Tag: faith

OCT 8 READ JUDGES 5-9

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Judges 5. The song of Deborah and Barak. This is a victory song that I assume was actually sung to some tune. I would love to hear the original and maybe one day we can get Deborah to sing it for us! In the meantime, I found this rendition of the song of Deborah using the exact words in Judges 5 so please listen to it. Notice vs 8: Barak’s men had “no shield or spear”, maybe his men got the weapons from the panicking army of Sisera after their chariots were swept away by the flooding waters of the Kishon River (flooding rains that God sent); vs 9-11 the volunteer, peasant army of Barak; vs 18 Zebulun and Naphtali were especially praised as Judges 4:6 states that the main army of 10,000 men came from those two tribes; vs 21-22 the torrent waters of Kishon that mired and immobilized the 900 iron chariots of Sisera; vs 21-24 the heroic efforts of Jael deceiving Sisera and then driving a tent peg through his temple; vs 28-30 a little imagination, Sisera’s mom wondering why Sisera hasn’t returned victorious from the battle. Judges 4:7 somehow Deborah drew Sisera’s men and chariots to the Kishon River and then God sent rains to flood the river. 5:31 “And the land was undisturbed for forty years.” Now listen to this rendition of Deborah’s song using the exact words in Judges 5.

Judges 6-8 Gideon defeats the Midianites who had oppressed Israel for 7 years. Here is a good AI summary:

Background and Calling

  • Midianite Oppression: Israel faced seven years of poverty and raids by the Midianites because of their disobedience to God.
  • The Angel’s Visit: God called Gideon while he was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from enemies. An angel called him a “mighty warrior,” though Gideon felt weak and insignificant. The angel consumes with fire an offering prepared by Gideon.
  • Destroying Idols: God told Gideon to tear down his town’s altar to the pagan god Baal. Gideon obeyed at night, earning the nickname Jerubbaal. The men of the city wanted to kill Gideon for doing this but Gideon’s father said to them, “Can;t Baal contend for himself?”
  • The Fleece Sign: Doubting his ability, Gideon asked God for proof by testing a wool fleece with dew. God proved Himself by making the fleece wet and the ground dry, then vice versa.

The Defeat of Midian

  • The 300 Soldiers: God reduced Gideon’s army of 32,000 down to just 300 men so Israel would know the victory came from God, not human strength. 22,000 of the 32,000 were allowed to leave b/c they were afraid, leaving 10,000 who were tested with how they drank water and 9,700 of those were seent away, leaving 300. The Midianites had 135,000 men!
  • The Night Attack: Armed only with trumpets, clay jars, and torches, the 300 men surrounded the enemy camp at night. They blew the trumpets, smashed the jars, and shouted.
  • The Victory: Panic struck the Midianite army, causing them to turn on and fight each other, allowing Israel to win the battle. Gideon’s men killed 120,000 of the 135,000 Midianite army. Gideon chased down the 2 kings of Midian and the last 15,000 Midianites, killing them. Gideon killed many of the men of Succoth who had refused to help Gideon capture the 2 kings and their armies.

Later Life

  • Refusing Kingship: Grateful Israelites asked Gideon to rule as king, but he refused, stating that God alone ruled over them.
  • The Ephod: Gideon later made a religious object called an ephod out of gold from the spoils of war, which unfortunately became an idol trap for the Israelites and a snare to Gideon..
  • Peaceful Era: Israel enjoyed 40 years of peace during the remainder of Gideon’s lifetime. Gideon had 70 sons by his many wives and a son named Abimelech by his concubine.

My comments on Gideon. There are a lot of heroic leaders of Israel and heroic judges like Deborah, but Gideon is the reluctant, fearful judge. He is beating out his wheat in a winepress in fear of the Midianites. He said the Lord had abandoned Israel, citing the oppression of the Midianites and the lack of current miracles. He makes an excuse that he is too young to lead Israel. He asks for a sign from the angel talking to him and the angel consumes his offering with fire. He obeys God by destroying his father’s altars to Baal and Asherah but he does so at night out of fear of being caught. He twice asks for more signs with the fleece. He had to be terrified when God reduced his army of 32,000 to 300 to go against 135,000 Midianites. God tells him that if he is still afraid to go down to the Midianite camp for another sign which was a dream a Midianite man had predicting the defeat of the Midianites. Maybe Gideon is finally ready to trust God! 7:15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” He has gone from a reluctant, fearful, doubting potential leader to a courageous leader who defeats 135,000 Midianites with 300 men. I thought these AI comments were good: Divine Patience: Instead of rebuking Gideon for his skepticism, God gently met him in his fear and provided the confirmation he needed to transition from paralyzing anxiety to obedient action. Grace for Weak Faith: The narrative illustrates that God is willing to work through deeply flawed, frightened individuals, transforming their reluctant obedience into strength.”

Life Lesson: I can relate to Gideon. I have always been a fearful person. I blame it on my mom’s fearful disposition. I went to a school of preaching b/c I was afraid of going to Vietnam (I did think I would still have to go after my 2 years at the SOP, but I really was afraid to go to Vietnam). I was afraid when we went to Trinidad to do mission work, but I went b/c I always tried to obey God even if I was afraid. I was afraid of so many challenges in my 37 years of Christian education. Someone would threaten me with a lawsuit (as did happen) and I would fall apart. I almost had a nervous breakdown over an incident at a school where I was principal of the school. I could go on! But I say this not to brag, but to give God the glory. God has used fearful me and my wife to do many good things for His cause. God took me, a fearful, reluctant young man with an engineering degree and used me. I am so thankful for that. I could have possibly spent working for Alabama Power for 40 years and retired nicely but I would have missed all those wonderful opportunities to serve God and convert several people, train leaders in Trinidad, and establish relationships with young people through Christian education. Praise God. What about you? What are your fears? How do you think that God is calling you to do battle for him? Have you ever asked for signs to confirm God’s plans for you? Do you truly believe that God will answer you and show you His will for you? Does the story of Gideon help you find the courage to step out in faith to lead others? Do you feel, like Gideon did, unworthy to lead? I hope this story of Gideon will help you find courage.

Judges 9 Abimelech. Back to Gideon’s son Abimelech by his concubine. Abimelech was not one of the judges. He was an usurper who made himself ruler. Here is a good summary of Abimelech from AI:

Abimelech was an ambitious and ruthless son of the Bible judge Gideon who violently seized power and served as a self-proclaimed king over Shechem for three years. His tragic and bloody story is recorded in Judges Chapter 9.

Rise to Power

  • Appealing to family: After Gideon died, Abimelech went to his mother’s relatives in Shechem. He asked if they wanted to be ruled by all seventy of Gideon’s sons or by just one man who was their own flesh and blood.
  • Slaughtering his brothers: The leaders of Shechem gave Abimelech seventy pieces of silver from a pagan temple. He used the money to hire reckless men, went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and murdered sixty-nine of his half-brothers on a single stone.
  • Jotham’s escape: Gideon’s youngest son, Jotham, escaped the massacre by hiding. Jotham mocked the people of Shechem with a prophetic parable about trees foolishly choosing a useless, destructive bramble (Abimelech) to reign over them. The olive and fig trees and grape vines had refused to let Abimelech rule over them.

Conflict and Downfall

  • Rebellion in Shechem: God sent an evil spirit to stir up division between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. Tired of his rule, the citizens turned against him and supported a new leader named Gaal.
  • Destruction of the city: Abimelech discovered the revolt, attacked Shechem, captured the city, slaughtered its people, and burned down its tower where people had taken refuge, killing 1,000 men and women.
  • Death at Thebez: While attacking a nearby tower at Thebez, an anonymous woman dropped a heavy millstone from the roof, fracturing Abimelech’s skull. To avoid the shame of dying by a woman’s hand, he quickly ordered his armor-bearer to run him through with a sword.

On a side note, Jotham’s Parable of the Bramble was one of my mom’s favorite parables in the Bible. I have no idea why she like it so much, but she was a great student of the Old Testament. The story of Abimelech ends: 9:55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, each departed to his home. 56 Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57 Also God returned all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads, and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came upon them.” A sad story about a murderous usurper. Sometimes God lets us have bad leaders. But remember that it was the men of Shechem who chose him to lead. Often we elect people to rule over us who are not godly people, and often we pay the price later on.

Nice place to stop before going on to the next judge in chapter 10.

OCT 7 READ JOSHUA 24; JUDGES 1-4

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Joshua 24. Ch 23 and 24 are Joshua’s farewell address. He is in his late 80’s and will die soon. In chapter 24 Joshua revews the history of Israel from Abraham to the conquest of Canaan. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ Joshua told them to choose whom they would serve, either Yahweh or the gods of the Canaanites. They said, “We will only serve Yahweh”. Joshua, said, “No you won’t!” I think he knew that down deep the people were still not completely committed to following Yahweh, and that prediction came true shortly after Joshua died. Joshua set up a stone at an ok by the tabernacle as a witness to their promise. Joshua made his personal pledge, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (24:15). Joshua died at the age of 110 so he still lived several years after his farewell address. 24:31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel.” They buried the bones of Joseph in the cave of Machpelah just as Joseph had made them swear to do. Thus we end the book of Joshua.

We now enter the 7th period of Old Testament history, the period of the Judges.

Judges 1 describes the capture of several cites but also names the cities they failed to conquer.

Judges 2. An angel rebukes Israel for not driving out and destroying all the Canaanites as God had commanded. So now they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’ (2:3). 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. Joshua died. 2:10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.” Joshua then describes the vicious cycle repeated over and over in the period of the judges.

Judge 3. The unconquered nations were a “test” to see if Israel would obey God. Just as Joshua predicted, they did not obey God. They lived among the Canaanites, intermarried with them, and served the Baals and Ascheroth. Judges 3 then gives the first three judges.

No need to tell all the stories of each judge. Ehud is memorable b/c he stabbed a “very fat” Moabite King Eglon with a two-edged 18 inch long sword and Eglon was so fat that his fat completely covered the whole sword! Ehud just left the sword in him and fled. Shamgar is memorable b/c he killed 600 Philistines with an oxgoad.

Judges 4. Deborah and Barak defeat Jabin and Sisera of the Canaanites. Deborah was the only woman judge. Apparently no men were stepping up to bed judges at that time and deliver Israel from the 20 year long oppression of the Canaanites. Barak reluctantly agreed to help her. Sisera had 900 iron chariots and Israel would have had none. But the Lord took care of that. He sent rain to flood the River Kishon and the chariots mired in the mud and could not move any further. Israel routed Sisera army and Barak chased Sisera. He came to what he thought was an ally in Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite. She tricked him into going to sleep in her tent and then drove a tent peg through his temple into the ground. Ouch! So now we have two heroic women, Deborah and Jael. We don’t know why Jael turned on Sisera since they were supposed to be allies.

Life Lesson: Of course I am going to discuss the role of female leadership. It is obvious that God expected the men to take the lead in Israel and in the church today. Elders were to be the “husbands of one wife”. But that didn’t mean that women could not use the gifts God gave them to edify the church. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul told the women that they could pray (out loud) and prophesy in the midst of men as long as they wore a veil (a custom back then to show submission to the men). I’m sure the early church assemblies were full of both men and women speaking in tongues and prophesying. The women were told not to “usurp authority or teach over the men” (1 Timothy 2:12) but that command did not keep them from using their gifts in a mixed gender assembly. Yes the women were told to “keep silent” in the churches (1 Corinthians 14:34) but that command can’t contradict that they were allowed to speak as long as they veiled (1 Corinthians 11). So Paul must have been speaking to some unruly women who were usurping the authority of the male leaders and causing a disturbance in the assemblies. Some have tried to make that a general rule that women cannot pray in a mixed gender assembly and I think that is sad b/c it limits us from being edified by the beautiful, heart-felt prayers of the ladies. I would be against having women elders and preachers b/c elders and preachers will sometimes need to rebuke men in the congregation and thus “usurp authority” over the men. The qualifications for elders are for men only. I believe women should be allowed to lead prayers, lead songs, read Scriptures, and give short teachings in the assemblies. Often churches allow those things in Bible classes and small groups but forbid them in the “worship assembly”, but there are not different rules for small groups vs big assemblies. Also, women can step up to lead if the men won’t (as with Deborah). It was both Aquila and his wife Priscilla who taught Apollos about correct baptism. I’m sure many women took the lead in house churches when no men were stepping up. Nympha hosted a house church in her home (Colossians 4:15). Phoebe was a “deaconness” (Romans 16:1). Junia is described by Paul in Romans 16:7 as “outstanding among the apostles,” indicating a high-level commissioning in the early movement.

The Judges cycle will be repeated many times.

OCT 6. READ JOSHUA 19-23

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Chapter 19 continues with the last allotment of land portions to the tribes. Here again is the map.

Chapter 20 gives the 6 cities of refuge. Someone guilty of manslaughter (not premeditated murder) could go to a city of refute for protection from the blood avenger of the person he/she killed. He/she would have to live in that city until the high priest died and then he could go back to his home city.

Chapter 21 is the 48 Levitical cities. AI: “They were distributed across the nation so Levites could teach God’s laws and assist with worship. Each city included surrounding common land measured out 1,000 cubits from the city wall for livestock and herds. Larger tribes provided more cities and smaller tribes gave fewer, averaging about 4 cities contributed by each of the 12 tribes.”

Chapter 21 ends with a very important statement. 21:43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” God made the original promise to give Abraham the land while he was in Ur. God repeated the land promise to Abraham while he was in Haran (Genesis 12:1-3). He affirmed that promise to Isaac and Jacob. These verses say that Israel received all the land that God had promised them. AI: “Many biblical scholars and theologians state that ancient Israel never fully occupied or controlled all the territory described in the biblical promises made to Abraham. According to passages like Genesis 15:18, the Promised Land stretched from the “river of Egypt” (often identified as the Wadi of Egypt or Nile region) to the Euphrates River, encompassing vast territories well beyond modern borders. Historians and biblical scholars note that even at the height of the united monarchy under David and Solomon, Israel’s actual political control and military occupation covered a much smaller geographic area. They never ruled the entire expanse from the Nile to the Euphrates, Many evangelical and literalist theologians believe the unfulfilled boundaries mean the promise remains valid and will be completely fulfilled in a future prophetic or millennial reign.” But regardless of those points, 21:43-45 states clearly that Israel got all the land the God promised them. Not one of the. promises failed to come to pass. Period. Case closed. Now the bigger discussion will come later when the prophets predict that Israel will be restored to the land in the Messianic Age. Is that literal or figurative? We will save that discussion for later when we read the prophets. But don’t let anyone tell you Israel never got the promised land.

Chapter 22 is mainly about an altar that the 2 1/2 tribes who settled east of the Jordan built. The 9 1/2 tribes west of the Jordan were so angry that they gathered at Shiloh to attack the 2 1/2 tribes. The 9 1/2 tribes were afraid that the Lord would get angry with all 12 tribes b/c of the altar and punish them at at Peor or as He did with Achan. They accused the 2 1/2 tribes of rebelling against the Lord. The 2 1/2 tribes explained to them that they were not building the altar to offer sacrifices, which would have been a sin since all sacrifices were only to be made at the tabernacle in Shloh. They said they were just building the altar as a “witness” to future generations that they were following Yahweh just like the 9 1/2 tribes, a witness that they were still part of the nation. Phinehas the high priest and the elders of the 9 1/2 tribes were satisfied with that explanation and called off the attack plans. Civil war averted!

Chapter 23 Joshua’s farewell address. It’s too bad we have to break up the two chapters, 23 and 24, that contain Joshua’s farewell address. Joshua is in his upper 80’s at this time. He warns Israel to finish the job of conquering the rest of the land in Canaan that they had not yet conquered. If they did not finish the conquest, “they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” 23:14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.” (the same as 21:43-45).

We will finish Joshua’s farewell address tomorrow with chapter 24, the last chapter of Joshua.

OCT 4 READ JOSHUA 9-13

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Joshua 9. Do you remember in Deuteronomy that God told Israel to totally annihilate all the inhabitants of all the cities in Canaan but they could make a peace treaty with cities outside of Canaan, letting them live if they would become servants to Israel. So the Gibeonites came to Joshua with worn out sandals and clothes, telling him they were from far off and wanted to make a peace treay. Joshua agreed and only 3 days later found out they had deceived him. Gibeon was very close to Gilgal where Israel camped. But Joshua said that he would keep his word and not destroy the Gibeonites, only make them servants.

Joshua 10. Five of the Canaanite kings attacked Gibeon for making this peace treaty with Israel b/c they thought it would weaken the coalition of Canaanite kings willing to fight Israel. They didn’t know that the Gibeonites had deceived Israel. So Joshua marched all night with his army to rescue the Gibeonites. The armies of the 5 kings were slaughtered with the Lord killing many with hailstones (more than the Israelites killed). Joshua needed more time to finish chasing down and killing the Canaanites, so he asked God to make the sun and moon stand still until they finished teh slaughter, and God did so. 9:13 Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel. I do believe that this happened. I can’t explain how it happened. I know that scientifically the sun doesn’t even really move across the sky although it looks that way to us and the Bible speaks of it that way in accommodation language. But the Lord who made the sun from nothing and set in motion the laws of planetary orbits could make it stay daylight for an extra day. They finish the slaughter and Joshua killed the 5 Canaanite kings.

Life Lesson: If you were Joshua and you needed more hours of daylight to finish a complete slaughter of the Canaanites, would you have ever thought to ask God to make the sun stand still and give you an extra day of daylight? Have you ever asked God for something really crazy, something really out of the ordinary, something almost miraculous if not miraculous? Don’t be afraid to ask. James says “you have not b/c you ask not”. Think of something that you would really like God to do. Maybe it’s helping you find a mate. Maybe it’s working out a big issue in your marriage. Maybe it’s a major illness or injury that your loved one is facing. Mabye it’s a career change. I’m thinking of something that I want to see happen but there will need to be some big changes first. I’m going to ask God to make it happen and then trust Him, His will be done.

Chapter 10 then describes the conquest of southern Palestine. Chapter 11 describes the conquest of northern Palestine. Chapter 12 names the 31 kings that Joshua and the Israelites defeated and killed.

Chapter 13 begins: 13:1 “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years (probably in his late 80’s), and very much of the land remains to be possessed.” He is told to give the land of Canaan west of the Jordan River to the 9 1/2 tribes (the half of the tribe of Manasseh) and to give the land east of the Jordan to the 2 1//2 tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Here is a great map of the land that Israel had not yet conquered as Joshua neared the end of his life. As you can see, there was still a lot of land to be conquered. Unfortunately, they did not finish conquering those lands. Notice they did not conqueer the Philistines and the Philistines will be a major thorn in their side in the future just as God predicted.

The next thing will be the actual division of the parts of Canaan that they did conquer.

OCT 3. READ JOSHUA 4-8

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Here is a map of the land of Canaan at the time of Joshua to help see where the different cities are.

Joshua 4 The memorial stones from the crossing of the Jordan River. That crossing with the ark held by the. priests in the middle while the waters were held back and all Israel crossed over cand best be summed up by Joshua 4:14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; so that they revered him, just as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.” Moses had brought the Israelites out of Egypt with miraculous signs and wonders, had parted the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptian chariots, and had led Israel 40 years in the wilderness. It was important for God to confirm that Joshua had been appointed by God to take Moses’ place and lead the people to conquer Canaan. So they took 12 stones from Jordan River bed, one for each tribe, and made a memorial so they could tell their children that God had dried up the water of the Jordan just like God parted the Red Sea. Life Lesson: If you have children, are you teaching your children the Bible stories about the amazing acts of God in history? It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children what God has done. Don’t leave it to the Sunday school teachers at church, although that is a great supplement. You should teach them at home. Read Bible stories and pray with them. I am so thrilled to hear about Eastern European Mission printing hundreds of thousands of children’s Bible story books and giving them out all across eastern Europe and to the Ukraine. I hear so man wonderful stories of children so excited about getting one of the books. Praise God for the work of EEM. $5 can print and distribute one children’s Bible story books. That’s a cup of coffee at Star Bucks!

Joshua 5 Circumcision and Passover. When the Canaanite kings heard how God dried up the Jordan and thatBut Israel had crossed over the Jordan, their hearts melted with fear. But there was something that Israel needed to do before beginning the conquest of Canaan. Apparently they had not circumcised any of the male babies born during the 40 years in the wilderness, so they had a mass circumcision. This was risky. Do you remember when Simeon and Levi convinced all the men of Shechem to be circumcised so they could presuamably marry into Jacob’s family? It was a cunning, deceptive plot. When the circumcised men of Shechem were “laid up” after the circumcisions, they were unable to fight and Simeon and Levi came in and killed them all as revenge for the ruler Shechem raping their sister Dinah. So Israel was taking a big risk by getting circumcised. The Canaanite kings could have heard about that and attacked the newly circumcised Israelite men while they were weak from the circumcision. 5:9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called Gilgal (which means “rolling”) to this day.” The place was also called Gibeath-haaraloth (which means “hill of foreskins”). You can imagine the mound of foreskins from 600,000 men! Gross.

While camped at Gilgal, they observed the Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month of the Hebrew calendar. This was a big deal. Apparently they had not celebrated the Passover since they were at Sinai in the 2nd year after coming out of Egypt. That’s 39 years of no Passover. Those born during that 39 years were never circumcised and you couldn’t eat the Passover if you weren’t circumcised. Those over 20 were destined to die in the wilderness and probably didn’t even care if they did the Passover. Not only that, but Acts 7 tells us, 7:42 But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘It was not to Me that you offered victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, was it, O house of Israel? 43 You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship.’ The Israelites over 20 who were destined to die in the 40 years were worshipping false gods so they would not have been interested in keeping the Passover.

The “captain of the Lord’s hosts” came as a man to meet Joshua. He told Joshua to take off his sandals b/c he was standing on holy ground, i.e. in the presence of the Lord Himself in the form of a man, possibly the pre-incarnate Jesus. Do you remember that Moses was told the same thing at the burning bush in Exodus 3:5? This man is the one doing the speaking in chapter 6.

Joshua 6. It is the captain of the Lord’s host who is still speaking to Joshua, and yet it says “The Lord said to Joshua…” So the man was the Lord himself, God taking the form of a man to give Joshua the battle plan for taking Jericho. Think about how crazy this battle plan sounded to Joshua and the fighting men of Israel. March around the city once a day without saying word for 6 days and then march around the city on the 7th day, blow the trumpet, and shout and the walls will come tumbling down! It would take about an hour for the 40,000 men to walk around Jericho. Everyone in the city would have heard the continuous blowing of the trumpets as they marched, which was probably eerie. But then on the 7th day, up to 7 hours of non stop trumpet had to be rattling for the people in the city, as if they knew something big was about to happen. Imagine their horror as they heard this loud shout of 40,000 men and the walls start tumbling down all around the perimeter of the city. That is, all but the part of the wall with Rahab’s house. The 2 spies were told to go rescue Rahab and her family, and they did. A ban was put on taking anything from the city as spoils or booty (remember that). Everyone and everything in the city was to be destroyed and the city burned. A curse was put on anyone rebuilding the city with the loss of his oldest and youngest sons. Hiel of Bethel attempted and completed the rebuilding of Jericho during the reign of King Ahab, according to the biblical account in 1 Kings 16:34. According to the text, Hiel laid the foundation at the cost of his oldest son, Abiram, and set up the gates at the cost of his youngest son, Segub, fulfilling Joshua’s warning. This may interest your from AI:

Archaeologists have found collapsed ancient fortification walls at the site of Tell es-Sultan (ancient Jericho), but how those findings connect to the biblical account remains a subject of ongoing scholarly debate. What Archaeologists Discovered:

Excavations led by figures like John Garstang, Kathleen Kenyon, and more recently Lorenzo Nigro have uncovered extensive ruins at Jericho, revealing a history of massive defensive walls and violent destruction: Scholars debate if these ruins are the actual ruins of the fall of the walls under Joshua.

  • Collapsed Bricks: Excavations found fallen piles of mud-brick retaining walls at the base of the mound, which researchers noted had collapsed outward.
  • Burn Layers: Archaeologists identified a thick layer of ash and burn debris, indicating the city met its end in a massive fire.
  • Stored Provisions: Large jars filled with charred grain were discovered intact, suggesting the city was conquered rapidly rather than starved out during a long siege.

Joshua 7. Chapter 7 is difficult to discuss. Achan violated the ban on Jericho and took gold, silver, and valuable mantle from Jericho and buried them in his tent. B/c of that, Israel was defeated when they sent 3,000 men to take the small city of Ai. At least 36 Israelites were killed and the Israelite force was routed by the man of Ai. Joshua started questioning God about why He had let them lose the battle, how the other Canaanites would hear about the defeat and take courage to fight Israel. God told him there was sin in the camp. Joshua went tribe by tribe, family by family, down to individuals until he found the guilty party, Achan, who confessed. So they took Achan, his sons, his daughters, his livestock, and all his possessions and stoned them to death and burned them. They raised over them a heap of stones and called it the valley of Achor (which means trouble).

BTW there might be a little Life Lesson here. Don’t take success for granted. Joshua was relying on his own knowledge and military reasoning. He thought 3,000 men would be plenty to take Ai, but he never consulted with the Lord, “Lord should we take Ai now?” If he had, the Lord would have told him to deal with the sin in the camp first and then go take Ai. James warned us about that: James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” Always consult God before decisions.

But what bothers me are 2 nagging questions. 1) Why was all Israel punished by the defeat at Ai when it was just one man who violated the ban? There doesn’t seem to be any indication that anyone else knew about what Achan did. I really can’t answer my own question! I read where scholars try to explain it as “corporate personality”, i.e. a group stands or falls together as one. All I can say is that God wanted to make an example to Israel of what happens when someone disobeys Him. It is sad that at least 36 innocent men died to make that example. Maybe God is saying that Israel should have been more careful to make sure no one took anything from the city. They could have placed more guards to watch for anyone coming from the city with valuables. What I do know is that God’s people must purge the corporate body of anyone who sins repeatedly and will not repent. In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul tells the church to withdraw fellowship from unrepentant church members, to quit eating and fellowshipping them. 2) Why were Achan’s sons and daughters stoned to death along with Achan for his sin? There is no indication they had anything to do with his sin. Of course if they did know, they should have reported it to Joshua. Deuteronomy 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.” So it looks like a complete violation of that verse to kill his children, which is why some scholars say that the children must have known about his sin but didn’t report it. Maybe so. For sure, it shows how much responsibility God puts on fathers to lead their families in the right way. I guess I need to quit asking questions that I can’t satisfactorily answer. I wish I could hear your comments as you study this dilemma.

The preacher where I was raised preached a sermon “Sin in the Camp” when I was about 14. He got up and just said “there is sin in the camp here at this church”, and then he sat down. They sang another song and he got back up and finished the sermon, telling about the story of the sin of Achan. That kinda shook us all up a little and I got baptized that morning! Some others came forward also to confess sins. Looking back I totally disagree with what the preacher did but it got me in the water! Of course, I think I was baptize with one thing in mind, “to not go to hell”. I was baptized again at age 21!

Joshua 8. The conquest of Ai. Having dealt with Achan, Joshua set up a plan to ambush the men of Ai and destroyed 12,000 “men and women” in Ai and burned the city. He hanged the king of Ai. So things are back on track to conquer Canaan. Then Joshua had half the 12 tribes stand on Mt Ebal and half on Mt Gerizim. He read the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 27-28 just as Moses had told the people to do when they entered Canaan. Locate Jericho, Ai, and Gilgal on the map.

OCT 2 READ DEUTERONOMY 33-34; JOSHUA 1-3

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Deuteronomy 33: Moses gives a blessing to each of the 12 tribes.

Deuteronomy 34: The death of Moses. In Deuteronomy 32 Moses was told to go up on Mt Nebo to die, but here he goes to the top of Pisgah. Mount Pisgah and Mount Nebo are closely connected in the Bible, but scholars debate whether they are the exact same peak or two different peaks on the same ridge. Either way, it would have been high enough to see much of the Promised Land since Mt Nebo has an elevation of 3300 feet. 34:1 Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land,5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. 6 And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day.” AI: “Known locally by its Arabic name, Siyagha, Mt. Nebo began attracting Christian worshipers in the early fourth century, when Christianity was acknowledged in the Roman Empire as a lawful religion. Its connection to Moses and the Exodus narrative brought in Christian monks, who wanted to live and pray near where Moses was buried, as well as pilgrims, who wished to commemorate the prophet and contemplate God’s promises to his people.” (Biblical Archaeology Society article).

An interessting verse in Jude 1:9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” We don’t know why the devil wanted the body of Moses. AI: “Many scholars suggest that Satan wanted to reveal the location of Moses’ grave so the Israelites would turn his remains into an object of worship or an idolatrous shrine. Another view, supported by scholars like Richard Bauckham, is that Satan laid a legal claim to Moses because Moses was a sinner and a murderer (having killed an Egyptian in Exodus 2:12). Under this theory, Satan argued that Moses stood condemned under the law, giving the devil a rightful claim over his body and soul.” We don’t know why the devil wanted the body of Moses. But Michael rebuked him. Moses was the only man God spoke face to face with. He had his weaknesses, but he ended up serving God for 120 years. The grace of God that saved Abraham and David (Romans 4) would save Moses in spite of his sin at Meribah. He would appear with Elijah on the Mt of Transfiguration making it even clearer that he was in a good place after he died and was not with the devil.

What a great complement is paid to Moses. 34:10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.” He was also the great lawgiver. John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” He was the great deliverer of God’s people from slavery, a type of Jesu, the even greater deliverer of God’s people from spiritual slavery (Hebrews 3:1-4).

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN PERIOD. The 6th period of Old Testament history.

THE BOOK OF JOSHUA

Joshua 1: Still camped on the plains of Moab 3 days before entering Canaan, God tells Joshua 3 times “Be strong and courageous”. He has faith that God will give Israel victory over the fortified cities and stron armies of the Canaanite nations, but he will need courage. He and his Israelires army will be fighting for 7 1/2 years, conquering 31 Canaanite kings.

Joshua 2: Jericho sent 2 spies out “secretly” to spy out Canaan, especially Jericho. That was pretty smart. I’m sure he wanted to avoid what happened when the 12 spies went out 40 years ago and caused a rebellion against Moses and God. Most of us know the story of Rahab hiding the 2 spies and then helping them escape the city through a window in her house which was on the outer wall. I want to focus on what made her decide to start following Yahweh, the God of the Israelites. Joshua 1: 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. ” The spies came back to Joshua with a different report than the 10 spies did 40 years ago when they spied out the same land. “They said to Joshua, “Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us.”

Observation: Not just Rahab but all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan heard about the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the defeat of Og and Sihon. They all could have converted to follow Yahweh just like Rahab did. So don’t feel like God is being too harsh in commanding the Israelites to totally destroy all the Canaanite pagan nations. They worshipped other gods for a long time. They had heard of the God of Israel back in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God even sent Melchizadek as a priest and king of Salem (later Jerusalem) to try to convert some of them but we don’t know if he had any success. An interesting verse, God told Abraham in Genesis 15:16 Then in the fourth generation (of being slaves in Egypt) they (Israel) will return here (to Canaan), for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” God was patient with pagan nations up to a certain point. When He decided that a nation was “past the point of no return” He would destroy that nation. “The cup of God’s wrath” would become full and He would exercise justice, which He the just judge of the world has the right and obligation to do.

Joshua 3: The crossing of the Jordan was an important step in showing that God had chosen Joshua to lead the people in the conquest of Canaan. It was what the parting of the Red Sea was to confirm Moses as God’s leader. This of course was not a “parting of the Jordan” but the backing up of a river since it was a river and not a sea. The ark, carried by the priests, would remain in the bed of the Jordan until everyone had crossed over, which would take a long time since there were probably over 1 1/2 million Israelites. As each person crossed over and saw the ark standing by the waters held back, it would have reminded them that their God Yahweh was all powerful. 3:10 Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite.”

OCT 1. READ DEUTERONOMY 28-32

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Deuteronomy 28: The list of blessings for obeying God that was to be read on Mt Gerizim and the curses for not obeying God that was to be read on Mt Ebal when they entered Canaan. Deuteronomy 27 gave the reading of the curses for disobeying God to be read from Mt Ebal, and Deuteronomy 28 gives more curses to be read. Half the tribes gathered on Mt Ebal and half on Mt Gerizim. The priests and Levites stood between the mountains with the Ark of the Covenant to read the laws, blessings, and curses.Mount Gerizim was historically lush and green, symbolizing life and the rewards of obedience. Mount Ebal was rocky and barren, symbolizing the severe consequences and desolation of turning away from the commandments. Notice how all the blessings and curses were physical in nature. That is the way it was in the old covenant. The new covenant is not like that. In the new covenant believers in Jesus are promised primarily spiritual blessings (the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, spiritual peace, etc.) When you read the Old Testament you have to remember that. If you read the New Testament thinking that we are promised the same physical blessings as in the Old Testament then you will be disappointed in Christianity. Many Christians have died violently at the hands of their enemies in the history of the church.

Deuteronomy 29: While camped on the plains of Moab, Moses renews the same covenant as made at Mt Sinai 40 years earlier. He gives a warning that the nation will scattered if they disobey God.

Deuteronomy 30: God promised to restore the nation back to the Promised Land if they are ever scattered due to disobedience and if they repent. An interesting conclusion after giving all these laws. Someone might say that the requirements of keeping the Law was not possible so why try. 30:11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.” In other words, keeping the Law is “doable” Sure, they would sin but there were sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins that would keep them in good standing with the Law. Someone could actually be called “blameless”, as Paul described himself in Philippians 3:6. Psalm 119:1: “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.” Under the new covenant that righteousness by Law keeping could not save someone eternally. Righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus is required for salvation. Paul in Romans 10 contrasts the righteousness that came from the Law with the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. The righteousness that come through faith in Jesus is also “doable”. He quotes Deuteronomy 30:11-14 and applies that to the righteousness that comes by faith which is given to believers through simple faith and not strict obedience to even new covenant laws. Romans 10: 5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live [c]by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. ” Salvation is really simple faith in Jesus. It is not something you have to go up into heaven or down into the abyss to find. It is all right there is the simply proclamation of the gospel. There are new covenant commands that we must obey to be saved, but obedience to those commands is not the basis of our salvation, which is grace through faith in Jesus. We get what Paul called “imputed righteousness” (the righteousness of Jesus put in our spiritual account).

Then follows a great principle of God: 30:15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him.” God has given all men freedom of choice in matters of belief and obedience to God. He doesn’t always allow you to choose your circumstances but He always allows you to choose how to respond to your circumstances. God could have made us as programmed robots that are programmed to believe and love him without giving us freedom of choice, but He didn’t. He wanted our love to be voluntary. BTW Calvinism’s doctrine of unconditional predestination of the elect and those to be sentenced to hell does not allow that freedom of choice. Under Calvinism those predestined to hell cannot simply choose to believe and be saved b/c they are “totally depraved”. That is a doctrine that would make us question the love of God. If I could just arbitrarily choose which of my 3 children were going to be saved and which were going to be lost, why wouldn’t I choose all 3 to be saved? Why would I choose any of the 3 to be lost if it was totally up to me and not them? Calvinism would make God like a parent who arbitrarily chooses some of his children to be lost, not giving them a choice.

Deuteronomy 31: Moses gives his last words of warning. He charges his replacement, Joshua, to be “strong and courageous”. God even told Moses that Israel would worship other gods and fall away when they enter the land. The book of all God’s laws was to be kept beside the ark of the covenant in the most holy place in the tabernacle. It contained the final instructions, covenant responsibilities, and warnings delivered by Moses to the Israelites. Moses was told to write a “song” and teach it to Israel. The song, found in Deuteronomy 32, would be a testimony against Israel when they would disobey God in the future after Moses’ death.

Deuteronomy 32: The song.

While Deuteronomy 31 introduces and commands the song, the actual lyrics in chapter 32 outline a “prophetic lawsuit” and history lesson:

  • God’s Faithfulness: Praises God as the perfect, upright, and protective “Rock” who cared for Israel in the wilderness.
  • Israel’s Corruption: Contrasts God’s goodness with Israel’s unfaithfulness, pride, and turning to idolatry once they grew prosperous.
  • Judgment and Mercy: Predicts the natural consequences and disasters brought on by their sin, but concludes with a promise of God’s ultimate compassion and vindication for His people.

Moses is told to go up on Mt Nebo and die! 48 The Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, 49 “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. 50 Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.” Kinda sad being told “go die”. He would be able to see Canaan at a distance as Mt Nebo is just across the Jordan River from Jericho and about 3,300 feet high. From an elevation of 3,300 feet, the naked eye can see a maximum distance of approximately 70.4 miles. Mt Nebo is about 16 miles from Jericho, so Moses could see Jericho and a lot more of Canaan from Mt Nebo even if he wasn’t at the very peak. Is it sad that he won’t be able to enter Canaan? Probably so, but God is doing him a favor. Joshua will lead the Israelite armies to conquer 31 kings over the next 7 years. Is that the way the 120 year old Moses would want to end his years?

We are about to finish Deuteronomy, which might have been a struggle to read at times, but I hope you have found some valuable lessons.

SEPT 28. READ DEUTERONOMY 13-17

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Deuteronomy 13: Shun idolatry. An interesting comment. 13:1 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.” False prophets cannot do the same miraculous signs as true prophets. They might in some way do their “magic tricks” to make it look like a miracle, such as Pharoah’s magicians did with their staffs “becoming snakes” like Moses’ staff did, but they can’t do real miracles. If they could, how would we know who the true prophet was? Philip met a magician in Samaria in Acts 8:9Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; 10and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” 11And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.” But when Simon saw Philip doing real miracles from God, he tried to buy that power. The difference in his magic and the miracles of Philip was obvious to the people and to Simon. But Deuteronomy 13:1-3 concedes that the “signs” done by a false prophet might “come true” and look to everyone like a true miracle, as in the case of Simon. But it says in spite of that you should not listen to him if he tells you to follow other gods. What would be an example of that today? Maybe some “faith healer” who is really a “fake healer”. He claims to heal people but is not doing real miraculous healing like Jesus and the apostles did. He then claims to be a spokesman from God and people follow him. It might look his his healings are really miracles, but evidence shows that he is not really doing Bible miraculous healing. Usually his message is a “health and wealth gospel” and focuses on getting people to give money to his ministry. Look how many people follow such fake healers. Look at how many millions of dollars such preachers are worth. That alone should tell you not to follow such preachers.

Deuteronomy 13 adds: 6“If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.” Instead, you were to stone that person to death. Life Lesson: The influence that our family and friends can have on us. Don’t allow even your closest family or wife you cherish or close friends persuade you to disobey God. I teach tennagers and see the power of peer pressure all the time. Kids get in their “friend group” and do sinful things like drinking or drugs that they know they should not do. Adult Christians let their friends or business associates or social groups drag them into sins that they know are wrong. They end up in drinking parties and adulterous affairs. We should mix with sinners to show love and try to convert them, but be careful that your friends don’t get you to join them in sinning.

Deuteronomy 14 gives the same laws for clean/unclean meats as in Leviticus 11.

Deuteronomy 15 is interesting. 15:1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. 2This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor.” Capitalism is better than communism, but it can breed greed. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. But under the Law of Moses, 4However, there will be no poor among you.” The goal of God under the Law was to eliminate generational poverty. You might have tough times and need to borrow money. I’m sure God would expect you to pay off your debt the best you could before the 7th year, the Sabbatic year, arrived. But what if you could not finish paying off your loan? The lender was required to forgive whatever you still owed by the 7th year. The rule stopped poor people from being trapped in endless debt. As Tennessee Ernie Ford sang, ” You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me, ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store People were warned not to refuse loans just because the seventh year was near (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). You can easily see why they might be tempted to do that! Lenders could lose large sums of money with no legal way to collect it back. This system might stop generational poverty, but was it fair to the lender who might lose money he had worked hard for? But remember that the lender was not allowed to charge interest on loans to fellow Jews (he could charge interest on loans to foreigners). So the lender was not loaning money to a fellow Jew to get interest. He was loaning the money to help a fellow Jew who had tough financial times. Sure, an honest Jew would try to pay off his debt before the 7th year and not try to take advantage of the law to get out of paying his debt. But if he couldn’t pay his debt by the time the 7th year arrived, then the lender just wrote off the debt to help his fellow Jew start afresh financially. The lender had extra money he could lend to help a fellow Jew, so the lender shouldn’t worry about losing some money in the sabbatic year as long as the loss was helping a fellow Jew get “back on his feet” and get a “fresh start”. The lender would trust God that God would bless for his generosity and give him even more money to help others with. Deuteronomy 15:18“It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so the Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do.”
Around 50 BC a Jewish leader called Hillel created a legal document called a prozbul. The debt was handed over to a court on paper so it did not fall under the cancellation rule. This allowed people to keep borrowing and lending. I guess that’s a practical solution but it wasn’t God’s original plan. God wanted a person forgiven of the debt, not the debt still pending by some legal loophole.

Add to this that in the 50th year, the year of Jubilee, all land returned to the fellow owner as it had been originally granted to each of the 12 tribes in the division of Canaan after the conquest of Canaan by Joshua. Each family in each tribe had their own portion of land and it stayed in that family forever. If a person had tough times and needed to “sell” his land, someone might buy the land but really he was just “renting” the land until the year of Jubilee and then he had to give the land back to the original owner. Again, capitalism can breed greed. Rich land owners get richer and richer (and more and more land) and the poor can’t even afford a parcel of ground to build a house on. Communism is not the answer. Taking from the rich to give to the poor by force will only lead to human rights violations, greedy state controlled oppression of dissidents, etc. But following God’s laws for the sabbatic year and the year of Jubilee would truly help eliminate generational poverty. Too bad that we will never implement such laws.

Deuteronomy 15:12-18 gives laws concerning the release of a fellow Jew who was “sold to you” after 6 years of labor. He was also to be released in the year of Jubilee even if the 6 years of labor had not been completed yet. I found research on this to be very helpful. “When the six years ended and the servant was freed, the master was commanded not to send them away empty-handed. The master had to provide them with a generous parting gift of livestock, grain, and wine to ensure they had the capital to restart their independent life and not fall back into poverty. If the fellow Jew slave wanted to remain a slave to a loving fellow Jew Master, he could let his master pierce his ear with an awl and become a permanent slave to his master. I wonder if he made a “pierced ear ring” to go into the hole! He might decide that he will fare better as a slave than as a freed man. Let’s dig deeper into this law.

Halakha, the concept of a Jewish person being “sold” to a fellow Jew refers exclusively to a historical institution known as the Hebrew servant (Eved Ivri). This status is completely distinct from perpetual or chattel slavery, as the Torah strictly prohibits a Jew from being treated or sold as property. Instead, it functioned as a temporary, regulated form of indentured servitude designed either as a welfare safety net or as a system of criminal restitution. 1.Voluntarily Selling Oneself (Mocher Azmo)

If a person fell into extreme, debilitating poverty and had no other way to survive or support their family, they could choose to sell their labor to a fellow Jew.

  • The Process: The individual would voluntarily contract their services to an employer in exchange for an upfront payment, which was typically used to clear debts or secure basic sustenance.
  • The Constraint: The person was strictly forbidden from selling themselves publicly on a slave auction block. The transaction had to be done privately and respectfully to preserve the individual’s dignity.

2. Sold by the Court for Theft Restitution (Nivkar BeGneivato)

If a person stole property or money and was caught, Jewish law required them to pay back the principal plus a punitive fine (usually double, quadruple, or quintuple the value, depending on the item). If the thief was entirely destitute and unable to make restitution, the Jewish court (Beit Din) had the authority to sell the thief’s labor to raise the restitution funds. [1]

The Constraint: Only a male thief could be sold by the court; women could not. Furthermore, the court could only sell the thief for the value of the base principal of the theft, not for the added fines.

The Process: The court calculated the value of the thief’s labor and assigned him to a master who would pay the court the restitution amount owed to the victim.

Again, God is not promoting chattel slavery with the buying and selling of fellow Jews. Chattel slavery is a system of enslavement where one human being is owned as personal property (chattel) by another, with the legal right to buy, sell, trade, and inherit them like livestock or goods. But did God allow the Jews to do chattel slavery with foreigners? AI: Yes, biblical law in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) permitted the Israelites to purchase and hold foreign slaves as lifelong, inherited property, distinguishing them from the temporary indentured service required of fellow Israelites. Leviticus 25:44–46: This passage explicitly states that Israelites could buy male and female slaves from the surrounding nations or from resident foreigners living among them. These foreign slaves could be kept as permanent property for life and passed down to the owner’s children as an inheritance. This six-year limit of the release in the sabbatic year or year of Jubilee did not apply to foreign chattel.” Is God endorsing and approving chattel slavery? No The laws served as a legal restriction and accommodation within an ancient Near Eastern society where slavery was already universal, aiming to curb absolute abuse rather than institute an ideal moral system. There were even protections against abuse of chattel slaves in the Law. “Although permanent, foreign slaves within ancient Israel were still subject to certain legal protections under biblical law. For instance, if a master struck a slave so severely that it resulted in immediate death, it was punishable, and inflicting permanent physical damage (such as losing an eye or a tooth) required granting the slave their freedom (Exodus 21:26–27). They were also included in Sabbath rest requirements (Deuteronomy 5:14). Involuntary man-stealing or kidnapping for the slave trade was explicitly punishable by death under Israelite law (Exodus 21:16), distinguishing it from later racial chattel slavery like the transatlantic slave trade. Deuteronomy 23:15–16 uniquely commanded that escaped foreign slaves who sought refuge in Israel must not be returned to their masters, providing a protection unknown in neighboring nations. Similar to how Jesus explained the allowance of divorce in the Old Testament, theologians argue these laws accommodated human sinfulness and societal brokenness to limit total harm in a fallen world.” Perhaps chattel slavery of foreigners was a way for God to punish survivors of the ungodly nations that God told Israel to destroy while at the same time blessing Israelites with slave labor that would increase their crops. At the same time it might give the slaves an opportunity to learn about the one true God Yahweh and become converts to Judaism. In later Rabbinic Judaism, legal traditions heavily constrained the retention of non-Jewish slaves. Authorities mandated that non-Jewish slaves be offered conversion to Judaism within 12 months; if they accepted, they were freed as full members of the community, and if they declined, they were to be sold to non-Israelite owners. Many commentators suggest that the Mosaic Law met ancient Israel at their cultural level, introducing radical restrictions and humanitarian bounds on an already existing global institution rather than violently overturning the entire ancient economic infrastructure at once.” God tolerated divorce but he hated divorce (Malachi 2:16). God hated chattel slavery but He tolerated it.

That’s a lot of AI research but it was really helpful to me and accurate IMO. We can’t deny that Yahweh allowed chattel slavery of foreigners, but we can try to understand why God did not just totally abolish some chattel slavery. The New Testament presents the same picture. Neither Jesus or the apostles commanded Christians to release their slaves or said that slaves could demand release from slavery if they become Christians. Instead, slaves were to serve their masters wholeheartedly as if they were serving Jesus himself (Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-24). 1 Peter 2:18, states that servants or slaves should obey their masters not only when they are kind and gentle, but also when they are harsh or unjust. Texts like Colossians 4:1 command masters to treat their slaves “justly and fairly,” reminding them that they also have a Master in heaven. I assume that the slaves in these passages were chattel slaves that the Romans had captured in their conquests of the barbarian tribes. So the New Testament does not approve or condone chattel slavery but neither does it push to abolish it worldwide.

But would the practice of the Christian faith lead to the abolishment of chattel slavery worldwide? I believe so. Paul did not explicitly command or demand that Philemon legally release (manumit) his runaway slave Onesimus, but he strongly urged Philemon to receive him back “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother”. But then he added, “confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say” (Philemon 1:21), which many interpret as a subtle prompt for release without legally forcing it.” Alexander Campbell was one of the leaders of the restoration movement of the Church of Christ. He was caught up in the early 1800’s debate over slavery. Alexander Campbell freed the slaves he inherited from his father-in-law around 1811, providing them with property, education, and assistance, though he viewed slavery primarily as a political problem rather than a direct moral or religious issue. AI: “As noted by historical overviews of the Churches of Christ, Campbell approached opposition to slavery from a “Jeffersonian” standpoint, viewing it more as a political and social crisis for the nation rather than an explicit individual sin. Fearing that polarization over slavery would fracture the church just as it threatened to divide the country, he argued that opinions on abolition should not become a test of Christian fellowship that splits congregations. Like several contemporaries of his era, he supported federal programs aimed at emancipating and relocating freed slaves to Africa, seeing government intervention as the practical mechanism for removal.” That approach seems loving and sensible to me. Chattel slavery in the US was built on kidnapping people in Africa and needed to be abolished and restitution made by those who profited from it. The Civil War was a horrible war but at least it abolished chattel slavery in the US. William Wilberforce led the parliamentary campaign to abolish the chattel slave trade in the British Empire, culminating in the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 after 17 years of opposition to the act. Worldwide chattel slavery was built on kidnapping in the slave trade and we needed worldwide laws in each country to stop such. Over the years countries pased such laws forbidding chattel slavery. Worldwide legal chattel slavery was officially abolished in 1981, when Mauritania became the last country in the world to legally outlaw the practice. Although every nation has legally banned the practice, An estimated 50 million people live in conditions of modern slavery worldwide( most of it not chattel slavery but having the same negative impact), including 28 million in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriages. Forced labor occurs globally, with the highest prevalence of state-imposed forced labor and modern slavery found in countries like North Korea and Eritrea. While legally prohibited in most nations, forced and early/child marriages remain widespread due to poverty, tradition, and weak law enforcement. Human trafficking is not considered chattel slavery, though both are forms of enslavement. While human trafficking is widely classified as a form of modern slavery, it differs fundamentally from chattel slavery in its legal status, ownership structure, and generational permanence.”

Deuteronomy 16: 16“Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.” These are the 3 main feasts of the Jews.

Deuteronomy 17 has a prediction that in the distant future Israel will ask for a king to rule over them. That is exactly what happened at the end of the period of the Judges. Samuel was the last judge and his sons were evil. The people demanded that Samuel give them a king “like the other natons”. God was their king and He never wanted a king on earth to rule the nation, but apparently He knew this would happen, even predicting it in Deuteronomy 17. He allowed them to have kings but most of the time that turned out to be a disaster. He gives instructions for having a king here in chapter 17. “He shall not multiply horses for himself, 17He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. Solomon was the worst culprit for violating these laws which led to the dividing of the kingdom. 18“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.” King Saul, King Solomon, all 19 kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, and most of the 19 kings of the southern kingdom of Judah did not fear the Lord and observe the Law and led Israel in evil. Even the few good kings of Judah like Asa, Uzziah, and Hezekiah ended up sadly in pride b/c their hearts were “lifted up above their countrymen”.

Wow, that’s a lot! Hope it has been helpful. I learned a lot from researching these chapters.

SEPT 27. READ DEUTERONOMY 8-12

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Deuteronomy 8 is a speech by Moses urging the Israelites to remember God’s provision during their 40 years in the wilderness and to avoid pride when they enter the prosperous Promised Land. There are several “life lessons” in chapter 8. AI:

  • The Wilderness Test (Verses 1–5): Moses reminds Israel that God humbled and tested them with hunger in the desert, providing manna to teach them that “man does not live by bread alone”, but by God’s word. Their clothes and sandals did not wear out during this time. It had to be humbling to know that you had to trust God for daily food and water, one day at a time, and there was nothing you could do to change that and get more food. I have 2 refrigerator/freezers and a pantry full of food so it is hard to relate to that. Many refugees worldwide depend on others for all that they eat.
  • The Promise of Abundance (Verses 6–10): God is leading them into a fertile land filled with water, wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and rich mineral resources like iron and copper. These are old covenant promises to Israel so keep that in mind when you read the Old Testament. The new covenant promises spiritual blessings and eternal life. Many Christians have died horrible deaths through poverty or at the hands of their enemies, but God takes care of them in eternity.
  • The Warning Against Pride (Verses 11–20): Moses warns the people not to become proud and forget God when they become wealthy and successful. He reminds them that it is God who gives them the power to produce wealth, and turning away to worship other idols will result in destruction. It is so easy in the US to forget God. We complain a lot about our cost of living, but most of us have nice houses, nice cars, plenty of food including eating out a lot, nice expensive vacations, maybe a boat or membership in a club, nice retirement plans for financial security, nice well paying jobs with benefits, etc. It is easy to forget God and think that we have accomplished all these things by our own ingenuity and hard work.
    Financial choices show what a person depends on, trusts, and loves the most. On average, American Christians give between 2.4% and 2.5% of their household income to their church or charity. While 77% of American Protestant churchgoers state that tithing (giving 10% of income) is a biblical command, only 5% of all churchgoers actually tithe. Households making over $75,000 are statistically the least charitable when measuring giving as a direct percentage of their total income (they don’t increase their giving in proportion to increases in income).

Deuteronomy 9 is Moses’ stern reminder to the Israelites that they are receiving the Promised Land through God’s grace and faithfulness, not because of their own righteousness. Again AI:

Not Because of Your Righteousness

  • Conquering Canaan: Moses tells the people that they will cross the Jordan to drive out strong, tall nations with fortified cities. Apparently Israel is about to cross the Jordan when Moses gives this sermon. 9:2“Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you… ”
  • Reason for Victory: God is clearing these nations out because of their own great wickedness, and to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  • Warning Against Pride: Moses explicitly warns Israel not to say in their hearts that God gave them the land because of their personal righteousness. He stresses that they are a stubborn and rebellious people.

Remembering Past Rebellions

  • The Golden Calf: Moses recalls how Israel provoked God to anger at Mount Horeb (Sinai) by making and worshiping a golden calf while he was receiving the stone tablets. God threatened to destroy them completely.
  • Moses’ Intercession: Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days and nights, pleading for God’s mercy and reminding Him of His covenant with the patriarchs so that God spared the nation.
  • A History of Disobedience: Moses notes that Israel rebelled repeatedly, mentioning other instances of defiance in the wilderness (such as Taberah and at Kadesh-barnea), proving that their survival relies entirely on God’s mercy rather than their own goodness.

Deuteronomy 10: Moses reminds them of how he received 2 new tablets of the 10 commandments after he broke the first two during the golden calf incident. Then comes one of those great statements and a great “life lesson”: 12“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” What does the Lord require of us? Attend church, give money, get baptized? Yes, but much more than that b/c you can do those things with impure motives (Matthew 6 hypocritical giving, praying, and fasting). 10:12-13 says it all. 6:16So circumcise your heart (cut off any evil desires in your heart just like you cut off the foreskins in circumcizing male babies) , and stiffen your neck no longer.” Show your love for widows, orphans, and aliens (strangers). 6:20You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. 21He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.” Do you see why I said earlier that Deuteronomy has many principles that apply to us today as Christians?

Deuteronomy 11 again promises many physical blessings if they will obey and love God with all their hearts. He tells them to read the belessings and curses on Mt Ebal and Mt Gerizim when they enter the land. They did this under Joshua (Joshua 8:30-35).

Deuteronomy 12 focuses on all offerings to be done at the tabernacle when they enter the land. 12:5 But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. 6There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.” The tabernacle would initially be set up at Gilgal where they camped as they destroyed Jericho. Later, after the conquest and division of the land among the twelve tribes, it was moved to Shiloh (located in the territory of Ephraim), where it remained as a central place of worship through the period of the Judges and for 300-360 years. The physical Tabernacle structure later relocated elsewhere, functioning later in places like Gibeon during the reigns of Saul and David, before eventually being superseded by Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The pagans had “high places” where they worshipped their gods so Yahweh wanted all sacrifices to come to the tabernacle where the priests worked. Of course, today worship and spiritual sacrifices are not restricted to any one place. Jesus told the woman at the well: John 4:21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””

SEPT 26. READ DEUTERONOMY 3-7

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Deuteronomy 3 recounts the conquests of Israel up to the plains of Moab, especially those of Og and Sihon. I don’t think we realize how many fortified cities they conquered. AI: “Israel conquered 60 fortified cities belonging to King Og of Bashan, alongside all the towns and cities in King Sihon’s territory (which included his capital, Heshbon, and neighboring towns like Jazer).” Og was the last surviving giant of the remnant of Rephaim (an ancient group of giants like the Anakim). Deuteronomy 3:11 notes that his massive iron bedstead measured nine cubits long and four cubits wide—roughly 13.5 feet long and 6 feet wide, so he was indeed a giant. There are a lot of unanswered questions about giants in the Bible. If the flood destroyed all mankind but 8 people, then where did giants come from after the flood? Where did Goliath the Philistine giant come from, along with his giant brothers? Some think that the Noah flood was a local flood only killing those living in the Mesopotamian valley and only sparing Noah and his family who lived in that valley. If pangea occurred at the time of the flood, then there would have been people living in the continents that separated after the flood who survived the flood which could include many races of people and giants. Others argue that the language in Genesis about the flood state that all mankind was destroyed in the flood except for 8 people. Others argue that language can be interpreted otherwise to not include all mankind. The debate goes on if you care to research that.

A very interesting comment in Deuteronomy 3. Moses begged God to let him enter the Promised Land, but God reminded him that his sin at Meribah would not allow him to enter. The Lord said to Moses, “Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. 27Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and see it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.’” God always listened to Moses and even changed His mind on what He was planning to do at times b/c of Moses’ intercession, but this time, “Enough. Don’t bring this up again.” Our prayers can change God’s mind, but there comes a time when we just accept God’s will and leave it be!

Deuteronomy 4: Moses urges the people to obey all of God’s laws. He reminds them of the original giving of the 10 commandments and laws at Mt Sinai and especially warns them against making idols of any kind. He reminds that that there is no God who “took for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him.” 39Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.”

Deuteronomy 5: Moses recounts the 10 commandments that God gave Israel 40 years earlier at Mt Sinai. The name Deuteronomy comes from the Greek word deuteronomion, which means “second law”, but it only refers to Moses recounting the Law to this new generation. He reminded the new generation of how terrifying it was to be at Mt Sinai 40 years earlier.

Deuteronnomy 6: God has always commanded his people to teach their “son and their grandson” (6:2) God’s laws. Then comes the Shema: 6:4“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up. 8You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The word Shema means “hear” or “listen,” implying active obedience and covenant faithfulness. While God might not have demanded it, the Jews actually put the Shema in little scripture boxes on their forearms and foreheads. The scripture boxes are called tefillin (also known as phylacteries in English). Tefillin shel Yad (Arm Box): Placed on the bicep of the non-dominant arm (pointing toward the heart). The leather strap is then wrapped down the forearm and around the hand and fingers. Tefillin shel Rosh (Head Box): Placed on the forehead, centered just above the hairline between the eyes, with straps hanging down over the shoulders. Observant Jews recite the Shema twice every single day—once in the morning (Shacharit) and once in the evening (Maariv).

Then 6:20“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?’ it says that you should remind your children of all of God’s miraculous wonders in the 10 plagues, etc. We Gentiles can’t possibly appreciate all of that like a Jew could, but it might be conparable to telling our children about how our nation in the US came about, reviewing the wars with England and the stories of God’s providence in forming this nation.

Life Lesson: I had an atheist respond to my blog telling me that I was brainwashing children with all the Bible teaching, not allowing them to think critically on their own later about belief in God and religion. If Yahweh is not the only true God, then I guess that I am. But if Yahweh is the only true God, then I must teach others that, and teach His laws. It starts in the home with my children and extends to my grandchildren and relatives. I have done mission work in several countries, but there is no greater mission than teaching my children about the Bible, Yahweh, and Jesus Christ who died for our sins. Sure they might choose to leave faith in God when they grow up, but I have done my part in teaching them. It’s not just taking them to church and “Sunday school”. It’s talking about God at every opportunity. It’s about talking about God when you are out enjoying God’s amazing nature with your family. It’s about telling them a Bible story at night and praying with them in their beds. It’s about telling them to trust in God when they have problems and to not be afraid b/c God is with them. It’s about exposing all the sinful things in our culture, including the lates LGBTQ heresy that they are constantly exposed to by media and friends. It’s about them seeing a genuine active working faith in you. It’s about connecting them with other believers. Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The Greek word for “discipline” is paideia: Discipline, instruction, training, education (including punishment if necessary for disobedience to parents). The Greek word for “instruction” is nouthesia: Admonition, instruction, warning.” nouthesía (“warning through teaching”) improves a person’s reasoning so they can reach God’s solution – i.e. by going through His thought-process.” We are reminded of what Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Timothy had been taught the Old Testament Scriptures as a child by his Jewish mother and grandmother, but of course the New Testament is Scripture also. Timothy, even though he had a Greek father of whom we know nothing about, saw the “sincere faith of his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois (2 Timothy 1:5). Teach your children about God and His Word, and live it sincerely in front of them. If so, you have a promises. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” That is not always the case but is generally true. I thank God that our 3 children all became sincere believers and have taught their children about God. I feel sorry for people who were not raised in Christian, God believing, Bible believing homes. Like Moses urged Israel to obey God, I urge you to obey God in this matter.

Deuteronomy 7: Moses warns the Israelites to totally destroy the pagan Canaanites when they enter the Promised Land and to not worship their gods or intermarry with them. Of course, the book of Judges shows that they did not follow God’s warnings and the nations that they did not completely destroy became a snare to them, oppressing them. He reminded them that they were no chosen b/c of how great they were, but simply b/c God loved them. That reminds me of 1 John 4:10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” God made many promises of physical bleessings if they would obey God: fruitful child bearing, fruitful crops and herds, no diseases or plagues, and protection from all enemies. We must realize that these promises were for the old covenant Israelites. The new covenant of Jesus is not about physical blessings. It is about spiritual blessings and eternal life. Many believers in Jesus have died horrible deaths at the hands of their enemies, but God will take care of them in eternity. As Paul said, 2 Corinthians 4:16Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 5:7for we walk by faith, not by sight.”