Daily Thoughts From God's Word

Moses continues to speak to Israel and to recall the commandments of God.  Furthermore, he instructed, “And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster.  And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones.  You shall wield no iron tool on them;  you shall build an altar to the LORD your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt o

Moses continues to remind the people of the good and righteous laws God has given them for the right and peaceful ordering of their lives.  In the midst of all this, there is an interesting section:  “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.  You shall not defile your land that the LORD your

“Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.  And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the LORD your God . . . that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt” (16:1-3).  Other laws and instructions are given – regarding the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Booths, justice, forbidden forms of worship, legal decisions by priest

Moses ascended the mountain where God instructed him to cut new stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments.  When Moses then spoke to the nation, he said, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?”  (10:12-13).  Lov

I just get so encouraged when I read through all this history of God’s dealings with Israel.  Moses says to Israel:  “He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. . . . You shall be blessed above all peoples” (7:13,14).  And, if they say, “These nations are greater than I.  How can I dispossess them?” (7:15), Moses tells them they should not be afraid; rather, they should remember all that the Lord has already done and know that he will continue to fight for them and bless

Moses begins his second address to the Israelites.  He starts by reminding them of the 10 Commandments.   Moses also reminds the people about how scared they were when the Lord came down and spoke out of the midst of the fire.  They had responded:  “For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, and has still lived?” (5:26)  Of course, this is the wonder of it all, i.e., that our God actually HAS come and dwelt

Deuteronomy 1-4 is comprised of Moses’ first “sermon” to the people as he prepares them to go into the promised land:  “Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them” (1:3).  It is always good pay attention to what the Lord says to us.  But the people did not listen.  As Moses recounts the wilderness history, he remembers that, first, they refused to go up and take the land.  And then, when they later decided to give i

We are nearing the end of the wilderness wandering and getting close to the Promised Land.  “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), your south side shall be . . .” (34:1-2) and the northern and western and eastern borders in turn.  In addition to the tribal allotments that would be mapped out, t

Remember the Midianites?  They had seduced Israel into worshipping the Baals.  That was a bad thing.  That was a very bad thing!  And now, “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites’” (31:1-2).  It’s not a good thing to incite God’s people against God.  Several centuries later, the psalmist wrote:  “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against t

Here’s a story I suspect most of us never recall, the story about the daughters of Zelophedad.  Their father had died in the wilderness, and they reminded Moses and the leaders, and asked, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons.  Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son?  Give to u

Throughout the Bible are stories of individuals who step up and stand out from all others.  Once again, this time at Peor, the people followed unholy people and committed idolatry, worshiping Baal.  In his wrath, the Lord struck down many Israelites.  But Phineas stood up!  “When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them

So much has happened up to this point.  Elders appointed.  Prophets among the people approved by God.  Quail and sickness.  Opposition to Moses from his own brother and sister.  The spying out of the land and the unfaithful and faithful reports of the spies.  Israel's rebellion and Moses’ intercession for the people.  Israel defeated in battle.  The Sabbath broken.  Korah’s rebellion and the Lord's affirmation of Moses as leader.  Additional instructions.  Miriam’s death.   M

The story of the budding of Aaron’s staff is interesting to me.  The people had continued to grumble against God and against Moses’ leadership.  So, God had Moses gather twelve wooden staffs with the names of the tribal heads engraved upon them.  On the staff for Levi, Aaron’s name was written.  The Lord then instructed, “You shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you.  And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout” (17:4-5). 

With chapter 13, the story brings us to the sending of the spies into Canaan.  At the command of the Lord, “Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, ‘Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether th

The golden calf, the complaining about nothing to eat, and all the other complaining from the people in the wilderness.  Had they forgotten how God had just miraculously delivered them to freedom?  And the manna, what about that?  All they had to do was go out in the morning and pick it up!  The water from the rock, what about that?  Yet, they continued to complain:  “Oh that we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melon