With a subtitle of ‘Remedial Bible Studies, Refuge Cities, & the Start of Modern Civilization?
I knew that the four Gospels of the New Testament occasionally repeated stories and parables but never realized that there was repetition and stories repeated in the Old Testament.
In Chapter 33 of Luke the journeys of the Israelites are summarized in more detail than ever from when they left Ramesses in Egypt to the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, over against Jericho.
And then the conquest of The Promised Land is told in a short verse!
The Lord said to Moses: Command the children of Israel, and say to them: when you shall have passed over the Jordan, entering into the land of Chanaan, destroy all the inhabitants of that land—cleansing the land, and dwelling in it.
With a warning to kill every single person or they will, as I will, come back to haunt you.
But is you will not kill the inhabitants of the land: they that remain shall be unto you as nails in your eyes, and spears in your sides, and they shall be your adversaries in the land of your habitation. And whatsoever I had thought to do to them, I will do to you.
The brutality of the Bible in the Old Testament, the Old Covenant and that is just the point to be made whether applicable to today or not is not my judgment to make but only God’s.
God created the world and created us human beings to live in the world and enjoy life in relationship to Him, our God.
From the get-go with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden our human nature went astray. God started over with the flood and Noah, a small light of the faithful. Now His strategy is to start with one people, the Israelites, His chosen people and demonstrate the life he had intended for all before we were corrupted by sin. And to do this, the only way I guess is by brutality, by war and killing and plundering but who am I to judge the curse of the world (sin) or the course of the world to achieving God’s vision despite our sinful nature at times.
Remember this is the Old Testament and we live in the New Testament with a loving New Covenant with God. In fact, as inspired by Trinity Sunday, perhaps there is a Third Covenant based on a completely spiritual and loving relationship with God. A sort of a Splendid Spiritual Self in relationship with an accepting, loving and compassionate God. Once developed, then the rest of our lives and the transition to Heaven is of no concern as it is led and powered by God in His time and His way.
Have you ever thought about what your last sin will be?
Where is your Promised Land in this life?
Refuge cities followed God making accommodation with the children of Israel for Levite Cities as they were the priests and owned no land.
Sanctuary cities today for illegal immigrants and Refuge cities for suspected sinners back in biblical times? No judgment, no comparison but I was surprised to read about the concept in Chapter 35.
Where suspected sinners can take refuge and have a trial? Was this the start of a modern civilized society if in fact we are of modern times and civilized today?
Determine what cities shall be for the refuge of fugitives, who have shed blood against their will (the children of Israel). And when the fugitive shall be in them, the kinsman of him that is slain may not have power to kill him, until he stand before the multitude, and his cause be judged.
The murderer shall be punished by witnesses: none shall be condemned upon the evidence of one man.
But this way was still likely the exception as the ‘eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a-tooth was still on the books of the Law of Moses, who by the way was still alive and doing God’s work even though God predicted his death back in Chapter 27.
The kinsman of him that was slain, shall kill the murderer: as soon as he apprehendeth him, he shall kill him.
And the Book of Numbers ends with God’s Will being done and his blessing received by the children of Israel living in The Promise land: “thus shall your possession be cleansed, myself abiding with you. For I am the Lord that dwell among the children of Israel.”
The children of Israel have arrived in The Promised Land in Chanaan!
Day 57: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; The Children of Israel Arrive at The Promised Land in Chanaan!
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Numbers Chapters 31-36
Bible Notes:
This Book is so called, because it begins with a census of the Hebrew nations.
It describes their departure from Mount Sinai, their journey to Moab, and gives various rules for distribution of the Promised Land.
Numbers Chapter 31: The Madianites destroyed; Only the virgins spared; Purification by fire and water; Division of the body; Total of the booty; Offering of boot to the Lord.
Revenge first the children of Israel on the Madianites, and so thou shalt be gathered to thy people.
Arm of you men to fight, who may take revenge of the Lord on the Madianites. Let a thousand men be chosen out of every tribe of Israel to be sent to war.
And Moses sent them with Phinees the son of Elazar the priest, and he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound. And when they had fought against the Madianites and had overcome them, they slew all the men.
Balaam, the soothsayer that helped Balac also, the son of Boer, they killed with the sword.
They plundered.
Moses being angry: Why have you saved the woman? Are not these they, that deceived the children of Israel, by the counsel of Balaam, and made you transgress against the Lord by the sin of Phogor, for which also people was punished?
The women who had carnally known men.
He that hath killed a man, or touched one that is killed, shall be purified the third day and the seventh day.
Golf, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, and all that may pass through the fire, shall be purified by fire, but whatsoever cannot abide the fire, shall be sanctified with the water of expiation…
And thou shall divide the spoil equally, between them that fought and went out to the war, and between the rest of the multitude.
And thirty-two thousand persons of the female sex, that had not known men
We, thy servants, have reckoned up the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and not so much as one was wanting. Therefore we offer as gifts to the Lord what gold every one of us could find in the booty… that thou mayest pray to the Lord for us.
Numbers Chapter 32: Rubenites and Gadites ask for land; Moses refuses their request; Rubenites and Gadites promise help; Moses grants their request; Land given to Gad, Ruben, and Manasses; Cities of the Gadites; Cities of the Rubenites; Cities taken by the Manassites.
And their substance in beasts was infinite
When they saw the lands of Jazer and Galaad fit for feeding cattle
That thou give it to us thy servants in possession, and make us not pass over the Jordan
For if you will not follow him, he will leave the people in the wilderness, and you shall be the cause of the destruction of all.
We ourselves will go armed and ready for battle before the children of Israel, until we bring them in unto their places (the land of Chanaan).
We will not return into our houses until the children of Israel possess their inheritance.
But if you do not what you say, no man can doubt but you sin against God: and know ye, that your sin shall overtake you.
Moses therefore gave to the children of Gad and of Ruben, and to half the tribe of Manasses the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sehon king of the Amorrhites and the kingdom of Og king of Basan, and their land and the cities thereof about.
Numbers Chapter 33: Journeys of the Israelites; Journey from Ramesses to Sinai; Journey from the desert of Sinai to the desert of Cades; The death of Aaron; Journey from Mount Hor to the Jordan; Command to destroy the Chanaanities.
Retells the journeys of the Israelites
They passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness
And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord and there he died when he was a hundred and twenty-three years old.
The Lord said to Moses: Command the children of Israel, and say to them: when you shall have passed over the Jordan, entering into the land of Chanaan, destroy all the inhabitants of that land.. cleansing the land, and dwelling in it.
But is you will not kill the inhabitants of the land: they that remain shall be unto you as nails in your eyes, and spears in your sides, and they shall be your adversaries in the land of your habitation. And whatsoever I had thought to do to them, I will do to you.
Numbers Chapter 34: Boundaries of Chanaan; Territory of Ruben, Gad, and Manasses; The men who shall divide the land.
When you are entered into the land of Chanaan, , and it shall be fallen into your possession by lot, it shall be bounded by these limits: The south side shall begin from the wilderness of Sin…and shall have the most salt sea for its furthest limits eastward… to the torrent of Egypt and shall end in the shore of the great sea… reaching the most high mountain… and shall reach as far as the Jordan, and at last shall be closed in by the most salt sea.
Ruben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasses have received their portion beyond the Jordan over against Jericho at the east side,
And the Lord said to Moses: These are the names of the men, that shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun and one prince of every tribe—Caleb of Juda, Samuel of Simeon, Elidad of Benjamin, Bocci of Dan, Hanniel of Manasses, Camuel of Ephraim, Elisaphan of Zabulon, Phaltiel of Issachar, Ahiud of Aser, and Phedael of Nephtali. These are they whom the Lord hath commanded to divide the land of Chanaan to the children of Israel.
Numbers Chapter 35: Cities of the Levites; Cities of refuge; Unintentional killing; Punishment for murder; Safety in the city of refuge; The law of evidence of murder.
Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites out of their possessions, cities to dwell in, and their suburbs round about.
And among the cities, which you shall give to fugitives, that he who hath shed blood may flee to them: and besides these there shall be other forty-two cities, that is, in all forty-eight with their suburbs.
And of these cities which shall be given out of their possessions of the children of Israel, from them that have more, more shall be taken: and from them that have less, fewer. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the extent of their inheritance.
Determine what cities shall be for the refuge of fugitives, who have shed blood against their will. And when the fugitive shall be in them, the kinsman of him that is slain may not have power to kill him, until he stand before the multitude, and his cause be judged.
The kinsman of him that was slain, shall kill the murderer: as soon as he apprehendeth him, he shall kill him.
The murderer shall be punished by witnesses: none shall be condemned upon the evidence of one man.
And thus shall your possession be cleansed, myself abiding with you. For I am the Lord that dwell among the children of Israel.
Numbers Chapter 36: A threat to the inheritance of the tribes; Intermarriage between tribes forbidden.
The Lord hath commanded that thou shouldst give to the daughters of Salphaad our brother the possession due to their father. Now if men of another tribe take them to wives, their possession will follow them, and being transferred to another tribe, will be a diminishing of our inheritance.
Let them marry to whom they will, only so that it be to men of their own tribe, lest the possession of the children of Israel be mingled from tribe to tribe.
But remain so as they were separated by the Lord. And the daughters of Salphaad did as was commanded.
These are the commandments and judgments, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to the children to Israel.
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