Shelter David communicating with God
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 127 (May 7): Shelter, Trust, Evildoers, Dwell, Goodness, Protection, Rock, Rescuer, Praiseworthy, Perfect, Pleasing Him, Remembers followers, King support

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— Psalms 12-17
— Psalms 19-21
(979 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (Psalm 12): In our readings of David so far, I only remember him talking about enemies lurking and also about praising God.  But here, David talks of how the people are succumbing to evil.  In a recent reading, I do remember when given three choices of punishment to choose, he chose the one with the smallest duration.  So, that shows his compassion to others — that others are on his mind.  But, it seems that David’s biggest concern has been gaining and keeping the throne.

A. That is not the way I would read this Psalm.  David here appears to express concern that the people of his generation are becoming increasingly corrupt and falling away from God.  We will see how this plays out horribly when we return to Kings.

Q. (13): Is it correct to say that God may not answer some of our prayers right away as a test to see if we will continue to be faithful when God seems far away?  But then, when he hears us cry out in anguish, he will honor the loyalty by answering the prayer?

A. I once heard a pastor say that there were three answers to prayer: yes, no, and wait.  Ultimately, if we trust that God knows what is best for us even better than we do, we can hopefully accept that sometimes we do not know which answer God is giving us.

Q. (14): This reminds me of Noah and the Ark — everyone is evil again except one family.  We don’t know at what time in David’s life that he wrote this song, right?  So, we don’t know what he was going through at this time.  Can you explain verse 7?  Who is David referring to when he says someone will come from Mt. Zion?  And, why bring Jacob into the picture?

A. We do not have dates for any of the Psalms, no.  I don’t think verse 7 refers to a particular person, but rather a request for God to provide deliverance personally.  While the title of “Jacob” is not commonly used, it is the same name as Israel, so that likely is the significance.  It’s probably there to make a particular rhyme in the Hebrew.

Q. This is a sideline question that I just thought of when I was writing the previous question.  Can we draw any correlation between Noah’s “Ark” and the “Ark” of the Covenant?

A. Sure.  Both represent God’s provision for His people at different times: the Ark (boat) made a way for Noah in Genesis, and the Ark of the Covenant made continuous provision for God’s people throughout its existence.

Q. (15): This psalm mentions something many have issues with — talking about others.  What defines gossip to God?

A. The usual line I take on gossip is: anytime you are discussing a less than stellar aspect of another person without their knowledge just for the purpose of sharing, you are flirting with gossip.  If you are talking to someone for your benefit at the expense of someone else’s reputation, you’re in danger.  And obviously it is not gossip if you are talking to the person about the issue you have with them, as Jesus directed us (Matthew 18:15-18).

Q. (16:11): It sounds like David knows something of the afterlife here.

A. I think David has great faith in God’s ability to preserve him forever.  David is one of the first writers to speak of this concept clearly in the OT.

O. (17:13-15): I don’t have anything to say about this except that I love the words and thoughts that David uses to praise God here.

Q. (19:12-13): I relate to these verses.  I often see things that I think are glaring faults in someone, but I wonder what faults I have in myself that I don’t see.  When do we know what to change and what should be left alone, both in ourselves and in others?

A. By praying.  I know ministers who use these verses and Psalm 139:23 as a part of their walk with God.  They say, “God, I am open to anything that you desire to reveal in me and want me to be working on, and I desire for the Spirit to be working on my heart” or something like that.  Do that for a while, and I think you will find that God is eager to reveal in us what He desires for us to change.

O. (19:14): Our pastor says this verse every Sunday before he preaches.  I love it!  (Note from Rob: this is one of the most well known prayers of pastors, and it has been used for centuries.)

O. (20:7): I like this underscore about boasting.  I do like that we can boast about our Lord, who provides all we need, as David says here.  Boasting of ourselves has no place in this world.

Q. (21:7): I like this.  At times, when I am feeling troubled or challenged, I remember that as long as I trust in God, I will not falter.  It sounds pretty easy.  But, as we know, it’s easy to falter.  We know Jesus was the only perfect man.  Would you say it’s impossible to be perfect?  And that one reason sin surrounds us is to check our faithfulness to God to see if we turn to him to keep us out of sin or redeem us if we have already sinned?

A. One of the goals that the Bible describes in our walk with God is called sanctification.  That it, the process, day by day, that the Spirit is at work in our hearts, if we let Him, to make us more and more like Christ.  There is some degree of debate as to whether it is possible to be perfect, but ultimately, perfection for the sake of perfection is not the goal.  The goal is to be more like Jesus, and let God take care of the rest.  As you said, if we put our faith in God, and act out of the best desires of our hearts, we will be in good shape.  Now having said that, let me hasten to add that it should be the goal of all Christians, not to be perfect — tricky indeed — but rather to be MORE perfect today than yesterday.  If our goal is to truly follow after God, then we can see how taking steps of obedience to what He desires will be something we desire.

Book: If you’d like to read more on being holy, Christian perfection, and sanctification, I recommend a book entitled, “Called to be Holy” by John Oswald.  It’s a great look at how holiness is attained in both the Old and New Testaments.  https://www.christianbook.com/called-to-be-holy-biblical-perspective/john-oswalt/9781593175450/pd/55921

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Tomorrow’s reading
— Psalms 22-26

Solomon's title threatened. Adonijah attempted to take the throne from Solomon.
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 125 (May 5): David’s belongings help build temple, Solomon anointed king, his brother tries to claim throne, David quickly plans to king Solomon

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 1 Chronicles 29:1-22
— 1 Kings 1
(970 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (1 Chronicles 29:1-22): As we read this story, should we keep in mind that it is 1 Chronicles, where the author may have glorified the actual happenings to paint a prettier picture of King David’s rule?

A. That is always something to have in mind at this point.  We certainly get a “rosy” vision of David, but I would also say that there is not much going on here that is outside of the established character of David: He is willing to make great sacrifices on behalf of his God, and this is just one more instance of it.  It is quite clear why David is held up as an OT example for others to follow, even with his obvious shortcomings.

Q. (1 King 1:1-4): What?  I guess this is a “give the king his last dying wish?”  Whatever the reason is, I’m sure it’s not that important — as I have learned.  But, why include it here?  From the text, we never see David spending much time with his sons.  Maybe this is why they are so at odds.  The brothers didn’t have a strong family nucleus with their father or each other?

A. The historian Josephus mentions the “medical” practice of using a healthy person to keep the elderly warm, so it appears that this was an accepted practice in this day.  It appears to be part of the process of making David as comfortable as possible in his final days.  Verse 6 would seem to indicate that David was quite lax in his discipline of his boys, even where it was quite clear what he desired — for Solomon, not any of his other sons, to be king.  David excelled at many things, but it appears that being father of the year was not one of them — and just one more place where the king’s polygamy created unnecessary tension.

Q. (1:5-6): These people seem to be so fickle.  If there was such a huge celebration for Solomon to become king, then why is there an opposing side thinking that they can defeat the named king?

A. Both Solomon and his brother are powerful men, so it is most likely that many who joined Adonijah are hedging their bets as to who will be the “true” king.  They want to be in the good graces of such a powerful monarch, and one of the best ways was to be on his side and cheering for him, right up until the moment someone else prevails.  Fickle is right.

Q. (1:7): Joab sure is a hard one to figure out.  He has always stood beside King David, though he definitely wasn’t completely obedient.  But, if King David named Solomon the next king, then I would think Joab would support Solomon.  On a side note, Joab has to be getting very old too!

A. He is, and this decision to not follow Solomon will be a costly one for him.  Technically, Adonijah is probably, by society’s standards, the right choice for king. He was most likely the oldest surviving son, and the logical choice to be king.  So it is not surprising that Joab followed him.  But as with David, man’s choice for king was not God’s choice.

Q. (1:31): This is a sideline question.  People bow before the king.  Is this OK with God?  I am not sure how God views bowing to anyone except him.  Some people around the world greet one another with a bow, showing a sign of respect.  This came up once when President Obama bowed to a foreign leader.  I was taking a martial arts class with my daughter and we were supposed to bow when you entered the dojo and when we left, I believe, as a sign of respect to the master.  I did not like this one bit.  I have never met the master who is in another part of the world.  I bow my head to God when I pray, but rarely a full-body bow.  I definitely don’t feel like bowing to someone that I don’t know, or moreover, someone who isn’t God.

A. I think there is a fine line between bowing in respect for a leader or another person, and “bowing your heart” to an idol.  Bowing your heart to anything other than God is obviously not what God desires, but I don’t see a particular problem with showing respect for others, as long as it is not worship.

Q. (1:34): Solomon has already been anointed.

A. Anointing is a public ceremony, so I’m not surprised that Solomon is anointed many times.  There wouldn’t have been any CNN covering the ceremony, so the repeated anointing might have had something to do with different people being involved in the process.  Part of the reason for this particular ceremony is David’s desire to publicly make it crystal clear who the king is going to be.

Q. (1:50): Adonijah was afraid of Solomon because he had David and the Lord backing him?  I would think that Adonijah would die from grabbing the horns of the altar.  Maybe he has learned from observing the Lord’s power and will be obedient to Solomon?

A. The horns of the altar are not the same as the Ark, which is what was not to be touched.  The horns of the alter were the place where sacrifices were made, and would have been seen as a place of mercy and surrender.  This is most likely what Adonijah is attempting to convey: I have sinned against the true king, my brother, and need his forgiveness and mercy.

For further reading: David had a big family!  Here’s the list — of sons, anyway, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/sons-of-david.html

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Tomorrow’s reading
— 1 Kings 2:1-9
— 2 Samuel 23:1-7
— 1 Kings 2:10-12
— 1 Chronicles 29:26-30
— Psalms 4-6, 8-9, 11

David Ark Jerusalem The Ark of the Covenant is on the move
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 112 (April 22): David is Israel’s king, conquers Philistines, takes Jerusalem, builds palace, tries to move Ark, Israel punished for Ark treatment

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 2 Samuel 5:1-3
— 1 Chronicles 11:1-3
— 1 Chronicles 12:23-40
— 2 Samuel 5:17-25
— 1 Chronicles 14:8-17
— 2 Samuel 5:6-10
— 1 Chronicles 11:4-9
— 1 Chronicles 3:4b
— 2 Samuel 5:13
— 2 Samuel 5:4-5
— 2 Samuel 5:11-12
— 1 Chronicles 14:1-2
— 1 Chronicles 13:1-5
— 2 Samuel 6:1-11
— 1 Chronicles 13:6-14
(1003-1000 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (2 Samuel 5:3): We have seen “the elders of Israel” many times, but who are they?

A. They would be the leaders of each of the thirteen tribes (including the Levites and two half tribes).  They most likely were the heads of each of the major families, and most likely the most powerful men from each region of Israel.

O. (1 Chronicles 12:38-40): These verses provide a wonderful picture of all of Israel pouring in to Hebron to see David become king.  They brought provisions to share with all their kin.  This must have been the largest family reunion ever — a wonderful sight, especially after all the years of unrest because of the conflict between David and Saul (mostly brought on by Saul).

Q. (2 Samuel 5:21): I see a problem on the rise here.  David and his men confiscated the Philistines idols.  But, in 1 Chronicles 14:12, David gave orders to burn the Philistine gods.

A. It is probably both (they were taken and then later burned).  The Samuel story tells us that the Philistines brought images of their gods into battle in hopes of assuring victory — in the same way we saw Israel lose the Ark in 1 Samuel 4.  The story tells us that when defeated, they left the idols, so part of the process of spoiling the battlefield would be to collect them.  When in doubt, the Chronicler ALWAYS tries to show David in a better light (that’s the nature of Chronicles, written later as a way to memorialize Israel’s great leaders).  So it is unsurprising to me that Samuel would tell us that they collected the idols — without implying they burned them later, though they may have — while Chronicles tells us that David had them destroyed.

Q. (1 Chronicles 11:6): I thought Joab and his family were struck with leprosy as a punishment for killing Abner.  How could he be David’s army commander if he had this disease?

A. He was (Joab is David’s nephew by the way).  Don’t forget that leprosy would have meant a variety of skin diseases, and it was spread over an entire family, and not necessarily lethal.  Joab apparently did not suffer much under this curse, because he will play a huge role in the rest of the story.

Q. (1 Chronicles 3:4b, 2 Samuel 5:13): Why did David move to Jerusalem?

A. Jerusalem was the central point for that area of Israel — it was at a high elevation and very useful strategically.  It was also along the border of Judah, David’s tribe, and Benjamin’s territory, so making that his capital would allow David to smooth over relations with the “rogue” nation.

Q. (2 Samuel 6:6-7, 9-11, 1 Chronicles 13:9-10, 12-14): So, I guess Uzzah was supposed to have power over his natural reflexes of catching something that is falling?  Maybe David and the Israelites were singing and dancing too much, and not showing God reverence?  So, this mishap may have been a reminder to get them in the right frame of mind?  Do I have this right?  And, can you explain verses 9-11?  I find it strange that the Ark would reside in someone’s house.

A. OK, the deal here is that David is cheating by using a cart to move the Ark.  Remember the way it was supposed to be moved: by having the priests carry it on poles?  Uzzah died because of his lack of reverence for the Ark, but mostly because David was being irresponsible in his movement of it.  David will correct this mistake in our next reading.  My notes indicate that the Ark resided at the home of a priest, and “house” is probably a loose term for property.  The Ark was secured on the property of a proper guardian to await God and David’s next move.  The blessing on Obed-Edom’s house is an indication that the anger of God had subsided.

For further study: God’s presence and the Ark, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/ark-covenant-and-gods-presence-us

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Tomorrow’s reading
— 2 Samuel 6:12a
— 1 Chronicles 15:1-28
— 2 Samuel 6:12b-16
— 1 Chronicles 15:29
— 2 Samuel 6:17-19a
— 1 Chronicles 16
— 2 Samuel 6:19b-23

Samuel found Saul to anoint him king of Israel
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 101 (April 11): Samuel anoints Saul king, Holy Spirit came to Saul, Saul acclaimed king, defeats Ammonites, angered, retells his service

John Paul Stanley / YoPlace.com

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 1 Samuel 9-12:25
(1043 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (1 Samuel 9:21): Again, we have God choosing someone least expected, although he is the tallest in the land, so maybe that helps him get noticed?

A. It appears that the people wanted Saul as king because he was such a man of stature, but we can’t say exactly why God made Saul His king.  Saul passed the “eye test” in a way that David never will (as we will see shortly), but Saul (as we see in 10:22) is actually a fearful man who is not ready to rule the people, even though he will have his moments.  The writer clearly desires us to see the contrast between David and Saul, especially as the become rivals in a few chapters.

O. (9:22-24): So, Samuel had expected Saul all along because God had told him to expect someone to come (1 Samuel 9:15-16).

Q. (10:1): God has obviously told Samuel how to anoint someone.  Why the olive oil?  We may have talked about this before?  And, wouldn’t he go around with a oily head?  I know that’s not important, just a visual that turns on my curiosity.  About the prophets, were they in direct communication with God, or did they just hear what we read in the Bible?  I would think that there are a lot of God’s messages that we don’t know about?  So, in 10:10, we read that the Spirit enters Saul and allows him to prophesy?

A. Olive oil (in addition to serving various cooking purposes as it does today) was used for a variety of health reasons — it is actually still used today as a hair treatment in the Middle East.  One of the things that the oil was used for was to protect animals (sheep in particular) from insects that would get into their ears: the oil was poured on their head to make the wool slick.  So that oil represented protection and also selection (a shepherd would use the oil to protect his sheep), which is where the symbolism comes from.  Oil represents selection or choosing when used in this way, and the most common oil was olive oil.

We obviously have no way of knowing about prophecy that is not included in Scripture, but in this case, Samuel is using his prophetic vision to convince Saul that he has truly received an accurate vision of God of God’s plans for Saul.  The Spirit came UPON Saul, not within him (it is a similar idea to the anointing of oil).  The Spirit does not enter into people until Pentecost in the NT, after the atonement of Jesus.

Q. (10:9): What is meant here by God giving Saul a new heart?

A. God empowered Saul to be the king over all Israel.

Q. (10:27): Why would a king gouge out a right eye?  He is obviously a dictator.  I also don’t understand how anyone could gather that many men and perform this heinous act.  Same with when they gathered thousands of men to be circumcised, how was it possible?  Just watch the news and we see that massive imprisonments go on today by way of military.  I just wondered how they had such enforcement back then.  Military also?

A. The eye gouging would serve two purposes: first, anyone who saw the person would immediately know that they had been disfigured, which would have been a humiliation.  Secondly, there is a military significance as we discussed with the removal of big toes and thumbs: the Israelite army (like all armies of the day) would have used various forms of archery to win battles, and removing an archer’s eye would have rendered them almost useless in battle.

I don’t have a good answer on the logistics of these attacks, but I can tell you that if you have hundreds or thousands of men yourself, you can fairly quickly accomplish some pretty messy work.

Q. (11:7): Obviously, cutting something was a way to express anger in those days as we saw a few days ago with the concubine.  This act elicits a putrid image.  I’m sure Saul got everyone’s attention.  Who would be put to the task of delivering such a message to the tribes?

A. Likely servants of the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s house.  It is possible that it was even Saul’s family servants.

Q. (12:12-17): Why did God provide a king if He is the king.  Why did he give in to the Israelites wishes?

A. Because they asked Him to.  In His mercy (9:16), He has given them the desires of their hearts, as any good Father will try to do … within reason.  The king will come to be a symbol of the entire kingdom, so it will be able to see the fortunes of the nation in one man.  This is how the narrative will proceed until the destruction of Jerusalem almost 500 years later.

For further study: What does mercy look like? https://www.compassion.com/poverty/mercy-definition.htm

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Tomorrow’s reading
— 1 Chronicles 9:34-39
— 1 Samuel 13:1-5, 19-23, 6-18
— 1 Samuel 14:1-52

Quest for king The Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 100 (April 10): Eli dies from shock, Philistines cursed, return Ark, God hears Samuel, Israelite victory, Samuel’s greedy sons, Samuel warns quest for king

Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org.

Day 100!  Can you believe it?  Just three more weeks and will be one-third of the way through the Bible.

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— 1 Samuel 4:12-8:22
(1070 BC) Click here for a timeline of the entire Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (1 Samuel 4): Just as a scene setter, the Israelites were warring with the Philistines who were in the land of Canaan, which God had given to the Israelites.  When the Israelites were taking over the land conquering cities in the time of Joshua, some of the tribes were not destroyed.  This is because the Israelites were not fully acknowledging God.  And, as you said in earlier readings, this would come back to plague the Israelites.  Since then, the Philistines had grown in strength and worshipped idols and the Israelites had weakened because of straying from God.  The Philistines had enslaved the Israelites (Hebrews) and the Israelites were revolting.  Is this accurate?

A. I don’t think the Israelites were actively being enslaved, but rather the Philistines were taxing them and controlling certain areas of Canaan, and that is what the people were revolting against.  Other then that, I think you’ve told it correctly.

Q. (5:1-12): I remember when the Tabernacle was set up that it was so sacred that only certain ones who had become ceremonially clean could view it.  And, several died trying. Here the Philistines have it.  Has it lost some of its sacredness with the weakening of the Israelites?  How come the Philistines were not struck down as they approached it, let alone touched it?  In the subsequent verses, we learn that they were plagued.  This just seems a weaker curse for mistreating the Ark than in Moses’ time.

A. The curse in some ways represents a form of God’s mercy: the Philistines were not aware of the Israelite requirements to not approach the Ark, so God spared them, but He clearly let them know that He was displeased (the curses are certainly a similar story to the plagues of Egypt).  There is no indication that the Philistines touched the Ark, which would result in their death.  They carried the Ark on a cart to avoid touching it directly.  This was obviously not what God instructed: He wanted the priests to carry it.  So, I would say that the “weaker” curse, as you see it, is God having compassion upon a people who don’t know what they are getting themselves into.  They certainly learned fast that you don’t mess with the Ark.

Q. (6:1-2): The Philistines obviously should have realized the power of God.  I’m just wondering why they didn’t convert to worshipping God.  Were they ever invited?  Or, was it understood that they all had their own idols?  The Philistine priests did a good job of making arrangements for the Ark to be returned.  And, they saw what the Ark did to Dagon.  So, why don’t they turn to God?

A. Hmm, that’s a good question.  I don’t really know.  It was probably because they considered this to be “Israel’s god” which they had offended, and not necessarily that Israel’s god was more “powerful,” simply that they had angered Him.

Q. (8:1-3): Samuel’s sons are falling in the footsteps of Eli’s.  What’s up with these priests parenting skills?

A. We aren’t told, so I don’t really have anything to base an answer off of.  Sorry!

Q. (8:21): Why didn’t God encourage Samuel to keep urging the Israelites that God was their king and that they don’t need to be like their neighbor countries?  Is this a “wait and see” question?

A. Again, this is a good question, but I don’t have a great answer.  We know from the Law that God had already made provision for a human king (see Deuteronomy 17:14-20, from our reading on Day 76).  God was not threatened by the request for a human king — though it appears He was a bit insulted — but He does warn the people that they will regret giving themselves over to a human leader. Boy will they.

For further study
— All about kings and those of today, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King
— Why did the Israelites want an earthly king when they already had God as their leader? https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/why-did-israel-want-an-earthly-king-when-they-had-god.html

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Tomorrow’s reading: 1 Samuel 9-12

Judges and officers appointed in towns charged to judge fairly in the Israel tribes
Categories365 Daily Bible Readings by

Day 76 (March 17): Judge fairly, choosing a king, gifts for priests and Levites, avoid foreign sin, future prophets, battle regulations, unsolved murders

Wong Chim Yuen

Welcome to Livin’ Light’s Bible-In-A-Year challenge of discovering God’s love for us and His purpose for our lives. Here is the format for this great adventure: The daily reading assignment is posted at 5 a.m. After each day’s reading, Leigh An Coplin, the blog host, shares observations and poses questions about difficult passages to Rob Fields, who studied Christian Education at Asbury Seminary and currently teaches Biology in the Orlando area. To start from the beginning, click on 365 Bible Readings and scroll down to Day 1. The reading schedule is taken from The One Year Chronological Bible NLT. 

Today’s Reading
— Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9
(1406 BC) Click here for a timeline of the whole Bible.

Questions & Observations

Q. (Deuteronomy 16:21-22): This seems kind of random.  I read that Asherah was a Canaanite goddess?  Did God not like these pillars because they resembled some goddess?

A. You assessed this female deity correctly.  Asherah was worshipped as a fertility goddess, and archeological records indicate that she was worshipped at sites of tall trees or carved poles (we don’t know exactly what the Hebrew word for “pole” refers to).  Some scholars think they may have been carved figures like totem poles in Native American worship, but we do not know how large they were.  The pillars were the sites of worship of Asherah, not necessarily a physical resemblance, though in some instances the image of Asherah may have been carved into the pillar, pole, or tree.

One of the most interesting archeological discoveries from this period are a number of engravings, which name “Yahweh and his Asherah,” as well as figurines of her image, with the implication that Asherah was the wife of Yahweh after the Israelites settled in the Promised Land.  This would indicate that the people FAIL to not worship this other goddess, despite God’s strict command not to.  We shall surely revisit this issue.

Q. (17:5): I notice, for the first time, that the text refers to “the gates of town.”  Were most towns walled and gated?  It really sounds like hostile times all around.

A.  In this era, a city is defined by its walls and gates.  It was the easiest way to ensure protection against bandits and wild animals, both of which were huge problems outside of camps and cities.  The mindset that these people would have held was that if it didn’t have a wall, it wasn’t a city.

Q. (17:8-13): Would you say that our current justice system has roots in these passages?

A. Like many other nations, there is some limited influence on the system of justice that comes from the system created here, but I would hesitate to say that such laws “come” from this text.  They have been adopted from concepts laid out here, however.  We might call it a foundation for future judicial systems.

Q. (18:9-14): Fortune telling today seems almost like a circus act.  It’s hard for me to believe that anyone can “channel the dead.”  I am naïve to any practices.  But, I would suppose, that God would still consider these practices detestable today, just like He was with the Israelites?

A. As I think we have discussed (I don’t recall where), consorting with the dead or fortune telling is always about trying to gain an advantage over future events, and when you do that, you have moved beyond faith in God to provide for your needs.  There will be various references to speaking to the dead in future readings (of all the people, a king of Israel will do it, yikes!).  So to me, it would appear that the Bible says it IS possible to consort with the dead, but that we should not.  Let’s revisit this when our unfortunate king actually does so in 1 Samuel.

Q. (18:15-22): What future prophet is God referring to, or is it a surprise?

A. The language used is plural, indicating that Moses is talking about a series of prophets, which will provide guidance for the people in each generation.  Having said that, the language is also indicative of a final capital “P” Prophet, which is why many Christian scholars believe that it has Messianic expectation, which would of course point to Jesus as THE Prophet.  Jesus refers to himself as a prophet in Luke 13, and prophet is one of the three anointed offices in the OT, along with priest and king.  Jesus, in some form or another, fulfills each of these roles, but we’ll get to that at some point.

O. (19:1-13): This passage shows how much God strives to keep the purity in Israel.  If someone is killed and it’s a true accident, no more blood should be shed by an avenger.  He reserves some cities as refuges for those innocent offenders.  If they are not, it is better to purge them from Israel.  I like that word, “purge.”  That word gave me this clear visualization of Israel’s purity for the first time.

Q. (20:5-7): I don’t understand this passage.  If you haven’t eaten from your vineyard, you may die?  And the other scenarios.

A. Nope.  You’ve got it backwards.  The officer is saying that under each of the scenarios, the person is exempt from military service.  It appears that these were scenarios (getting married, buying new property, etc.) that were considered more valuable to their society than fighting for the nation, and therefore you could get out of service.  So it’s not “if you haven’t eaten from your vineyard, you might die,” it’s “if you die in combat, someone else gets your vineyard.”

Q. (20:15-18): Can we assume that the inhabitants of the towns God instructs the Israelites to destroy worship idols and act immoral?

A. Yes, I think that is a fair interpretation of the purpose of the task: they were ordered to entirely destroy the nations that occupied the Holy Land, not merely to drive them out and let them settle elsewhere.  We will see what happens when they fail at this task in Joshua.

For further study: How were city walls and buildings built in Bible times? https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/a/architecture-in-the-biblical-period.html

Shop: Luckily, today we don’t have to remember all of these commands.  These laws of the Old Testament were designed to set the Israelites apart as God’s people.  Today, loving God and loving others as much as you love yourself, is the way to identify Christians.  https://livinlight.org/product/love-rules-t-shirt/

Tomorrow’s reading: Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19