Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Bible in 90 Days

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This week I read from Deuteronomy 24 through Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel.  What a week!  Here are a few things which stood out for me.

1)  At the end of Deuteronomy, we see that God blesses us for obedience.  (Later we learn of the curses, or lack of blessings, in Judges.)  Moses dies after seeing the Promised Land, since he "broke faith with Me (God) in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold My Holiness among the Israelites."  (Deut. 32.51)  And because of this he is not allowed to enter the "land flowing with milk and honey."  Yet, before Moses dies, he renews the Covenant between God and the Israelites.

2)  In the book of Joshua, we learn how a prostitute, Rahab, believes in God (from what she has heard through the grapevine) and is saved through her faith.  I witnessed the miracle of the day when the sun stood still to give light to the Israelites to win their battle.  Joshua then oversees the division of the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel.  And again, Joshua renews the Covenant between God and the Israelites before he dies.

3)  Ahh, the book of Judges.  This book could have been written today.  The recurrent scripture, "The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God."  According to Judges, when the Israelites cried to the Lord for help, He would send judges to save them and bring them back into fellowship with Him, but read what happened....

"Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.  Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them.  Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the Lord's commands.  Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, He was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.  But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them.  They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways."
Judges 3.16-19

Here's my thought.... why haven't we learned this lesson yet? We still do evil and then expect God to forgive and clean-up our messes. We have the Word of God in our hands; if only we would read it, learn from it, and apply to our own lives.

Oh, and how many of us would honestly admit to having idols which take the place of God?  Read about Micah in Judges 17.  He not only made idols from silver, but also a shrine, an ephod, and even named his own son a priest.  Hello there?!?!?  They were not of the clan of Levi to be a priest.  To top it off, Micah meets a Levite walking in Ephraim and invites him to live and serve as his personal family priest.

4)  In Ruth, we learn about Kinsman Redeemers.  What is a Kinsman Redeemer?  According to Bible Study tools, a kinsman redeemer is "a male relative who, according to various laws found in the Pentateuch, had the privilege or responsibility to act for a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need of vindication." 

What would this look like today?  Family helping family!


5)  In 1 Samuel, we find that the Israelites have rejected God as their king and demands an earthly king like the neighboring nations.  God granted them their desire, and through Samuel, forwarned what their life would be like subjected to an earthly, human king.  Not caring about the negative consequences, the Israelites still desired a king.  God acquiesced, and named Saul as their first king.

Why am I like the Israelites?  Asking Demanding of God things which are not good for me.  Why am I not content with God alone?  Why do I feel I need more.... stuff, control, etc.

I wonder what this week will bring.....


Blessings,

     Ellen

8 comments:

  1. It is so awesome that you are not only reading the words but are applying the Word to your life. I hope the rest of the challenge goes well and you are richly blessed by it.

    I am doing a less intensive plan at the moment done by Scripture Union. This is not a paid announcement lol but if anyone is interested the flyer can be downloaded at...

    http://e100.scriptureunion.org.uk/files/E100_planner.pdf

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  2. Hi,visiting from Wandering Wednesday blog hop. I'm now following your blog. Please check out my blog and love a follow back. Thanks
    http://freedelicacies.blogspot.com

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  3. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! I did B90 this past spring. I didn't finish but got 3/4 thru the Bible and that made me very happy. Good luck, and enjoy! Blessings! PS I am now following you.

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  4. I really got so much out of reading the Bible in 90 days! Love that you're blogging your way through it! :)

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  5. I am also doing the Bible in 90 days and I am learning so much..

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  6. Deirdra,
    I am honored by your award. Thanks for being a wonderful friend!

    Ellen

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  7. "Why am I not content with God alone?"

    This is the question I keep asking myself and an area that God is really working on.

    I saw many of the same things in those books that you did!

    Enjoy your reading!

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  8. all I can say is SHAZAM!!!

    What a glorious undertaking I am sure you are being blessed by

    found/following you through the smiley saturday blog hop
    http://theworldaccordingtobren.blogspot.com/

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Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts with me! I look forward to getting to know you better.

If you do not wish to sign-in, please email me your comments and I will post them. Due to too many spam comments, I have chosen to close the comments to anonymous users. Thank you for understanding. ~ Ellen

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