A Social Experiment in Creative Thinking
The Israelites are a “peculiar people” (Deut. 14:2), which is why it is silly for Christians and Americans today to think that all the laws of the Old Testament apply to us. It is why anti-Christians always want to point to the Pentateuch in order to lecture us on our hypocrisy. They are fools to … Continue reading Notes on Deuteronomy 14-20
Deuteronomy is the last of the five books of the Jewish Pentateuch, also known as the Law of Moses. The first two chapters are a quick rundown of some of the events that occurred in the book of Numbers. It takes place near the end of the 40 year wandering in the wilderness, and the … Continue reading Notes on Deuteronomy 1-2
The children of Israel went to war against the Midianites and achieved near total destruction. The battle was so one sided that not one Israelite soldier was killed (Num. 31:49). Though they were commanded to slaughter everyone, the Israelites kept the women and children alive, and were punished with a plague (Num. 31:16). What would … Continue reading Notes on Numbers 31-32
Numbers 26 once again numbers the sons over the age of 20 for each tribe. Thousands have been killed due to their incessant complaining, so the need to tally the remaining Israelites was necessary. The largest decrease is from the tribe of Simeon, which dropped from 59,300 to 22,200. An issue of inheritance arose in … Continue reading Notes on Numbers 26-30
Once Balaam had a direct run in with the Angel of the LORD (Jesus Christ), he turned from his lying ways (Numbers 22) and began to tell Balak exactly what God told him to. These passages given as instruction to an outside nation about Israel ring true today, 3500 years later. These concepts should be … Continue reading Notes on Numbers 23-25
As they march toward Canaan, the Israelites begin defeating army after army. Since they can’t go through Edom (Num. 20:18), they go around (Num. 21:4). Once again, they murmur against God. This is the tenth time that they whined about their situation, this time focusing on the quality of the free food they have been … Continue reading Notes on Numbers 21-22
One of the things that always astounds me is the frequency with which the children of Israel take God for granted. They walked across the dry land when the Red Sea parted for them. They literally see the presence of God as a massive cloud and pillar of fire that surrounds their tabernacle every day. … Continue reading Notes on Numbers 11-13
