A (hopefully brief) hiatus

Friends,

I really want to get back to writing two Bible tangents per week, Mondays and Thursdays. The problem is that I'm also writing and (more so) editing devotional content for my church. This isn't always on my plate, so the months when I'm not working on that, I'll write these tangents.

If you're sad to miss out during those months I'm pulled away from this blog, don't worry-- you can receive the devotionals from my church via email! Just text NORTHWAY to 42828 and they'll prompt you for your email address.

Anyway, thanks for your patience and understanding!

Jon

Deuteronomy 28-- Filled with dread

Scripture: Deuteronomy 28 (especially verses 64-68)

When we started on this journey through Deuteronomy, I figured I might come to a section or chapter that is difficult to write about. An offensive command or a gory bloodbath. Here in chapter 28, in Moses' closing thoughts after re-giving the Law, we may have reached just that type of section.

Moses has given the Law, and the people have declared that they will obey it. Moses tells them to commemorate this by making an altar and writing down God's words. And now, he goes to the greatest lengths possible to persuade them to make good on their word and obey their God.

There are two easy ways to motivate obedience-- to promise reward for compliance and to threaten punishment for defiance. I'm sure psychological theories abound on these methods, not to mention old adages about catching flies with honey and vinegar. All that aside, Moses (and through him, God) uses both methods in this chapter to, at all costs, convince Israel to be in a right relationship with God.

If they will just follow Him, blessings will visit them in all areas of life: agriculture, military, possessions, children, reputation... an amazing picture is painted of a nation obedient to God's will.

However, in case that's not motivation enough, Moses employs a heavy dose of vinegar. If they turn their backs on God, the curses, plagues, and destruction they will experience will be even more widespread than the promised blessings. At one point in this chapter, Moses envisions a horrifying potential future in which besieged Israelites will be forced to eat their young to survive. It is a truly revolting and terrifying scene, as I'm sure it was meant to be.

And while this portrait may seem to indicate Moses is taking things "a step too far," is he? Can someone really go too far in expressing the downfalls of rejecting a right relationship with God? While those who reject God may be spared the external curses of siege and starvation, they will exist in spiritual death, separated from their Creator and Savior. 

They also might not be spared the inward calamities of life apart from God:

"...an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart... filled with dread both day and night, never sure of your life" (28:65b-66).

Sure, today there are more acceptable forms of warning and imploring than listing off blessings and curses. But Moses' point remains: woe to us if we turn our backs on God.

Deuteronomy 27-- Write it down

Scripture: Deuteronomy 27 (especially verses 1-8)

Moses has just finished a long recitation of God's Law. In it, God's character was revealed along with the expectations He had for His people Israel. As the declamation concluded, the relationship between the nation and its God was 'made official' as each declared the reality that Israel belonged to God (as we saw in the last post).

But that's not quite the last step for Israel before going ahead and starting this covenant relationship. It's great that they raised their voices as one and said, "You are our God!" But here in chapter 27, Moses instructs them to follow it up with an important step: write it down.

In the ancient Near East, that was actually a harder commandment to obey than it would be for you or me. If I wanted to commemorate, immortalize, or enshrine what God has done and said to me, I have at my fingertips paper, pens, a journal, Facebook, a blog, YouTube, etc. In Moses' time, though, the command to "write it down" meant building an altar and etching the Law onto stones.

But that is even better, isn't it? This commemoration will not just be an action, but an event: Moses describes what they should do as "eating... and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God." It sounds like a time they wouldn't soon forget... which is sort of the point.

And this is essentially why Christians get baptized. We already have the Bible in writing, so we don't need to write down God's words to us. Jesus already sacrificed Himself once for all, so we don't need to build an altar. But we do need to get together with our new spiritual family and "write down" what happened with a celebration we won't forget.

I think this idea is relevant far beyond our baptism, too. We greatly benefit from regularly celebrating with others what God has done and is doing in our lives. What has He spoken into your life that you need to "write down"?

Deuteronomy 26:16-19-- Declared

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:16-19

We just finished moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel before they finally entered the promised land. His delivery spanned Deuteronomy chapter 11 to verse 26:15, and we worked through the speech in sections that roughly correspond to each of the Ten Commandments. 

Today we'll meditate on the closing thought Moses shared as he finished his explanation of the Law and transitioned to the end of his book (and life). Something more happened that day than just a second giving of the Law. Moses didn't simply read a series of rules while his countrymen tried not to doze off. As the aging leader reminded his people of the character and faithfulness of God, the entire nation entered into a solemn and binding agreement with their Creator and Lawgiver.

Decalogue, part 10 (Deuteronomy 24:17-26:15)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 24:17-26:16 (especially 24:17-22)

We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've finally come to the section related to #10:

You shall not covet. (The complete text: "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's wife or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.")

Decalogue, part 9 (Deuteronomy 24:8-16)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 24:8-16 (especially verses 10-13)

We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've come to the section related to #9:

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Decalogue, part 8 (Deuteronomy 23:15-24:7)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 23:15-24:7 (especially 23:21-25)


We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've come to the section related to #8:

You shall not steal.

Decalogue, part 7 (Deuteronomy 22:1-23:14)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 22:1-23:14 (especially 23:3-5)

We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've come to the section related to #7:

You shall not commit adultery.

Decalogue, part 6 (Deuteronomy 19-21)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 19-21 (especially 19:1-13)

We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've come to the section related to #6:

You shall not murder.

Decalogue, part 5 (Deuteronomy 16:18-18:22)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 16:18-18:22 (especially 16:18-20 and 17:14-20)

We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've come to the section related to #5:

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you...

Decalogue, part 4 (Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17 (especially Deut. 16:1-8)

We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've come to the section related to #4:

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you.

Decalogue, part 3 (Deuteronomy 13:1-14:21)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 13:1-14:21 (especially Deut. 13:1-5)

We are moving through Moses' delivery of the Law to Israel just before they finally enter the promised land. Each section generally corresponds to one of the Ten Commandments, in order, and today we've come to the section related to #3:

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

Decalogue, part 2 (Deuteronomy 12)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 12 (especially verses 1-7)

If you missed the previous post, you missed the explanation of what we're doing in the middle of Deuteronomy. But it's pretty simple: in the heart of the book, as Moses gives Isreal the Law again to prepare them for the promised land, he gives commands that develop and clarify each of the Ten Commandments, in order. So we'll read through a section at a time, a Commandment at a time. Today, the second:

You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or in the earth beneath or in the waters below.

Decalogue, part 1 (Deuteronomy 6-11)

Scripture: Deuteronomy 11 (especially verses 13-17, and also chapters 6-10)

If you've been reading through Deuteronomy with me, you'll notice something's different. As the title suggests, we're changing up the structure of working through the book. This simply reflects the change in the text itself; we're transitioning from Moses' introductory exhortations to his recapitulation of God's law. 

One fascinating observation, made by Walton and Hill in their textbook Old Testament Today, is that Moses' entire presentation, covering chapters 6 to 26, is a detailed exposition of the Ten Commandments (also called the Decalogue)! That all of the law really serves to further these ten core instructions.

Deuteronomy 10-- The Lord is his inheritance

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:1-9 (especially verses 6-9)

Returning from our reflection on God's command to destroy, let's recap where we are in Deuteronomy: 

Moses is giving his final discourse to Israel before he dies and they enter the promised land. In chapters 1-3, Moses recounted Israel's recent history in the wilderness. Now, in chapters 4-11, he gives warnings and exhortations for them once they've entered the land. Next time we'll look at the second half of chapter ten and at chapter 11, and we'll see some beautiful summaries of all these final encouragements. 

But first, an interesting aside on the tribe of Levi...

Deuteronomy 9-- The wickedness of these nations

Scripture: Deuteronomy 9 (especially verses 4-6)

Two chapters ago, we were confronted with God's command for Israel to destroy all the inhabitants of the promised land. I explained one half of "why this is okay," which was that God issued the command, it was in a unique way that is not common to history and thus not setting a precedent for religious violence, and that God can do whatever He wants. But this still seems to leave one glaring question... why did God command Israel to wipe out whole towns and tribes?

Deuteronomy 8-- When you have eaten and are satisfied

Scripture: Deuteronomy 8 (especially verses 11-20)

You may have heard someone say (or said yourself), "The hardest times in my life are what ultimately brought me closest to God." Isn't it interesting how much we loathe pain, uncertainty, loss, and sorrow, when we consistently credit them as the most important landmarks on our spiritual journey?

Deuteronomy 7-- Because the Lord loved you

Scripture: Deuteronomy 7 (especially verses 7-16)

We're moving through Deuteronomy, and doing so in a medium of short devotionals has its perils. For instance, it's hard to ignore that part of Israel's history in which God commands them to destroy all the peoples in the promised land. There is something deeply objectionable and disturbing about this when viewed through our current cultural lens. We'll look at this a little more when we get to chapter 9, so if you want to wrestle with this part of the account, we'll get there soon. 

Deut 6, part 2-- 'What is the meaning of these laws?'

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6 (especially verses 20-25)

Having just delivered what would become the most important text in Judeo-Christianity, Moses answers a very interesting hypothetical question starting in verse 20:

In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?’

Then you must tell them...

Deut. 6, part 1-- Hear, O Israel

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (especially verses 4-9)

We have come to perhaps the most important passage in the entire Old Testament. The passage, found in verses 4-9 of Deuteronomy 6, has come to be known by its first word in the Hebrew text-- 'The Shema.'

Deut. 5-- That it may be well with you

Scripture: Deuteronomy 5 (especially verses 28-33)

Moses is still transitioning from retelling Israel's history in the wilderness to reissuing God's Law to them to prepare them to enter the promised land. In the first half of the chapter, he goes over "the Ten Commandments," and in the second he recounts their initial response to the Ten and God's response to their response. (There are a lot of responses happening. If I didn't sense that my readership for this blog is of an older generation, I'd make a joke here about response-ception.)

Deut. 4-- Take It to Your Heart

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4

In the first three chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses recounted the events of Israel's sojourn through the wilderness. As we saw, this was important for Israel to hear; it's easy to lose faith and hope, and remembering can be healing for the soul. 

Chapter 4 starts a transition. Because the purpose of this monologue is to prepare Israel to enter the promised land, it will soon feature a second giving of God's law for His people. Moses starts heading in that direction here in the fourth chapter with a barrage of admonitions against idolatry.

Deut. 3-- Do Not Be Afraid of Them

Scripture: Deuteronomy 3 (especially verses 21-22)

In an interesting twist in Moses' story arc, he's not allowed to enter the Promised Land after decades of leading Israel toward it. It's a punishment for public insubordination and disrespect toward God (the story of which is here in Numbers 20 and, for a more thorough explanation, this article is what I found on Google). 

Deuteronomy 2-- The Land the Lord Gave Them

Scripture: Deuteronomy 2 (especially verses 24-31)

The question I think about when I read this chapter is, "Why do things happen?" For some things, it's because people choose to do them. For others, the fixed natural laws that govern our world just bring about their natural consequences. For people of faith, another answer can be that God willed and brought about a certain result.

Deuteronomy 1-- The Lord Hates Us

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1 (especially verses 22-33)

Last summer, I took a seminary class on the Old Testament. I recommend doing this if you get a chance, as it opened my eyes to many fascinating and enriching facts about God and the Bible. And while I mean that encouragement, there's one specific reason I'm sharing this fact. My teacher (Dr. Mark Futato of RTS, who wrote the excellent study material for the book of Jonah in the ESV Study Bible!) said something that stuck with me:

"If you learn only one book of the Old Testament, make it Deuteronomy. It was Jesus' favorite book."

1 John 5:9-15-- The Testimony of God

Scripture: 1 John 5:9-15

I once received an anonymous email asking about the Christian value and view of faith. The nonreligious sender, who had clearly been influenced by nonreligious sources, was under the impression that religious people valued thoughtless, "blind" faith--that we celebrated the "unreasonableness" or irrationality of our worldview. It wasn't that he thought that we avoided  science or philosophy out of a fear of being wrong, but that we would be happy for science to contradict our beliefs, since it would mean our faith was somehow stronger.

1 John 5:1-5-- This Is Love For God

Scripture: 1 John 5:1-5

Different types of relationships create different expressions of love. Love between spouses looks different from siblings' bond of love, and both of those are distinct from, say, a grandparent's love for a child.

The million dollar question answered in today's passage is this: what does love look like from a person to God?

1 John 4:7-21-- What Love Is, Part 3

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21

After a brief interlude on the teachings of Gnosticism, we return to the theme of love. And while that Love-Heresy-Love pattern may be jarring, 1 John is a pretty circular book. (I checked a very official-looking outline, and indeed, in this part of the book the professor has Love-False Teachers-Love, so yeah... Yahtzee!)

1 John 4:1-6-- Refuting Gnosticism

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-6

This blog post is like an intermission from our little "What Love Is" series. To recap what we've learned about love so far:

• The greatest display of love ever, that truly defines love, is Jesus' sacrifice
• The result of that sacrifice is our adoption into God's family
• As in any loving relationship, trust is crucial; our trust stems from who God is and that He's given us the Spirit
  

1 John 3:19-24-- What Love Is, Part 2

Scripture: 1 John 3:19-24

Having grown up in the 90s, when I read the phrase "This is how we know what love is," I can't help but bob my head to the Night at the Roxbury tune, "What is love? Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more."

1 John 3:1-18-- What Love Is, Part 1

Scripture: 1 John 3:1-18

It would almost be impossible to overstate the importance of love to human life and society. And history. And pretty much every other phrase that starts with "human."

1 John 2-- Those Who Are Trying to Lead You Astray

Scripture: 1 John 2

It's always nice when the writer of an ancient text, like a Bible epistle, states his reason for writing. It takes away some of the interpretive work, work which could cause anxiety since we grew up taking standardized tests that asked, "Which of the following best summarizes the author's reason for writing this?" (For some reason, there was always either 0 or 2 answers that felt right.)

Fortunately, John does this for us in 1 John. The less fortunate thing is, he does it a bunch of times and thus gives us many different reasons.

1 John 1-- That Which We Have Seen

Scripture: 1 John 1 (especially v. 1-4)

We put a lot of trust in eyewitness testimonies. If someone heard about an incredible sale at the mall, I'm a little skeptical; if they hold up New Era Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap and say, "I paid $13 for this," I'm making a beeline to my car.

Hebrews 13-- Be Content

Scripture: Hebrews 13 (specifically, verses 5-6)

I've never had much of a handle on Hebrews 13. After chapters 8-12 carry forward such powerful illustrations and teachings, and then 13 just seems like a grab-bag of whatever else the author had to say. An instruction here, and exhortation there.

Hebrews 12:18-29-- You Have Come to Mount Zion

Scripture: Hebrews 12:19-29

There's a moment early in the series The West Wing that has stuck with me. It's the first day on the job for the President's new body man, Charlie, and he's witnessing the President publicly respond to some sort of crisis. He marvels to one of the staffers, Josh, that he's "never felt like this before." Josh smiles and says, "It never goes away."

Hebrews 12:4-11-- What Children Are Not Disciplined?

Scripture: Hebrews 12:4-11

To review the recent parts of Hebrews: in the face of suffering and hardships, our faith ought to carry us forward as we keep our eyes on eternal truths, just as the Old Testament heroes did and just as Jesus did.

But if you're like me, this isn't easy. In fact, it's super hard. When I'm in the middle of suffering and hardship, I want to keep my eyes on... my suffering and hardship. 

And all the while, amid my pain, complaints, and grumpiness, one question permeates my thoughts and words-- "Why, God? Why?"

Hebrews 12:1-3-- Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Some things are just meant to be taken in a larger context. Sure, The Dark Knight and The Bourne Ultimatum are awesome movies on their own; but you get a lot more when you view (or at least consider) each as part of its respective trilogy. The same could be said for individual episodes of LOST, books in the Narnia series, and for my 2+ faithful readers (thanks, Mom and Dad), maybe even this blog post.

Unfortunately, I think we often fail to respect this principle, and one instance of this is the reading of Hebrews 12:1-3.