Butter was loved even in ancient times! Most of the butter used in the Bible is made from goat’s milk. It was put in a skin bottle, which was shaken, swung, or squeezed until the butter was formed.
1 Comment
~~~~~Lesson: Numbers: Chapter 13 (reading after lesson)
This chapter is one of my personal favorites out of these three books. In one chapter, we cover a period of over 40 days, but the entire chapter is pointing to one conclusion: "People don't trust God when it counts." At first, the Israelites obeyed perfectly...."send out scouts"...no problem. They send them on their way and wait for forty days with no dissent (that we hear of). The scouts themselves go off into a foreign land to see what it is like, apparently trusting that the inhabitants aren't going to kill them on the spot (a possibility in those times....and in some parts of the world, a possibility today). BUT, when the Israelites hear that, "yes, the land is great" and "see this fruit we brought back!" and (finally), "well, these warriors live there" They decide, "Nope, we've trusted God this far, but now we're not going any further." (Yes, I am being a bit flip, but it is to make a point, I promise). In the next chapter (and I'm sure we all know this), but they will be punished for their lack of faith by wandering in the desert for 40 years. Now, this is an easy lesson to say or teach. (Example: I'm not having any trouble typing this, ha-ha). But, living it is another thing. (Which I do struggle with). So, if you're facing a situation that seems impossible, or are trying to follow in Jesus' footsteps and feel like you're lost on the trail: Have faith! Question: Can you name on little "everyday" thing you should/could give over to God? Can you name one large thing you are either facing or have faced in which you just had to throw up your hands and say "God, it's all yours...I'm just trusting you"? What is one way you could help others have faith? (By teaching, praying for them, being nice to strangers....throw out whatever feels good to you) ~Reading: Numbers: Chapter 13 (1-3) The Lord said to Moses, "Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes." So Moses dispatched them from the desert of Paran, as the Lord had ordered. All of them were leaders among the Israelites. (17-21) In sending them to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, Moses said to them, "Go up here in the Negeb, up into the highlands, and see what kind of land it is. Are the people living there strong or weak, few or many? Is the country in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they dwell open or fortified? Is the soil fertile or barren, wooded or clear? And do your best to get some of the fruit of the land." So they went up and reconnoitered the land from the desert of Zin as far as where Rehob adjoins Labo of Hamath. (25-28) After reconnoitering the land for forty days they returned, met Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites in the desert of Paran at Kadesh, made a report to them all, and showed them the fruit of the country. They told Moses: "We went into the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. However, the people who are living in the land are fierce, and the towns are fortified and very strong. Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there." (30-33) Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said, "We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us." So they spread discouraging reports among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, "The land that we explored is a country and consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge men, veritable giants, [the Anakim were a race of giants]; we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them." Large numbers of quail do migrated across the Sinai Peninsula from Africa to Europe/Asia. Quail have heavy bodies that do not fly well, and they partially depend upon the wind to help them on their way. A wind that suddenly died down or blew in the wrong direction could easily have resulted in the many quail for the Israelites to eat.
NOTE: Reading was an earlier post due to length. Please scroll down for reading.
The Israelites complain about the manna that God is providing. They cry to Moses. Moses laments to God, and God ends up giving them all quail. During out last lesson, I asked if you thought the Israelites grumbled about the pace. Now, we know they grumbled about the food. They go on and on about certain foods they had in Egypt (as slaves) that they don't have now (a free people). Question: Do we grumble about what we don't have and forgive to be thankful for what we do have? Can you give an example? Moses hears the cry of the people, and goes to the Lord, saying he cannot carry this burden, that it is too much for him. Despite his lament, he is still "heeding the charge of God." He doesn't say, "No, Lord, I'm not going to do that" or "I don't want to"....he says, "I don't think I have the strength...please help." Question: How do you try to "heed the charge of the Lord"? How can we practice not refusing God's call, but simply asking for help when it seems like too much? Is this a problem in your life? (Or is this something that has never come up?) This is a concept that has caused debate, feuds, murder, and war. Augustine was one of the first theologians to explore the topic of original sin at great length (though, of course, it had been brought up and discussed before his time). Due to the many translations of the Bible, the exact words used as a base for the concept of original sin are much debated.
There are two “basic” ways that the concept of original sin is viewed (there are hundreds of small divisions within these two, but to keep it simple, we’re only going to look at two): 1) We are conceived and born with the stain of original sin upon us. It is an intrinsic part of our human nature to sin. Another view that is “close enough” for our current study is that humans don’t carry the actual “stain” of Adam’s original sin, but we do have the “tendency” to sin. --In this view, baptism is a way of washing away the stain of original sin and consecrating a life to God. (In the RC, Mary is believed not to have been “sinless,” which, of course, is a designation only Jesus has….she is believed to have been born without the stain of “original sin.”) 2) Original sin, as such, does not exist. One of the main arguments for this is that: We are required to act according to our birth nature. If we are born sinful, then either we must sin, according to nature, -or- not sin, which would be a sin against nature. (The “son shall not bear the iniquity of the father” from Ezekiel is sometimes referenced, though many believe that applying something that affects one individual to the entire human race is nonsensical). --In this view, baptism is a symbol for making a personal covenant with God and nothing more. Debate still exist among different believers as to whether babies, under this belief, should be baptized or not. ~Discussion Topics: Which view (if either) do you subscribe to? Why? Do you believe babies should be baptized? Why or why not? Due to the long reading, I'll be doing the reading and lesson on different days!
~Reading: Numbers: Chapters 10-12- Israelites Travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh (10:11-12) In the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud rose from the Dwelling of the commandments. The Israelites moved on from the desert of Sinai by stages, until the cloud came to rest in the desert of Paran. (11:1-6) Now the people complained in the hearing of the Lord; and when he heard it his wrath flared up so that the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. But when the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died out. Hence that place was called Taberah, because there the fire of the Lord burned among them. The foreign elements among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again, "Would that we had meat for food! We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna." (11:9-15) At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell. When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the Lord became very angry, he was grieved. "Why do you treat your servant so badly?" Moses asked the Lord. "Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my bosom, like a foster father carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers? Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, 'Give us meat for our food.' I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress." (11:31-32) There arose a wind sent by the Lord, that drove in quail from the sea and brought them down over the camp site at a height of two cubits from the ground for a distance of a day's journey all around the camp. All that day, all that night, and all the next day the people gathered in the quail. Even the one who got the least gathered ten homers of them. Then they spread them out all around the camp. (Chapter 12- paraphrased) Aaron and Miriam speak against Moses. God takes them to task, and causes Miriam to be a leper for seven days. In Biblical consecration rituals for the Levites, they were required to shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes to symbolize their absolute purity before the Lord. Also, the High Priest was required to maintain clean and well-dressed hair and not tear his clothes in mourning (as other Israelites did), as he had been consecrated with the anointed oil.
~~~~~Lesson: Numbers: Chapters 8-10
As always, feel free to read the chapters in full...I have quoted the "highlights," but some of you may want to read the entire thing. We first read of the Lord commanding the Israelites to celebrate Passover. It is a time of remembrance of worship for them. Christianity's two largest celebrations are Christmas and Easter. Question: What is one thing about each season that you tend to reflect on/pray about/think about? Chapter 9 takes nine verses to say this: They set out when there was a pillar of fire, and they camped when there was a cloud. So, why would it go into such detail, repeating the story almost three times? It is underlining the fact that they OBEYED God, even under different circumstances and when it probably didn't make a lot of sense to them. For example, why get up in the middle of the night & move on...couldn't it wait until morning? Question: Do you think some of the Israelites grumbled over the odd pace of their journey? Why or why not? There are seven words at the very end of the chapter that could/should be read at least three times: "Ever heeding the charge of the Lord" Question: How do you try to "heed the charge of the Lord"? ~Reading: Numbers: Chapters 8-10 Chapter 8 (paraphrased)- the rules the Levites had to follow, such as age limits and proper conduct. (9:1-5) In the first month of the year following their departure from the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover at the prescribed time. The evening twilight of the fourteenth day of this month is the prescribed time when you shall celebrate it, observing all its rule and regulations." Moses, therefore, told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover. And they did so, celebrating the Passover in the desert of Sinai during the evening twilight of the fourteenth day of the first month, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. (9:15-23) On the day when the Dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the Dwelling, the tent of the commandments; but from evening until morning it took on the appearance of fire over the Dwelling. It was always so: during the day the Dwelling was covered by the cloud, which at night had the appearance of fire. Whenever the cloud rose from the tent, the Israelites would break camp; wherever the cloud came to rest, they would pitch camp. At the bidding of the Lord the Israelites moved on, and at his bidding they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the Dwelling, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud tarried many days over the Dwelling, the Israelites obeyed the Lord and would not move on; yet sometimes the cloud was over the Dwelling only for a few days. It was at the bidding of the Lord that they stayed in camp, and it was at his bidding that they departed. Sometimes the cloud remained there only from evening until morning; and when it rose in the morning, they would depart. Or if the cloud lifted during the day, or even at night, they would then set out. Whether the cloud tarried over the Dwelling for two days or for a month or longer, the Israelites remained in camp and did not depart; but when it lifted they moved on. Thus, it was always at the bidding of the Lord that they encamped, and at his bidding that they set out; ever heeding the charge of the Lord, as he had bidden them through Moses. Chapter 10 (paraphrased)- The making of two silver trumpets, which will be used to assemble the community, in breaking camp, announcing festivals & holy days, and during battles. |
Jennifer Becker Landsberger
Who am I? Freelance writer (magazines, websites, & copywriting), Catholic, military wife, and Mensan. Double Bachelor's in History & Psychology. Witnessing by charity and love are above all. Studying the Bible and beyond helps me on this quest. Feel free to join my walk into the Bible.
If you wish to donate in order to help support the cost of running this website, it would be greatly appreciated!
If you found the information helpful, even a small donation would be wonderful! Thank you & God bless you. ~~~Prayer before Writing-
Oh creator of the universe, who has set the stars in the heavens and causes the sun to rise and set, shed the light of your wisdom into the darkness of my mind. Fill my thoughts with a loving knowledge of you, that I may bring you like to others. Just as you can make even babies speak your truth, instruct my tongue and guide my pen to convey the wonderful glory of the Gospel. Make my intellect sharp, my memory clear, and my words eloquent, so that I may faithfully interpret the mysteries what you have revealed. Categories
All
To my readers & fellow writers,
I promise: 1. I will pray that God's grace helps illuminate all of our interactions- both those of simple reading and more active conversations. 2. I will communicate with you respectfully and civilly. These are (rightly) issues which we feel passionate about. But even in disagreements, I will respect you fellow "seekers of truth." 3. I will not fall into negative behavior or words, such as insinuations, exaggerations, blames, or personal attacks. I respectfully ask you to do the same. 4. I will pray we will all find the truth and strive to fulfill the two greatest commandments: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31) This site will occasionally feature paid posts! I always 100% verify everything I endorse. You will not see posts for products or sites I would not use myself.
All images on site were labeled for general re-use. If you find an image that is NOT supposed to be used, please contact me & I will remove it. Sites I Recommend |