Week 9: Deuteronomy 26 - Joshua 12

This week's reading plan covers:

• Weekend:   Deuteronomy 26 - 29
• Monday:    Deuteronomy 30 - 32
• Tuesday:   Deuteronomy 33 - 34
• Wednesday: Joshua 1 - 5
• Thursday:  Joshua 6 - 8
• Friday:    Joshua 9 - 12

This week’s reading is about transition…in which the Israelites cross the Jordan River and take possession of the Promised Land. 

Deuteronomy closes with a series of blessings and curses, which anticipate the unfolding history of God’s people – from the conquest of the land of Canaan…to the scattering of Israel among the nations in the wake of the people’s rebellion…to the restoration of God’s remnant people after Babylonian captivity.  The first twelve chapters of Joshua record Israel’s “moving in.”

Throughout the week, you will encounter a number of stories that underscore the need to trust and obey.  Enjoy!
 

Week 8: Deuteronomy Chapters 1 - 25

Four books down and 59 to go!!! 

When you have a moment, please drop a line to the blog letting us know how your reading experience is going- is the plan going well or are you having a hard time keeping up?  Are you understanding the material or so you have a pressing question?  Once again, the purpose of this blog is to allow us to read the Bible together, so please feel free to join in the discussion at any point- there are no bad posts!

So, we are beginning Deuteronomy this week- this is a very important book in the Bible as this is Moses' last message to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land.  As you may remember, Moses will not be allowed to enter the land due to his failure to follow instructions at Meribah (Numbers 20: 2-13).  But rather than be embittered, Moses takes this opportunity to reiterate to Israel the laws that God has designed for the Hebrew nation to follow.  Also, Moses is passing the torch to Israel's new leaders as they begin the task of moving the people into the Promised Land.

The reading plan for this week is this:

* Weekend:  Deuteronomy 1-4
* Monday:  Deuteronomy 5-7
* Tuesday:  Deuteronomy 8-11
*  Wednesday:  Deuteronomy 12-16
*  Thursday:  Deuteronomy 17-20
*  Friday:  Deuteronomy 21-25

The Ten Commandments are restated in Chapter 5 and in Chapter 6, verses 4-9, Moses tells the Hebrew nation (and us!) why we follow His commands.  This passage is called the "Shema" in traditional Jewish worship, and it a very important part of Jewish prayer life.

If it seems like a lot of this material is familiar, it is because we have already read much of this in the previous three books.  But please do not skim.  There is some great material here and may help fill in some gaps of understanding or maybe this material will spark some new questions.

Have a great week reading and we look forward to hearing from you!

Mike

Week 7: Numbers 13 - 36

First off, let me tell you how excited I am that so many people are following along. I hope you still enjoy the reading. I'm sure by now you've noticed that it's not hard IF you keep up daily. It's about 15 to 20 min. a day, so if you miss a day, the next day it's 30 to 40 min. of reading! That can easily add up. If you fall behind, don't get discouraged. You can either pick it up on the current week and come back later, or try to catch up. Weekends are good to catch up. The reading is about the same as any other day, but it's spread out over 2 days, so there's some extra time.

This week we'll finish the book of Numbers:

• Weekend:   Numbers 13 - 16
• Monday:    Numbers 17 - 20
• Tuesday:   Numbers 21 - 25
• Wednesday: Numbers 26 - 30
• Thursday:  Numbers 31 - 33
• Friday:    Numbers 34 - 36

The people of Israel arrive at the border of the Promised Land. But their faith has been tested, and they haven't done well on the tests... When the 12 explorers come back from exploring Canaan, they bring back good news and 'bad' news. The good news is that the Promised Land is indeed what God had promised: a land of milk and honey. The bad news is that the land is inhibited by seemingly mighty people and giants. Apparently, they have forgotten how mighty their God is, and that He was the one who fought for them against the Egyptians and the Amalekites. Again their faith is lacking.

How are you doing when your faith is tested? Do you believe that Almighty God has power to overcome any obstacles in your life? I hope you do.

The Israelites don't and the result is disastrous. Read for yourself in Numbers 14. All this is not easy on Moses, the mediator between God and the people. Moses faces some serious opposition from the people, and even from his own brother and sister. Must have been a very lonely position for him from time to time.

And there is the story of Balaam and the talking donkey. Again a week full of interesting and detailed stories. What an amazing book the Bible is!!

Dick

Week 6: Leviticus 16 - Numbers 12

The reading plan for this week is:

• Weekend:   Leviticus 16 - 20
• Monday:    Leviticus 21 - 23
• Tuesday:   Leviticus 24 - 27
• Wednesday: Numbers 1 - 4
• Thursday:  Numbers 5 - 8
• Friday:    Numbers 9 - 12 

We are more than halfway through the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament)…and well into some of the most technical material in Scripture.

The Bible, in its entirety, is God’s word. Even the most technical (and seemingly irrelevant) portions of Scripture are valuable to Christ-followers. The Apostle Paul writes,  “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, New Living Translation).

What can we glean from this section of God’s word?  Much indeed!

In Leviticus 16, we see that God provided the Day of Atonement as the means by which to absolve the sins of the Israelites (v. 34). The Day of Atonement prefigured Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross. Hebrews chapter 9 provides a helpful theological explanation of the once-for-all atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and how Jesus’ death on the cross supersedes the first covenant and the sacrificial system associated with it. The writer of Hebrews says that the tabernacle that God had Moses build in the wilderness was a mere copy of heavenly reality. And the sacrifices were but a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of God’s Son:

"For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice" (Heb. 9:24-28).

The balance of Leviticus underscores the need for God’s people to be “holy,” which means “set apart” as uniquely belonging to God. While God provides the means of forgiveness through atonement, God also calls on his people to be holy, as he is holy (19:2). This includes sexual purity (ch. 18), respect for our parents (19:3), undivided devotion to the one true God (v. 4), care for the poor (vv. 9-10), honesty (vv. 11-12), fairness (v. 13), care for the physically challenged (v. 14), justice that is impartial, (v. 15), avoidance of gossip and slander (v. 16), regard for our neighbor’s safety (v. 17), and love for others as for ourselves (v. 18).

The book of Numbers highlights the mediatory role of Moses as God’s spokesperson. A distinguishing feature of this book, which sets Numbers apart from the other books of the Pentateuch, is the statement that the Lord spoke to Moses…who in turn spoke to the people.  Phrases to this effect occur more than 150 times and in more than 20 different ways. Moses’ role as mediator and spokesperson prefigures Jesus Christ (compare Deut. 18:18 and Acts 3:19-23).

This is a small sampling of what’s in store for you this week.  There is much to learn from this portion of God’s word!

Enjoy this week’s readings!