ESV Chronological Plan, Day 72 | Joshua 1-4

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Joshua 1:1-4:24

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings begin our time in the book of Joshua. So far, our chronological journey through the Bible has been mostly the same as it otherwise would have been--except for we have encountered the book of Job a little earlier, and read the Psalm of Moses (Psalm 90) in yesterday's reading. But soon, we're going to see this start to change a little bit as we go through the book of Joshua, and then quite a bit more as we start to enter the book of Judges on Day #80. Hold on for the ride.

God initiates, and we respond. In (almost) each of the first eight books of the Bible, before we get into the royal history of the Kingdom of Israel, the opening words of each book are about what God has done. God is the initiator, and everything else comes in response to him. In Genesis ("In the beginning, God"), Leviticus ("The Lord called Moses"), Numbers ("The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai"), Deuteronomy ("These are the words that Moses spoke... according to all that the Lord had given him"), Joshua ("After the death of Moses... the Lord said") and Judges ("After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord..."), God's initiating work is highlighted in a way that it just isn't afterwards in the rest of the historical books--except Ezra, which signals an end to the absence of God, and celebrates God's rescue of Israel from exile. But the only two books in this first group of eight which don't begin with God are Exodus and Ruth, which each highlight a crisis: the seeming absence of God, and the need for him to intervene in human history in order to rescue. (Exodus is more obvious, and we have covered it, but I think we'll find together that this chronological plan brings out some treasures from Ruth that make you read it differently than you have before.) Here is the takeaway: Joshua 1:1-9 shows us that if God initiates, if God establishes the mission, if God equips his people with strength, and if God tells us to go, then we can go boldly into all that God commands of us to do. If we are "strong and courageous," and yet also paying careful attention to serving God with humility and obedience (Joshua 1:7), then we can go out boldly in response to God, knowing that if he leads us out of the spiritual wilderness, then he also means for us to take the Promised Land as well.

Repentance and reinventing history. The first sign that Moses' warnings to the people of Israel have gone unheeded is this bit of revisionist history (or else, some kind of veiled threat!) in Joshua 1:17 - "Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so also we will obey you." This is how I picture Joshua's internal response:

There really is no moving forward without repentance. One part of repentance is doing better going forward. However, that kind of repentance is not going to have any staying power without admitting to, and committing to correcting, the past.

Salvation is for every kind of person. Rahab (Joshua 2) is the kind of person who no one would expect could be welcome in Israel. She was a Canaanite and a prostitute. By living in the wall of the city, she literally seemed like she was ready to be one of the first people that God would judge (when "the walls came tumbling down," that wall was where she lived!). But she took in God's people, and recognized the God of Israel, and asked humbly that she would be accepted into God's Kingdom. And God responded in a way that she never could have asked or expected--God transformed her from a Canaanite prostitute into (see Ruth 4:18-22 and compare to Matthew 1:5) the wife of the chief of the clan of Judah, the great-great-grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of Jesus, the Promised Deliverer, the foretold Messiah of Israel. Rahab was the ultimate outsider, and God made her, literally, a part of his own family. What a picture of the Gospel that is!

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship, we can respond to God, humble ourselves before him, and freely put our trust in him. In our attitudes, we can look to God's word for understanding about what he is calling us to do, and then we can respond with an attitude of boldness and obedience. We can also pursue humility by being willing to face our past thoughts and actions when they were not right. And we can be encouraged that our past does not prevent us from being known and accepted by God! And in our actions, we can imitate God by accepting the outsider. We can also spend time reading God's word, allowing him to initiate a call in us through prayer and meditation on God's Word. And we can be quick to confess to others and to God when we have done something wrong.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

We can take this all to God in prayer. We can adore God for his wonderful nature, being a forgiving and initiating God who speaks to us and takes us in whatever our past was. We can confess where things are holding us back in our walk with God. We can express thanks for all that God has done in saving and pursuing us. And we can seek God's help as we move forward through the challenges of life.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 71 | Deuteronomy 32-34, Psalm 90

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 31:30-34:12

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings finish off our time in the book of Deuteronomy, and in the first five books of the Bible -often called the Books of Moses, the Torah, the Law, or the Pentateuch- as a whole. To see the outline for Deuteronomy again, you can see the write-up for that in Day 62, here. For a free and modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

(A) Who or what is Jeshurun? Several times in today's reading, a place or people named "Jeshurun" is referred to (Deuteronomy 32:15, 33:5, 33:26). This appears to be an alternate name for Israel, only used here and in Isaiah 44:2, where Israel is called "Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen."

(B) They sacrificed to demons that were no gods. Deuteronomy 32:17 predicts that Israel will abandon the "Rock," the firm foundation of a relationship with God, to chase after "demons that were no gods." With the possible exception of Leviticus 17:7, this is the first explicit reference to demons in the Bible. According to this, the gods of other religions are not just simply "fake" gods, but they are actually "false" gods--demonic influences that put themselves in the position of God in other people's lives. 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 echoes this as well, when Paul says "What do I imply then?... that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God." 

So according to Paul an idol is nothing, but the spiritual power that promises an alternate, earthly form of salvation through that idol is demonic. The statue set up in a pagan temple is nothing, but the system of rituals and beliefs that offers a different path to peace, or salvation, or blessing, is influenced and inhabited by demons. The promises of the world are nothing, but the call to abandon God for the things of the world is demonic. When we submit ourselves to the empty promises of "sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5), to the extent that we allow those things into our lives to become our idols, we are also inviting demonic spirits into our lives to assert their influence and control over our hearts and our homes. We are tempted continuously to invite the demonic into our lives and to neglect the things of God. The solution to this is to return to God, the Rock of our salvation, who seeks us out.

(C) The blessing of Moses and the coming of Jesus. These blessings of Deuteronomy 33 call back to Jacob's blessings over his sons in Genesis 49--where it was finally made clear that the Promised Deliverer would come through Judah. That promise was picked up again -by Balaam, of all people- in Numbers 24. Now, here, Moses calls back to Genesis 49 yet again, but the new development is that Judah doesn't get much attention. Gary Millar writes that "The blessing pronounced by Moses has only one parallel—that of Jacob himself, the father of the nation in Genesis 49. Moses’s benediction, however, does not follow birth order... The most striking feature, however, is the prominence of Levi and Joseph and the corresponding lack of attention paid to Judah." So it is true that the blessings of Moses call back to Genesis 49, but they emphasize the current reality on the ground at the time: the Promised Deliverer had not yet come, and Judah at this point was just another tribe of Israel--the leaders at that time came from the tribes of Levi (Moses) and Joseph (Joshua). And yet one of the few things said about Judah is the desire that God would "bring him in to his people" (Deuteronomy 33:7). Who is this referring to? The same person that was revealed in Genesis 49 and Numbers 24. Though the promise does not seem to be anywhere on the horizon, the Promised Deliverer is coming. And he will come to his people. He will return humanity to the peace of the garden. He will crush the head of the serpent. He will be born the seed of the woman. He will die in his effort, yet live on to rule over an eternal global kingdom. His name is Jesus. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He is the Prophet Like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15, contrasted with 34:10-12). He is the true King and Savior of the people of God. And he is the point of the entire Old Testament.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship, we can turn away from the false gods represented by the idols that draw our focus away from God. We can also cast our gaze upon God as he is revealed in the Promised Deliverer, who has now been revealed--upon "the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). In our attitude, we can cultivate a heart of thankfulness. Like Eve in the garden of Eden, often we are drawn away from God by neglecting to remember God's many blessings, and instead focusing on what he has not given. In our actions, we can take our desires and hopes and dreams, and lay them at the feet of Jesus, committing ourselves to do as he modeled for us, saying "not my will, but yours be done."

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS LEAD US TO CONNECT WITH GOD?

Before you finish your time today, take these things to God in prayer. Ask him to reveal himself to you, to transform your heart, to show you truth, and to desire greater things.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 70 | Deuteronomy 28-31

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 28:1-31:29

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the blessings and curses in Moses' third speech (Deuteronomy 28), as well as a couple of features unique to Deuteronomy that are not found in other ancient treaty documents: a description of how the covenant can be renewed (Deuteronomy 29), an offer for forgiveness ahead of time should the covenant be broken again (Deuteronomy 30:1-10), and -a very Jewish feature- a heartfelt plea to choose the way of life instead of the way of death (Deuteronomy 30:11-20). Finally we see a transfer of leadership (Deuteronomy 31:1-8) and the document clause (Deuteronomy 31:9-29). To see the outline for Deuteronomy again, you can see the write-up for that in Day 62, here. For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

(A) God's desire is to bless. I love the phrasing of Deuteronomy 28:2: "all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you"--like a picture of being overrun with blessings from the hand of God. We serve a generous God who does not withhold things from his children except out of love. True, we encounter a number of difficulties and struggles in this life. But in the worst case scenario,  just on the other side of the very end of this life, awaits a new life in the Kingdom of God where all of God's blessings will overflow towards us for all eternity. That place is not some vague, dream-like space. That's our eternal home; where we are now is temporary. That place rests on a firm foundation; this space is fleeting. When we open our eyes there for the first time, it will feel like having woken up from a dream--and what you and I experience now will seem like a dream compared to the reality of life in the Kingdom of God. There, God's blessings shall come upon us and overtake us, if today we heed the voice of the Lord.

(B) The worst of the curses of Israel. For my part, I'm going to name "the itch, for which there is no cure" (Deuteronomy 28:27) as particularly worrying. Just imagine...!

(C) Secret and revealed things. This verse in Deuteronomy 29:29, which says "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law," has come up in conversation and personal thinking many times over the last decade and a half. The Bible doesn't actually reveal everything to us. We have precious little about how things work in the spiritual realm, about what else God has done outside of human history, or about God's own ultimate aim in the story of humanity. There are many questions that we might have -and which we should pursue an answer to!- which might, in the end, come down to having to accept that some things have simply not been revealed. And yet there are also many revealed things. The Bible is absolutely full of incredible insight for us regarding wisdom for this life, hope for the next, the nature and character of God (so far as language can convey it), knowledge about what our purpose as people is, along with many specific stories about God's work in human history which we can verify independently through archaeology, so that we can know these things are true.

(D) The king of grace and mercy. Deuteronomy 30:1-10 is an incredible part of the book. Ancient treaty documents did not offer forgiveness in case the subject party decided to rebel. They did not, ahead of time, commit to be merciful and gracious and to restore the fortunes of rebels. That just wasn't done. But here is God, the Lord of lords and King of kings, letting Israel know ahead of time--if you fail, and if you are judged, you may still return to God, because he loves you and wants to show you his kindness and grace. Exactly how God is able to remain both a righteous judge who punishes sin, and a merciful king who forgives the rebels, is a puzzle that would only go on to eventually be resolved in the cross of Jesus Christ.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? Today we'll focus on worship. In terms of worship, I think that (A) gives me a sense of God's incredible generosity; but also of his majesty: he can be generous because everything is his. He has no need of anything, and therefore no reason to hold back. However, (B) also reminds me that God is also a judge of sin, and that he is not just like a kindly old man who gives out candies; this King may be incredibly generous, but he is still the King. The sword that he holds, which comes from his mouth, is not for decoration. I also look at (C) and this makes me think of the mysterious, unknowable, hidden aspects of God's nature. As much as God reveals, as Job reminds us, "behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?" (Job 26:14). The Eastern Church has a tradition called the way of negation (via negativa) which refers to a way of speaking about God and his attributes. Because God is far beyond our capacity as human beings to comprehend, anything we can say of him is necessarily limited by our finite human understanding, and his reality far surpasses our power of expression. Therefore the most true things we can say about him are by way of negation--by saying what he is not rather than what he is. We therefore can come to know God better through meditating on how much greater he is than anything we can conceive. Finally, (D) reminds us that God, in all of his surpassing greatness and majesty and power and unknowability, is caring and generious towards you and me. We are his children. And he loves us--so we may freely come to him, no matter what we've done.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 69 | Deuteronomy 25-27

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 25:1-27:26

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the specific stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 25-26) and the beginning of the blessings and curses in Moses' third speech (Deuteronomy 27). To see the outline for Deuteronomy again, you can see the write-up for that in Day 62, here. For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

(A) What is the deal with Levirate marriage? According to the very good site GotQuestions.org, the article on this topic reads in part: 'A levirate marriage is literally a “marriage with a brother-in-law.” The word levirate, which has nothing to do with the tribe of Levi, comes from the Latin word levir, “a husband’s brother.” In ancient times, if a man died without a child, it was common for the man’s unmarried brother to marry the widow in order to provide an heir for the deceased. A widow would marry a brother-in-law, and the first son produced in that union was considered the legal descendant of her dead husband... Levirate marriage became part of the Law in Deuteronomy 25:5–6. There, the Israelites are commanded to care for women whose husbands died before they had children. An unmarried brother of the deceased man bore a responsibility to marry his sister-in-law: God called it “the duty of a brother-in-law” (Deuteronomy 25:5). God’s purpose for levirate marriage is stated: “The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel” (verse 6). In ancient Israel the passing on of the family name and the inheritance within a tribe were vitally important (see Numbers 36:7 and 1 Kings 21:3).'

(B) The Mount Ebal curse tablet. This is part of a current, ongoing discussion in the archaeological scholarly community. There may be a lead tablet found at Mt. Ebal which invokes the name of Yahweh (translated as all-caps "LORD" in most Old Testament translations), from the late Bronze Age II period (c. 1400-1200 BC). A reconstruction of the Mount Ebal tablet reads in part "You are cursed by the God yhw [Yahweh], cursed. You will die, cursed--cursed, you will surely die. Cursed you are by yhw [Yahweh]--cursed." It would seem to be written in an archaic proto-Hebrew script, and it is from the right time period and location to be closely connected to the words of Deuteronomy 27. But scholars are still vigorously debating what can be known about the find at this time--it is tough to know what to make of it right now.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In terms of worship, regardless of whether this Mount Ebal curse tablet turns out to be legitimate, there are many other archaeological finds which prove the veracity of the Bible in ways great and small (I wrote about this a little bit more, here). This is a great affirmation of faith, which is founded upon the actions of God carried out in real human history. In terms of actions, while I would not recommend reviving the practice of levirate marriage, the existence of the laws surrounding that kind of arrangement in the Old Testament are a reminder to us to care for others who are part of our family, and to carry on their name and promote their reputation to others where we can--though there are, of course some situations where doing so would be inappropriate.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 68 | Deuteronomy 22-24

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 22:1-24:22

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the specific stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 22-24). Supposedly this section (Deuteronomy 12-26) loosely follows the outline of the Ten Commandments, but there is disagreement and I haven't been able to look further. For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

An interesting mix. When I read the book of Deuteronomy, I am keeping in mind that what I am reading are God's laws. They are given by him, and they reflect his own character. They are a window into his own heart. In the process, I see tensions held together in unity, in God's law, that normally don't coexist elsewhere. On one hand there is a serious concern with preventing harmful social contagion, upholding institutions, and making sharp distinctions between right vs. wrong, holy vs. unholy, clean vs. unclean. These concerns are supported with harsh punishments. On the other hand, there is simultaneously an incredible awareness and value regarding the dignity of those that ancient societies didn't value, specifically the woman and the slave in these chapters. Gary Millar writes that "uniquely in the Ancient Near East, the process in [Deuteronomy 22] 13-19 is designed to protect and exonerate the woman." (Laws which give unique rights to slaves will be mentioned below.) As individuals, we usually tend toward one extreme or the other: either we lift the value of the individual above that of society or institutions, or norms, and we think in simplistic binaries: "people over process," or "love over law," or something similar. Or, other more conservative types will go the other way, and often point out that when we uphold our institutions and rule of law, and protect the sanctity of the family, and control sources of social contagion, we are building a stronger, more functional, more healthy society in which individuals can actually flourish--and then they will describe efforts to care for and value the outsider as some kind of dangerous liberalism. This is not the case in God's law.

The rights of the slave. Today, how the Bible talks about slaves is one of the things that makes people question whether Christianity is good. Shouldn’t the Bible condemn slavery if it’s really from God? When hostile groups attack the Bible on the basis of it not condemning slavery, however, they intentionally leave out a lot of important details. There are some additional facts which are not well known, but which we find a couple of examples of in our reading today. Not only was ancient slavery much different than modern slavery, but Biblical law even undermines the ancient variety. (1) The condition of slavery is consistently portrayed as oppressive, as in Israel’s slavery under Egypt; (2) Most of those who received the NT letters were, themselves, currently slaves; (3) The ideal was presented as the end of slavery—Job notes that in death, “the slave is free from his master” (Job 3:19). (4) If anyone abducted a man to sell him, the one found in possession of him would be put to death, Ex. 21:16, Deut. 24:27; (5) Paul instructs slaves to gain their freedom if they can, 1 Cor. 7:21; (6) The Bible actually forbids returning escaped slaves to their former masters, Deut. 23:15-16. (7) Regarding abuse—The Bible mandates that if anyone was physically harmed by their master, they would automatically be set free, Ex. 21:27; (8) If a man struck a slave and the slave died, the Bible says plainly “he shall be avenged,” Ex. 21:20; (9) In the case of female slaves, the Bible seems to assume the possibility of sexual activity, and so automatically gives the female slave the rights of a wife—and mandates that she not be sold, only divorced and set free.All of this would also make it less likely for a family to sell a daughter into slavery in the first place—not only that, but she has marital rights which if they are not fulfilled would allow her to divorce her master/husband (Ex. 21:7-11). In these ways, Biblical law limits slavery to something that would eventually, and ideally, become more like modern employment today, where a slave is able to voluntarily and suddenly break ties with their master at will, get compensated for mistreatment and injury on the job, and the master would be put to death if he ever killed a slave. In these ways, the Bible's laws regarding slavery undermine and modernize the institution from within.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In my worship, I find myself responding to these laws by, on one hand, realizing that we serve a holy God whose wrath against sin and social contagion is real. And at the same time, I feel invited into his presence, because in his warmth and grace he looks upon even the least of people and feels compassion for them. He understands the messiness of life. In my actions, I can't come away from reading these laws without feeling convicted that if God prescribes kindness and dignity for the "least of these," I should be giving a bigger part of my life to caring for those whom God cares for. In my attitude I want to invite within myself the concerns that coexist within the heart of God. At different times in my life, I have tended towards being more concerned about right and wrong and institutions than I am about people; at other times I feel a pull on the heart strings and I can go the other way. God's law shows me that it's not impossible to deeply care about both at the same time.

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 67 | Deuteronomy 19-21

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 19:1-21:23

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the specific stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 19-21). Supposedly this section (Deuteronomy 12-26) loosely follows the outline of the Ten Commandments, but there is disagreement and I haven't been able to look further. For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

Divine Law Grounded in Human Reality. Throughout the following laws, we see that this is not an idealistic law which imagines an ideal society: people are complicated, and this law anticipates the messiness of life. Here are a few realities that Moses' law, given by God, had to consider:

(1) At this time there were no large-capacity prisons--which even today present their own sets of problems. Notice that there is never a jail term prescribed for anything in these laws. And if there were a prison, it would not be the place of punishment--it would have been a holding place to keep the accused while those in charge were inquiring into the situation and determing what would actually be the punishment. Pretty much the only way of dealing with a situation was through [A] death; [B] exile; [C] maiming; [D] forced restitution--confiscating belongings and reallocating them; or [E] managing the scope of the situation. So as you read the laws in this section and are having a personal, gut-level discomfort with what you are reading, that is a natural reaction to having to consider the messiness of life and how it is dealt with under these kinds of conditions. Lawyers and cops have a high turnover rate for a reason. 

(2) Civil law can't govern the heart. Bad people will always corrupt good law, and people will convince themselves that another person is a terrible person just so that they can feel justified in harming them. That's why cities of refuge are provided in Deuteronomy 19, to separate an angry vengeful person away from the unintentional killer. It's why Deuteronomy 21 has a law governing marrying female captives, and provides some protection for them in the event that some hard-hearted soldier uses this as a legal excuse to use and discard the enemy ("you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her," Deut. 21:14). 

(3) The character of the populace needs to be protected. This is not so much of a value for modern people, but in the ancient world this would have been the top concern. What makes society work is a social contract where everyone agrees on a shared set of values and commits to upholding them. These values do not get re-negotiated and do not shift around, they are not up for debate, and there are no movements to try to change them. Without this, in the ancient world, the alternative is rioting and chaos and actual fighting and battles in the streets, as some other group within the society fights with the others to achieve supremacy. (We got away from this, the French philosopher Michael Foucault says, by creating a new societal system of total surveillance and mass incarceration--he wasn't convinced that this was an improvement.) In this context, the example of the rebellious son in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 isn't just a terrible situation; it's a threat to the character of the entire society in which the people of God live. In a society without mass taxation and a large-scale adequate police force outfitted with all the things that enable officers to get to a place quickly, with backup, and be well-prepared for whatever they encounter when they arrive, the local leadership fell under the categories of elders of the city or town or village, and governing heads of households, who governed those within their houses. A rebellious, drunk, gluttonous, stubborn, outspoken, and wilful son needs to be dealt with because he's bucking the entire system of how the society functions and creating a likelihood for others to do the same. In a place like that, this is a crisis. Can't throw him in prison. Can't maim him, as that would just make him even less able to be a contributing member of society. Can't confiscate his belongings, he hasn't worked to earn any. You could exile him, but he'll either die in the wilderness or end up in another nation where he will be a black mark on the reputation of what Israelites are like. So what's left?

Uncharacteristic mercy in the ancient world. All of that said, these laws are uncharacteristically merciful for the ancient world. The provision of cities of refuge in Deuteronomy 19, the laws governing -uniquely in the entire world at the time!- the scope of warfare in the ancient world in Deuteronomy 20, and the protection for the first-born children of unloved wives in Deuteronomy 21, all demonstrate a unique amount of care for the manslaughterer, the members of an enemy nation, and the son of the unloved married woman, which just was not present elsewhere in the ancient world. This reveals God's character--the law is more kind than the standard laws of the ancient world, because God himself cares for those who are not cared for.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our worship, I think we can look at these laws and see both God's wisdom and his care. Law is an ugly thing because it deals with ugly realities (yet it holds everything together); and yet God's law consistently points the one who studies it to value the foreigner, the slave, the enemy combatant, the manslaughterer, the falsely accused, and the unloved. This is a law which, the more that you study it, would place in you the conviction that we are to value those whom God values. It demonstrates both wisdom and kindness, and I think that right there leads us into worship. In our attitudes, I think we're supposed to value what God values. Can you look at the person who is working a menial job for low pay (the slave), or the guy who doesn't speak your language with proficiency (the foreigner), or the person working for a cause that you oppose (the enemy combatant), or the person who is being named in the media for terrible things but who everyone around him says didn't do it (possibly falsely accused), or the person whose marriage is struggling (the unloved), or the guy just out of jail through accidentally killing someone through reckless endangerment and negligence (the manslaughterer), and see them as just as valuable, as a person, as you are--worthy of care and consideration? If not, then the laws of Deuteronomy might have some things to teach you about grace. In our actions, maybe we could make a list of people that we find that we struggle to love, and we just pick a couple of people of that list to (a) pray for, (b) show some practical kindness to, and (c) learn something from--with this comes the realization that you are not better than them, and they could even show you a thing or two.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, help me to trust in you, because you are wise and kind. I don't see everything that you see. So as I walk with you, grant me a sense of calm and humility. And give me greater discernment to see things well, as well as compassion for others, so that I can reflect in some small way those aspects of who you are."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 66 | Deuteronomy 15-18

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 15:1-18:32

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the specific stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 15-18). For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

Keeping Time by Looking to God. It is really interesting to see how the whole structure of Israelite life was centered around their identity as God's people. In Deuteronomy 15 we see the Year of Release, which was practiced every seven years. And then in Deuteronomy 16 we see the pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot (also called Pentecost), and Sukkot (the Feast of Booths). Significant planning had to be done to account for these events. If I am reading this right, there was no way that Israelite society could accomodate something like a 40-year mortgage; the laws of Deuteronomy 15 would not have allowed a creditor to provide a loan that took longer than seven years to pay off (at least not without being severely disappointed when all debts were cleared in the sabbatical year). So at all points, the economical decisions of Israelites had to account for the reality that they lived on time that was structured by God's commands. The same thing was seen in the Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25) and the Sabbath year for the land (Exodus 23). In the case of the pilgrimage festivals, whole features of Israelite society and customs also had to be set up to account for God's command to have all the males gather in Jerusalem for three festivals each year in Deuteronomy 16.  The reminders for the people were constant. Maybe it's worth leaning into some holidays and regular rhythms of life to remind ourselves that we belong to God as well! It is my hope that as we journey through the month of March this year, that we will also have a sense of keeping time marked by our relationship with God, in which we are journeying with Jesus to Jerusalem together, that we are entering through the gates amidst the triumphal entry of Palm Sunday, that we weep at the foot of the cross on Good Friday, and that we celebrate the news of the empty tomb together with the disciples on Easter.

There will be no poor... there will never cease to be poor. Deuteronomy 15:4 and 11 shows the difference between realism and idealism, and demonstrates that both have a place within the instructions of God. On the idealistic side, we are told in 15:4 that "there will be no poor" in the land of Israel. But due to human factors and the facts of life, the reality was that according to 15:11 "there will never cease to be poor" in the land. Here we see the groundedness and wisdom of God's law. God's Word avoids both the airy, detached expectation that everything will just go fantastic, while at the same time avoiding cynical defeatism. Sure, there will always be poor in the land--so, it seems to say, we'll just continually work to wipe out poverty. But on the other hand: Sure, we've got a plan to eradicate poverty--but we'll reexamine it every 5 years, because of course there will still be poverty. It's this balance that helps us to swing for the fences without getting crushed when things don't go as far or as fast as we feel like they should. We need the idealists to lead us out to do the impossible, and we need the realists to come along behind to build structures for dealing with the reality that we might fall a bit short of the mark. That's how progress happens.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? In our attitudes, I at least feel pretty convicted of my own tendency to fall into either idealism or cynicism. While we will never reach perfection in ourselves or in society on this side of glory, it's still worth it to head out and see how far we can get towards the goal. In our actions it might be worth it to do little things to make our schedules reflect that we are God's people, like Deuteronomy 15 and 16 portray. One option could be to adopt the Jewish Calendar. But more realistically, we could try other ways. What if we scheduled an hour with God this week the way that we would for a meeting, by putting a place and time into our Google calendars or printed daily planners? What if I could look at my schedule and see by what I've got booked in it that I belong to God's people?

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "I spend my time on so many things, and I schedule myself around other important things in my life. I make time for meetings and shows and books and gatherings. But God, help me to make time to spend in your presence, reflecting on what you are saying to me through your Word."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 65 | Deuteronomy 12-14

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 12:1-14:29

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the specific stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 12-14). For a free and easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

A personal unresolved question. Just for fun, I will share one of the biggest unresolved questions about the Bible that I have--but it's one that I know there is an answer for. In Deuteronomy 12 the people of Israel are told to travel to Jerusalem to where God will "put his name"--and Deuteronomy 16 specifies that this should happen three times a year. These are long festivals, and the closeness of Passover to Shavuot (Pentecost) often meant that the pilgrims would just stay in Jerusalem in the meantime between the two. This strikes me as a huge defensive weakness for Israel. How should all the fighting men of Israel be expected to abandon their homes and families, and withdraw within the territory to Jerusalem, leaving the outer territories undefended, three times per year? Even if there were not times of war, it would be easy for some morally corrupt person to stay behind while everyone else was in Jerusalem, and just rob everyone blind. Now I know that there is an answer, because we know this practice goes back to ancient times and we know that the people of Israel made it work. I just don't know how. So if you can find the solution, extra points for you. (My guess, unconfirmed, is that families and villages eventually defined "all your men" as "a group of men from every family or village, representing the people," who would carry all of the prescribed offerings to Jerusalem on everyone's behalf. After all, in John 7:8, Jesus declines going up to Jerusalem during the festival -though he later goes secretly- so that must have been an option.)

Dealing with false prophets. This passage is helpful even today, when in certain circles people still raise themselves up as prophets, or when other religious groups (like Mormons or Muslims) claim that their leading figure was a true prophet of God. According to this section, to take someone seriously as a prophet, (1) they would have to perform a sign or wonder or make a successful prediction of some specific thing that was going to happen - Deut. 13:1; (2) even if they do this, their revelation would still have to line up with the truth that God has already laid out - Deut. 13:2-4; (3) if they can't do this, they shouldn't be listened to (13:3) and in ancient Israel the community would have even stoned them to death (13:5). Maybe it is just because I spent a lot of time in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles, but I have actually encountered someone trying to claim this kind of prophetic position or authority over other people many times. For the more savvy among them, the claim would be that the New Covenant prophetic office is different from the Old Covenant prophetic office, and so the standards no longer apply. This convenient interesting argument strikes me as odd, though: why would a New Covenant prophet, who operates under a greater covenant, be held to a lesser standard? For Mormons and Muslims and other groups with similar claims, this passage is helpful in putting their prophets (Muhammad and Joseph Smith) to the test.

Categories. The ancient Israelites had different categories for things than we do. Sometimes, for example, we may have a problem with Jonah having been swallowed by a whale, because we would describe that as a mammal and not a "fish," as Jonah 1 and 2 describes. However, in Deuteronomy 14:11-18 under the category of birds, one of the animals included is "the bat." I once told a Bible study group that it makes sense if you understand that the categories were created by men who had other things to do: "it has wings and it flies and it's not an insect, we'll call that one a bird, this other thing swims in the ocean and has a tail, that's a fish. Now let's get back to work and get this house built by sundown."

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I'll try my best here: In our worship we could look at God's prescription for worshiping him in a specific location and bringing people to himself a few times a year, and we could God's desire that as we draw near to him, he will bring us closer to each other. In our attitude we could look at the test for a false prophet, and say that we want to be able to know God's Word well so that we can discern what is from him and what isn't. In our actions we can feed our attitude and our worship through doing what we are doing now -reading through God's Word- so that internally we are changed in all kinds of ways that will play out in our daily lives.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, thank you for giving me your Word. I don't always understand all of it, but I know that you have given it to me for my good. Help me to joyfully obey you where your Word is clear, to seek you where I have trouble understanding, and to draw near to others who are also seeking you, as we draw near to you."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 64 | Deuteronomy 9-11

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 9:1-11:32

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the general stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 9-11). For an easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

The unmerited grace of God. We ended with a note yesterday about how God did not choose Israel because it was the mightiest of all nations (for it was the least), and Israel did not accumulate wealth by its own strength (for God enabled them to gain it). But now in Deuteronomy 9, we see that Israel was not even considered a particularly righteous nation, either: 

"Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust [the Canaanites] out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." (Deut. 9:4-5)

Why is God telling them this? Because as fallen people, we are quick to look at ourselves in a positive light, and to become proud, and that turns our focus away from God's goodness and towards ours. So humbling ourselves like this is important for us to do to. If you spend a lot of time around people, you will know that there's a difference between a righteous person who is still humbly aware of their many faults, and a righteous person who struggles to think of any faults that they might have. There's a difference between someone who has found peace in Jesus, and someone who is constantly defending their own identity as a good person. There's a difference between someone who gives because they are aware that they, themselves, are in need, and they want others to be blessed as they have been blessed--and someone who can barely conceal their belief that they, themselves, are a blessing to be received by others. Pride is destructive. It's the original sin. It's the most subtle deception.

Call to mind where God has blessed you. Deuteronomy 10:22 says "Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven." It's often worth it to take a look at where God has brought you. I have so far left to go, and yet I've come a long way from being the son of a stripper, repeatedly kicked out of school, growing up in a crummy apartment in downtown Toronto. Just re-reading that last sentence, and it's clear that something changed! I could continue to recount my blessings here: I have two wonderful daughters. I belong to an amazing church. Although I am aware that there is a loneliness epidemic in many areas of the country, I myself have not experienced it. We continue to see God's favor on the things that we are doing, in such a way that we can see that we are not the ones doing it. Is there also a lot of difficulty and hardship? Yes--continually. But just like Israel could look back and remember when they were only 70 people, we can also look back and see that God has already brought us so far. The same God is still at work in you and me.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? These are just a few scrambled thoughts--each day, I am conscious that I am only ever touching on a tiny sliver of what could be said about the assigned readings. In our attitudes, I think the things above would make us more humble, kind, gentle people if we carried them in our hearts. It is possible that we might often feel the opposite: that we are pretty good people, and that despite what God has done in our lives, we feel like we were expecting more. Those two attitudes together are like a quick and easy, two-step, no-bake recipe for lifelong bitterness. We could find so much healing just by reversing them and replacing them with the takeaways described above. In our worship we can become more God-centered, seeing him as the main character in our stories. Come to think of it, for all the famous people in the Bible, God is the main character in their stories. Without God, Abraham is just a guy wandering around in Canaan who did well for himself. David is just a rags-to-royalty story that ends with a descent into corruption. Job is just a guy who lost everything and then recovered and then died eventually. But their lives take on a special, important meaning because their lives pointed to God as the central character of their stories. In our actions we might benefit from prayers or practices designed to call to mind how (a) we have been blessed by God, and (b) performing an examen each week in our personal journaling time--a spiritual examination of our conscience and of how we are on our knees before God asking him to transform us into Christlikeness.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, please help me to put my focus on you. Show me your goodness and glory. Make me willing to be considered small in my sight and in the sight of others, so that you might be glorified."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 63 | Deuteronomy 4-8

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Deuteronomy 4:1-8:20

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today's readings are from the historical prologue in Moses' first speech (Deuteronomy 4) and the general stipulations in Moses' second speech (Deuteronomy 5-8). There is a lot of reading today! There is actually so much good material worth commenting on that it almost hurts not to address so much of it. For an easily accessible, modern, online commentary from a trustworthy and reputable resource, The Gospel Coalition Commentaries are once again a good resource--specifically this commentary written by J. Gary Millar.

The Shema. According to GotQuestions.org, the Shema (Hebrew for the word "hear") is the beginning of the most important daily prayer in Judaism, and it is found in Deuteronomy 6:4. It says "Hear, O Israel: The LORD 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. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Jesus referred to this passage as the greatest commandment of the Law in Mark 12:28-30. Here we see a call to worship ("Hear"), a taking on of identity as God's people ("O Israel"), a recognition of God as he truly is ("the LORD our God, the LORD is one"), a response to God's revelation of Himself ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might"), a command to make God's identity and prescribed way of living the center of our own lives ("And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart"), and then finally a command to continually remember and pass these things down ("You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way...").

We are not the point. God says that Israel should not think that they were somehow good enough for God to rescue them. Moses says "It was not because you were more in number than any other people... for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers" (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).  Then when it comes to their own success in Deuteronomy 8, the people have to be told, "Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). We like to think that our success and our relationship with God are due to our own efforts. In reality, we have these things because of God's saving, effective, unmerited, unconditional love.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? These are just a few scrambled thoughts--each day, I am conscious that I am only ever touching on a tiny sliver of what could be said about the assigned readings. In our worship, we see a mix of healthy fear of God (Deuteronomy 4-5) mixed with the grace of God that I mentioned above. If we tend to focus on God's holiness and justice, then we likely need a bigger picture of God's grace. And if we tend to major on God's giving and kindness, then we need to remember God as a powerful king who holds not the sword in his hands in vain. Both lead us nearer to God out of respect and gratitude. In our attitudes the Shema is a call to meditate and think upon the nature of God, and to consider him in our waking up and lying down. Maybe we can even build things into our day to help with this: one of my best spiritual seasons was a point where I had to walk 30 minutes to work early in the morning every day, and so I would pray and talk and thing and sing songs as the sun came up, every day for 8 months. Maybe just by ditching the car we could improve both our physical and spiritual health. In our actions -- well, I think I may have suggested a possible action in the last point. Got ahead of myself.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "Father, you are so amazing that I could ponder your nature and your goodness forever. Do not let me grow to be self-centered, but instead give me the grace to allow myself to become small, and to focus on you, so that you would be magnified in my life."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 62 | Deuteronomy 1:1-3:29

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Deuteronomy 1:1-3:29

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Structure of Deuteronomy. According to the ESV Study Bible, the book of Deuteronomy is structured like an ancient treaty document, given over the course of three speeches. There is Moses' first speech which includes the preamble (1:1-5) and historical prologue (1:6-4:49). Then we have Moses' second speech where Israel is given general stipulations (5:1-11:32) and specific stipulations (12:1-26:19). Finally in Moses' third speech we have blessings and curses (27:1-28:68), followed by a couple of things unique to Deuteronomy: covenant renewal (29:1-29), a description of future covenant forgiveness (30:1-10), and an exhortation to choose the way of life over the way of death (30:11-20). Then there is the succession from Moses to Joshua (31:1-8), followed by the document clause (31:9-29), and witnesses (32:1-47)--followed by blessings from and the death of Moses (32:48-34:12). That seems like a lot of detail, and it is, but the basic takeaway from it is this: Deuteronomy is the ancient treaty document between a greater power (God) and a lesser power (Israel). But it is one that has grace and forgiveness at the center, and culminates in an echo of the description of the Promised Deliverer from Genesis 49 and Numbers 24, right near as the treaty document is ready to close (Deuteronomy 32-33). It is a familiar form, changed and altered at specific points to make us see Jesus.

Jesus' personal reading material. As we read the early chapters of Deuteronomy, we are privileged to be meditating on the same material that Jesus meditated on while he was being tempted in the wilderness by Satan, alone for 40 days and 40 nights. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4, all of Jesus' responses to Satan are taken from these early chapters of Deuteronomy.

The destruction of the original inhabitants. In the WhatsApp group devoted to this reading plan, I've noticed that there has been some difficulty with the violence in these and other passages towards the original(?) inhabitants of the land. Here is some detail that might go a little ways towards helping. (1) According to the information in Genesis 10-11, the land of Israel was originally given to the descendants of Shem, not Ham (father of the Canaanites). That we find Abram, an Aramean descendant of Shem, displaced and living in Ur, while the land of Shem is overrun with people of Canaan, suggests that the Canaanites were the original invaders who went outside of their prescribed boundaries and took the land. (2) Despite this breach, God allowed this and waited hundreds of years, putting his own chosen people through slavery because Canaanite society had still not reached the point of deserving judgment--"the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete" (Genesis 15:16). (3) By the time that Israel did end up taking land, God had already driven away many of the people. Exodus 23:28 and Deuteronomy 7:20 both mention that God sent hornets (amongst other things) against the inhabitants to drive out many of the poeple, emptying the land of many of the people beforehand. The period of wandering in the wilderness also gave the people of the land enough time and notice to reconsider their living situation, as Rahab noted, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you" (Joshua 2:9-10). (4) Those who came to make peace with Israel beforehand were shown great mercy. The nation of Israel had an international flavor from the beginning. Moses, the leader of Israel, took a Cushite wife (Numbers 12:1); a mixed multitude of peoples went up along with Israel from Egypt (Exodus 12:37-38); Rahab -a Canaanite- herself asked for and was given mercy (Joshua 2 and 6), and went on to become not just a Canaanite in the land of Israel, but was married into the leading house of the tribe of Judah and went on to become one of the ancestors of King David and Jesus (Ruth 4). (5) With very few exceptions, made because of the sensitivity of establishing a new country devoted to godly principles (necessitating a complete cleansing away of the old order), Israel was the first country in the world to have something like a Genevan Conventions code of warfare. In Deuteronomy 20, these rules govern the treatment of people during war, give the people of Israel the astonishing -for the ancient world- opportunity to refuse military service, prescribe conditions for making peace, and even give conditions for the peaceful treatment of the plant life in the war zone ("are the trees of the field human, that they should be besieged by you?" - Deut. 20:19).

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

The writing of this post is already going late, but I think in our worship we would begin to see God as a powerful, superior, ruling King--and yet one who is surprisingly giving and gracious, and concerned with the welfare even of those who rebel against him (remember the surprising bits of Deuteronomy that are unusual for ancient treaties). This causes us to approach God with the awe and respect that an ancient king would command from a subject nation, but also to feel some measure of comfort in his presence. In our attitudes this should give us a healthy respect for terms of various relationships, whether our relationship with God, or each other, or within a society to make things work. We all sacrifice some things in order to make the whole work together. In our actions - this is always the hardest part for me to write because in many ways these are specific to each person. I suppose that if God makes treaties with us, and yet includes provisions for grace, then we are free to enter into relationships with others and to establish our own personal boundaries--and yet, it would be wise for us to do what God does here, and to decide beforehand to extend grace in times when these boundaries are overstepped. If God forgives us when we step on his toes, then we should be able to follow his example and extend some grace when someone slips up and steps on ours.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, help me to enter into a renewed relationship with you today -and every day!-, and to be at peace with God and man. Help me to joyfully fulfill my obligations and duties to others, and to be a person whose life is marked out by sincere devotion to your ways. Help me to be willing to give, and ask for, forgiveness when there has been a breach of relationship; and yet to also be wise regarding those who might try to take advantage of this to cause harm. God, thank you that you establish a relationship with me. Thank you for your grace, and provision, and kindness."

ESV Chronological Plan, Day 61 | Numbers 34-36

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Numbers 34:1-36:13

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

According to the outline laid out on Day #52, we are in the section of Numbers that I've called "Hope" (Numbers 32-36).

This land is my land, this land is your land. On the surface of it, it seems like today we are just reading about how the land in Israel is going to be divided up. And--well, we are! But this is incredible. Think about what this represents. (1) The journey's basically over, we made it through the wilderness. The first bit of land is being settled, and the rest of the land is being portioned out, and we're even figuring out what to do if a daughter of a family inherits land and then goes and gets married to someone from a different tribe (answer: she can't). God's people made it, everyone! And in God's strength, whatever wilderness you're in the middle of, you can make it too. (2) The faithfulness of God is real. God really could have, by all rights, been done with Israel at any time in the wilderness. But he is a God who keeps steadfast, covenant love. If he did not give up on the Israelites in the wilderness, neither will he give up on his people now. (3) There's a foretaste of the Promised Land in the midst of the wilderness. Before the people are led up into the Promised Land, he gives them a little bit of inheritance in the wilderness. Before they march in to Jericho, he describes the boundaries of the land that they are about to receive. We might spend a lot of time wandering in the wilderness that we find ourselves in, and yet in that time there may be little tastes of glory. Those are reminders of God's faithfulness--a taste of what's to come.

RESPOND | WHAT IS OUR PART?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I think seeing God's faithfulness here is a good opportunity to remember other examples of his faithfulness, and to glorify him. And in our attitude, we could emulate this kind of steadfast love for the unlovables in our life. In actions, we can take time to learn about the promises that God makes to us in his word--this is like our version of the land boundaries that God gave to Israel: we can open up the record and see where God is taking you and me.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US CLOSER TO GOD?

Here is a suggested prayer prompt: "God, help me to finish up my time well in the wilderness. Help me to see ways that you are already bringing your promises to fruition. Help me to believe every promise that you have made to your people, so that my faith will increase and so that I will find my joy in you."