Reading & Lesson: Deuteronomy: Chapter 1

7/22/2010

~~~~~Lesson: Deuteronomy: Chapter 1

In chapter 1, one of the first acts of Moses is to have the tribes appoint judges, who will be their rulers and help them resolve conflicts. While Israel is undoubtedly a theocracy (a society ruled by God), there are echoes of a democracy with this section. If the people are unhappy with the ruling of their judge, they can go to the leader of the tribe. Failing that, they can go directly to Moses.

Question: Do you think any one type of government is better than another? Keep in mind there are theocracy, democracy, monarchies, socialists, etc.

Do you think the Bible itself supports one type of government or type of leader over another?

~Reading: Deuteronomy: Chapter 1

(5-13) Moses began to explain the law in the land of Moab beyond the Jordan, as follows:
"The Lord, our God, said to us at Horeb, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Leave here and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the surrounding regions, the land of the Canaanites in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negeb and the seacoast; to lebanon, and as far as the Great River [the Euphrates]. I have given that land over to you. Go now and occupy the land I swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I would give to them and to their descendants.'

"At that time I said to you, 'Alone, I am unable to carry you. The Lord, your God, has so multiplied you that you are now as numerous as the stars in the sky. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over, and bless you as he promised! But how can I alone bear the crushing burden that you are, along with your bickering? Choose wise, intelligent and experienced men from each of your tribes, that I may appoint them as your leaders.'"

[14-18: has a brief description of the way that the judges were to wisely rule]

[19-25: history of the twelve scouts who reconnoitered the land of Canaan]

[26-40: the rebellion of the Israelites and God's decree that they will be punished by being forced to wander the desert for 40 years]

[41-46: the failed attempt at taking over Canaan against God's will]

2 Comments

Categories

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.

Jenny Fletcher link

7/23/2010 05:01:08 am

I think if you want to win an argument you could find something in the Bible which you could take in or out of context to support your viewpoint.

Whether you like it or whether you want it or not, people are going to grab on to this post to try and justify PARTY views Those might be Conservative vs Liberal, Repuplican vs Democrat or in the UK Conservative vs Labour vs Liberal - or indeed any other party combination anywhere in the world.

If you persist with this, things will be said and things will be claimed that the writers of the words could not possibly have ever intended thousands of years ago. Don't try to pretend otherwise.

And, whatever you think God is or isn't you can't do that. Go Google for the words of a Bob Dylan song 'God on his side'. It might make you feel ashamed.

Me? I'd call myself a born-again pagan, trying to find what cultures or beliefs were held by Ancient Britons and eventually destroyed by Christians - including burning innocent women to death.

bornagain77 link

7/26/2010 12:42:45 am

Though off topic, this video offering an insight into the resurrection of Jesus Christ may interest you:

The Center Of The Universe Is Life - General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics and The Shroud Of Turin - video
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3993426/

The End Of Christianity - Finding a Good God in an Evil World - Pg.31 - William Dembski
Excerpt: "In mathematics there are two ways to go to infinity. One is to grow large without measure. The other is to form a fraction in which the denominator goes to zero. The Cross is a path of humility in which the infinite God becomes finite and then contracts to zero, only to resurrect and thereby unite a finite humanity within a newfound infinity." http://www.designinference.com/documents/2009.05.end_of_xty.pdf

Philippians 2: 5-11
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

"Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only in contradiction to that which is known to us of nature."
St. Augustine

Intelligent Design - The Anthropic Hypothesis
http://lettherebelight-77.blogspot.com/2009/10/intelligent-design-anthropic-hypothesis_19.html