“Thou shalt not kill.” This is one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. The sanctity of life was important in ancient Israel, and it’s important today. In my ministry experience, a number of people have questioned this command. Does it prohibit killing in self-defense? What about killing to protect loved ones or to execute [...]
Archive for the ‘Numbers’ Category
Day 57: Numbers 35-36
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Numbers, tagged life and death, murder, protection, punishment, sanctity of life, self-defense, thou shalt not kill, war on October 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Day 56: Numbers 33-34
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Numbers, Spiritual Disciplines, tagged life, life journey, life stages, Marriage, spiritual autobiography on October 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
For a few weeks several years ago, I attended a weeknight workshop about writing spiritual autobiographies. Before Tamara and I got married, we attended a series of premarital counseling sessions. In both experiences, I learned the importance of remembering stages of our life journeys. We see this in the Bible. “At the LORD’s command Moses [...]
Day 55: Numbers 31-32
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Numbers, tagged Gad, laziness, lazy, loyal, loyalty, Moses, Reuben on October 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Bloody violence stains today’s reading. The people defeat the Midianites and secure a bunch of booty. Then two tribes of Israelites, the Reubenites and Gadites, ask to settle in that land. Moses thinks they’re just trying to get out of fighting with the other tribes to capture territories for them. The leaders of Reuben and [...]
Day 54: Numbers 28-30
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Numbers, tagged cultural differences, sacrifices, vows, women and men, worship on October 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Chapters 28 and 29 tell us about several special sacrifices in ancient Israel. I’m grateful that we don’t worship God in such bloody ways today. Texts like chapter 30 shock me every time I read them. If I were to encounter men treating women that way now, the activist in me would get all prophetic [...]
Day 52: Numbers 23-25
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Church, Numbers, Spiritual Disciplines, tagged Balaam, Balak, blessing, cursing, enemies, prayer on October 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
King Balak of Moab summons Balaam to curse his enemies, but Balaam blesses them. Balak objects furiously. Balaam replies, “Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?” Cursing enemies is more popular that blessing them; seeking revenge is more common than praying for those who stand against us. But the way of [...]
Day 51: Numbers 21-22
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Numbers, tagged angel of the Lord, Balaam, Balaam's donkey, God on October 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Balaam begins a mission without seeking God’s guidance, and “the angel of the Lord” shows up on the way. Balaam doesn’t see the angel, but a donkey does and reacts. Balaam beats the donkey, and the animal complains. Balaam doesn’t seem to find it strange that his donkey speaks. He just talks back. Then he [...]
Day 50: Numbers 18-20
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Numbers, tagged God, honor, Moses, success, water from rock on October 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
What does it mean to honor God? The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock [...]
Day 49: Numbers 16-17
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Leadership, Numbers, Unity, tagged Aaron, Abiram, Dathan, God, Korah, leadership, Moses on October 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Here we find a frightening story that rivals the scary movies so popular this time of year, but it can inspire instead of just frighten us. My observations indicate that God does not kill rebellious, divisive leaders in earthquakes today. Rebellion and divisiveness, however, still displease God and threaten faith communities’ unity and effectiveness. Today’s [...]
Day 48: Numbers 14-15
Posted in Bible in a Year 2011-2012, Numbers, tagged future, God, memory, mission, narcissism on October 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The people’s narcissism still confuses their memory, and their skewed memory warps their view of their future. God has chosen them, rescued them, guided them, provided for them, and promised to bless the world through them. And they have rejected that reality in favor of whining about their present situation and glorifying their past of [...]
