April 14, 2014 strive4theprize

The Grass Isn’t Always Greener

Genesis 13-14

Have you ever made a ‘grass is always greener’ decision? You know, looked at what you had and thought you deserved better? Better job? Better house? Better friend? Better…?

At the crux of this story is a decision….a decision to trust God or trust self, to believe what God has revealed as good or define good for self. Two characters represent these two paths. Abram chooses to trust to God…and He comes through in amazing ways. Lot chooses to trust in self…and it ends in disaster. Abram sees the world through God’s eyes. He has a heavenly or spiritual perspective. Lot can only see what’s in front of him. He has a very earthy perspective. The kicker is…both are believers.

We also can’t miss that the decision is about stuff. The abundance of stuff forces them to part. The desire for more and better stuff drives Lot’s decision to go to Sodom. Lot’s captured as the Eastern Alliance collects stuff, the spoils of war. Abram rescues Lot and his stuff. And the king of Sodom offers Abram stuff. And one other thing…Melchizedek blesses both Abram and God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. In other words, the God who owns all the stuff. Abram knew that. Lot didn’t. And what happens when life becomes about stuff…it captures and enslaves us. It becomes a hard taskmaster because there is never enough. Much better to trust God…”Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Don’t make life about stuff…make it about pursuing God. BTW Abram’s cure for stuff? He gave a tithe, recognizing that God owns all the stuff.

So what about you? Where do you find yourself in this story? Are you like Abram, trusting that God will come through on His promises, that He sees you and knows you and has good in store for you…not good as defined by you, but His good? Do your actions show that you are trusting Him…that you know that it all belongs to Him? Do you know He’s faithful? Realize that even though Lot had to face the consequences of his decision, God was still faithful to deliver him through Abram.

Or are you like Lot, believing that you have to look out for number one, that maybe God knows and sees me, but I don’t know that He cares about my circumstances? I know what’s best for me. But sin has consequences. For Lot, it meant being taken captive, and Uncle Abe has to come bail him out. In 19, we will see that it will cost him everything…home, possessions, position, etc., Living for this present world falls far short of the reason that God saved you. In the same way, when we live in sin as a believer we reap the consequences of the sin we have sown. We are not immune to broken relationships and the fallout from bad choices.

The truth is, most all of us have our tents pitched too close to Sodom…it’s easier to build to towers than altars, to look out for ourselves than wait for God to provide, to image “me” rather than imaging God. But the amazing thing is…God still pursues. He still calls us back. He still invites us into the indescribable adventure of following Him.

My prayer for us is that we would pitch our tents a little closer to Hebron and further from Sodom.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Genesis series. Listen online at:http://www.centralchristian.org, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

April 14, 2014 Central Christian Church

April 14 – OT Reading

Lent 2014

This is our last week of Lent. Friday we recognize Good Friday with “Journey to the Cross”. Then on Sunday we celebrate the resurrection! This is the week to create opportunities to invite your “8-15”. Our Friday Night whole-family event is perfect for inviting friends, family, co-workers…they will experience fun, creativity, the Stations of the Cross, and a closing ceremony and cross-raising.

Then, invite your “8-15” back for any of our 5 Easter services! This is an important celebration in the life of a believer…something that we want to share with everyone!

Continue to read and pray this week, to prepare for opportunities to invite and to share the Gospel. What an amazing time this is…making a Kingdom impact together!

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Deuteronomy 3

Conquests Recounted

3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Edrei. ²But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ ³So the Lord our God delivered Og also, king of Bashan, with all his people into our hand, and we smote them until no survivor was left. ⁴We captured all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns. ⁶ We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women and children of every city. ⁷But all the animals and the spoil of the cities we took as our booty.

⁸ “Thus we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon ⁹(Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir): ¹⁰ all the cities of the plateau and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ¹¹ (For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width four cubits by ordinary cubit.)

¹² “So we took possession of this land at that time. From Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites.¹³ The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim. ¹⁴Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called it, that is, Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) ¹⁵ To Machir I gave Gilead. ¹⁶ To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border and as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; ¹⁷ the Arabah also, with the Jordan as a border, from Chinnereth even as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

¹⁸ “Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it; all you valiant men shall cross over armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel.¹⁹ But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you, ²⁰ until the Lord gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession which I have given you.’²¹ I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. ²² Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.’

²³ “I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ²⁴ ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? ²⁵ Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ ²⁶ But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. ²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. ²⁸ But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.’²⁹ So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Deuteronomy 4

Israel Urged to Obey God’s Law

4 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ²You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. ³Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed them from among you. ⁴But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.

⁵“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. ⁶So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ ⁷For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? ⁸Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?

⁹“Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. ¹⁰Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ ¹¹You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom. ¹²Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice. ¹³So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. ¹⁴The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it.

¹⁵“So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, ¹⁶so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, ¹⁷the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, ¹⁸the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth. ¹⁹And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. ²⁰But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today.

²¹“Now the Lord was angry with me on your account, and swore that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. ²²For I will die in this land, I shall not cross the Jordan, but you shall cross and take possession of this good land. ²³So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the Lord your God has commanded you. ²⁴For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

²⁵“When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke Him to anger, ²⁶I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. ²⁷The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. ²⁸There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. ²⁹But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. ³⁰When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. ³¹For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

³²“Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? ³³Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? ³⁴Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? ³⁵To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. ³⁶Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. ³⁷Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, ³⁸driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. ³⁹Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. ⁴⁰So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

⁴¹Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east, ⁴²that a manslayer might flee there, who unintentionally slew his neighbor without having enmity toward him in time past; and by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: ⁴³Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

⁴⁴Now this is the law which Moses set before the sons of Israel; ⁴⁵these are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out from Egypt, ⁴⁶across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel defeated when they came out from Egypt. ⁴⁷They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the east, ⁴⁸from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), ⁴⁹with all the Arabah across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arabah, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

April 12, 2014 Central Christian Church

April 12 – Weekend Passage

Lent 2014

What will you sacrifice through this season? How are you becoming a better image bearer? Throughout our daily readings, take the time to reflect on the following:

1. What’s God’s Story in the passage and what are the implications for my life?

2. Praying for your 8-15 (those in your life who need Jesus)

3. What will you sacrifice in order to draw closer to Christ?

4. Pray for opportunities to invite your 8-15 to church or our big Easter culmination “Journey to the Cross” on Good Friday

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Genesis 13

Abram and Lot

13 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

²Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. ³He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. ⁵Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. ⁷And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

⁸So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. ⁹Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. ¹¹So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. ¹²Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; ¹⁵for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. ¹⁶I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. ¹⁷Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” ¹⁸Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Genesis 14

War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, ²that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar. ⁸And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, ⁹against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. ¹¹Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. ¹²They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.

¹³Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. ¹⁴When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

God’s Promise to Abram

¹⁷Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. ¹⁹He blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; ²⁰And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

He gave him a tenth of all. ²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²²Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, ²³that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

April 11, 2014 Central Christian Church

April 11 – OT Reading

Lent 2014

How are you reflecting God’s holiness? What are you sacrificing this season of Lent in order to draw closer to Christ? Throughout our daily reading, take the time to reflect on the following:

1. What’s God’s Story in the passage and what are the implications for my life?

2. What will you sacrifice in order to draw closer to Christ? To be a better image bearer?

3. Praying for your 8-15 (those in your life who need Jesus)

4. Pray for opportunities to invite your 8-15 to church or our big Easter celebration “Journey to the Cross” on Good Friday followed by our Easter weekend services

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Deuteronomy 1

Israel’s History after the Exodus

1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab.² It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. ³In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel,according to all that the Lord had commanded him to give to them, ⁴ after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei. ⁵ Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

⁶ “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.⁷ Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.’

⁹ “I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to bear the burden of you alone. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. ¹¹ May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you! ¹² How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife? ¹³ Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ ¹⁴You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ ¹⁵So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes.

¹⁶ “Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him. ¹⁷ You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ ¹⁸ I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

¹⁹ “Then we set out from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.²⁰I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the Lord our God is about to give us. ²¹ See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’

²² “Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up and the cities which we shall enter.’ ²³ The thing pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.²⁴ They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol and spied it out. ²⁵ Then they took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought us back a report and said, ‘It is a good land which the Lord our God is about to give us.’

²⁶ “Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God;²⁷and you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. ²⁸ Where can we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there.”’ ²⁹ Then I said to you, ‘Do not be shocked, nor fear them. ³⁰The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, ³¹ and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’ ³² But for all this, you did not trust the Lord your God,³³ who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.

³⁴ “Then the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying,³⁵ ‘Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers, ³⁶ except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed the Lord fully.’ ³⁷ The Lord was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there.³⁸ Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it. ³⁹Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it. ⁴⁰But as for you, turn around and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.’

⁴¹ “Then you said to me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will indeed go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every man of you girded on his weapons of war, and regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country. ⁴²And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; otherwise you will be defeated before your enemies.”’ ⁴³ So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the Lord, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do, and crushed you from Seir to Hormah. ⁴⁵ Then you returned and wept before the Lord; but theLord did not listen to your voice nor give ear to you. ⁴⁶ So you remained in Kadesh many days, the days that you spent there.

Deuteronomy 2

Wanderings in the Wilderness

2 “Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and circled Mount Seir for many days. ² And the Lord spoke to me, saying, ³ ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north, ⁴ and command the people, saying, “You will pass through the territory of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful; ⁵ do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.⁶ You shall buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money so that you may drink. ⁷ For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.”’

⁸“So we passed beyond our brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road, away from Elath and from Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab. ⁹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’ ¹⁰ (The Emim lived there formerly, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim. ¹¹ Like the Anakim, they are also regarded as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. ¹² The Horites formerly lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lord gave to them.) ¹³‘Now arise and cross over the brook Zered yourselves.’ So we crossed over the brook Zered. ¹⁴ Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. ¹⁵ Moreover the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from within the camp until they all perished.

¹⁶ “So it came about when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people,¹⁷ that the Lord spoke to me, saying, ¹⁸ ‘Today you shall cross over Ar, the border of Moab.¹⁹ When you come opposite the sons of Ammon, do not harass them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’ ²⁰ (It is also regarded as the land of the Rephaim, for Rephaim formerly lived in it, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummin, ²¹a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim, but the Lord destroyed them before them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place, ²² just as He did for the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them; they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. ²³ And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.) ²⁴‘Arise, set out, and pass through the valley of Arnon. Look! I have given Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land into your hand; begin to take possession and contend with him in battle. ²⁵ This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under the heavens, who, when they hear the report of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

²⁶ “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, ²⁷ ‘Let me pass through your land, I will travel only on the highway; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. ²⁸ You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, only let me pass through on foot,²⁹ just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which the Lord our God is giving to us.’ ³⁰ But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.³¹ The Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to occupy, that you may possess his land.’

³² “Then Sihon with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz. ³³ The Lord our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him with his sons and all his people. ³⁴ So we captured all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed the men, women and children of every city. We left no survivor.³⁵ We took only the animals as our booty and the spoil of the cities which we had captured. ³⁶ From Aroer which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon and from the city which is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too high for us; the Lord our God delivered all over to us. ³⁷ Only you did not go near to the land of the sons of Ammon, all along the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the Lord our God had commanded us.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

April 10, 2014 Jim Pruett

Thoughts About What We’re Reading…

By our love, by our love…

We did it! We finished Numbers today and tomorrow we begin the Book of Deuteronomy. As we prepare to read Deuteronomy, I thought I would lay out some thoughts about this great book in the Bible.

Deuteronomy is essentially a sermon or series of sermons preached by Moses. It is motivational in nature, urging Israel’s faithful obedience to the covenant laws of Sinai given 40 years before.

The book contains the addresses that Moses gave during the final months of his life, when the Israelites were encamped in the plains of Moab prior to their entrance into the Promised Land.

The people were facing war, temptations, and a new, settled way of life – all under the unproved leadership of Joshua.

Moses’ congregation had not personally experienced the deliverance at the Red Sea or the giving of the law at Sinai; they needed to be reminded of God’s power and God’s laws.

As a reminder, the older generation (the generation that was part of the exodus from Egypt) has died off after the refusal to enter the promised land (see my blog dated March 27, 2014). Now that the younger generation is back at the border again, Moses wants to ensure the failure of their parents does not happen again.

The book may be viewed as a constitution for the theocracy of Israel once she was established in the land. Think about it – Israel in Deuteronomy is the only nation on earth that had as its “constitution” the Word of God.

The primary themes are God’s love and man’s obedience. Deuteronomy recognizes the need for God to act within the heart if Israel is to achieve faithful obedience to God’s covenant.

The ideal life in the land is for each member of the people, and the body as a whole, to display fervent love to God as the proper response to God’s love for them. This is the means by which the rest of the world is to learn of the true God – the very reason why Israel exists.

Hmmm…suppose we switch the words of the previous paragraph to each member of the church, and the church as a whole, is to display fervent love to God as the proper response to God’s love for them. This is the very reason why we as Christians and the Church as a whole exist.

When asked which commandment is the most important, (Mark 12:29-31) Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5,

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Jesus would go on to add, “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Imagine what our lives would be like if we embraced this idea to display fervent love for Jesus and our neighbor and adapted the Bible as our own “constitution”.

Until next time, keep reading…

Jim

Excerpts and references: ESV Study Bible, HCSB Study Bible, Gospel Transformation Bible

April 10, 2014 Central Christian Church

April 10 – OT Reading

Lent 2014

How are you reflecting God’s holiness? What are you sacrificing this season of Lent in order to draw closer to Christ? Throughout our daily reading, take the time to reflect on the following:

1. What’s God’s Story in the passage and what are the implications for my life?

2. What will you sacrifice in order to draw closer to Christ? To be a better image bearer?

3. Praying for your 8-15 (those in your life who need Jesus)

4. Pray for opportunities to invite your 8-15 to church or our big Easter celebration “Journey to the Cross” on Good Friday followed by our Easter weekend services

________________________________________

Numbers 35

Cities for the Levites

35 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,²“Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities.³The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts.

⁴ “The pasture lands of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits around. 5 You shall also measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.

Cities of Refuge

⁶ The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷ All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, together with their pasture lands. ⁸As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger and you shall take less from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his possession which he inherits.”

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹ then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there. ¹² The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation for trial. ¹³ The cities which you are to give shall be your six cities of refuge. ¹⁴ You shall give three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel, and for the alien and for the sojourner among them; that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

¹⁶ ‘But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁷ If he struck him down with a stone in the hand, by which he will die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he might die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁹ The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him.²⁰If he pushed him of hatred, or threw something at him lying in wait and as a result he died,²¹ or if he struck him down with his hand in enmity, and as a result he died, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death, he is a murderer; the blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²² ‘But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or threw something at him without lying in wait, ²³ or with any deadly object of stone, and without seeing it dropped on him so that he died, while he was not his enemy nor seeking his injury, ²⁴ then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the blood avenger according to these ordinances. ²⁵ The congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer at any time goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he may flee,²⁷ and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills the manslayer, he will not be guilty of blood ²⁸because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return to the land of his possession.

²⁹ ‘These things shall be for a statutory ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

³⁰ ‘If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. ³¹ Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. ³² You shall not take ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to live in the land before the death of the priest. ³³ So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. ³⁴ You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”

Numbers 36

Inheritance by Marriage

36 And the heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the heads of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, ² and they said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the sons of Israel as an inheritance, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. ³ But if they marry one of the sons of the other tribes of the sons of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of our fathers and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; thus it will be withdrawn from our allotted inheritance.⁴When the jubilee of the sons of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be withdrawn from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

⁵Then Moses commanded the sons of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph are right in their statements. ⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.’ ⁷Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ⁸ Every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹ Thus no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each hold to his own inheritance.”

¹⁰ Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did: ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad married their uncles’ sons.¹² They married those from the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained with the tribe of the family of their father.

¹³These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

April 9, 2014 Central Christian Church

April 9 – OT Reading

Lent 2014

How are you reflecting God’s holiness? What are you sacrificing this season of Lent in order to draw closer to Christ? Throughout our daily reading, take the time to reflect on the following:

1. What’s God’s Story in the passage and what are the implications for my life?

2. What will you sacrifice in order to draw closer to Christ? To be a better image bearer?

3. Praying for your 8-15 (those in your life who need Jesus)

4. Pray for opportunities to invite your 8-15 to church or our big Easter celebration “Journey to the Cross” on Good Friday followed by our Easter weekend services

________________________________________

Numbers 33

Review of the Journey from Egypt to Jordan

33 These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.² Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command of the Lord, and these are their journeys according to their starting places.³ They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians, ⁴ while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had struck down among them. The Lord had also executed judgments on their gods.

⁵Then the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses and camped in Succoth. ⁶They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. ⁷They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol. ⁸ They journeyed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah. ⁹They journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. ¹⁰ They journeyed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. ¹¹ They journeyed from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. ¹² They journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. ¹³They journeyed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴ They journeyed from Alush and camped at Rephidim; now it was there that the people had no water to drink. ¹⁵ They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. ¹⁶ They journeyed from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

¹⁷ They journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸ They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹They journeyed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰ They journeyed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah. ²¹ They journeyed from Libnah and camped at Rissah. ²² They journeyed from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah.²³ They journeyed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴ They journeyed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. ²⁵ They journeyed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. ²⁶They journeyed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. ²⁷ They journeyed from Tahath and camped at Terah.²⁸They journeyed from Terah and camped at Mithkah. ²⁹ They journeyed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰They journeyed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. ³¹ They journeyed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.³² They journeyed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. ³³ They journeyed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. ³⁴They journeyed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. ³⁵ They journeyed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. ³⁶ They journeyed from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh. ³⁷ They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸ Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the sons of Israel had come from the land of Egypt, on the first day in the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰ Now the Canaanite, the king of Arad who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the sons of Israel.

⁴¹Then they journeyed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² They journeyed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³ They journeyed from Punon and camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴ They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, at the border of Moab. ⁴⁵ They journeyed from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶ They journeyed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷ They journeyed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains ofAbarim, before Nebo. ⁴⁸ They journeyed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. ⁴⁹ They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Law of Possessing the Land

⁵⁰ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying,⁵¹ “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵² then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; ⁵³ and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. ⁵⁴ You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger you shall give more inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers.⁵⁵ But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live. ⁵⁶ And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.’”

Numbers 34

Instruction for Apportioning Canaan

34 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,² “Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders. ³ Your southern sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern border shall extend from the end of the Salt Sea eastward. ⁴ Then your border shall turn direction from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim and continue to Zin, and its termination shall be to the south of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall reach Hazaraddar and continue to Azmon.⁵ The border shall turn direction from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the sea.

⁶‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea, that is, its coastline; this shall be your west border.

⁷‘And this shall be your north border: you shall draw your border line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor. ⁸ You shall draw a line from Mount Hor to the Lebo-hamath, and the termination of the border shall be at Zedad; ⁹ and the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and its termination shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border.

¹⁰ ‘For your eastern border you shall also draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham, ¹¹ and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach to the slope on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth. ¹² And the border shall go down to the Jordan and its termination shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders all around.’”

¹³ So Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you are to apportion by lot among you as a possession, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes. ¹⁴For the tribe of the sons of Reuben have received theirs according to their fathers’ households, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers’ households, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their possession.¹⁵The two and a half tribes have received their possession across the Jordan opposite Jericho, eastward toward the sunrising.”

¹⁶ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸ You shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance. ¹⁹ These are the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ²⁰ Of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud. ²¹ Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. ²²Of the tribe of the sons of Dan a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli. ²³ Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod. ²⁴Of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. ²⁵Of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun a leader, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. ²⁶ Of the tribe of the sons of Issachar a leader, Paltiel the son of Azzan. ²⁷Of the tribe of the sons of Asher a leader, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. ²⁸ Of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali a leader, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”²⁹ These are those whom the Lord commanded to apportion the inheritance to the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

April 8, 2014 Central Christian Church

April 8 – OT Reading

Lent 2014

How are you reflecting God’s holiness? What are you sacrificing this season of Lent in order to draw closer to Christ? Throughout our daily reading, take the time to reflect on the following:

1. What’s God’s Story in the passage and what are the implications for my life?

2. What will you sacrifice in order to draw closer to Christ? To be a better image bearer?

3. Praying for your 8-15 (those in your life who need Jesus)

4. Pray for opportunities to invite your 8-15 to church or our big Easter celebration “Journey to the Cross” on Good Friday followed by our Easter weekend services

________________________________________

Numbers 31

The Slaughter of Midian

31 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” ³ Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. ⁴A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” ⁵ So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶ Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. ⁷ So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.⁸They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.⁹ The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. ¹⁰Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire.¹¹ They took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast. ¹² They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

¹³ Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. ¹⁵ And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women? ¹⁶ Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord. ¹⁷Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. ¹⁸ But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves. ¹⁹ And you, camp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. ²⁰ You shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of leather and all the work of goats’ hair, and all articles of wood.”

²¹ Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses: ²² only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead,²³ everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. ²⁴ And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.”

Division of the Booty

²⁵Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶ “You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the booty that was captured, both of man and of animal; ²⁷ and divide the booty between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. ²⁸ Levy a tax for the Lord from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep;²⁹ take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to the Lord.³⁰ From the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” ³¹ Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³² Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, ³³ and 72,000 cattle, ³⁴ and 61,000 donkeys, ³⁵ and of human beings, of the women who had not known man intimately, all the persons were 32,000.

³⁶ The half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500, ³⁷ and the Lord’s levy of the sheep was 675; ³⁸and the cattle were 36,000, from which the Lord’s levy was 72; ³⁹ and the donkeys were 30,500, from which the Lord’s levy was 61; ⁴⁰ and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the Lord’s levy was 32 persons.⁴¹Moses gave the levy which was the Lord’s offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴²As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who had gone to war—⁴³ now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, ⁴⁴ and 36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵ and 30,500 donkeys, ⁴⁶ and the human beings were 16,000— ⁴⁷ and from the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴⁸ Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, approached Moses, ⁴⁹ and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing.⁵⁰So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” ⁵¹ Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of wrought articles.⁵² All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the Lord, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.⁵³ The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. ⁵⁴ So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord.

Numbers 32

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

32 Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had an exceedingly large number of livestock. So when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that it was indeed a place suitable for livestock, ² the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, ³“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon, ⁴ the land which the Lord conquered before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”⁵ They said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.”

⁶ But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here? ⁷ Now why are you discouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the Lord has given them? ⁸ This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹ For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them. ¹⁰ So the Lord’s anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying,¹¹ ‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully,¹² except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the Lord fully.’ ¹³ So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord was destroyed. ¹⁴ Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of the Lord against Israel. ¹⁵For if you turn away from following Him, He will once more abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”

¹⁶Then they came near to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones; ¹⁷ but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has possessed his inheritance. ¹⁹ For we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east.”

²⁰ So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, ²¹ and all of you armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven His enemies out from before Him, ²² and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you shall return and be free of obligation toward the Lord and toward Israel, and this land shall be yours for a possession before the Lord. ²³But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴ Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and sheepfolds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.”

²⁵ The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. ²⁶ Our little ones, our wives, our livestock and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead; ²⁷while your servants, everyone who is armed for war, will cross over in the presence of the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.”

²⁸ So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. ²⁹Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, everyone who is armed for battle, will cross with you over the Jordan in the presence of the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession; ³⁰ but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” ³¹ The sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do. ³² We ourselves will cross over armed in the presence of the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us across the Jordan.”

³³ So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities with their territories, the cities of the surrounding land. ³⁴ The sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, ³⁵ and Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, ³⁶ and Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and sheepfolds for sheep.³⁷ The sons of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim, ³⁸ and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built. ³⁹ The sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. ⁴⁰ So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. ⁴¹ Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns, and called them Havvoth-jair.⁴² Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.

April 7, 2014 strive4theprize

A History-Making Decision

Genesis 11.27-13.1

“What is the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? What made the decision so difficult?” Was it the cost…comfort, convenience? Was it fear of the unknown? Was it the stakes?

God gives Abram a simple (not easy) command…”Go.” Abram was to leave everything he knew – country, relatives and family – to go to an as yet undisclosed location. The blessings that follow are contingent on his going…on his obedience. But his obedience is predicated on faith. So what faith are we talking about? Genesis 3.15. But how does Abram know about Genesis 3.15. Don’t forget that Abram is a direct descendant of Adam through the line of Seth, and of Noah through the line of Shem. He comes from those with a spiritual heritage of calling on the name of the LORD, of walking with God, of believing the Seed promise of 3.15. Much like Noah who was described as righteous and blameless…not because he obeyed, but because he found favor in the eyes of the LORD…he believed the promise of 3.15…so he obeyed, now Abram will be called on to obey because he too has found favor, is righteous through faith. That’s important for us to keep in mind. There can be no obedience without faith.

The call of Abram in Genesis 12.1-3 is a key event in the biblical story. It ranks up there with Genesis 3.15 in the OT. It ties together both creation and redemption…it echoes the creation mandate and carries forward the plan of redemption, the search for the Head-crushing Seed of the Woman. It showcases God’s grace and reveals His heart for His creation. And it’s fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus’ charge to His early followers to “make disciples of all the nations” is a reflection of “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” It would be hard to overstate the importance of this passage.

But God’s call required a response. To experience what God had in store for Abram, he had to step out in obedience. He had to go. He had to be a blessing. For the Israelites to experience the blessings of the covenant at Sinai, they too would have to walk in obedience. That would cost them their comfort and convenience…they too would have to leave what they knew. They would have to embrace the unknown. They would have to risk everything. They would have to give up their definition of good…of doing what was right in their own eyes and trust that what God was calling them to really was good…that it was life. They had to believe that God truly loved them and wanted their good. And they would have to love Him in return.

What would have happened to Abram if he would have refused God’s call? Would he have lost his salvation? Not at all…but he would have lost his destiny. He wouldn’t have experienced the good that God had for him. The trip to Egypt illustrates this truth…Abram was to be a source of blessing to the nations, but he ends up being a source of cursing to Pharaoh. Thankfully not the last word when it comes to Abram.

I appreciate the honesty of a friend of mine who said, “God calls us away from our life and to His life. Something twinges when you say ‘leave comfort and convenience’ I don’t know what it is in me yet, but I need to. I know that fear, jealousy, pride – will keep me living my life. I’m tired of the cliché ‘comfort zone’, but it’s accurate. I need comfort. I need predictability. The life I am drawn to meets my expectations and has very few surprises. Does this sound like the life God calls people to? Noah, Moses, the judges, the prophets, the disciples? God called people to be kings and slaves, warriors and shepherds. But He called them away from themselves. I am convicted that I am, for the most part, living my life, proceeding with my plans, doing what seems right in my own eyes. I don’t want to go blindly after whatever seems to be the opposite direction. I do want to obey. I do want to move in faith to the life God is calling me to. I have set out on journey of faith, but what do I keep dragging around with me. What tethers me to peace? Is is faith or is it my inability to let go completely? Am I creating my own peace and not trusting God’s?”

But what about you? As important as Abram’s call was to the working out of God’s plan in salvation history, Jesus, the Head-crushing Seed of the Woman, calls us all to “Go” or better yet to “Follow”. And that call is every bit as important on a micro-level as Abram’s call on a macro-level. Jesus calls us to leave our comfort and convenience, to leave what we know, our old life, and follow Him. A simple command, but not an easy one. It means that we have to embrace the unknown. We have to risk everything…but only in this sense: we have to die to defining good in our own eyes and trust in what He has revealed as good. Maybe that’s a new job…maybe building a relationship…maybe making a kingdom investment that financially doesn’t seem to make sense…maybe it’s a call into ministry… Whatever it is, experiencing the good that God wants for you requires obedience. It means taking the risk.

And like Abram…and the Israelites…you will fail. But God is still faithful, and He is patient. Proverbs 24.16: “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” Churchill said “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

My prayer for us is that we would the courage, like Abram to take the risk, and enter into the wild adventure of a life spent with Jesus in His kingdom.

Until next time…stay salty.

This post is based on our Genesis series. Listen online at:http://www.centralchristian.org, or follow us on twitter: @ccclancaster

April 7, 2014 Central Christian Church

April 7 – OT Reading

Lent 2014

How are you reflecting God’s holiness? What are you sacrificing this season of Lent in order to draw closer to Christ? Throughout our daily reading, take the time to reflect on the following:

1. What’s God’s Story in the passage and what are the implications for my life?

2. What will you sacrifice in order to draw closer to Christ? To be a better image bearer?

3. Praying for your 8-15 (those in your life who need Jesus)

4. Pray for opportunities to invite your 8-15 to church or our big Easter celebration “Journey to the Cross” on Good Friday followed by our Easter weekend services

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Numbers 28

Laws for Offerings

28 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,² “Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.’ ³ You shall say to them, ‘This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs one year old without defect as a continual burnt offering every day. ⁴You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight;⁵also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil.⁶ It is a continual burnt offering which was ordained in Mount Sinai as a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ⁷Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord. ⁸The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as the grain offering of the morning and as its drink offering, you shall offer it, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.

⁹ ‘Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: ¹⁰ This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

¹¹ ‘Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls and one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect; ¹² and three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for each bull; and two-tenths of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, for the one ram; ¹³ and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering for each lamb, for a burnt offering of a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord. ¹⁴Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵And one male goat for a sin offering to the Lord; it shall be offered with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering.

¹⁶ ‘Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the Lord’s Passover. ¹⁷ On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast, unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.¹⁸ On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. ¹⁹ You shall present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls and one ram and seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect. ²⁰For their grain offering, you shall offer fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for a bull and two-tenths for the ram. ²¹ A tenth of an ephah you shall offer for each of the seven lambs;²² and one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for you. ²³ You shall present these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. ²⁴After this manner you shall present daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing aroma to the Lord; it shall be presented with its drink offering in addition to the continual burnt offering. ²⁵ On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.

²⁶‘Also on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain offering to the Lord in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. ²⁷ You shall offer a burnt offering for a soothing aroma to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs one year old; ²⁸ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, ²⁹ a tenth for each of the seven lambs;³⁰ also one male goat to make atonement for you. ³¹ Besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings. They shall be without defect.

Numbers 29

Offerings of the Seventh Month

29 ‘Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets.² You shall offer a burnt offering as a soothing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without defect; ³ also their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram,⁴ and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs. ⁵ Offer one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you, ⁶besides the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain offering, and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.

⁷‘Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall humble yourselves; you shall not do any work. ⁸You shall present a burnt offering to the Lord as a soothing aroma: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old, having them without defect; ⁹ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram, ¹⁰ a tenth for each of the seven lambs; ¹¹ one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

¹² ‘Then on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work, and you shall observe a feast to the Lord for seven days. ¹³ You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma to the Lord: thirteen bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old, which are without defect; ¹⁴ and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams, ¹⁵ and a tenth for each of the fourteen lambs;¹⁶ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

¹⁷ ‘Then on the second day: twelve bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ¹⁸ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ¹⁹ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

²⁰ ‘Then on the third day: eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ²¹and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²² and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²³ ‘Then on the fourth day: ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect;²⁴ their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²⁵and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁶‘Then on the fifth day: nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ²⁷and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ²⁸ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

²⁹ ‘Then on the sixth day: eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ³⁰ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³¹ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offerings.

³² ‘Then on the seventh day: seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect; ³³ and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³⁴ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its grain offering and its drink offering.

³⁵ ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly; you shall do no laborious work. ³⁶ But you shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the Lord: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs one year old without defect; ³⁷ their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram and for the lambs, by their number according to the ordinance; ³⁸ and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering and its grain offering and its drink offering.

³⁹ ‘You shall present these to the Lord at your appointed times, besides your votive offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and for your grain offerings and for your drink offerings and for your peace offerings.’” ⁴⁰Moses spoke to the sons of Israel in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

Numbers 30

The Law of Vows

30 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the Lord has commanded. ²If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

³“Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by an obligation in her father’s house in her youth, ⁴and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her because her father had forbidden her.

⁶“However, if she should marry while under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, ⁷and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁸But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her.

⁹“But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. ¹⁰However, if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, ¹¹and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. ¹²But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will forgive her.

¹³“Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. ¹⁴But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. ¹⁵But if he indeed annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”

¹⁶These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, as between a man and his wife, and as between a father and his daughter, while she is in her youth in her father’s house.

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Lent 2014

Deuteronomy 3

Conquests Recounted

Deuteronomy 4

Israel Urged to Obey God’s Law

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Lent 2014

Genesis 13

Abram and Lot

Genesis 14

War of the Kings

God’s Promise to Abram

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Lent 2014

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Deuteronomy 1

Israel’s History after the Exodus

Deuteronomy 2

Wanderings in the Wilderness

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By our love, by our love…

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Lent 2014

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Numbers 35

Cities for the Levites

Cities of Refuge

Numbers 36

Inheritance by Marriage

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Lent 2014

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Numbers 33

Review of the Journey from Egypt to Jordan

Law of Possessing the Land

Numbers 34

Instruction for Apportioning Canaan

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Lent 2014

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Numbers 31

The Slaughter of Midian

Division of the Booty

Numbers 32

Reuben and Gad Settle in Gilead

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Lent 2014

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Numbers 28

Laws for Offerings

Numbers 29

Offerings of the Seventh Month

Numbers 30

The Law of Vows

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