Podcasts about deuteronomy moses

Deuteronomy - Moses' Last Counsel, Israel Will Fall Away, Joshua Is Commissioned, The Song of Moses.John - The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus, Conspiracy to Kill Jesus.

Click to watchWe affirm the blessing and the curse of covenant with Godand choose to follow him with our lives

Click to watch - Click to view manuscriptWe anticipate with hope that God will fulfill his promisesWe celebrate with a shared confession of his goodness

Click to watch - Click to view manuscriptGod delights in righteousness and justiceHe defends the vulnerable

Click to watch - Click to view manuscriptGod requires godliness, humility, and trembling at his Wordamong all who serve in leadership

Click to watchWe are to fear God, walk in his ways, love him, serve him,and keep his commands. This is life.

Click to watch - Click to view manuscript We are the recipients of God's great, steadfast covenant love and are called to reciprocate love for God in our lives 

Children of Abraham Galatians 3:1-14 by William Klock Have you ever heard of Charles Blondin?  He was a French acrobat, daredevil, and tight-rope walker in the middle of the Nineteenth Century.  He is most famous for crossing the Niagara Gorge, just above the falls, walking a tight-rope in 1859.  He was the first person to do so.  And it drew a crowd, so he did it again and again and again.  But to keep the crowds coming back he had to keep finding new and more impressive ways to walk the tight-rope across the gorge.  He crossed walking backwards.  He crossed while blindfolded.  He crossed pushing a loaded wheelbarrow.  He crossed while walking the tight-rope on stilts.  He once carried a chair with him, balanced the chair on a single leg on the rope, then stood on the chair.  Another time he stopped mid-rope, cooked himself an omelet (Yes, I'm also struggling to figure out how he did that), ate the omelet, and then continued to the other side.  But, I think, his most impressive feat was crossing Niagara Gorge on a tight-rope while carrying his manager.  I mean, in terms of physical challenges, that was probably one of the easier things Blondin did.  The impressive bit is that his manager trusted him enough to be part of the stunt. So picture Charles Blondin on a tight-rope, crossing Niagara Gorge with his manager—his name was Harry Colcord—on his back.  But then imagine, Harry, halfway across, telling Blondin to stop and put him down.  “This has been nice, and I know you told me not to look down, but I did.  And the water is churning away way down there as it gets ready to go over the falls and, well, I think I'd feel better if I got off your back and got myself across the tight-rope alone.”  Imagine what Blondin would have said to him.  “You witless fool!” Well, that's what Paul writes to the churches in Galatia, having heard that they're talking about getting circumcised.  Look at Galatians 3:1-5. You witless Galatians!  Who as bewitched you?  Messiah Jesus was portrayed on the cross before your very eyes!  There's just one thing I want to know from you.  Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of torah, or by hearing and believing?  You are so witless!  You began with the Spirit, and now you're ending with the flesh?  Did you really suffer so much for nothing—if indeed it is going to be for nothing?  The one who gives you the Spirit and performs powerful deeds among you—does he do this through your performance of torah, or through hearing and believing?   So chapter 2 ended with Paul writing about the faithful son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  He's reminded them of the cross and now Paul launches into his main argument with that violent image of the cross at the forefront.  “Messiah Jesus was portrayed on the cross before your very eyes!”  It's hard to say exactly what Paul means by that.  When he was there, did he give them a graphic description of Jesus' crucifixion?  Maybe.  But everyone in the Roman world knew about crucifixion.  I think it's safe to say that pretty much everyone had seen a crucifixion at some point.  They knew how awful it was.  Whatever it means that the cross was displayed to them, Paul's point is that the Galatians knew all about Jesus and the cross and they should have understood how it had changed everything.  They should have understood how it turned everything Jews thought about their identity and everything about the rule of torah upside-down.  Jesus' death changed everything.  Paul had taught them that.  When he'd left them, they understood all of this—or so he thought.  But now—they're talking about getting circumcised.  He's utterly flabbergasted.  How could this be, so he practically shouts at them, “You witless Galatians!”  I thought I knew you, but now this?  Has someone cast a stupid spell on you?  Jesus and the Spirit got them halfway across the tightrope, but now they're looking down at the long drop and the churning waters and thinking that maybe they should play it safe and go the rest of the way with torah instead.  And Paul's point: Torah never would have got you this far.  Don't be stupid.  Let Jesus and the Spirit take you all the way. He's got one question for them, but it spills out as six.  Who has bewitched you?  Did you receive the Spirit through the torah or through hearing and believing the gospel?  Again, are you really this dumb?  Having begun in the Spirit, are you going to end in the flesh?  Have you suffered so much for nothing?  And, did God give you his Spirit and has he done powerful things amongst you because you obeyed torah or because you heard and believed?  It all boils down to one question.  Paul asks them to consider everything that's happened to them since he first visited them and proclaimed the good news about Jesus the Messiah.  He asks them: “Did all that happen because you were keeping the Jewish law?”  Of course, the answer is a resounding “No!”  Everything that had happened to them had happened through the power of the gospel and the giving of the Spirit as they listened and believed. And when Paul says that, he makes sure to put all the stress on the gospel and on the Spirit and none on them.  The gospel was proclaimed, they believed—and then they discovered that it was actually all along the Spirit already at work amongst them.  That's the point here.  Their lives had been transformed by the Spirit and the Spirit was doing amazing things in their churches, not because of anything they had done—and certainly not because they'd decided to start living according to the Jewish law.  Up til now, they hadn't even considered doing that.  So, no, none of this had happened because of their works.  Just the opposite, their works were actually the work of God's Spirit in them—a gift they'd received, a new life into which they'd been plunged when they believed the good news and were baptised in the Messiah.  Their new life had begun with the Spirit.  So why, O why, Paul wants to know, are they now turning back to the flesh? Now, we should pause here and ask what Paul means when he writes about Spirit and flesh.  The Spirit is God's Spirit, but for Paul it sort of becomes a shorthand for new life and new creation.  The Spirit is the down payment on the resurrection life of the new world that God has promised.  The life of the Spirit is a preview of what life will one day be like when God finally sets his creation (and us!) fully to rights.  The Spirit is a preview in the sense that we now have a taste of that life, but the Spirit, through his work in us, also gives the world a preview of what God's new world will be like.  Think about that.  The Church is—or it should be—a preview of the age to come, of God's new creation.  On the other hand, the “flesh” for Paul is shorthand for the corruption, decay, and death of the old age—it's shorthand for life without the redeeming work of Jesus and the renewing work of the Spirit.  But, too, Paul also writes about the Jewish people “according to the flesh”—Abraham's biological descendants marked out with the sign of circumcision in their flesh.  To be clear, though, when Paul talks about flesh and Spirit, he is absolutely not using these works in the sense of the Greek philosophers—whose ideas persist today—who thought the physical word or the physical body (the flesh) was some bad thing and that the spirit was some good, non-material essence—the real us—that needs to be set free.  For Paul, we can think of “flesh” as representing the old age dominated by sin and death and “Spirit” as representing the life of god's new creation. So obviously the Spirit is important.  The Spirit shows that the promises made to Abraham have finally come true through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The Spirit is the evidence of the gospel doing its work.  This is why, for example, the Pentecostal and Charismatic idea that separated the gift of the Spirit from belief in the gospel is such a problem.  (If Paul had been alive in the early Twentieth Century he would, I expect, have written an equally sternly worded epistle to them.)  The Spirit is not an add-on to life in Jesus—as if you can believe in Jesus now and receive the Spirit at some later time—or even not at all.  To believe the gospel is to trust in Jesus the Messiah, not just for the forgiveness of sins—as if that's all there is to gospel.  To believe in the gospel is to become part of God's promised new creation, to be plunged into the Spirit so that the very life of God himself makes us new.  To be in the Messiah is to have the Spirit in you.  You cannot separate the two.  Anything less than that is, as Paul would put it, “flesh” and, Brothers and Sisters, the gospel which begins with the Spirit ends in the Spirit.  It will never leave us stuck in the flesh.  The Lord does not deliver you from bondage in Egypt only to leave you stuck in Egypt.  He leads you through the Red Sea and into the promised land. So, to sum up so far: We live the life of the Spirit not because of anything we've done, but because we have heard and believed the good news about Jesus, crucified and risen.  Even then, the fact that we have “heard” it, is because the Spirit was already at work in us.  Now, lets move on to verse 6.  Paul writes: It's like Abraham.  “He believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.”  So you know that it's people of faith who are children of Abraham.   Remember what I talked about last week.  Why was Abraham so important to Paul?  Because the story of redemption begins with him.  He's the model for all of God's people thereafter.  The Lord spoke into a world completely lost in the darkness of paganism and he called Abraham: “Go to the land I will show you and I will give you a family and an inheritance.”  It was a crazy promise made by a strange God, but Abraham believed—he trusted—and the Lord established a covenant with him and with his children.  Through them, the Lord would, one day, drive away the darkness and set the world to rights.  I said last week, that's what “righteousness” is about for Paul.  It's about membership in this covenant family of God.  For the Jews in Paul's day the human race was divided into two groups: the Jews were the “righteous”, the “sinners” were everyone else.  It began with Abraham—long before there was ever a torah or, for that matter, even before circumcision.  The Lord established a covenant with Abraham because of faith and—here's the key point for Paul here that stands like a mountain over this whole passage—it is this faith, this trust in the Lord that marks out Abraham's family.  It's the faith people, not the circumcision people who will inherit God's promises.  Imagine Paul pointing his finger at the Galatians—most of whom were gentiles—as he says this.  He's saying, “This means you.”  They—gentile believers renewd by God's Spirit— they were the sign that God's promises to Abraham were finally coming true.  He goes on in verse 8: The scriptures foresaw that God would justify the nations by faith, so it announced the gospel to Abraham in advance, when it declared that ‘the nations will be blessed in you.'  So you see, the people of faith are blessed along with faithful Abraham.   God's promises were a lot bigger than Abraham.  Again, God began a project with Abraham, through which he intended to bring the whole world—the nations—out of the darkness of sin and death.  And Paul could point to these gentile believers in Galatia and say, “See!  You are living proof of the faithfulness of the God of Israel.  In you, the blessing promised to Abraham has begun to reach the nations.  Brothers and Sisters, the same goes for us.  Some of my ancestors were Jews, but most of them were pagans who worshipped oak trees.  They heard the good news about Jesus, the Spirit got hold of them, they believed, and the Spirit led them out of the darkness and made them sons and daughters of Abraham and inheritors of his promise.  You and I are proof that God is faithful to do what he promised. And that's Paul's next point.  It's God who is faithful.  The promises weren't fulfilled because Abraham's family was faithful.  Some of them were, but on the whole, Israel failed miserably.  Look at verses 10-12: Because, you see, those who belong to the “works-of-the-law” camp are under a curse.  For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not stick fast by everything written in the book of the law, to perform it.”  But because nobody is justified before God in the law, it's clear that “the righteous shall live by faith.”  The law, however, is not by faith; rather “the one who does them shall live by them.”   We know that the “faith people” are justified—that means they're the ones counted as “righteous”, as God's people—because those who put their stock in doing the Jewish law, well, they're under a curse.  Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26, “Cursed is everyone who does not stick fast by everything written in the book of the law, to perform it.”  Now, Paul's point isn't that it's impossible to keep the law, so don't bother trying.  What he's saying is that if—like the agitators in Galatia or the people from James in Antioch—if you decide to go down the road of circumcision, well, that's just the first step.  There are 612 other commandments you'll have to follow and not even the agitators, not even these “circumcision people” were doing all of that.  Torah is all or nothing. Here's where Paul is going with this.  He's telling the story again.  I think we miss that because we've been trained to think in terms of abstract doctrinal propositions, but for Paul it was all about the story of God and his people.  It began with Abraham and the family that the Lord miraculously gave him to carry forward his promises to the nations, but along the way the story shows that Abraham's family was infected with the same sin problem as the rest of the human race—the very same problem God's promises were meant to heal. This is the lens through which the Jews of Paul's day saw themselves.  The Essenes at Qumran—the people responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls—they're a great example of this.  They saw that Israel was broken and fallen, disloyal and incapable of carrying forward the Lord's promises.  They believed that the Lord was, secretly through them, launching his new covenant to set everything right.  Their scroll on torah (4QMMT) sums it all up.  First there was a time of blessing under David and Solomon, but King Jeroboam sinned and his successors down the line through Zedekiah kept sinning and that brought the curse of Deuteronomy 27 on the nation.  Deuteronomy—Moses reiteration of the law before the Israelites crossed into the promised land, it promised blessing if the people trusted the Lord and a curse if they were unfaithful.  So the Lord did what he promised.  He caused them to be carried way into exile and, even though the people had returned from exile to the promised land, the curse continued—for another five hundred years.  Being ruled over by godless gentiles like the Romans was the proof.  What Israel needed was a new covenant.  Now, the Qumran community was unique in thinking that they were the people of that new covenant, but most other Jews would have agreed with the basic outline of the story.  The angry Pharisees who wrote the Palms of Solomon and the Maccabean martyrs would have agreed.  Ezra and Nehemiah and Daniel said the same thing: God's people, even after some of them had returned to Jerusalem, they were still sinful, still in “exile”, still “slaves in our own land”.  The promises of Deuteronomy 30, the promises that would come true if Israel were faithful, they had never happened.  Isaiah's promises of everything set to rights was only a dream.  Deuteronomy warned of that if Israel was unfaithful she would fall under a curse and Paul and his fellow Jews saw that curse happening in their own day.  Oppression by the pagan Romans was the current iteration in a long line back to Babylon. So Paul sums up the problem in verse 11 when he says that nobody is justified before God in the law, so “the righteous shall live by faith”.  He's quoting Habakkuk there.  But that was the big question for Paul and his fellow Jews.  There were these big promises.  Habakkuk said the righteous shall live by faith, but how were they supposed to get there?  No matter what Israel did, no matter how many reform movements came along, Israel was stuck in unfaithfulness and living under the curse.  Buckling down, like the Pharisees, and doing the law even harder wasn't working.  That's why Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5: “You shall therefore keep my statues and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord”.  There's a promise there, but pretty much everyone by Paul's day had lost hope.  Yes, if we keep the Lord's statues we will live, but no matter what we do and no matter how hard we try, we fail.  So Paul throws up his hands in despair and, I think, most other thoughtful Jews of his day would have thought the same way.  What more can we do? But as discouraging as this story might seem, if you really believed that all of Israel's woes were the curse promised in Deuteronomy 27, there was hope that one day, somehow the blessing of Deuteronomy 30 would happen—including God's renewal of his people by his Spirit.  And so, while his fellow Jews felt the weight of Leviticus 18:5, Paul saw the beginnings of hope there.  This was the Lord's promise and the Lord is faithful.  Paul saw it pointing to a new covenant and a new way of keeping the law—one that would finally work.  This—this new thing—is what Paul saw had happened—was happening—through Jesus the Messiah.  He goes on in verses 13 and 14: The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse on our behalf, as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”  This was so that the blessing of Abraham could flow through to the nations in Messiah Jesus—and so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit, through faith. Paul saying, “It seemed hopeless, but look what God has done!  The curse that Deuteronomy promised has been borne by the Messiah.  Jesus can do that, because—remember—the king represents his people.  That's why I stressed last week that it's not just the promise to Abraham that's important, but that we also remember how David, the King, was incorporated into the promise as well.  So Jesus the Messiah, the King came to the place where the pagans, agents of the curse, were oppressing his people and he took the curse on himself.  And he didn't do it in some abstract way.  It was obvious.  It was unmistakable.  The cross was the great symbol of Roman oppression and brutality.  Jesus literally took Israel's curse on himself when he died on the cross. Israel, through her unfaithfulness, had become like a logjam in the river of God's blessing, so Jesus the King became, himself, a literal son of Abraham and bore Israel's curse himself, thereby becoming the conduit for God to pour out his Spirit.  He cleared the logjam.  This is what Paul means in verse 14 when he writes that the blessing of Abraham could flow through to the nations in Messiah Jesus”.  That's the first result of Jesus' death on the cross.  The second thing he did was to renew God's covenant.  This is what the prophets had promised.  The Lord wasn't just going to let Israel rot away as a logjam in the river or even bypass Israel.  Through Jesus, God poured out his Spirit on Israel, giving them a new way to keep his law, so that they could, again and as he intended, be the river carrying his blessings to the nations.  That's why Paul says we, meaning he and his fellow Jews who believed the good news about Jesus, we “might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”.  God has dealt with the logjam created by the law and the unfaithfulness of Israel and he's done so through Jesus' death and through the pouring out of his Spirit.  And now Paul and his fellow Jewish missionaries are like the river, freed of the logjam, rushing out to carry the light and life of God to the nations.  For Paul, the mission to the gentiles and the fact that in Jesus, the gentile and Jewish believers were worshiping and eating and gathering around the Lord's Table together as one family, this was proof that God is faithful to do what he has promised. That's as far as we'll go today with Chapter 3.  These verses have a reputation for being notoriously difficult, but a lot of that is because for a very long time we've tried to read what Paul says here as abstract doctrinal propositions, when what Paul is really doing is telling the story of God and his people.  Paul does it that way in part because it puts the faithfulness of God to his promises front and centre and gives us reason to believe him and to trust him, but Paul also puts this all in terms of this great story of redemption, because it shows us our place in the story.  When we look at this in terms of the story, what stands out in the middle of it is that we are, by faith in the Messiah, members of Abraham's promised family.  By faith in Jesus the Messiah, not by circumcision or torah or anything else.  By faith in Jesus the Messiah.  Getting that right was the solution to the problems in Galatia.  Think about that.  When we think about Christian identity, how often do we think of in terms of being sons and daughters of Abraham?  This was a really, really big deal for Paul.  And as much as we sang the song about Father Abrahamwhen we were kids in Sunday School—I am one of them, and so are you—this theme is almost entirely ignored down through the history of the church.  We even have a whole school of recent evangelical theology committed to the idea that only ethnic Jews are children of Abraham.  But this truth, that we are children of Abraham and heirs of God's promises to him, it's absolutely essential to Paul.  So much so, that for him the gospel stands or falls on this truth.  It means that we're part of the story and it means that as God pours his Spirit into us and makes us his temple, we see his faithfulness to his promises. Think on that as you come to the Lord's Table this morning.  We eat the bread and drink the wine as one family in fulfilment of the promises that the Lord made so long ago to Abraham.  We are brothers and sisters, because Jesus has, by his grace, grafted us into this family.  The simple fact that we are here together and that God has poured his Spirit into us, is proof of his faithfulness.  So eat the bread and drink the wine, look around at your brothers and sisters, remember our place in this story, and have faith, believe, trust.  We live in difficult days and like, Charles Blondin's manager, sitting on his shoulders and looking down at the long drop and the churning waters, we might be tempted to get down and walk the tightrope ourselves.  Brothers and Sisters, keep the faith, keep trusting in the God who has proved himself faithful.  Jesus and the Spirit have brought us this far and Jesus and the Spirit will see us through to the end. Let's pray: Gracious Father, who keep us steadfast in faith, we pray.  We are fickle, but you have proved yourself faithful.  Remind us always of the great story into which you have grafted us so that we live in your faithfulness, redeemed by your Son and renewed by your Spirit.  Give us grace to trust and obey you and to be your river of gospel life flowing to the nations.  Through Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Click to watch We are called to love God and him alone and to build love for God in the hearts of our children. 

Jesus in Deuteronomy Jesus quoted Deuteronomy more than any other book. See how Moses predicted Jesus as a prophet like him. See my new book: SEE JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT https://a.co/d/3DXzOgE --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/george-crabb7/support

Click to watch - Click to view manuscriptWe must embrace God's covenant commands as our own and protect the people around us, from us

Click to watch - Click to view manuscript We must know the unique character and glory of God and embrace the unique calling of living as His people 

Click to watch - Click to view manuscript A Call to Know What God Has Done (pt 2) We must learn to trust in God who alone grants victoryand remain steadfastly loyal to Him in all things.

Click to watch - Click to view manuscriptA Call to Know What God Has Done (pt 1) We must be attentive hearers of God's Word to be dedicated doers of God's Word 

A Wedding of Words Ruth's One-Way Flight Each year, it is traditional to read the scroll of Ruth at Shavuot. We might say the three scrolls of Ruth, Esther, and Song of Songs are the Bridal Scrolls of return from exile. There are many wonderful ideas about why Ruth commemmorates the giving of the Torah in addition to the story's setting, the time between the first fruits of the barley harvest at Pesach and the wheat harvest at Shavuot. Sometimes the simplest answer is the most memorable. What happened to Israel in leaving Egypt at Pesach is what happened to Ruth in leaving Moab and arriving at the House of Bread (Beit Lechem) at Pesach. The Israelites left Egypt as strangers there before she became a Bride, and Ruth left Moab to become a stranger in Judah before she became part of the Bride. The clue is in the wings that carried the Israelites and Ruth to their destinations, the wildernes and the Promised Land. In Hebrew, "wing" is kanaf  (??????). And why were they carried their places? To engage in a covenant of the Ten Words: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings (??????), and brought you to Myself.” (Ex 19:4) “May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings (??????) you have come to seek refuge.” (Ruth 2:12) He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering (??????) over your maid, for you are a close relative.” (Ruth 3:9) Were Israel and Ruth flown to a place of refuge, or were they moved to holier places in their journeys? Yes. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment (??????) of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”'” (Zec 8:23) The setting of Ruth's story is Beit Lechem, the House of Bread, where Judah was recovering from the famine. The wilderness also was a place of miraculous, Heavenly Bread and Living Water. A place of covering, anointing, preparation, and clean clothes for a nation of priests. The wilderness was where the Bride was purified with the Torah as she walked as she walked after her Bridegroom, picking up what He dropped for her each morning. Let's see if there are wilderness template parallels in the story of Ruth: The Ten Words to the Bride at Shavuot, Mount Sinai, Via Moshe, Friend of the Bridegroom become Ten Witnesses to the Bride's purity and offspring. Think of the Ten Words (Commandments) as Ten Witnesses, the observable grace of the Bride in preparing for her Bridegroom according to their everlasting agreement. Ruth's character exhibited this grace in the Word, witnessed by ten elders of Beit Lechem: ...for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. (3:11) He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. (Ru 4:2) Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today...(v. 9) All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman.” (v. 11-12) Numerous times in Deuteronomy Moses called heaven and earth as well as the Israelites to be witnesses "today" of the importance of obeying the Words of the covenant. Ruth's obedience to the Ten Words had risen to such heights that she broke the "Moabite barrier," a passage in the Torah forbidding marriage to a Moabite, for they were stingy and inhospitable to their kin, Israel, as they passed in the wilderness. Ruth, however,

Deuteronomy: Moses continues giving the instructions to Israel before they enter the land, about administering justice, portions for Levites and false prophets. Luke: Jesus heals a lame man and calls Levi (Matthew) the tax collector.

Numbers: You've heard that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? The book of Numbers tells that story. We learn about Israel's repeated rebellion and God's repeated mercy and discipline on his people. Deuteronomy: Moses gives Israel instructions (in some ways, a recap of the laws in Exodus–Numbers) for how to love and obey God in the Promised Land. Moses also gives directions, blessings, and warnings, for the children of Israel in the future.

Numbers: You've heard that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? The book of Numbers tells that story. We learn about Israel's repeated rebellion and God's repeated mercy and discipline on his people. Deuteronomy: Moses gives Israel instructions (in some ways, a recap of the laws in Exodus–Numbers) for how to love and obey God in the Promised Land. Moses also gives directions, blessings, and warnings, for the children of Israel in the future.

Numbers: You've heard that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? The book of Numbers tells that story. We learn about Israel's repeated rebellion and God's repeated mercy and discipline on his people. Deuteronomy: Moses gives Israel instructions (in some ways, a recap of the laws in Exodus–Numbers) for how to love and obey God in the Promised Land. Moses also gives directions, blessings, and warnings, for the children of Israel in the future.

Taking on Deuteronomy… let's do this

God's Power in Varying DegreesDeuteronomy 32:2 “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.”I received a book from my mother in law for Christmas called “Pray a Word of the Day.”  Each day it had a word and a scripture verse that uses that word.  Then it has a brief little devotional or story about that word.  Today's word was fall, and the scripture verse was the one I am talking about today.  The devotional talked about these four friends that took a walk to the local park.  Then the rain rolled in and by the time they got back to the house they were drenched.  The next few lines really stood out to me.  It said, “Every corner of the neighborhood was saturated.  Droopy hydrangeas perked up.  The lavender glistened.  The thirsty lawns were revived.”  What came to my mind when I read this was that something one considers bad, might be good for another.  For instance, I am sure the people who had to run home in the rain, probably weren't praising God for the rain.  I know when I was on my last road trip, I was not praising God for the rain, especially if it was my turn to drive.  Yet, I am sure the flowers and the lawns were very thankful for the rain. I thought the topic of this podcast would be how some things we complain about other people would be praising God for.  However, when I read this verse, I kept getting stuck on the line, my words descend like dew.  I didn't really understand what that meant and yet I thought that was ok because I didn't have to really understand to talk about what I though I was going to talk about.  Then I stopped and remembered the reason I started this podcast.  I started this podcast so we could all understand scripture better.  I think that happens when we can relate scripture to our own lives and make it more personal.  We don't start to understand scripture better when we skip over the lines we don't understand.  When I first read this verse and then that thought above came to me I figured that was what the Holy Spirit wanted me to talk about.  But, then I couldn't get that question out of my head, “what does my words descend like dew mean?” And maybe you didn't get stuck on that.  Maybe you already know what this verse is saying.  I am going to review what I learned anyway because I am willing to bet you will learn something you didn't know or hear it in a different way at least.The first part says, “Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew.”  For some reason I didn't understand that this was talking about God's teachings and God's words.  When I read an article (click here for article) about this verse it talked about how God blesses us in various ways and in various degrees.  Sometimes His teachings fall on us like rain.  Have you seen grass after it has rained?  It is so green and full of life.  The ground just soaks up the rain.  We can do this with the Lord's teachings as well.  When God is raining down his teaching on us we can soak it all in and we can use it to live our life more fully.  God's teachings can make our life more abundant.When it talks about His words descending like dew what is coming to me is that His words are always there, just like the dew.  The dew is there each morning, and God's words are always there as well.  Also the dew covers everything and so do God's word's.  They can cover us, they can cover everything we are going through and everything we have ever gone through.  The article I read also talked about how amazing Jesus' words were when He walked the Earth.  People were amazed at the words He spoke.  In John 7 some soldiers were sent to capture Jesus and yet they returned without Him and their only reply was, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Jesus' words were powerful and He spoke of things no one else had talked about before.  Not everything He said was easy to hear and yet mosts people took it in and accepted it as truth.  The verse ends with, “like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” The article I read says this part shows us that God blesses the new babe just as much as those who have been faithful for years.  It also talks about how god's blessing come in various degrees sometimes.  Sometimes it is a light mist of blessings, some times it is showers of rain and other times it is abundant rain.  God gives us blessings based on what we need at the time we are asking for them.  One thing I liked that the article pointed out is that there is one substance we are talking about.  That is water.  Whether we are talking about falling like rain, descending like dew, showers, or abundant rain, it is all water.  The water in this verse is talking about God's power.  God's power comes out in His teachings and in His words.  God's power comes down like showers at times and like abundant rain at times.  The article also said that in the whole book of Deuteronomy Moses is recounting the Lord's blessings in a song.  However, this particular chapter Deuteronomy 32 is the climax or highpoint of the entire song.  I did not know this before so I thought at was an interesting point.  I love learning new facts about the Bible!I really liked how the devotional ended.  It was a great way to relate the Bible verse to our lives.  Here is what Susanna, the writer for today's devotional, wrote: “Like my parched neighborhood, I need God's Spirit to fall on me, drenching me with refreshment and hope.  His truth rains down guidance and blessing.  Encouragement and wisdom are found when His words fall, refreshing my thirsty spirit.  Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode.  Lord, let your words of wisdom and hope fall on our thirsty souls and revive our spirits.  Lord, we love you and we thank you for all the blessings you have given us.  Whether it is a light rain or a downpour of your blessings Lord, we will take them all.  We know you know what we need and you always give us what we need.  We are grateful that your ways are higher than our ways and you know better than we do.  You do not always give us what we want, but you do always give us what we need.  You are the best!  Thank you for raining down blessings when we are thirsty or when we are in a drought.  Lord you are so amazing and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name, Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I would like to ask each of you to consider doing a witness for Witness Wednesday.  I know it may sound intimidating, and you may feel like your life is boring and you have nothing to share.  I assure you it is not.  We have all seen God working in our lives.  If you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for the person who's faith will grow just by hearing it.  Please give it some thought.  If you would like to give one but aren't really sure how, or what you would say, email me Catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com or (click here) and I can give you some questions to get you started.  I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:Thanksgiving seems like it should be easy enough. Many parents teach their children this skill early with the words: “What do you say?” “Thank you.” Giving thanks is polite. Failing to give thanks is impolite. But being polite is one thing. Being sincere is another. What if you don't feel like giving thanks? Not feeling like giving thanks is very common. Sometimes things don't go the way we wish they would go. Why do things go the way they go? Is it a matter of luck? The Bible says nothing about luck. The Bible makes it clear that God is the one who does everything. So if something bad happens to you, if someone is taken away from you, if something is withheld from you, then this is not because you were unlucky. God being God means that he does all things. You can see that in the readings tonight. In our first reading from Deuteronomy Moses is talking to the people about what had happened for the last 40 years. The Israelites were supposed to go directly from Egypt into the promised land, but they were prevented from doing so. Who is responsible for that? God is. Moses said, “Remember the whole journey on which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you and to test you.” God humbled them. God made them hungry until he fed them with manna. Paul in our second reading spoke about his varying circumstances. Sometimes he had very little. Sometimes he had more than he needed. Sometimes he was full. Sometimes he was hungry. Who is responsible for that? Paul was a tent maker. It sounds like he worked hard doing that when he could in order to pay the bills along with the preaching and teaching that he did as an apostle. So you might think Paul is responsible for whether he had enough. But things happen. Walmart moves into town, selling a whole bunch of tents that were made in China. There are accidents, thefts, riots, and so on. A person could get sick. Well, then, maybe he could get some insurance, or maybe the government could give him a bailout. Maybe he could go to the doctor. Maybe he could go to the psychiatrist or psychologist. And God likes to work through ordinary means, so God can work through things like that in order to provide some relief, but you've probably experienced at some point, or are experiencing it tonight, that you don't feel like giving thanks. Things aren't going the way that I want them to. At this point I could respond with “What do you say?” If I wanted to be insistent I could make a case too. That's not too hard. All I have to say is, “It could always be worse.” Yes, indeed, it could always be worse. And look at all this nice stuff you have. You know there are starving children in Africa who would just love to have what you have. There. You see? Now be polite. But this, again, is avoiding what is really going on. This is just a variation of that lucky, unlucky theme. You're not unlucky. You're lucky. Just look at how lucky you. You're so lucky. And, you know what? Chances are you'll stay lucky too. You just have to look on the bright side of life. So be polite. Say thank you. And we'll all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. It will be a wonderful Thanksgiving because we won't have to bother our heads about God being in control of all things. We won't have to worry about anybody not feeling like giving thanks. They're not following the rules. They're being impolite. We should all just keep it light. Keep it fun. And then the next day we can shop until we drop. Christian thanksgiving, as opposed to what we'd maybe call “American thanksgiving,” is deeper, more intense. Christian thanksgiving is going to have to wrestle with God working all things. Sometimes he makes us happy. Sometimes he makes us sad. Sometimes he gives. Sometimes he takes away. Luck has nothing to do with it. Neither does having lots of stuff. Shopping is a very poor substitute for a relationship with God. The one thing the Israelites couldn't do while they were in the desert wilderness with Moses was shop. There was nothing to buy. That was very hard on those Israelites. They wanted to shop very badly. They wanted to shop so badly that they wished they could go back to Egypt. True, they were slaves there, but every now and then they could afford to buy a melon or some garlic. Not so in the wilderness. The way they survived in that desert was by gathering manna every day. They couldn't store it up. If they tried, it would spoil. And Moses in our reading tells us why God did this to them. He says that God fed them manna “to teach them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Does that sound familiar to you? It should. This was the Scripture that Jesus quoted to the devil when he was tested in the wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days, and he was hungry. The devil told him he should use his divine power to turn stones into bread. Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” The devil was basically saying to Jesus that he could have it all. He could have his best life now. All he had to do was make use of the resources at his disposal, develop his potential, and then, simple as that, no more sadness. Jesus is basically telling the devil that happiness, that is, the state of being blessed, is much more than the pursuit of property. Paul also says something very similar in our second reading. He says, “I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Perhaps that last little bit there sounds familiar to you too. It's not uncommon for folks to snip that verse out of its context and put it on their walls or on decorations: “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Although I have seen that verse many times on decorations, I have never seen a decoration that says I will be content while being hungry, or I will be content while having not enough. I have a feeling that such a decoration wouldn't sell very well. But snipping out that verse from its context really changes the meaning. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” That makes it sound as though I can change stones to bread. I can make things just so for myself, however I want them, if I develop my potential—with Christ's help of course. I can do miracles. But the actual meaning of Paul's words is that if there is a miracle here, it's that he is content in much less than perfect circumstances. Even if he should be hungry or at a lack, he is content. This is not because he is some stoic or because he likes pain. It's because he knows God in our Lord Jesus Christ. He does not live on bread alone, but from every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Being content and giving thanks in sad and uncomfortable situations is supposed to be part of our experience as Christians. The God who reveals himself in the Scriptures tells us that he is a Father who disciplines his children. Moses in our reading says: “So know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Therefore you are to keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by revering him.” Now suppose that we were at the Thanksgiving table. We go around the table and everybody says what he or she is thankful for. Then it comes to you and you say: “I'm thankful for God disciplining me. I'm thankful for God causing me pain, for humbling me. Thereby he has brought me back to faithfulness and the keeping of his commandments.” That would be breaking the rules for how you are supposed to be thankful as an American holiday. However, it would also be refreshing as something that is true, instead of being merely polite. When the Scriptures are taken seriously there's no escaping the fact that God deals with those he loves like a Father who disciplines his son. Life is not a matter of luckiness and unluckiness. Stuff doesn't just happen. Nor is it the case that so long as we have enough resources at our disposal we can keep ourselves happy. It is instead the case that God makes us hungry so that we may be fed. He makes us sad so that we may be glad. The bones that he breaks eventually make us rejoice. Through all of this it is so that we may learn that we do not live by bread alone, but from every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Knowing God is so much more important than going shopping. Know God, therefore, and give him thanks. Don't just be polite. Thank him also for his discipline, for humbling you. Sad, humble times are the times when things get corrected spiritually speaking. That is when we grow in knowing our God. Good and easy times are when people forget God. Hard times are when we almost have no other choice than to be knocking at his door. And since we aren't that great of human beings, that is almost always exactly what the doctor orders. Paul, in the same chapter from which we read tonight, says another well-known verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say, ‘Rejoice.'” The key word is “always,” or “at all times.” Rejoice at all times, in trouble and when trouble is passed, knowing that we do not live by bread alone, but by the word that comes from the mouth of our God. Knowing him, and knowing his good and gracious will towards you in our Lord Jesus Christ, gives you the power to be content. That is doing all things through Christ, who strengthens us.

This week, Jews around the world will begin reading from the Book of Deuteronomy each Shabbat. Sefer Devarim, as it is known in Hebrew, is a remarkable work; consisting almost entirely of an address Moses delivered to the Israelites in his final weeks of life, it touches on history, politics, prophecy, and much more. Two years ago, Jonathan Silver sat down with Israeli thinker and scholar Micah Goodman to uncover meaning of Moses's final speech. As we begin again this last book of the Torah, we are pleased to rebroadcast that conversation. -- The book of Deuteronomy, which Jews around the globe read in synagogue in the period leading up to the High Holy Days, consists primarily of Moses's final oration to the people of Israel. With the nation on the cusp of conquering Canaan and establishing its own sovereign government, the prophet presents Israel with a set of laws and regulations surrounding power and kingship—what some scholars call the “Mosaic Constitution.” In his best-selling Hebrew book, ha-N'um ha-Aharon shel Moshe (Moses's Last Speech), the Israeli writer and philosopher Micah Goodman offers a thought-provoking and original interpretation of Deuteronomy, presenting profound insights about the Torah's revolutionary political teachings. Though the book has not yet been translated into English, Dr. Goodman recently taught an eight-episode online course for the Tikvah Fund on “Deuteronomy: The Last Speech of Moses,” in which he explores and expands upon the themes and ideas of his earlier work. In this podcast, he speaks with Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver about Deuteronomy's laws regarding the monarchy and what political and philosophical wisdom they hold for us today. If you enjoy this podcast, you can enroll in Dr. Goodman's free Tikvah online course at Courses.TikvahFund.org. Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

Deuteronomy - Moses on Kingdom of God; Inaccurate understanding of Moses; Burden of government; Tower of Babel; "Cities" in the bible; "Law"; Demon stories; Biting one another; Mystery Babylon; Burning Bush Festival - August 21st; Read the bills!; Oregon government corruption; US Constitution and Articles of Confederation; Condemning slavery; Altering your view of history; The rest of the truth; Apathy of the people; Acquiescence; How much truth can you handle?; Attacking your delusion; Solution to the lies; Nimrod's city and tower; Turning clay into bricks; Vs fitted stones; Bringing the bible into your reality; "Praise"; Children of God; "Begotten"?; The source of you doctrine; "Son of God"?; Born again workers of iniquity?; Babylon and Social Security; Giving power to government; Biblical constitutions; Forcing your neighbor; FDR "Notice" Aug 14, 1935; Thomas Sowell quote on Social Security; Desiring man's benefits; Legal (forced) charity; What Jesus DID; What Moses DID; Searching for the whole truth; Having one language?; Eating from the Tree of Knowledge; Loving the truth; Or sitting in darkness; Denying Christ; Repentance; Forgiveness; Following Holy Spirit; Overwhelming proof; Willingness to believe you're wrong; Identifying meaning in words; Pax Romana; Recognizing deceit; Condemnation; Entitlements?; How you MIGHT be saved; Your opposition to Christ; True Christians won't covet neighbors' goods; Conditions of the soul; The solution; Selfish superiority; Social welfare based on love; The "name" of Christ; "Breeches"; Linen; Hackling flax; Loving neighbor as much as self; Freewill; Replace legal charity with fervent charity; Christ's instructions; How we went wrong; Why we gather; What's important?; Causing bondage; Power to stop demons; Spiritual armor; End result cultivated by state social welfare; Daily ministration of love; Come together as Christ COMMANDED.

Deuteronomy - Moses on Kingdom of God; Inaccurate understanding of Moses; Burden of government; Tower of Babel; "Cities" in the bible; "Law"; Demon stories; Biting one another; Mystery Babylon; Burning Bush Festival - August 21st; Read the bills!; Oregon government corruption; US Constitution and Articles of Confederation; Condemning slavery; Altering your view of history; The rest of the truth; Apathy of the people; Acquiescence; How much truth can you handle?; Attacking your delusion; Solution to the lies; Nimrod's city and tower; Turning clay into bricks; Vs fitted stones; Bringing the bible into your reality; "Praise"; Children of God; "Begotten"?; The source of you doctrine; "Son of God"?; Born again workers of iniquity?; Babylon and Social Security; Giving power to government; Biblical constitutions; Forcing your neighbor; FDR "Notice" Aug 14, 1935; Thomas Sowell quote on Social Security; Desiring man's benefits; Legal (forced) charity; What Jesus DID; What Moses DID; Searching for the whole truth; Having one language?; Eating from the Tree of Knowledge; Loving the truth; Or sitting in darkness; Denying Christ; Repentance; Forgiveness; Following Holy Spirit; Overwhelming proof; Willingness to believe you're wrong; Identifying meaning in words; Pax Romana; Recognizing deceit; Condemnation; Entitlements?; How you MIGHT be saved; Your opposition to Christ; True Christians won't covet neighbors' goods; Conditions of the soul; The solution; Selfish superiority; Social welfare based on love; The "name" of Christ; "Breeches"; Linen; Hackling flax; Loving neighbor as much as self; Freewill; Replace legal charity with fervent charity; Christ's instructions; How we went wrong; Why we gather; What's important?; Causing bondage; Power to stop demons; Spiritual armor; End result cultivated by state social welfare; Daily ministration of love; Come together as Christ COMMANDED.

In chapters 7-8 of Deuteronomy Moses is speaking to Israel to obey God's commands, to utterly destroy the nations in the land, and he warns them not to forget God when things are going well. We also talk about how our real life is the spiritual life, how we are chosen in God's love, and the blessings of obedience.

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past (Deuteronomy 32:7). This will be my last devotion on Deuteronomy. There are a few chapters left, but next Monday, here on Wilderness Wanderings, we will begin an Advent series called, “Rejoice! the Lord has Come!” So, let's finish with Moses' farewell song to Israel, focussing on verse 7. Highschool history class may not be every one's cup of tea. Yet, history has much to teach us about life in the present. It is important for God's people to know their history. Four times in Deuteronomy Moses tells Israel to remember that once they were slaves (5:15; 16:12; 24:18; 24:22). Like many of us, they had selective memories and Moses knew it would be easy to forget where they came from. Israel was probably tempted to forget their shameful past. It was easier to turn their heads and ignore who they were. But remembering would teach Israel who they were. Equally important, God's people needed to know their history to know their God. Deuteronomy 5:15 says, "And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm." Of course, telling this story makes for a great history lesson; Moses, the shepherd confronts Pharoah of Egypt; there are plagues; a nighttime escape, Israel caught between the roaring army and the roaring water. Hardly boring stuff. And of course, some one is going to ask, “how did they manage?” And then the storyteller gets to talk about Israel's God, strong and mighty. So, what are some of the lessons Israel was meant to learn? First, they had no power of their own to free themselves from Egypt. They were caught in Egypt like a rat in a trap. Egypt was attempting to destroy Israel. And Israel was helpless to do anything about is. Second, she was rescued. God had rescued her. God was great, strong, and mighty. Without God, Israel would be nothing, still enslaved in Egypt or already destroyed. God had heard her call for help and rescued her. Like Moses, Jesus calls us to know our history. That is why he commanded us to celebrate the Lord's Supper. By establishing this meal on the night of the Passover, Jesus caused Israel's deliverance from Egypt to colour our understanding of our own deliverance from sin and evil. The parallels are quite clear in Colossians 2, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins…And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (cf. 13-15). Why do we need to remember this? First, like Israel, we need to know our God and knowing him to continue worshipping him and him alone. The whole point of Deuteronomy is the fear that Israel will find other gods to worship. As we approach Advent, this is something to consider: which God of Advent will we worship? I think there are several choices. Second, like Israel, we need to remember who we are. We are people who were helpless to redeem ourselves, but God has redeemed us. Like Israel, we are must never treat people like Egypt treated Israel. We must treat others like God treats us!  

Introduction to the book of Deuteronomy, Moses' speeches to the conquest generation, 5th book of the Pentateuch, quoted over 40 times in New Testament

Relevant Verses: Deuteronomy 1–3 Theme: Remembering the Ups and Downs of the Past Leading Question: Why should we remember the past? In the first four chapters of Deuteronomy Moses recalls key events that have occurred during the forty years of desert wanderings. He recaps the history of their journey for a couple of reasons: (1) the young generation of the Israelites did not live through the significant events of the exodus, and (2) he reminded them of what God has done to bring them to this historic moment when they are ready to enter the Promised Land. To understand what is to ...

- Press the PLAY button to listen to the catechesis of the day and share if you like -+ A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy +Moses said to the people:   “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,   with all your heart,   and with all your soul,   and with all your strength.Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.Drill them into your children.Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.Bind them at your wrist as a sign   and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.“When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which he swore   to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,   that he would give you,   a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,   with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner,   with cisterns that you did not dig,   with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant;   and when, therefore, you eat your fill,   take care not to forget the LORD,   who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.The LORD, your God, shall you fear;   him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.”The word of the Lord.

- Press the PLAY button to listen to the catechesis of the day and share if you like - + A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy + Moses said to the people: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. “When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat your fill, take care not to forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. The LORD, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.” The word of the Lord.

Bible Study for Beginners | Deuteronomy: Chapters 1-4 (Part 1) This is part 1 of 4 In today's podcast, join Amy and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Deuteronomy. Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - info about Deuteronomy - Moses begins his first address to the Israelites "Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:44-47) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday morning! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us through e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the book of Deuteronomy Moses presents the Israelites (and us) with a commandment which was not found in the previous books of the Torah– the commandment to love the Lord: “And thou shalt... The post The Secret Of a Divine Connection | Parashat Eikev appeared first on Netiv.net.

Jeremy Howard

DEUTERONOMY 31-32: Yesterday in Deuteronomy Moses reviewed the covenant and again stressed that the choice is between life and death, and between experiencing blessings or curses. Be aware that in the poem dictated to Moses by the Lord, the Lord speaks of things that were in Israel’s future as if they had already taken place. This is called proleptic past tense and is a feature of prophetic writings. PSALM 66: Our glorious God deserves glorious praise. Note that this psalm shows the importance of confessing our sins to God. ACTS 18: In Acts 17, opposition hounded the steps of Paul, Silas and Timothy, first in Thessalonica and then in Berea. The people of Berea are an example for us all, and that’s why so many churches are named after their city. Then Paul in Athens debated with the philosophers of his day. GNT Translation notes: Deut. 32:3 [Because in this song I will praise the LORD— giving honor to his name//I will praise the name of the Lord,] and his people will tell of his greatness. ==== Ps. 66:4 Everyone on earth worships you;they sing praises to you,[their songs give honor//they sing praises] to your name.”5 Come[, all peoples] and see what God has done,his wonderful acts among people.10 You[, O God,//0] have put us to the test[0//, God];as silver is purified by fire,so you have tested us.16 [Now, all who honor God,//0] Come and listen, [0//all who honor God,]and I will tell you what he has done for me.

DEUTERONOMY 31-32:Yesterday in Deuteronomy Moses reviewed the covenant and again stressed that the choice is between life and death, and between experiencing blessings or curses. Be aware that in the poem dictated to Moses by the Lord, the Lord speaks of things that were in Israel’s future as if they had already taken place. This is called propleptic past tense, and is a feature of prophetic writings. PSALM 66:Our glorious God deserves glorious praise. Note that this psalm shows the importance of confessing our sins to God. ACTS 18:In Acts 17, opposition hounded the steps of Paul, Silas and Timothy, first in Thessalonica and then in Berea. The people of Berea are an example for us all, and that’s why so many churches are named after their city. Then Paul in Athens debated with the philosophers of his day. GNT Translation notes:Deut. 32:3 [Because in this song I will praise the LORD— giving honor to his name//I will praise the name of the Lord,] and his people will tell of his greatness.====Ps. 66:4 Everyone on earth worships you;they sing praises to you,[their songs give honor//they sing praises] to your name.”5 Come[, all peoples] and see what God has done,his wonderful acts among people.10 You[, O God,//0] have put us to the test[0//, God];as silver is purified by fire,so you have tested us.16 [Now, all who honor God,//0] Come and listen, [0//all who honor God,]and I will tell you what he has done for me. NLT Translation notes:Deut. 31:51 For both of you betrayed me [before/with] the Israelites at the waters of Meribah at Kadeshm in the wilderness of Zin. You failed to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel there.====Acts 18:5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus [is/was] the Messiah.  

DEUTERONOMY 29-30:Yesterday in Deuteronomy Moses ratcheted up the fear index to the red level. And the scary thing about the threats he used to motivate the people to obedience is that they later all came true, as we will see in books like Judges and 2 Kings. PSALM 65:Today’s Psalm is a hymn of joy and mighty praise. ACTS 17:Yesterday we heard of how Paul and Silas were beaten and put in jail. This was as a result of freeing a slave girl from demonic bondage. Their overnight in jail led to the jailer and his family becoming followers of Christ. But the next day, as requested, Paul and Silas left town.

DEUTERONOMY 29-30:Yesterday in Deuteronomy Moses ratcheted up the fear index to the red level. And the scary thing about the threats he used to motivate the people to obedience is that they later all came true, as we will see in books like Judges and 2 Kings. PSALM 65:Today’s Psalm is a hymn of joy and mighty praise. ACTS 17:Yesterday we heard of how Paul and Silas were beaten and put in jail. This was as a result of freeing a slave girl from demonic bondage. Their overnight in jail led to the jailer and his family becoming followers of Christ. But the next day, as requested, Paul and Silas left town. NLT Translation notes:Ps. 73:27 Those who desert [You, O Lord//him] will perish,for you destroy those who abandon you.28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!I have made [You O//the] Sovereign LORD my shelter,and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

Today in Deuteronomy Moses is giving his final words to the leaders of Israel.

Another book down! Today in Deuteronomy Moses finishes his song, and Joshua succeeds Moses.

Today in Deuteronomy Moses outlines the laws of divorce, and God gives blessings and curses.

Today in Deuteronomy Moses recounts the story of God giving the Israelites the Ten Commandments.

Deuteronomy old Testament Bible God leads the People thru Moses

Tune-in as Moses announces his final instructions to Israel, preparing them to cross into their Promised Land: "Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'." Consider also as you listen, the important Song of Moses and its great prophetic meaning for Israel. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/biblestudyweekly/message

In the book of Deuteronomy Moses presents the Israelites (and us) with a commandment which was not found in the previous books of the Torah-- the commandment to love the Lord: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy G-d with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might". [2] This new mitzvah is mentioned no less than ten times in Deuteronomy. This innovation goes hand in hand with another unique commandment - the declaration that the Lord loves the nation of Israel: “And because He loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with His presence, with His great power, out of Egypt" (Deut.4:37).