the transition of how the Israelites began to lose faith and started sinning as compared to when they were under the leadership of Joshua.
Judges 1
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?"
2 The LORD answered, "Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands."
3 Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their brothers, "Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours." So the Simeonites went with them.
Notice in v1-3 how the Lord had commanded the tribe of Judah to go up and fight against the Canaanites yet they did not have faith that God would bring be with them and give them victory.. They asked the Simeonites to go with them to fight.
Thank God for His faithfulness, keeping His promise by giving the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands.
Moving on, as the Israelites continued to fight the remaining Canaanites, they disobeyed God's word. How did they do so?
Previously in the book of Joshua, they were supposed to drive out their enemies and not ally with them nor intermarrying or associate with them as these people would bring the Israelites down in time to come.
12 "But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,
13 then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you."
Despite the warning, the Israelites did not obey as they never did drive them out completely. Instead they COMPROMISED God's word - they did not intermarry nor allied with the nation YET, but they made them their slaves.
**I mentioned "Yet" because as you read on the following chapters, the Israelites lived among the Canaanites and intermarried, serving their gods... **
It may not had been their intention to disobey God but pride got in the way when they though they were strong enough to handle it.
Application: Dear family, let's take a moment to pause and reflect. How many times have we disobeyed God by compromising His word, trying to do or explain things in a way such that it seems right?
Judges 2
Pride gave way to sin. The Israelites had broken their covenant with the Lord. When the Lord spoke that He would not drive out the Canaanites and also allow them to be obstacles to the Israelites, they repented, offering sacrifices to God.
A new generation of Israelites grew up, not knowing God nor what He had done for Israel. They fell to sin, worshipping other gods. Because of this, God allowed their enemies to take control over them, and whenever they went to battle, they would be defeated.
God had a heart of compassion for His people still, raising up leaders(Judges) to save them yet they would only listen for a short moment, before quickly turning their backs on God again and again.
Notice the cycle of sin:
Israel serves God --> Israels falls to sin and worship other gods -->Israel goes into slavery
-->Israel cried outs-->God gives them a leader(Judge)--> Israel is delivered
They serve the Lord for a while before falling back into sin..
This sparked the Lord's anger.
20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me,
21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did."
23 The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
Application: Dear brothers and sisters, do we have any cycles of sin in our lives that need to be broken?
Judges 1
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?"
2 The LORD answered, "Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands."
3 Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their brothers, "Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours." So the Simeonites went with them.
Notice in v1-3 how the Lord had commanded the tribe of Judah to go up and fight against the Canaanites yet they did not have faith that God would bring be with them and give them victory.. They asked the Simeonites to go with them to fight.
Thank God for His faithfulness, keeping His promise by giving the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands.
Moving on, as the Israelites continued to fight the remaining Canaanites, they disobeyed God's word. How did they do so?
Previously in the book of Joshua, they were supposed to drive out their enemies and not ally with them nor intermarrying or associate with them as these people would bring the Israelites down in time to come.
12 "But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them,
13 then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you."
Despite the warning, the Israelites did not obey as they never did drive them out completely. Instead they COMPROMISED God's word - they did not intermarry nor allied with the nation YET, but they made them their slaves.
**I mentioned "Yet" because as you read on the following chapters, the Israelites lived among the Canaanites and intermarried, serving their gods... **
It may not had been their intention to disobey God but pride got in the way when they though they were strong enough to handle it.
Application: Dear family, let's take a moment to pause and reflect. How many times have we disobeyed God by compromising His word, trying to do or explain things in a way such that it seems right?
Judges 2
Pride gave way to sin. The Israelites had broken their covenant with the Lord. When the Lord spoke that He would not drive out the Canaanites and also allow them to be obstacles to the Israelites, they repented, offering sacrifices to God.
A new generation of Israelites grew up, not knowing God nor what He had done for Israel. They fell to sin, worshipping other gods. Because of this, God allowed their enemies to take control over them, and whenever they went to battle, they would be defeated.
God had a heart of compassion for His people still, raising up leaders(Judges) to save them yet they would only listen for a short moment, before quickly turning their backs on God again and again.
Notice the cycle of sin:
Israel serves God --> Israels falls to sin and worship other gods -->Israel goes into slavery
-->Israel cried outs-->God gives them a leader(Judge)--> Israel is delivered
They serve the Lord for a while before falling back into sin..
This sparked the Lord's anger.
20 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me,
21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did."
23 The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
Application: Dear brothers and sisters, do we have any cycles of sin in our lives that need to be broken?
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Joshua 22 - 24 (29th Mar) - Stanley & Madeline
In Chapt 22 and 23, joshua reminded the people twice... To keep the commandments and the law that Moses gave, to love the Lord and do not bow down to other gods...
In Chapter 24, Joshua gathered the high authorities of Israel and reminded them of the goodness of God from the beginning of their generation. Again, he was reminding them to serve, obey and love our God Almighty only.
Just wonder... Why does Joshua have to be so lor soh? The people had heard and seen the miracles & promises of God. Why does he have to keep reminding them? Are they so forgetful? Is the worldly temptation overwhelming?
I'm just very grateful after Christ's sacrifice, we live by and in grace, not by law. We have the Holy Spirit, whom constantly keep us in God's presence. We do not need to solely depend on memory and will power although these are important. Let's be thankful to the Holy Spirit who is our constant reminder to love and obey God. Let's count of blessings and remember His
goodness to us and our forefathers.
Let's say together, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"
In Chapter 24, Joshua gathered the high authorities of Israel and reminded them of the goodness of God from the beginning of their generation. Again, he was reminding them to serve, obey and love our God Almighty only.
Just wonder... Why does Joshua have to be so lor soh? The people had heard and seen the miracles & promises of God. Why does he have to keep reminding them? Are they so forgetful? Is the worldly temptation overwhelming?
I'm just very grateful after Christ's sacrifice, we live by and in grace, not by law. We have the Holy Spirit, whom constantly keep us in God's presence. We do not need to solely depend on memory and will power although these are important. Let's be thankful to the Holy Spirit who is our constant reminder to love and obey God. Let's count of blessings and remember His
goodness to us and our forefathers.
Let's say together, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Joshua 19 - 21 (28th Mar) - Jason
“The Lord is giving you rest and has granted you this land”
- Joshua 1: 13
Joshua 19
The land was divided amongst the Israelites tribe by tribe.
Joshua 20
The Lord spoke to Joshua to set up ‘safehouses’ for people fleeing the avenger of blood because of accidental or unintentional killing. Such a person is to stay in protective custody of the town elders until he is able to stand trial.
Joshua 21
The Levites receive free housing and pasture for their herds sponsored by the other tribes as instructed by the Lord through Moses. The service of the Lord was the Levite’s inheritance, as they were well provided for regardless of physical inheritance.
v42 “Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it.”
v44: “The Lord gave them rest on each side, just as He had sworn to their forefathers.”
V45: “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
I was pondering about the identity of God in John 1:1 (“in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.”) and realized that God’s identity was seen in His word. And that if He promises something, He’ll make sure He’ll get it done.
We’ll know that He is Lord when we see His word come true in our lives not only when God answers our prayers, but as the Israelites came to know, the character of God was beyond a promise. It was beyond the physical land, as time and time again God delivered nation after nation to them. It was that living relationship where God spoke to his people through Joshua. In short, God’s promise must be lived out.
Today as we go about our daily lives, I’m sure God has a promise for our lives, but it takes a step out in faith to be bold and courageous like Joshua and the Israelites did to see those promises fulfilled. Where rest in Joshua 1: 13 means having a spiritual direction in life and not having to worry about the end point. To borrow Pastor Khong’s words also borrowed from Einstein “we live in a world of perfected means, but confused endings”.
Today, let us rest on God’s purpose for our lives.
- Joshua 1: 13
Joshua 19
The land was divided amongst the Israelites tribe by tribe.
Joshua 20
The Lord spoke to Joshua to set up ‘safehouses’ for people fleeing the avenger of blood because of accidental or unintentional killing. Such a person is to stay in protective custody of the town elders until he is able to stand trial.
Joshua 21
The Levites receive free housing and pasture for their herds sponsored by the other tribes as instructed by the Lord through Moses. The service of the Lord was the Levite’s inheritance, as they were well provided for regardless of physical inheritance.
v42 “Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it.”
v44: “The Lord gave them rest on each side, just as He had sworn to their forefathers.”
V45: “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
I was pondering about the identity of God in John 1:1 (“in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.”) and realized that God’s identity was seen in His word. And that if He promises something, He’ll make sure He’ll get it done.
We’ll know that He is Lord when we see His word come true in our lives not only when God answers our prayers, but as the Israelites came to know, the character of God was beyond a promise. It was beyond the physical land, as time and time again God delivered nation after nation to them. It was that living relationship where God spoke to his people through Joshua. In short, God’s promise must be lived out.
Today as we go about our daily lives, I’m sure God has a promise for our lives, but it takes a step out in faith to be bold and courageous like Joshua and the Israelites did to see those promises fulfilled. Where rest in Joshua 1: 13 means having a spiritual direction in life and not having to worry about the end point. To borrow Pastor Khong’s words also borrowed from Einstein “we live in a world of perfected means, but confused endings”.
Today, let us rest on God’s purpose for our lives.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Joshua 16 - 18 (27th Mar) - Josh
Joshua 16-18
Israel is in the midst of their conquest of the promise land. Chapter 16-18 marks the division of land for the tribe of Manasseh and Ephraim. They were too numerous a people and Joshua challenged them to conquer more land for themselves. Some practical lessons on inheritance to help us believe and achieve more.
Fight for your inheritance.
The response of the people of Joseph was interesting. "Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance?" -Joshua 17:14
Joshua's reponse was "You are numerous and very powerful... though the Canaanites have iron chariots, and though they are strong, you can drive them out." - Joshua 17:18.
In the midst of war, the sons of Joseph saw inheritance as a "given" and shun at opposition (v16). Joshua's challenge defined inheritance. It is to be fought for.
Envision your inheritance.
He further stressed his point in chapter 18, when he gathered the tribes and said "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?" He went on to organize reccee teams to map out the land and command each tribe to plot out the land they are to inherit. What they could see, they could inherit.
It's a familiar sound to listen to an inheritance sermon or read an inheritance word but fail to fight and claim the inheritance of God in our lives. God has promised to lead us in triumphant possession always, spreading everywhere the fragrance of Christ. Envision and fight for your inheritance. For me at work, it is to believe God to make me a successful advertiser and brand consultant and that my people will grow deeper and reach out!
Israel is in the midst of their conquest of the promise land. Chapter 16-18 marks the division of land for the tribe of Manasseh and Ephraim. They were too numerous a people and Joshua challenged them to conquer more land for themselves. Some practical lessons on inheritance to help us believe and achieve more.
Fight for your inheritance.
The response of the people of Joseph was interesting. "Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance?" -Joshua 17:14
Joshua's reponse was "You are numerous and very powerful... though the Canaanites have iron chariots, and though they are strong, you can drive them out." - Joshua 17:18.
In the midst of war, the sons of Joseph saw inheritance as a "given" and shun at opposition (v16). Joshua's challenge defined inheritance. It is to be fought for.
Envision your inheritance.
He further stressed his point in chapter 18, when he gathered the tribes and said "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?" He went on to organize reccee teams to map out the land and command each tribe to plot out the land they are to inherit. What they could see, they could inherit.
It's a familiar sound to listen to an inheritance sermon or read an inheritance word but fail to fight and claim the inheritance of God in our lives. God has promised to lead us in triumphant possession always, spreading everywhere the fragrance of Christ. Envision and fight for your inheritance. For me at work, it is to believe God to make me a successful advertiser and brand consultant and that my people will grow deeper and reach out!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Joshua 12 - 15 (26th Mar)
Joshua 12
This chapter covers a list of kings that were defeated by the Israelites. 2 kings from east of Jordan and 31 kings from west side of Jordan were all defeated by Israelites.
Joshua 13
Though the Israelites conquered many land but yet there were still land not conquered (v1). Then further in this chapter, it talks about the land on the east side of Jordan to be divided with the tribe of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. The Levites were not given any inheritance because the Lord is their inheritance (v14, 33)
Joshua 14
This chapter is the continuation of the division of the land. But this chapter is the division on the west of Jordan. Also from v6 onwards, it talks about Caleb. Caleb was 85 years old and he is still strong as before (v10, 11). Caleb asked Joshua for the hill country and Joshua blessed and gave the hill country as Caleb’s inheritance.
Joshua 15
This chapter talks about all the land that was given to the tribe of Judah. This is a big piece of land.
Joshua 14:9 - 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.'
God always wanted us to claim back the land for His glory. So wherever you go, wherever you set your foot on, pray and ask God to claim back the land for you so that His name be glorified. Go pray and claim your school or your workplace for the Lord and follow the Lord wholeheartedly.
This chapter covers a list of kings that were defeated by the Israelites. 2 kings from east of Jordan and 31 kings from west side of Jordan were all defeated by Israelites.
Joshua 13
Though the Israelites conquered many land but yet there were still land not conquered (v1). Then further in this chapter, it talks about the land on the east side of Jordan to be divided with the tribe of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. The Levites were not given any inheritance because the Lord is their inheritance (v14, 33)
Joshua 14
This chapter is the continuation of the division of the land. But this chapter is the division on the west of Jordan. Also from v6 onwards, it talks about Caleb. Caleb was 85 years old and he is still strong as before (v10, 11). Caleb asked Joshua for the hill country and Joshua blessed and gave the hill country as Caleb’s inheritance.
Joshua 15
This chapter talks about all the land that was given to the tribe of Judah. This is a big piece of land.
Joshua 14:9 - 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.'
God always wanted us to claim back the land for His glory. So wherever you go, wherever you set your foot on, pray and ask God to claim back the land for you so that His name be glorified. Go pray and claim your school or your workplace for the Lord and follow the Lord wholeheartedly.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Joshua 9 - 11 (25th Mar) - Ivy
Joshua 9
In this chapter we see how Gibeonites deceived the leaders of the tribes and obtained a treaty of submission to Israel. Mostly motivated by fear, the Gibeonites trick Joshua into allowing them live by making a treaty.
Note Verse 9:14 ‘They did not inquire of the Lord’
The Israelites did not inquire of the Lord with regards to the Gibeonites.
Reflections: How many times did we inquire of God before we enter a new job? Taking a new course of studies? Entering a new relationship? Or even do anything? Its really a good ‘practice’ to learn how to inquire of the Lord with decisions in life and we’ll never miss out on God’s timing and blessings!
And since the oath has been taken, the Israelites are ‘obligated’ and therefore can’t harm them.
Joshua 10
In chapter 10 we see that the Israelites are obligated to help the Gibeonites when they are in trouble. Mah fan…
Verse 7 "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."
I thought this was really comforting to know, that God has already defeated our enemies, we don’t have to be afraid.
In verse 26, we saw that Joshua killed and hung the 5 Amorite kings on the trees and left them over night. Looking back at Dt21.22, the Lord instructed that they were not allowed to do so.
Joshua 11
We see that although there a some ‘minor disobedience’ the Lord was still merciful and continues to fight for Israel. There are a lot of fighting but God’s assurance upon Joshua can be see in 11:6 ‘The Lord said to Joshua, Do not be afraid of them’.
Verse 13 says: ‘Yet they did not burn any of the cities…’ The Lord did instruct them to destroy and burn. But the Israelites did not do so. There is a later consequence to this ‘act of mercy or negligence’.
Nevertheless, God is faithful. He has been the one who is fighting for them.
See verse 23 says: So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
I find it really comforting to know that God is fighting for us in our live situations. Even though we maybe stumbling along the way, His love and faithfulness never fails. However, we’ll later find out that, the disobedience does have its consequences in the long run. I want to summarise these passage with:
Let us inquire of the Lord for minor and major decisions. Be assured of our God who protects and fights for us. Be assured. Senior Pastor has already given the call for ‘volunteers to enter the army’. How would you respond knowing that God will fight and is fighting for you?
In this chapter we see how Gibeonites deceived the leaders of the tribes and obtained a treaty of submission to Israel. Mostly motivated by fear, the Gibeonites trick Joshua into allowing them live by making a treaty.
Note Verse 9:14 ‘They did not inquire of the Lord’
The Israelites did not inquire of the Lord with regards to the Gibeonites.
Reflections: How many times did we inquire of God before we enter a new job? Taking a new course of studies? Entering a new relationship? Or even do anything? Its really a good ‘practice’ to learn how to inquire of the Lord with decisions in life and we’ll never miss out on God’s timing and blessings!
And since the oath has been taken, the Israelites are ‘obligated’ and therefore can’t harm them.
Joshua 10
In chapter 10 we see that the Israelites are obligated to help the Gibeonites when they are in trouble. Mah fan…
Verse 7 "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."
I thought this was really comforting to know, that God has already defeated our enemies, we don’t have to be afraid.
In verse 26, we saw that Joshua killed and hung the 5 Amorite kings on the trees and left them over night. Looking back at Dt21.22, the Lord instructed that they were not allowed to do so.
Joshua 11
We see that although there a some ‘minor disobedience’ the Lord was still merciful and continues to fight for Israel. There are a lot of fighting but God’s assurance upon Joshua can be see in 11:6 ‘The Lord said to Joshua, Do not be afraid of them’.
Verse 13 says: ‘Yet they did not burn any of the cities…’ The Lord did instruct them to destroy and burn. But the Israelites did not do so. There is a later consequence to this ‘act of mercy or negligence’.
Nevertheless, God is faithful. He has been the one who is fighting for them.
See verse 23 says: So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
I find it really comforting to know that God is fighting for us in our live situations. Even though we maybe stumbling along the way, His love and faithfulness never fails. However, we’ll later find out that, the disobedience does have its consequences in the long run. I want to summarise these passage with:
Let us inquire of the Lord for minor and major decisions. Be assured of our God who protects and fights for us. Be assured. Senior Pastor has already given the call for ‘volunteers to enter the army’. How would you respond knowing that God will fight and is fighting for you?
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Joshua 5 - 8 (24th Mar) - Sylvia
From these few chapters, we can really learn many things..
Faith and Obedience
In continuation from Chapter 4, God had dried up the Jordan River just as what he had done to the Red Sea, for the Israelites to cross over.
Joshua 5: 1 “Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.”
The Israelites were obedient and had faith, trusting in the Lord to lead them through no matter what. When the enemies of Israel saw God’s mighty power displayed, they become fearful to the point of having no spirit in them – they had lost their confidence in the battles against the Israelites.
Application: This is a reminder of how God will always be there to lead us through our spiritual battles. Romans 8:31 “ If God is for us, who can be against us?”
An Act of Consecration
Joshua 5:2 “At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time."”
The Lord commanded for the Israelites to be circumcised again. Why was this so?
Remember back in Numbers 20, because of the people’s lack of faith and disobedience, they were left to wander in the desert and not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.
Well, in their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, a new generation had been raised up to enter the land flowing with milk and honey (led by Joshua) – and they had yet to be circumcised.
Circumcision is actually an powerful act of consecration to the Lord where we are telling Him “Yes Lord, I am yours.” It is whereby we are renouncing the flesh, dying to self to living to God.
Dear family, shall we then die to self and give ourselves to God?
Power of Prayer Walking
Before we enter into any battles or any unknown places, its important for us to seek the Lord in prayer, to dedicate everything to Him. So we need to prayer walk and take hold of the place for God. Another thing to notes is that Jericho was a most important Canaanite fortress city in the Jordan valley which obstructed the Israelites’ path to victory. (They were to defeat the Canaanites as you would find out in the later chapters)
Joshua 6: 3-5 "You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."
The Israelites were able to take the city of Jericho because they listened to God’s voice and walked with Him – Faith and Obedience!
Are there any strongholds in our lives that we need to deal with before there is victory?
Note: Jericho had been cursed after its destruction. God’s Word is POWER – Don’t play play..
Joshua 6:26 “Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates."”
True enough as we see in 1 Kings 16:34 when it was rebuilt by Hiel of Bethel in the time of King Ahab.
“In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of The Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.”
Joshua 7 – 8
In Joshua 7, because of just ONE person’s sin, the whole community suffers the Lord’s wrath.
“But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.”
But in Joshua 8, praise the Lord for His grace and mercy. He is JUST indeed. After meting out the due punishment, He RESTORES!
Joshua 8: 1-2 “Now the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it."”
This time, the people obeyed and did it God’s way.
Result: They defeated Ai just as they had conquered Jericho.
Application: When our walk with God is right, blessings will simply come our way.
Dear brothers and sisters, please do not let the community suffer because of one person’s sin. Get right with God.
Agape. =)
Faith and Obedience
In continuation from Chapter 4, God had dried up the Jordan River just as what he had done to the Red Sea, for the Israelites to cross over.
Joshua 5: 1 “Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.”
The Israelites were obedient and had faith, trusting in the Lord to lead them through no matter what. When the enemies of Israel saw God’s mighty power displayed, they become fearful to the point of having no spirit in them – they had lost their confidence in the battles against the Israelites.
Application: This is a reminder of how God will always be there to lead us through our spiritual battles. Romans 8:31 “ If God is for us, who can be against us?”
An Act of Consecration
Joshua 5:2 “At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time."”
The Lord commanded for the Israelites to be circumcised again. Why was this so?
Remember back in Numbers 20, because of the people’s lack of faith and disobedience, they were left to wander in the desert and not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.
Well, in their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, a new generation had been raised up to enter the land flowing with milk and honey (led by Joshua) – and they had yet to be circumcised.
Circumcision is actually an powerful act of consecration to the Lord where we are telling Him “Yes Lord, I am yours.” It is whereby we are renouncing the flesh, dying to self to living to God.
Dear family, shall we then die to self and give ourselves to God?
Power of Prayer Walking
Before we enter into any battles or any unknown places, its important for us to seek the Lord in prayer, to dedicate everything to Him. So we need to prayer walk and take hold of the place for God. Another thing to notes is that Jericho was a most important Canaanite fortress city in the Jordan valley which obstructed the Israelites’ path to victory. (They were to defeat the Canaanites as you would find out in the later chapters)
Joshua 6: 3-5 "You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."
The Israelites were able to take the city of Jericho because they listened to God’s voice and walked with Him – Faith and Obedience!
Are there any strongholds in our lives that we need to deal with before there is victory?
Note: Jericho had been cursed after its destruction. God’s Word is POWER – Don’t play play..
Joshua 6:26 “Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates."”
True enough as we see in 1 Kings 16:34 when it was rebuilt by Hiel of Bethel in the time of King Ahab.
“In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of The Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.”
Joshua 7 – 8
In Joshua 7, because of just ONE person’s sin, the whole community suffers the Lord’s wrath.
“But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.”
But in Joshua 8, praise the Lord for His grace and mercy. He is JUST indeed. After meting out the due punishment, He RESTORES!
Joshua 8: 1-2 “Now the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear or be dismayed Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it."”
This time, the people obeyed and did it God’s way.
Result: They defeated Ai just as they had conquered Jericho.
Application: When our walk with God is right, blessings will simply come our way.
Dear brothers and sisters, please do not let the community suffer because of one person’s sin. Get right with God.
Agape. =)
Friday, March 23, 2007
Joshua 1 - 4 (23rd Mar) - Li Juan
(1) I urge all of us livingstones to continue reading the bible daily,
in Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Let the word be the most essential thing in your life! (More important than oxygen!)
(2) God performed many many miracles. One of it is recorded here when Israel crossed Jordan on dry ground! Why did He show us the miracle?
Joshua 4:24 “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
Did God show you any miracles before? Take some time to reflect and think. I’m sure there are, always remember them!
(3) “BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS”
This phrase appeared umpteen number of times in these few chapters, and it really caught my attention when I read it. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you when you read it?
Personally, Joshua 1:9 is my key verse for the year. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
It always motivates me to strive on and overcome all fear and anxiety because our God is always with us. This year is definitely not going to be an easy year since it is a year of VICTORY. Spiritual warfare is ever present and is getting more and more intense, simply because Mr S wants us to just give up before victory comes. However, we claim it in faith NOW that there WILL be victory!
My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive on and never give up! Always Victorious!
in Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Let the word be the most essential thing in your life! (More important than oxygen!)
(2) God performed many many miracles. One of it is recorded here when Israel crossed Jordan on dry ground! Why did He show us the miracle?
Joshua 4:24 “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
Did God show you any miracles before? Take some time to reflect and think. I’m sure there are, always remember them!
(3) “BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS”
This phrase appeared umpteen number of times in these few chapters, and it really caught my attention when I read it. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you when you read it?
Personally, Joshua 1:9 is my key verse for the year. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
It always motivates me to strive on and overcome all fear and anxiety because our God is always with us. This year is definitely not going to be an easy year since it is a year of VICTORY. Spiritual warfare is ever present and is getting more and more intense, simply because Mr S wants us to just give up before victory comes. However, we claim it in faith NOW that there WILL be victory!
My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, let us strive on and never give up! Always Victorious!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Deuteronomy 32 - 34 (22nd Mar)
Deuteronomy 32
A song written by Moses. In this song it talks about God.
God protects us. V10 – shielded & guarded us as the apple of His eye.
God leads us. V12 – led.
God lifts us up. V13 – made us ride on the heights of the land.
God provides. V13 – fed us with the fruit of the field.
God strengthened us. V14 – nourished
Deuteronomy 33 & 34
Moses blessed the tribes before he died. Moses died at 120 years old and he died strong (34:7). Joshua took over the leadership and was filled with the Spirit of wisdom because Moses laid his hands on him (34:9)
Pray and ask the Lord to fill you with Spirit of wisdom.
A song written by Moses. In this song it talks about God.
God protects us. V10 – shielded & guarded us as the apple of His eye.
God leads us. V12 – led.
God lifts us up. V13 – made us ride on the heights of the land.
God provides. V13 – fed us with the fruit of the field.
God strengthened us. V14 – nourished
Deuteronomy 33 & 34
Moses blessed the tribes before he died. Moses died at 120 years old and he died strong (34:7). Joshua took over the leadership and was filled with the Spirit of wisdom because Moses laid his hands on him (34:9)
Pray and ask the Lord to fill you with Spirit of wisdom.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Deuteronomy 30 - 31 (21st Mar)
Deuteronomy 30
Obey the Lord and He will prosper you. This is the theme of this chapter,
V2 & 3 - obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes
V5 & 6 - He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
V8 & 9 - You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb
V9 & 10 - The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
V16 - For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
So let us love the Lord with all our heart and obey all His command and you will be blessed.
Obey the Lord and He will prosper you. This is the theme of this chapter,
V2 & 3 - obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes
V5 & 6 - He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
V8 & 9 - You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb
V9 & 10 - The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
V16 - For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
So let us love the Lord with all our heart and obey all His command and you will be blessed.
Deuteronomy 31
Moses summoned Joshua and told him to be strong and courageous and do not be afraid. The promise is that the Lord will go before Joshua and be with him. God will not leave Joshua nor forsake Joshua (v8). This is also a promise to us that God loves us and will not forsake us.
When I read v20 – 21, it saddens me. God brought the Israelites to a place flowing with milk and honey and when they eat of the land, they turned to other gods. Many times, we failed to give thanks to the Lord for all the blessings and successes He gave us. We took it into our own hands and forgotten that it was God who blessed us. God will test us in this area. I remember what SP said that if you want to test a man’s heart, give him success. How we manage success will determine our walk with the Lord.
Remember, God give and God will take. Nothing belongs to us and everything belongs to God.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Deuteronomy 28 - 29 (20th Mar) - Karen
Deuteronomy 28-29
In chapter 28, it is just so wonderful reading about God’s blessings for us when we obey Him and when we follow all of His commands. Yet, we also see the flip-side that when we disobey God and fail to follow His commands, curses will ensue when we disobey.
The next chapter talks about Moses calling upon the Israelites and urging the people to honor the contract they had previously made with God. He is calling for their commitment to God – Knowing God’s Word is not enough, we need to obey His commands.
40 Years ago, God and Israel had made a covenant at Mount Sinai: God promised to bless the Israelites by making them the nation through whom the rest of the world could know God. In return, the Israelites promised to love and obey God in order to receive physical and spiritual blessings.
In chapter 29, Moses reviewed this covenant because while God was still keeping his part of the bargain, the Israelites were already neglecting their part. Moses restated the covenant to warn the people that if they did not keep their part of the agreement they would experience severe discipline.
************************************************************************************
Just as the people in Israel did not notice God’s care for them along their journey, we sometimes do not notice all of the ways that God takes care of us. All our daily needs have been supplied and we have been well fed and well clothed. Sometimes, we even mistakenly take the credit ourselves for being good providers instead of recognizing God’s hand in the process.
Take a moment to ask ourselves: What is the best way to prosper in life?
For the Israelites, their first step was to keep their part of the covenant: They are to love God with all their heart, soul and strength. Likewise, we too, are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), then true success in life will follow as a blessing from the hand of God.
Disobedience comes from an act of the will, and not a lack of knowledge. Through God’s word we know enough about Him to be saved by faith and to serve Him. We must not use the limitation of our knowledge as an excuse to reject His claim on our life.
Dear family, let’s reflect on our choices we have been given each day, and choose wisely how we live each precious day of our lives. =)
In chapter 28, it is just so wonderful reading about God’s blessings for us when we obey Him and when we follow all of His commands. Yet, we also see the flip-side that when we disobey God and fail to follow His commands, curses will ensue when we disobey.
The next chapter talks about Moses calling upon the Israelites and urging the people to honor the contract they had previously made with God. He is calling for their commitment to God – Knowing God’s Word is not enough, we need to obey His commands.
40 Years ago, God and Israel had made a covenant at Mount Sinai: God promised to bless the Israelites by making them the nation through whom the rest of the world could know God. In return, the Israelites promised to love and obey God in order to receive physical and spiritual blessings.
In chapter 29, Moses reviewed this covenant because while God was still keeping his part of the bargain, the Israelites were already neglecting their part. Moses restated the covenant to warn the people that if they did not keep their part of the agreement they would experience severe discipline.
************************************************************************************
Just as the people in Israel did not notice God’s care for them along their journey, we sometimes do not notice all of the ways that God takes care of us. All our daily needs have been supplied and we have been well fed and well clothed. Sometimes, we even mistakenly take the credit ourselves for being good providers instead of recognizing God’s hand in the process.
Take a moment to ask ourselves: What is the best way to prosper in life?
For the Israelites, their first step was to keep their part of the covenant: They are to love God with all their heart, soul and strength. Likewise, we too, are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), then true success in life will follow as a blessing from the hand of God.
Disobedience comes from an act of the will, and not a lack of knowledge. Through God’s word we know enough about Him to be saved by faith and to serve Him. We must not use the limitation of our knowledge as an excuse to reject His claim on our life.
Dear family, let’s reflect on our choices we have been given each day, and choose wisely how we live each precious day of our lives. =)
Monday, March 19, 2007
Deuteronomy 24 - 27 (19th Mar) - Vivien
Deuteronomy 24 - 25
It continues with the other miscellaneous laws that the Israelites need to follow. And you will notice the laws go into such details like divorce, marriage, loan, crime, diseases and disputes. There are a few main people that the Bible used the laws to protect: the poor and needy, the family (and offspring) and the innocents.
There are at least 3 characters that we should possess from these 2 chapters:
1) Generous
2) Honest
3) Merciful
There is a verse which I thought it is very sweet of God to put it under the law:
Deut 24:5: If a man is recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.
God is concerned with healthy family life! God told us to multiply and be fruitful (Gen 1:28)! Moving forwards to this era, both men and women are in the workforce. I think Deut 24:5 does not just apply to men, but also women. We must not be filled with work the entire time and forget about building family. By not following the law, we can see the consequences that are happening now. Delay marriages, small families, low replacement ratio, aging population and etc. Strike a balance between work and family.
Deuteronomy 26
When you bought an exotic snack, who would you want to share it with? Or if after spending hours of effort and finally you have composed a song that you are happy with, who do you want to share it first?
Most probably that first person that you share will be one who you love or/and respect most. It is the same thing here. God does not need people to give him tithes and offering or the firstfruits, it is the meaning behind the offering. The very fact that if we love God with all our heart, mind and strength, we will definitely not forget Him when we have something good. It will be a natural act, because we love Him. However, as we could not physically see God, we tend to forget about His Presence and share with someone else the “firstfruit”. Do you tend to be forgetful?
Pray: “O Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with. We are sorry that sometimes we forgot to share our 'firstfruit' with You. Holy Spirit, forgive us. Help us to be mindful of Your Presence and to give thanks and offer up our 'firstfruit' to You. May Your Name be praised forever and ever. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen. "
From verse 16 to 19, it is God’s promises when we obey the laws.
Deuteronomy 27
God had called His people to build an altar on Mount Ebal where the laws are to be written. He is very careful with the instructions. He specifically commanded that they do not use iron tools on that altar, as will not violate the law that was passed down that no handmade idol is to be made to worship God.
The 12 tribes were assigned roles to play. 6 tribes to bless the people, 6 tribes to pronounce curses. And the curses were pronounce in the rest of this chapter.
It continues with the other miscellaneous laws that the Israelites need to follow. And you will notice the laws go into such details like divorce, marriage, loan, crime, diseases and disputes. There are a few main people that the Bible used the laws to protect: the poor and needy, the family (and offspring) and the innocents.
There are at least 3 characters that we should possess from these 2 chapters:
1) Generous
2) Honest
3) Merciful
There is a verse which I thought it is very sweet of God to put it under the law:
Deut 24:5: If a man is recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.
God is concerned with healthy family life! God told us to multiply and be fruitful (Gen 1:28)! Moving forwards to this era, both men and women are in the workforce. I think Deut 24:5 does not just apply to men, but also women. We must not be filled with work the entire time and forget about building family. By not following the law, we can see the consequences that are happening now. Delay marriages, small families, low replacement ratio, aging population and etc. Strike a balance between work and family.
Deuteronomy 26
When you bought an exotic snack, who would you want to share it with? Or if after spending hours of effort and finally you have composed a song that you are happy with, who do you want to share it first?
Most probably that first person that you share will be one who you love or/and respect most. It is the same thing here. God does not need people to give him tithes and offering or the firstfruits, it is the meaning behind the offering. The very fact that if we love God with all our heart, mind and strength, we will definitely not forget Him when we have something good. It will be a natural act, because we love Him. However, as we could not physically see God, we tend to forget about His Presence and share with someone else the “firstfruit”. Do you tend to be forgetful?
Pray: “O Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with. We are sorry that sometimes we forgot to share our 'firstfruit' with You. Holy Spirit, forgive us. Help us to be mindful of Your Presence and to give thanks and offer up our 'firstfruit' to You. May Your Name be praised forever and ever. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen. "
From verse 16 to 19, it is God’s promises when we obey the laws.
Deuteronomy 27
God had called His people to build an altar on Mount Ebal where the laws are to be written. He is very careful with the instructions. He specifically commanded that they do not use iron tools on that altar, as will not violate the law that was passed down that no handmade idol is to be made to worship God.
The 12 tribes were assigned roles to play. 6 tribes to bless the people, 6 tribes to pronounce curses. And the curses were pronounce in the rest of this chapter.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Deuteronomy 21 - 23 (17th Mar) - Ivy
Deuteronomy 21
How detailed God is in giving instructions and law to His people!!
Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
In this we see that God gives specific instructions in how to deal with an unsolved murder case. A heifer is to be sacrificed to the Lord as atonement of sins of the people. Definition of Heifer - A young cow, especially one that has not yet given birth to a calf.
Marrying a Captive Woman
God indeed has mercy with woman. He gives the captive woman free will to chose wherever she wants if her husband is displeased with her.
The Right of the Firstborn
I find this really amazing. It is like there is a special favour upon the 1st born in a man’s family. The man is not to disown the son even if it comes from the wife that he does not love. God protects the first born from favouritism!
A Rebellious Son
Wow….can you imagine being stoned due to rebellion?
Various Laws
Verse 22 say: If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree. Capital offense! Corruption? Theft? Stealing? Very serious case!
Deuteronomy 22
I want to bring your attention to this 2 verses:
4 If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.
5 A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.
God’s instructions even from old testament days, we are to help our brothers and sisters, which also means our neighbours! Notice this, God detest people who cross dress! Probably cross dressing for a wrong purpose.
Ladies, is your dressing manly or unfeminine? Man, are you dressing in a manly manner? I hope no one wears skirts at home!
Marriage Violations
Reading this reminds me of some old Chinese movies. If a man and woman commits adultery, they are to be put to death. Let us honour the Lord with our sexuality! God is gracious but don’t take it for granted. If you have not kept your body pure for the Lord, repent and approach your leaders! Allowing the sin contaminates the entire body of Christ!! Be pure!
I am so swarmed by the various laws that God has given to the people of Israel. However, I just felt that, hey, God really love His people. Like a loving parent who loves and wants to protect.
Sometimes our leaders may get a bit ‘naggy’, but hey, isn’t that love? We love that’s why we remind and rebuke. Our reminders are out of love and protection not trying to run or control your live. Just like how the Lord gave specific instructions to His people. His only purpose is that His people are kept pure and blameless before God. Thank God for your leader today. He or she really love you.
Love you with the love of Jesus.
How detailed God is in giving instructions and law to His people!!
Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
In this we see that God gives specific instructions in how to deal with an unsolved murder case. A heifer is to be sacrificed to the Lord as atonement of sins of the people. Definition of Heifer - A young cow, especially one that has not yet given birth to a calf.
Marrying a Captive Woman
God indeed has mercy with woman. He gives the captive woman free will to chose wherever she wants if her husband is displeased with her.
The Right of the Firstborn
I find this really amazing. It is like there is a special favour upon the 1st born in a man’s family. The man is not to disown the son even if it comes from the wife that he does not love. God protects the first born from favouritism!
A Rebellious Son
Wow….can you imagine being stoned due to rebellion?
Various Laws
Verse 22 say: If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree. Capital offense! Corruption? Theft? Stealing? Very serious case!
Deuteronomy 22
I want to bring your attention to this 2 verses:
4 If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.
5 A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.
God’s instructions even from old testament days, we are to help our brothers and sisters, which also means our neighbours! Notice this, God detest people who cross dress! Probably cross dressing for a wrong purpose.
Ladies, is your dressing manly or unfeminine? Man, are you dressing in a manly manner? I hope no one wears skirts at home!
Marriage Violations
Reading this reminds me of some old Chinese movies. If a man and woman commits adultery, they are to be put to death. Let us honour the Lord with our sexuality! God is gracious but don’t take it for granted. If you have not kept your body pure for the Lord, repent and approach your leaders! Allowing the sin contaminates the entire body of Christ!! Be pure!
I am so swarmed by the various laws that God has given to the people of Israel. However, I just felt that, hey, God really love His people. Like a loving parent who loves and wants to protect.
Sometimes our leaders may get a bit ‘naggy’, but hey, isn’t that love? We love that’s why we remind and rebuke. Our reminders are out of love and protection not trying to run or control your live. Just like how the Lord gave specific instructions to His people. His only purpose is that His people are kept pure and blameless before God. Thank God for your leader today. He or she really love you.
Love you with the love of Jesus.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Deuteronomy 17 - 20 (17th Mar) - Ezra
Deuteronomy 17
This passage shows us that, God has appointed leaders over every nation, and not just nation, over our lives to.
Who are these leaders?
They are the governments. Church pastors and leaders, etc…
Why do we have these leaders over our lives?
They are all God’s appointed leaders.
- For the governments: so that the law will be in place.
o 11 Act according to the law they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.
- For church, pastors advices, sometimes with guidelines so that we won’t go astray and fall into a dark pit.
o 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses.
o 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again."
Deuteronomy 18
This chapter shows us the submission we have to give towards our spiritual leaders and not to imitate the world out there.
Spiritual leaders that God has placed over us; we must submit to them and support them in ministry.
Recently, the young arrows survivor camp just ended and before that, during that weekend was the Encounter Weekend headed by our tribe. Some of the family was at the encounter helping Pastor and also preaching, and some of us were at / going in and out of the survivor camp supporting these ministry.
Many of pastor’s 12 have and always took time off from their work, rest, personal time, etc… to be present for tribe activities.
In the same way as written:
3 This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts.
4 You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,
5 for the LORD your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the LORD's name always.
And as versus nine puts;
9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
That’s where you can learn to really appreciate your spiritual father or mother when you are heading the wrong direction, in the direction of the worldly view, they will be the ones to direct you back to God’s view.
Deuteronomy 19
These instructions and laws are put across in this chapter to show us that God is a God who watches over us and wants the best of our every character.
He places these laws so that men can live in righteousness and without hatred for one another. This chapter also tells us that God is a merciful God, He understands situation and He will make a way for us.
4 This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life—one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.
Not to escape, but to learn from our mistakes so that we will grow more in Him as He molds us, our character and attitude.
9 because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the LORD your God and to walk always in his ways—then you are to set aside three more cities.
Deuteronomy 20
We are at war, spiritual war.
You know, when you are a solider, you learn how to be tactical so that the enemy will not spot you. You are thought to engage an enemy when his attacking you. You also learn and train to take over territories and secure it so that enemies will not take over it.
Sounds fun huh?
Well, it’s exactly the same with our own lives. What you read in this chapter is not just about going to fight a war and killing the enemy.
13 When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.
When you have overcome your past or whatever that distracts you, put an end to every accusation from the evil one that tries to remind you of the badness you use to be.
16 However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.
18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God.
If you have overcome the distractions in your life, you must make sure that, that area of you life does not breathe again. Which means, your past, the kind of person you use to be, these all must not breathe again in your life.
You may not be able to overcome this alone, but your spiritual parent / leader is around for you to be accountable to.
This passage shows us that, God has appointed leaders over every nation, and not just nation, over our lives to.
Who are these leaders?
They are the governments. Church pastors and leaders, etc…
Why do we have these leaders over our lives?
They are all God’s appointed leaders.
- For the governments: so that the law will be in place.
o 11 Act according to the law they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.
- For church, pastors advices, sometimes with guidelines so that we won’t go astray and fall into a dark pit.
o 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses.
o 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again."
Deuteronomy 18
This chapter shows us the submission we have to give towards our spiritual leaders and not to imitate the world out there.
Spiritual leaders that God has placed over us; we must submit to them and support them in ministry.
Recently, the young arrows survivor camp just ended and before that, during that weekend was the Encounter Weekend headed by our tribe. Some of the family was at the encounter helping Pastor and also preaching, and some of us were at / going in and out of the survivor camp supporting these ministry.
Many of pastor’s 12 have and always took time off from their work, rest, personal time, etc… to be present for tribe activities.
In the same way as written:
3 This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts.
4 You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,
5 for the LORD your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the LORD's name always.
And as versus nine puts;
9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
That’s where you can learn to really appreciate your spiritual father or mother when you are heading the wrong direction, in the direction of the worldly view, they will be the ones to direct you back to God’s view.
Deuteronomy 19
These instructions and laws are put across in this chapter to show us that God is a God who watches over us and wants the best of our every character.
He places these laws so that men can live in righteousness and without hatred for one another. This chapter also tells us that God is a merciful God, He understands situation and He will make a way for us.
4 This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life—one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.
Not to escape, but to learn from our mistakes so that we will grow more in Him as He molds us, our character and attitude.
9 because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the LORD your God and to walk always in his ways—then you are to set aside three more cities.
Deuteronomy 20
We are at war, spiritual war.
You know, when you are a solider, you learn how to be tactical so that the enemy will not spot you. You are thought to engage an enemy when his attacking you. You also learn and train to take over territories and secure it so that enemies will not take over it.
Sounds fun huh?
Well, it’s exactly the same with our own lives. What you read in this chapter is not just about going to fight a war and killing the enemy.
13 When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.
When you have overcome your past or whatever that distracts you, put an end to every accusation from the evil one that tries to remind you of the badness you use to be.
16 However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.
18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God.
If you have overcome the distractions in your life, you must make sure that, that area of you life does not breathe again. Which means, your past, the kind of person you use to be, these all must not breathe again in your life.
You may not be able to overcome this alone, but your spiritual parent / leader is around for you to be accountable to.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Deuteronomy 14 - 16 (16th Mar) - Ezra
Deuteronomy 14
Clean and unclean food. I thank God that now all food that goes into our mouth is clean, because we say grace. Anyway, I would like to extract out something about this passage. As most of us know, we feed upon the word of God; that is clean food. Feeding ourselves with unwholesomeness from the material world; that is unclean food.
3 Do not eat any detestable thing.
Tithes. Do we give them regularly? How many of us really give regularly?
Some questions are; give tenth of our earnings; is it only our wagers? What about if we get ang bao during CNY?
Answer: It is still an earning…
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
You know, in New Zealand, 1 cow can cost you a house. A firstborn of the herds / flocks can cost about the price of 2 houses and a Mercedes-Benz.
During those times, sacrificing the firstborn of the herds / flocks is really a big thing. Imagine burning your most expensive purchased product that you’ve saved up money for. E.g. Alvin’s Mazda 3 1.6 or James’s Hyundai Sonata.
So in the same way, we should not just limit our tithes to just 10%, but we should be willing to give above that 10%.
God will bless you with greater things when you give with a grateful heart.
Deuteronomy 15
Here it shows us that, wherever we are; may it be school, work or army, how much we get per month for allowances or wagers we are all not poor.
4 However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,
5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.
6 For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
If you read carefully in the passage above; in the present, the land that God has given us is our ministry, not just in church, but our schools, offices and army camp. We are all pastors in wherever God has placed us in; schools, offices or army camp.
As we read on, it also shows us that those of us that holds a certain position in school, work or SAF; supervisor, manager, teacher, prefect, student counselor, officer or sergeant; we have to remember that we are ministers for the Lord and so, we also have to be Christ like at school, work or in army camp. In this way, God will bless us and enlarge our territories.
18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because his service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.
The passage above shows us that, as people with higher positions in school, work or army, the Lord will bless greatly when we chose to do things His ways. Not just for people with a supervisory or leader position, but also the workers. As an employee, student or solider, we also must be a blessing to our bosses or superior above us and pray that the Lord will bless them too.
Deuteronomy 16
Sacrifice and Rejoice unto the Lord. As we go on in our daily lives, studying, working, training, resting and ministering; we sometimes miss the point of why must we sacrifice the things we love most that draws us or distract us from drawing nearer and deeper I the Lord. Some can be hobbies, friends, girlfriend, boyfriend, family, sleeping, playing, computer games, etc… these are the yeast in some of our lives which distract us.
We sacrifice these things so that we avail ourselves to let God work in us and grow in us.
2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name.
3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste….
Many of us sometimes enjoy the blessings the Lord has blessed us with, and forget to thank the Lord and left up praises and rejoicing up to Him. For some, grumble to much and pondering upon all the unpleasant situation in life until giving thanks to God for those situations is so difficult to articulate.
10 Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you.
11 And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name….
13 Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.
14 Be joyful at your Feast….
As the passages has projected it for us to see. In those days, this is how much the really give glory to God and honor Him.
Clean and unclean food. I thank God that now all food that goes into our mouth is clean, because we say grace. Anyway, I would like to extract out something about this passage. As most of us know, we feed upon the word of God; that is clean food. Feeding ourselves with unwholesomeness from the material world; that is unclean food.
3 Do not eat any detestable thing.
Tithes. Do we give them regularly? How many of us really give regularly?
Some questions are; give tenth of our earnings; is it only our wagers? What about if we get ang bao during CNY?
Answer: It is still an earning…
22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
You know, in New Zealand, 1 cow can cost you a house. A firstborn of the herds / flocks can cost about the price of 2 houses and a Mercedes-Benz.
During those times, sacrificing the firstborn of the herds / flocks is really a big thing. Imagine burning your most expensive purchased product that you’ve saved up money for. E.g. Alvin’s Mazda 3 1.6 or James’s Hyundai Sonata.
So in the same way, we should not just limit our tithes to just 10%, but we should be willing to give above that 10%.
God will bless you with greater things when you give with a grateful heart.
Deuteronomy 15
Here it shows us that, wherever we are; may it be school, work or army, how much we get per month for allowances or wagers we are all not poor.
4 However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,
5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.
6 For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
If you read carefully in the passage above; in the present, the land that God has given us is our ministry, not just in church, but our schools, offices and army camp. We are all pastors in wherever God has placed us in; schools, offices or army camp.
As we read on, it also shows us that those of us that holds a certain position in school, work or SAF; supervisor, manager, teacher, prefect, student counselor, officer or sergeant; we have to remember that we are ministers for the Lord and so, we also have to be Christ like at school, work or in army camp. In this way, God will bless us and enlarge our territories.
18 Do not consider it a hardship to set your servant free, because his service to you these six years has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.
The passage above shows us that, as people with higher positions in school, work or army, the Lord will bless greatly when we chose to do things His ways. Not just for people with a supervisory or leader position, but also the workers. As an employee, student or solider, we also must be a blessing to our bosses or superior above us and pray that the Lord will bless them too.
Deuteronomy 16
Sacrifice and Rejoice unto the Lord. As we go on in our daily lives, studying, working, training, resting and ministering; we sometimes miss the point of why must we sacrifice the things we love most that draws us or distract us from drawing nearer and deeper I the Lord. Some can be hobbies, friends, girlfriend, boyfriend, family, sleeping, playing, computer games, etc… these are the yeast in some of our lives which distract us.
We sacrifice these things so that we avail ourselves to let God work in us and grow in us.
2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name.
3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste….
Many of us sometimes enjoy the blessings the Lord has blessed us with, and forget to thank the Lord and left up praises and rejoicing up to Him. For some, grumble to much and pondering upon all the unpleasant situation in life until giving thanks to God for those situations is so difficult to articulate.
10 Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you.
11 And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name….
13 Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.
14 Be joyful at your Feast….
As the passages has projected it for us to see. In those days, this is how much the really give glory to God and honor Him.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Deuteronomy 11 - 13 (15th Mar) - Ezra
Deuteronomy 11
In this chapter, it’s very clear cut on what God has instructed Moses. The command of the Lord is to OBEY His words.
As it is written: 8 Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 9 and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
The lands that we are going to over take are the hearts of the people out there; winning the hearts of pre-believers; showing them God’s love in our lives.
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul-
14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil.
15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Deuteronomy 12
God is our Father.
In this chapter, it’s really wonderful as you read it. It’s like a father telling and teaching his kids about the ways of life, the values and principles of life.
Likewise, God is teaching us about serving Him. We do not have to follow the ways of the world, but follow God’s ways. As we follow His ways, He will bless us and enlarge our territory.
31 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
Deuteronomy 13
Our God is a jealous God, but merciful God.
4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
As we look deeper into every versus, you will realize that there is an Egypt in most of our lives that God has brought us out.
Well, a very short testimony:
My Egypt was when I was in ITE all the way to my motorbike accident. Wasn’t living the way a Christian should be, wasn’t talking the way I should be, wasn’t portraying a Christ like attitude. Because of this childishness, I got myself into trouble outside, but thank God, no records. I was a slave to my bad attitude, harsh mouth, bad temperedness and pride. God had to break my life to bring me out from Egypt.
5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
This chapter also speaks about the family. As brothers and sisters, we should be supporting one another in the word of God, growing deep in Him together and not encouraging one another in evil thoughts or actions.
6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known,
7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him.
In this chapter, it’s very clear cut on what God has instructed Moses. The command of the Lord is to OBEY His words.
As it is written: 8 Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 9 and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
The lands that we are going to over take are the hearts of the people out there; winning the hearts of pre-believers; showing them God’s love in our lives.
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul-
14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil.
15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Deuteronomy 12
God is our Father.
In this chapter, it’s really wonderful as you read it. It’s like a father telling and teaching his kids about the ways of life, the values and principles of life.
Likewise, God is teaching us about serving Him. We do not have to follow the ways of the world, but follow God’s ways. As we follow His ways, He will bless us and enlarge our territory.
31 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
Deuteronomy 13
Our God is a jealous God, but merciful God.
4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
As we look deeper into every versus, you will realize that there is an Egypt in most of our lives that God has brought us out.
Well, a very short testimony:
My Egypt was when I was in ITE all the way to my motorbike accident. Wasn’t living the way a Christian should be, wasn’t talking the way I should be, wasn’t portraying a Christ like attitude. Because of this childishness, I got myself into trouble outside, but thank God, no records. I was a slave to my bad attitude, harsh mouth, bad temperedness and pride. God had to break my life to bring me out from Egypt.
5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
This chapter also speaks about the family. As brothers and sisters, we should be supporting one another in the word of God, growing deep in Him together and not encouraging one another in evil thoughts or actions.
6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known,
7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Deuteronomy 8-10 (14th Mar) - James
Chapter 8
It is explained to the Israelites that God chose to chasten them as a father chastens his son. Although they’ll in the wilderness for forty years, the lord provided for them and watched over them. Are you going through the wilderness in your life? Remember God, as he allowed you to go through this wilderness so that you’ll be tested and be humbled. Once this period of your life is over, prepare for His victory which He will bring to you. Even then, do not forget the Lord by not keeping his commandments.
Chapter 9
Are there challenges that lie before you, seemingly too big or unattainable? Are conquering these challenges the victory that you crave for in your life? Remember to commit them to God because He fights for you. However, do not be complacent that the victory belongs to you because you deserve them or because you’re righteous. God calls the Israelites a stiff-necked people and it’s because the Israelites were stubborn and refuses to bend to God’s will.
Chapter 10
This chapter talks about the 2nd set of tablets and what God requires of us in regards to the law. You’ll realize that He asks "…fear the lord your god, to walk in all his ways and to love Him, to serve the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good." It urges us to circumcise the foreskins of our heart (calls for a commitment to be obedient to the will of God) and be stiff-necked no longer.
It is explained to the Israelites that God chose to chasten them as a father chastens his son. Although they’ll in the wilderness for forty years, the lord provided for them and watched over them. Are you going through the wilderness in your life? Remember God, as he allowed you to go through this wilderness so that you’ll be tested and be humbled. Once this period of your life is over, prepare for His victory which He will bring to you. Even then, do not forget the Lord by not keeping his commandments.
Chapter 9
Are there challenges that lie before you, seemingly too big or unattainable? Are conquering these challenges the victory that you crave for in your life? Remember to commit them to God because He fights for you. However, do not be complacent that the victory belongs to you because you deserve them or because you’re righteous. God calls the Israelites a stiff-necked people and it’s because the Israelites were stubborn and refuses to bend to God’s will.
Chapter 10
This chapter talks about the 2nd set of tablets and what God requires of us in regards to the law. You’ll realize that He asks "…fear the lord your god, to walk in all his ways and to love Him, to serve the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good." It urges us to circumcise the foreskins of our heart (calls for a commitment to be obedient to the will of God) and be stiff-necked no longer.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Deuteronomy 5-7 (13th Mar) - Karen
The Ten Commandments
Most of us would be familiar with these 10 sacred laws that Moses commanded to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt at Mount Sinai. If you do not know what they are, do take time to read, learn and follow them as these Commandments are God’s standards for right living. To obey them is to obey God.
We know that Obedience is better than sacrifice, because God looks at the heart and your desire to please Him moves the heart of God.
If we read closely, Moses did provide a suggestion of how we can live by these simple principles, in order that we might have a growing relationship with God
To Hear – Absorb and accept information about God
To Learn – Understand its meaning and implications
To Follow – Put into action what we have leant and understood.
And now, here’s a Godly Challenge that I want to present to you:
Out of the 10, would you pull out one of the commandments that God is hardest for you in terms of obeying? Would you then covenant before God that you will obey Him in that commandment, and share this with a fellow sister/brother for accountability?
“Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength….”
The central theme of the book of Deuteronomy is summarized in Chapter 6, verses 4 – 9. Here we are reminded to love God, think constantly about his commandments, teach his commandments to our children, and live each day by the guidelines in His word. The church provides a loving environment where we can learn eternal truths effectively. Thank God for livingstones – this is our family where we learn and grow together as a family in our relationship with God.
Most of us would be familiar with these 10 sacred laws that Moses commanded to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt at Mount Sinai. If you do not know what they are, do take time to read, learn and follow them as these Commandments are God’s standards for right living. To obey them is to obey God.
We know that Obedience is better than sacrifice, because God looks at the heart and your desire to please Him moves the heart of God.
If we read closely, Moses did provide a suggestion of how we can live by these simple principles, in order that we might have a growing relationship with God
To Hear – Absorb and accept information about God
To Learn – Understand its meaning and implications
To Follow – Put into action what we have leant and understood.
And now, here’s a Godly Challenge that I want to present to you:
Out of the 10, would you pull out one of the commandments that God is hardest for you in terms of obeying? Would you then covenant before God that you will obey Him in that commandment, and share this with a fellow sister/brother for accountability?
“Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength….”
The central theme of the book of Deuteronomy is summarized in Chapter 6, verses 4 – 9. Here we are reminded to love God, think constantly about his commandments, teach his commandments to our children, and live each day by the guidelines in His word. The church provides a loving environment where we can learn eternal truths effectively. Thank God for livingstones – this is our family where we learn and grow together as a family in our relationship with God.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Deuteronomy 3 - 4 (12th Mar) - Li Juan
Deuteronomy 3
The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him (Og King) over to you with his whole army and land…”
As compared to in Deut 2 when God said to Moses “Do not provoke them (descendents of Esau) to war for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on…”
Just a comparison between these 2 statements made, God is showing that if His hands is upon you, there will be victory. There are areas in our lives we have yet to claim the victory, but they are all in God’s plan already! So, what are you waiting for?
Seeing what the Lord has done to Og King and Sihon King (in Deut 2), Moses commanded Joshua “The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. Do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”
When God plans it, you know that you’re safe in His hands. There’s no room for fear to set in if you trusts God enough to fight for you! And He will!
Deuteronomy 4
What does obedience mean?
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord that I give you.”
Another verse which strucks me is “What other nations is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?”
Wow do you see it? God is near us whenever we pray to him!
Our God is a jealous God. He never allows His people to worship anything kind of idols. This incurs in Him a great wrath against the people who worships idols, and they will no longer live but will certainly be destroyed.
However, our merciful God also gives us a second chance (but do not take it for granted!). The condition is “but if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Life without God is certainly bitter and unbearable after you’ve tasted His goodness and enjoyed the intimacy with Him.
God proved Himself true through the many great and awesome deeds. Acknowledge and take it to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the Earth below. There is no other.
The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him (Og King) over to you with his whole army and land…”
As compared to in Deut 2 when God said to Moses “Do not provoke them (descendents of Esau) to war for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on…”
Just a comparison between these 2 statements made, God is showing that if His hands is upon you, there will be victory. There are areas in our lives we have yet to claim the victory, but they are all in God’s plan already! So, what are you waiting for?
Seeing what the Lord has done to Og King and Sihon King (in Deut 2), Moses commanded Joshua “The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. Do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”
When God plans it, you know that you’re safe in His hands. There’s no room for fear to set in if you trusts God enough to fight for you! And He will!
Deuteronomy 4
What does obedience mean?
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord that I give you.”
Another verse which strucks me is “What other nations is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?”
Wow do you see it? God is near us whenever we pray to him!
Our God is a jealous God. He never allows His people to worship anything kind of idols. This incurs in Him a great wrath against the people who worships idols, and they will no longer live but will certainly be destroyed.
However, our merciful God also gives us a second chance (but do not take it for granted!). The condition is “but if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Life without God is certainly bitter and unbearable after you’ve tasted His goodness and enjoyed the intimacy with Him.
God proved Himself true through the many great and awesome deeds. Acknowledge and take it to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the Earth below. There is no other.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Deuteronomy 1-2 (11th Mar) - Vivien
A short summary of Deuteronomy, extracted from The Student Bible (NIV):
This book contains 3 of Moses’ speeches:
1) Chapter 1 – 3: a recapped of God’s dealings with Israel.
2) Chapter 4 – 26: the longest speech, which talks about moral and civil code that the Israelites have agreed to keep. Along with the laws, reminders, object lessons, personal outburst were included by him.
3) Chapter 27 – 33: the final summing up and farewell speech.
So for today as we read Chapter 1 and 2, we might find certain incidents familiar… a déjà vu? Haha… no lah… Moses is speaking to the new generation that were allowed into the Promised Land. So it is like a grandfather telling story to his grandchildren. I think one reason he did that was because those events that took place occurred when they were still too young to understand or remember. Knowing that he would not be entering the Promised Land and time on earth was up soon; he decided to take the trouble to tell a very long story hoping that the new generation would not fall into the same mistakes made by their fathers. It must have been tiring for Moses to tell this story that can be emotionally wrecking, especially knowing the fact that he would die without entering the Promised Land.
To all the young ones, listening is an important skill to adopt. Don’t be turned off immediately if somebody shares with you his or her old grandfather story. There are usually precious lessons to learn from.
This book contains 3 of Moses’ speeches:
1) Chapter 1 – 3: a recapped of God’s dealings with Israel.
2) Chapter 4 – 26: the longest speech, which talks about moral and civil code that the Israelites have agreed to keep. Along with the laws, reminders, object lessons, personal outburst were included by him.
3) Chapter 27 – 33: the final summing up and farewell speech.
So for today as we read Chapter 1 and 2, we might find certain incidents familiar… a déjà vu? Haha… no lah… Moses is speaking to the new generation that were allowed into the Promised Land. So it is like a grandfather telling story to his grandchildren. I think one reason he did that was because those events that took place occurred when they were still too young to understand or remember. Knowing that he would not be entering the Promised Land and time on earth was up soon; he decided to take the trouble to tell a very long story hoping that the new generation would not fall into the same mistakes made by their fathers. It must have been tiring for Moses to tell this story that can be emotionally wrecking, especially knowing the fact that he would die without entering the Promised Land.
To all the young ones, listening is an important skill to adopt. Don’t be turned off immediately if somebody shares with you his or her old grandfather story. There are usually precious lessons to learn from.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Numbers 35 - 36 (10th Mar) - Stephanie
Numbers 35
Towns for the Levites
The Lord’s command for the Israelites is to provide 48 towns for the Levites to dwell in. If you recall in Num 18:20, the Levites had no “state” or “province” within Israel and their inheritance was to be God alone. Yet God provided and commanded for Israel to give to the Levites in the proportion of the inheritance that each tribe possessed (Num 35:8), not only towns for the Levites to dwell in but pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and other livestocks as well.
Cities of Refuge
We all know that “Thou shall not murder” is the sixth of the Ten Commandments. Here, we look further on acts which amount to murder (v16-21), acts which do not amount to murder but manslaughter (v22-24), laws in ascertaining murder (v30-32) and the penalty for murder (v33-34).
Of the 48 towns, 6 were to be cities of refuge (3 on each side of Jordan and Canaan – evenly distributed with proper roads built to provide easy access for all, see Joshua 20:7-8 and Deuteronomy 19:3), designated as places where someone who had accidentally killed another could escape to from the vengeance of outraged relatives or friends of the victim. There, they could safely await trial to officially determine their guilt or innocence. These cities were not places to escape justice, but rather places that saw justice to be done.
In the same way, the cities of refuge reminded me that God Himself is our refuge. I believe that there were surely times where we have been wrongly accused or misunderstood by others and as a result find ourselves in threatening situations. The good news is this - God looks after those being wrongly accused or misunderstood, those who inadvertently got into trouble and thus became most vulnerable to the anger of others.
While not glossing over the wrong done, God makes sure that things do not go from bad to worse through unjust punishments. The society we live in today may not have literal cities, to which we can flee to, yet we must always remember that we can always flee to God who truly cares for us because through Him, all of us can find refuge no matter how threatening our circumstances may be.
Numbers 36
Having thought through the implications of women inheriting tribal land and then marrying into another tribe, the relatives of Zelophehad (Num 27:1-11) realized that his daughters' land would eventually go to the tribes of their husbands. The Lord’s command then is for Zelophehad’s daughters to marry within their own tribe. In this way, no inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.
Hence, Zelophehad’s daughters all married within the clans of the descendents of Manasseh son of Joseph and their inheritance continued to remain in their father’s clan and tribe.
Towns for the Levites
The Lord’s command for the Israelites is to provide 48 towns for the Levites to dwell in. If you recall in Num 18:20, the Levites had no “state” or “province” within Israel and their inheritance was to be God alone. Yet God provided and commanded for Israel to give to the Levites in the proportion of the inheritance that each tribe possessed (Num 35:8), not only towns for the Levites to dwell in but pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and other livestocks as well.
Cities of Refuge
We all know that “Thou shall not murder” is the sixth of the Ten Commandments. Here, we look further on acts which amount to murder (v16-21), acts which do not amount to murder but manslaughter (v22-24), laws in ascertaining murder (v30-32) and the penalty for murder (v33-34).
Of the 48 towns, 6 were to be cities of refuge (3 on each side of Jordan and Canaan – evenly distributed with proper roads built to provide easy access for all, see Joshua 20:7-8 and Deuteronomy 19:3), designated as places where someone who had accidentally killed another could escape to from the vengeance of outraged relatives or friends of the victim. There, they could safely await trial to officially determine their guilt or innocence. These cities were not places to escape justice, but rather places that saw justice to be done.
In the same way, the cities of refuge reminded me that God Himself is our refuge. I believe that there were surely times where we have been wrongly accused or misunderstood by others and as a result find ourselves in threatening situations. The good news is this - God looks after those being wrongly accused or misunderstood, those who inadvertently got into trouble and thus became most vulnerable to the anger of others.
While not glossing over the wrong done, God makes sure that things do not go from bad to worse through unjust punishments. The society we live in today may not have literal cities, to which we can flee to, yet we must always remember that we can always flee to God who truly cares for us because through Him, all of us can find refuge no matter how threatening our circumstances may be.
Numbers 36
Having thought through the implications of women inheriting tribal land and then marrying into another tribe, the relatives of Zelophehad (Num 27:1-11) realized that his daughters' land would eventually go to the tribes of their husbands. The Lord’s command then is for Zelophehad’s daughters to marry within their own tribe. In this way, no inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.
Hence, Zelophehad’s daughters all married within the clans of the descendents of Manasseh son of Joseph and their inheritance continued to remain in their father’s clan and tribe.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Numbers 33 - 34 (9th Mar) - Madeline
Numbers 33 & 34
My first impression when I read chapter 33:50-56. What a harsh command... to drive out the Canaanites.... which ended off we a 'threat' in vs 56.
Began to read my study bible.
Why were the Isralites told to destory the people living in Canaan?
1) God was stamping out the wickedness of an extremely sinful nation. The Canaanites brought on their own punishment. Idol worship expressed their deepest evil desires, which led to the worship of Satan and rejection of God.
2) God wanted to remove all trace of pagan beliefs & pratices from the land. He did not want his people to mix or compromise with idolatry.
Application:
- Be harsh, really harsh, to the sins in our lives.
Don't be hesitant to DRIVE SINS OUT of your life.
- Pray for our family, friends & nation to accept the Lord and STOP THEIR IDOL WORSHIP... which is extremely hurtful to God. :(
Chapter 34...
What can I say... God gives super super detailed & clear instructions to His people!
My first impression when I read chapter 33:50-56. What a harsh command... to drive out the Canaanites.... which ended off we a 'threat' in vs 56.
Began to read my study bible.
Why were the Isralites told to destory the people living in Canaan?
1) God was stamping out the wickedness of an extremely sinful nation. The Canaanites brought on their own punishment. Idol worship expressed their deepest evil desires, which led to the worship of Satan and rejection of God.
2) God wanted to remove all trace of pagan beliefs & pratices from the land. He did not want his people to mix or compromise with idolatry.
Application:
- Be harsh, really harsh, to the sins in our lives.
Don't be hesitant to DRIVE SINS OUT of your life.
- Pray for our family, friends & nation to accept the Lord and STOP THEIR IDOL WORSHIP... which is extremely hurtful to God. :(
Chapter 34...
What can I say... God gives super super detailed & clear instructions to His people!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Numbers 26 - 27 (6th Mar) - Weiling
Numbers 26, 27
Coming Full Circle – The Second Census
In chapter 26, it feels as if everything had gone full circle. It seems so familiar. Once again, the Lord asked Moses to take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families as what He had done in chapter 1. In fact, the name of the book (Numbers) was derived from the two numberings or countings of the Israelites during their 38 years of wandering in the wilderness. Surely it must be significant!
So why did God ask Moses to count them?
Like what pastor said on Feb 23, those involved in the military had to be counted to know their strength. The census took place as God was going to lead them into the Promised Land, Canaan. But after the first census, the Israelites did not enter into Canaan. They murmured and complained, “Why bring us out to suffer? We were better off in Egypt.” They rebelled and refused to go into Canaan because of the reports they heard and wanted to stone Moses and Aaron (Num 14: 10). They were stubborn, disobedient and ungrateful. As a result, it was 38 years of wandering in the wilderness, of long detours. In fact, they lived out their lives in the desert and did not live to enter into the Promised Land. Only their children would enjoy the fulfillment of the promise that had originally been theirs. “For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.”
Even Moses and Aaron did not enter into the Promised Land because they disobeyed God and did not trust Him enough honour Him as holy (They struck the rock twice for water instead of speaking to it.)
But here it was again – a second chance. God still wanted to bless them and still wanted to give them what He promised. Also, it meant that the wanderings in the wilderness have come to an end. God also chose Joshua, “in whom is the Spirit” to succeed Moses to lead the people into the Promised Land. (God led Moses to appoint Joshua in front of the congregation so that they would know he is the one chosen by God.) And with the appointment of new leader, it signified a new beginning, a new season. A season of conquest, of taking and possessing what God had promised – their inheritance.
Inheritance
The inheritance was distributed based on the number of names. "Take a census of the men twenty years old or more…”, “… who are able to serve in the army of Israel.” (Num 26: 2, 4) And so, it seems that the inheritance was only given to men above twenty who are able to fight. This means that it is probable that there are battles and wars coming up. Why else do you need people who are able to serve in the “army of Israel”? It seems fair enough that you give a share of inheritance to those who fight, those who are warriors.
But what about the ladies?
Is God “heavy-male-light-female”? :p It may appear a little unfair at first but notice that in Num 26: 2, the census was to be taken of the community by “families”. The names of the men counted represented their families. The inheritance was for the family. To substantiate this point, let’s look at Zelophehad’s daughters (Num 27: 1- 11). They were unable to claim any inheritance because they did not have any brothers and their father had passed away. There was no man to represent their family. But this is not what God wants. He does not want these ladies or their family to miss out on the inheritance. Not only did tell God Moses to give Zelophedad’s daughters their share of the inheritance, He told Moses to list it as a legal requirement (Num 27: 11).
How about the Levites?
In Num 26:62, it was specifically written, “…they were not counted along with the other Israelites because they received no inheritance among them.” The Levites are the ones who do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. It is a lasting ordinance passed on from generation to generation. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. (Num 18: 23) They are really set apart for God in every sense. But God bless them and provide for them in giving them all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. (Num 18: 21) Also, God said to them “I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.” (Num 18: 20) Isn’t that awesome? They don’t receive any inheritance like the rest of the Israelites, but God Himself is their inheritance. It’s really like the lines to a Christian hymn “He is my Everything, He is my all”. Often, we know it in our head and say it with our mouth but to truly know it in every sense and in our heart that: God alone is enough. That is awesome.
Coming Full Circle – The Second Census
In chapter 26, it feels as if everything had gone full circle. It seems so familiar. Once again, the Lord asked Moses to take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families as what He had done in chapter 1. In fact, the name of the book (Numbers) was derived from the two numberings or countings of the Israelites during their 38 years of wandering in the wilderness. Surely it must be significant!
So why did God ask Moses to count them?
Like what pastor said on Feb 23, those involved in the military had to be counted to know their strength. The census took place as God was going to lead them into the Promised Land, Canaan. But after the first census, the Israelites did not enter into Canaan. They murmured and complained, “Why bring us out to suffer? We were better off in Egypt.” They rebelled and refused to go into Canaan because of the reports they heard and wanted to stone Moses and Aaron (Num 14: 10). They were stubborn, disobedient and ungrateful. As a result, it was 38 years of wandering in the wilderness, of long detours. In fact, they lived out their lives in the desert and did not live to enter into the Promised Land. Only their children would enjoy the fulfillment of the promise that had originally been theirs. “For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.”
Even Moses and Aaron did not enter into the Promised Land because they disobeyed God and did not trust Him enough honour Him as holy (They struck the rock twice for water instead of speaking to it.)
But here it was again – a second chance. God still wanted to bless them and still wanted to give them what He promised. Also, it meant that the wanderings in the wilderness have come to an end. God also chose Joshua, “in whom is the Spirit” to succeed Moses to lead the people into the Promised Land. (God led Moses to appoint Joshua in front of the congregation so that they would know he is the one chosen by God.) And with the appointment of new leader, it signified a new beginning, a new season. A season of conquest, of taking and possessing what God had promised – their inheritance.
Inheritance
The inheritance was distributed based on the number of names. "Take a census of the men twenty years old or more…”, “… who are able to serve in the army of Israel.” (Num 26: 2, 4) And so, it seems that the inheritance was only given to men above twenty who are able to fight. This means that it is probable that there are battles and wars coming up. Why else do you need people who are able to serve in the “army of Israel”? It seems fair enough that you give a share of inheritance to those who fight, those who are warriors.
But what about the ladies?
Is God “heavy-male-light-female”? :p It may appear a little unfair at first but notice that in Num 26: 2, the census was to be taken of the community by “families”. The names of the men counted represented their families. The inheritance was for the family. To substantiate this point, let’s look at Zelophehad’s daughters (Num 27: 1- 11). They were unable to claim any inheritance because they did not have any brothers and their father had passed away. There was no man to represent their family. But this is not what God wants. He does not want these ladies or their family to miss out on the inheritance. Not only did tell God Moses to give Zelophedad’s daughters their share of the inheritance, He told Moses to list it as a legal requirement (Num 27: 11).
How about the Levites?
In Num 26:62, it was specifically written, “…they were not counted along with the other Israelites because they received no inheritance among them.” The Levites are the ones who do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. It is a lasting ordinance passed on from generation to generation. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. (Num 18: 23) They are really set apart for God in every sense. But God bless them and provide for them in giving them all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. (Num 18: 21) Also, God said to them “I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.” (Num 18: 20) Isn’t that awesome? They don’t receive any inheritance like the rest of the Israelites, but God Himself is their inheritance. It’s really like the lines to a Christian hymn “He is my Everything, He is my all”. Often, we know it in our head and say it with our mouth but to truly know it in every sense and in our heart that: God alone is enough. That is awesome.
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