The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. – Deuteronomy 18:17

Today's Scripture Reading (March 6, 2025): Deuteronomy 18

I have to admit I did some research on the internet this week because we know everything on the internet is accurate, and I was looking at some videos on the life of Moses. Many of the videos were pretty bad, but the comments attached to these videos really opened my eyes to the truth (yes, I am being sarcastic.) One of the comments that grabbed my attention was from a children's video about Moses, which was part of a Christian series on "Old Testament Prophets." The comment that caught my eye was listed right under the video. Someone commented, "Moses was Muslim, which is much better than a stupid cross." Someone who thought that they knew better than this person had responded, "How could Moses be a Muslim when Moses was before Islam." The response to that question (I am paraphrasing here because the original language was inappropriate) was, "Are you stupid? Islam was from the very beginning, long before Moses." As I sat at my desk looking at the comment, the whole exchange highlighted the problem we often have when we look back at something. We try to give them meaning from a future time and with future ideas of which they, in this case Moses, are entirely unaware. 

For those who are a little confused, Moses lived probably somewhere around 12 to 13 hundred years before Christ, depending on whose dating you are using. If Ramses II or Ramses the Great was the Pharoah that Moses did battle with, we can date his reign to 1279 – 1213 B.C.E. If this was Moses's Pharoah, then Moses would have grown up with Ramses. Christ was born a little more than 1200 years after the death of Ramses and Moses. The dating of Islam is really from the life of Muhammad, who lived in the 7th Century C.E. – or just over 600 years after Jesus. So, to say that Moses was a Christian, going back to the comment of the "stupid cross," or of Islam, is wrong. Moses couldn't have imagined either the cross or the revelations of God given to the great prophet Muhammad. 

Moses was a Jew, but even that isn't quite right. Moses was a descendant of Jacob who came to be known as Israel, and all of the descendants of Jacob have taken his name as their name; they are the people of Israel, but Judaism, as we understand it today, really didn't exist at the time of Moses. The seeds of Judaism are found in the Law of Moses, which Moses received from God in his early to mid-eighties. All of this means that Moses lived in a world where Judaism didn't exist, not yet. For most of Moses's life, Israel was a race of slaves living in Egypt. They probably had some conception of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but he was a distant God who didn't have much to do with their daily lives. Much more in their face would have been the gods of the Egyptians, whose temples and artifacts the Egyptians were busy building. So, to say that Moses was Christian or Muslim is wrong. But to say that Moses was a part of Judaism in many ways isn't right, either. Moses was the great father of all three sister faiths.

Moses storms onto the scene at a time when Israel needed somebody. But the people were already looking past Moses, who would soon die and leave Israel. They wanted someone like Moses to be raised up at the appropriate time. God responds to his people and agrees that this is a good suggestion. When the time was right, God would raise up a leader like Moses. It is here that the difference between the three Abrahamic faiths becomes apparent. In Judaism, the people still wait for someone like Moses to come. In Islam, there is no question that this second Moses was Muhammed, the Prophet. Jesus was a great prophet in his own right, but no one in this created world was higher than Muhammed. However, for Christians, Jesus is the second Moses, the "good idea" God confirmed to the people. He is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins so that we could finally live for him. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 19

If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the LORD your God will choose. – Deuteronomy 17:8

Today's Scripture Reading (March 5, 2025): Deuteronomy 17

As a kid, I remember being roped into umpiring a baseball game. It wasn't at the top of my list of activities for the afternoon, but I agreed to the task. Everything was going relatively well until one borderline pitch. After the pitch, I honestly didn't know whether it was a ball or a strike. The catcher, who was at least a decade older than me, became instantly irate at my indecision. I was young, so I let the catcher's reaction decide my problem. It was a ball. Of course, that call did not endear me to the catcher. I was young enough to make the immature decision to narrow the strike zone a little more, at least when it came to one of the teams. Admittedly, the rest of the game was far from fair; at least, it was on any play that involved the catcher. It shouldn't have been that way; my only defense was that I was young. 

Israel had a system to handle disputes. Judges were assigned who could judge between the complainants in most legal disputes. But, if the case was too hard or demanded an appeal, the understanding was that the case would be taken to "the place the Lord your God will choose." This language indicates wherever the Tabernacle might be at that moment. At the time of Moses's instruction, the future location of the Tabernacle would have been unknown. And so, Moses simply indicated, "the place the Lord your God will choose."

The concept behind referring the case to priests ministering at the Tabernacle was that God could judge impartially and without emotion, unlike my stint as an umpire of a baseball game. Often, this was done through the casting of lots. Another method, although little understood, was using the Urim and Thummim. From what we know, experts think that Urim and Thummim were two sides of a thin piece of wood or bone. The wood or bone would be cast like a coin; if the Urim side were up, then God would have declared the suspect guilty. If the Thummim was up, then the suspect was innocent. Through the Urim and Thummim, God could speak to the people and decide the cases that were too complex or difficult for the judges or were appealed by suspects who continued to declare their innocence.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 18

Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. – Deuteronomy 16:9

Today's Scripture Reading (March 4, 2025): Deuteronomy 16

For those who live in warmer climates, it might seem impossible to farm in a land that basically gives you only one harvest. But where I live, snow remains on the ground late into the spring, making it impossible to grow most crops. And while every year is different, the cold and snow can return in late summer. Often, it seems from the outside that our farmers frantically plant as soon as the snow leaves the field and then frantically harvest in the fall, which includes many prayers that there would be enough dry days, absent of either rain or snow, to get the harvest out of the field. For a non-farmer like me, it seems that there is a lot of luck involved in the art of farming.

In Israel, there are essentially three harvests: one for barley, one for wheat, and a final one for grapes, dates, and figs. The barley harvest is the year's first harvest, beginning in March and April. During the dry season, the wheat harvest is taken from the land in May and June. The season's final harvest takes place in the summer heat of July and August, which is the harvest that features grapes, dates, and figs. Then, in September and October, as the rains come once again, the planting begins, and the cycle starts all over.

Moses speaks to the people of the planting/harvest cycle that is still yet to come. As he talks to the people, Israel is an itinerant community; they do not plant or harvest. They feed themselves by gathering the manna and likely anything else that grows wild in the wilderness that they can eat. But the day is coming, and now it is coming soon when Israel will stop their wandering and put down roots so they can begin to plant and harvest in a regular cycle. Here, Moses is laying out the festivals that will be celebrated in the new Israel. And one of those festivals is the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost. Moses tells the people that to understand the timing of this festival, they are to start counting when they begin to harvest the standing grain. The instruction would seem to indicate from the beginning of the Barley harvest, count seven weeks, or seven weeks plus one day, and celebrate the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost as the nation begins the wheat harvest.

For Christians, Pentecost does not have a harvest theme but a planting theme. Pentecost has often been called the birthday of the church, and while I am not convinced that is true, it is a celebration of the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out or planted in God's people: us. It celebrates the church's power, which is never us and always God. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 17

If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. – Deuteronomy 15:7

Today's Scripture Reading (March 3, 2025): Deuteronomy 15

In Hamlet, Polonius, an adviser to the king, gives his son some advice before his son leaves the nest. I think it is a practice of fathers everywhere. It is a moment to give their progeny what they consider essential before the child leaves home to go and make their life somewhere else. For Polonius, the advice list is long. And it comes in a two-part format. Among the nuggets of wisdom Dad offers his son is the advice to listen to everyone but to be quiet in most situations. Another piece of wisdom Dad leaves with his child is to let others judge you but refrain from the temptation to return the favor and to wear good clothes but not so good that it sets you off from others.

In this same list of proverbs, we find what might be Polonius's most famous piece of advice. "Neither a borrower nor a lender be." You might have thought the advice was in the Bible. It is not, at least not in that form, although it agrees with what the Bible teaches. 

To understand Polonius's advice from a biblical point of view, we must understand the biblical purpose of a loan. From a biblical perspective, borrowing money has nothing to do with purchasing that new car with cash you don't have or even buying the latest game console with someone else's cash. Those things the Bible would say we should save up for; I know it is a novel concept. You borrowed money when you needed to buy the essentials of life, but disaster has left you without funds. Then, those with cash helped out those without. And every seven years, if anyone from Israel could not repay their loan, the debt was canceled. However, lending money was an action against poverty, and it always needed to be understood as such. 

Moses stresses this idea. Lending money is not a money-making endeavor. It is a statement against poverty. Let there be no one too poor to live if someone has enough to save them. But don't take advantage of these people, either. Because if that happens, then hearts will be hardened. Do not borrow money if there is any other option. Borrowing money for something you might want but don't need only makes someone else rich and you poor. We need to understand that. But if you can help someone in dire need, don't hold back even if we are nearing the seventh year of loan forgiveness. Understand the essential role of money within a community. And strive to be the one who lends and not the one who borrows. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 16

The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses. – Deuteronomy 14:8

Today's Scripture Reading (March 2, 2025): Deuteronomy 14

According to Jewish Philosophy, God gave Moses 613 laws while the prophet met with him on the mountain. And those 613 laws have been divided into three categories. The first is what Jewish philosophers would call "mishpatim." These laws have a rational explanation and would be enacted and enforced in any orderly society. Prohibitions on at least some kinds of murder would be part of this group of laws. Every orderly society prohibits the killing of at least some group of its citizens—the who might vary from culture to culture, but someone cannot be killed without punishment. 

A second group of laws is called "eidot" and is understood if it is explained, but it probably wouldn't be legislated outside of a demand by the Torah that defines these things as wrong. Perhaps prohibitions against adultery would fit into this category. Adultery is wrong because it tears at the fabric of marriage and the family unit around which most societies are built. Explaining that a strong family unit is essential to our society is something we can expound on and explain. Still, outside of a command of God, it is unlikely to be a legal prohibition. At various times and in multiple cultures, adultery has been declared to be illegal. However, in secular cultures, which seem to have moved past the Bible or other religious texts, adultery is not listed as an action that violates the law.

The last group of laws are called "chukim." This group of laws has no logical explanation except that God has prohibited them. It is in this group of laws that food prohibitions are often placed. So, If you wonder why you can't have that "bacon double cheeseburger," it might violate Jewish food laws on two counts (bacon [pig] is prohibited, as is cooking a child in the milk of the mother, which some argue prohibits the use of cheese and beef together), the only answer I can give you is "because God says you can't."

However, it also these laws for which the early church got an exception, and why I occasionally enjoy my bacon cheeseburger.    

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things (Acts 15:28-29).

With this letter, the Jewish church wiped away the food laws and maybe all laws that are "chukim" and do not appear to violate the law of love.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 15

If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. – Deuteronomy 13:6

Today's Scripture Reading (March 1, 2025): Deuteronomy 13

Espionage and spies have been part of public life for as long as we have divided ourselves into cities, states, and nations. I have been spending a bit of time recently studying the life of Adolf Tolkachev, a Soviet Citizen who turned into a spy for the United States. I don't think I would make a good spy; some of the pressures placed on Tolkachev would drive me crazy. Tolkachev is often referred to as "The Billion Dollar Spy," a comment about the quality of the information about the Soviet Union that he turned over to the United States. Tolkachev had become disillusioned with the Soviet Union and wanted to take revenge on his former Eurasian masters.

One of the stories that originated during Tolkachev's time as a spy regarded the signal he would send indicating that Tolkachev needed to speak to his American handlers. That signal that Tolkachev required communication was to open up a particular window in his apartment. According to one of the stories, this might not have been the best signal because there were times when his wife would open the same window because she needed to get some air to flow through the apartment. Obviously, She didn't know that opening that window was a message to a foreign spy that her husband needed to talk. As a result, she would open the window and the American handler would show up at a meeting place to connect with Tolkachev, but the Billion Dollar Spy didn't show. Why would he; he hadn't sent the message. But for me, it was also significant evidence that Tolkachev's wife didn't know what was happening. After Tolkachev's execution, his widow would spend three years in jail, but the reality, based on the window incidents, seems to be that she knew very little about what her husband was doing. 

However, this story is likely played out repeatedly all over the globe. People, for reasons that often they only know, decide to sell confidential information, becoming spies of foreign governments. But maybe the most disturbing aspect of this kind of lifestyle is that it is a very lonely one; no one can know what they are doing because the more people who know, the greater the possibility that someone, maybe even unintentionally, will sell you out. 

Israel was built as a theocracy. What that meant was that God was the political leader of the nation. Knowing this, every Israelite who worshipped other gods was weakening the fabric of the country. And their action was essentially that of a traitor or a spy. Deuteronomy makes it clear that regardless of who that might have been, it was the duty of a law-abiding citizen to identify the traitor so that they could be dealt with, even if that person was someone who resided inside the core of the family unit. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 14

But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go. – Deuteronomy 12:5

Today's Scripture Reading (February 28, 2025): Deuteronomy 12

Many years ago, I served as an Associate Pastor in a church pondering a move. We had secured a piece of land for an excellent price. It was a relatively large piece of land on the outskirts of the city, and there was some discussion about whether the lot size was too much for us. There seemed to be a movement within the body that disagreed not with the move but with the size of the land package we were trying to purchase. We discussed many options about what we could do with the land, including building a senior apartment complex on the property. But some members remained unimpressed.

One day, I remember knocking on my boss's door. I had a question. In recent years, there has been a movement for medium to large churches in the city's center to move their ministries to the outskirts, where land is plentiful. It appeared that we might be following that trend. Our building was old, and we needed more space. One corner of the church was sinking, and parking was almost nonexistent. There seemed to be no end to the reasons why the move was a good idea. And yet, there was a question that still raged in my brain. Was this move part of God's plan for our church, or was it just part of our human motive to get ahead? 

I knocked on the door, my boss told me to come in, and I asked my question. I still remember my boss's response. He told me he didn't think that God cared where we ministered. God would be happy with us if we stayed in the neighborhood where we had ministered for the past four decades or moved to the edge of the city. Admittedly, his response took the pressure off the move. Whether we moved or stayed in our current neighborhood, it was all according to God's plan.

I was not sure that I agreed. But I also didn't possess an answer to my query. I was unsure about what God was asking us to do. Ultimately, we did not move, and a few months later, my boss decided to accept a position with the denominational hierarchy; to this day, I remain unconvinced that the two events were not connected. 

Moses tells the people that the Tabernacle will exist at a place where God would choose, and it was there that the nation would come to worship. Where was that place? Well, that is part of the problem. It appears God chose Shechem as the place where the Tabernacle would be located. But while the nation moved away from an itinerant society that traveled from place to place and began to build an agrarian society where the people built their homes and farmed their pieces of land, the Tabernacle remained itinerant. Even in the Promised Land, the Tabernacle continued to move from place to place, starting at Shechem but then moving to Bethel. Finally, the Tabernacle was placed in Shiloh before it was replaced by the Temple built in Jerusalem. The tendency is to argue that each of these places became "the place the LORD your God will choose." But sometimes, I wonder if this, too, was simply part of the people's rebellion. 

There is an adage that tells us that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." But it is a human expression. Maybe the better adage for the Christian Church is this one: "Bloom where you are planted." It is often more challenging, but maybe God has placed you precisely where he wants you to be."  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 13