Deuteronomy 8 - Beware Self-Glorification

Deuteronomy 8 seems to be centered around the idea of thankfulness.  It's been quite the build-up as we get closer and closer to Israel's entrance into the Promised Land.  In Deuteronomy we find God's final words, His last attempt to prepare the Israelites for life in their land of reward.  In Chapter 8 God is essentially saying to His people, don't forget Me, don't forget why you're here, don't credit yourselves for this land that is now your home.  The last statement is what really spoke to me.  Deuteronomy 8:17 says, "Lest thou shouldst say in thy heart: My own might, and the strength of my own hand, have achieved all these things for me."  What a profound and relevant verse!  Pride is the great sin, and the one most difficult to self-diagnose.  It's such a common human weakness to take personal credit for the good things in our life.  Even before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God knew they would be overcome with pride once there and would forget God and praise only themselves for the good things in their lives.  And so it is today, as we, with society's approval, often give ourselves the most congratulatory praise for "our" achievements.  We disregard God and revel in our own prideful self-contentment.  Forgetting God could very well be one of the worst things we could do, for imagine giving a child everything and having that child not even acknowledge you for an instant and instead praising himself.  Instead, God loves humility.  Just as we would love that child to show us a humble gratitude.  The Israelites would go on to forget how to be humble and it took God Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ to remind all of humanity once again what humility is in the most awe-inspiring way possible.

Deuteronomy 7 - A Plan Divine

In Deuteronomy 7 we read of what's to come.  The Israelites are nearing their inevitable entrance into the Promised Land, which means conflict with the Canaanites, as well as other peoples living in the region.  This historical event is often used by detractors as justification for their unbelief.  How could God allow such slaughter, they ask.  It may seem at first that what is being done by God is nothing more than outright murder and destruction of an innocent people.  Some say that they can't believe in a God that would do such a thing, allowing innocent women and children to perish.  But there are problems with reducing the conflict with the Canaanites to such a simplistic moral judgment.  The situation is much more complicated than that.  For starters, we weren't there to know the details of what transpired.  We are told bits and pieces of how the Canaanites lived, and it wasn't according to either God's Law or Natural Law.  We don't even know what, if any, dealings the Canaanites may have had with God.  All we know is that God was displeased with them.  We also know that God had chosen the Israelites and had hoped they would be as a shining example of His Goodness by their behavior on earth.  Their reward for following His commands was the land of Canaan, the Promised Land.  Lessons abound in both God's dealings with the Canaanites and with the Israelites.  What to do in the latter's case, what not to do in the former's.  And, really, at the end of it all, we can't pretend to know God's Divine Plan.  Why such a horrible thing had to happen is beyond us.  What is true, though, is that the violence and generality of the conflict tends to get talked up a great deal more than the passages that "soften the blow."  There are of course violent passages that describe the slaughter and destruction of the Canaanites, the lack of mercy to be shown them.  It was a thing of violence, no doubt.  And the generalities are always cited.  That all the women and children were to be killed, that no one would be left alive.  Closer examination reveals a different sort of conflict, though.  Below is a sampling of verses that seem to fly in the face of those who would have God declare that everyone be destroyed:

"And when the Lord thy God shall deliver [the Promised Land] into thy hands, thou shalt slay all that are therein of the male sex, with the edge of the sword,
Excepting women and children, cattle and other things, that are in the city." (Deuteronomy 20:13-14)

"If thou go out to fight against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God deliver them into thy hand, and thou lead them away captives,
And seest in the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and lovest her, and wilt have her to wife,
Thou shalt bring her into thy house: and she shall shave her hair, and pare her nails,
And shall put off the raiment, wherein she was taken: and shall remain in thy house, and mourn for her father and mother one month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and shalt sleep with her, and she shall be thy wife." (Deuteronomy 21:10-13)

The point being that the real situation was much more nuanced.  An entire people were not totally obliterated.  They were defeated, yes, and their defeat was their punishment, and the reasons for their punishment cannot be fully understood by us, though partially.  In the midst of the carnage were men acting or not acting in accordance with God's Law.  The destruction would be great, which is why we find such hard-to-take passages describing the death that would await the Canaanites.  But mercy could be found in individual circumstances, and it pleased God.  A Canaanite woman could very well find herself in God's favor as a new member of His chosen people.  And mercy could be found in the midst of the carnage.  If the Canaanite culture of idolatry and hedonism were allowed to endure, it would infect the Israelites without a doubt.  The action had to be severe.

Deuteronomy 5-6: "Sleeping and Rising"

"And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart.
And thou shalt tell them to thy children, and thou shalt meditate upon them, sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

I found this particular passage rather profound.  Following Chapter 5 in which the Ten Commandments are reiterated, God actually stresses here that we are to have these "words" (the sacred commands) on our hearts even as we sleep!  Now, the first thought one might have is, that is impossible.  We can't control what we think about in our sleep!  Is God asking for the impossible here?  Or, perhaps we ought to analyze a bit further what this statement could imply.  Most of us believe that, to an extent, we can control what runs through our minds as we slumber.  Usually our dreams consist of interpretations of actions or thoughts we've experienced throughout the day.  What we've been doing, what we've been thinking about, will many times end up in our nocturnal musings.  If we never think about God throughout the day, or never do anything in His honor, chances are pretty slim that He will make an appearance in our dreams.  However, if we constantly pray to Him, constantly do things to honor Him, constantly have Him on our minds, chances are high that our dreams will be divinely turned.  This I believe (as well as most commentators) is what is implied in Deuteronomy 6:7.  God has not issued these sacred Commandments to be ignored or only thought of from time to time.  They are to be at the forefront of our minds always.  The Jews understood this and so would actually go to great lengths to never forget these commands -- they would attach them to their foreheads!  While I don't think such a step is necessary, we can learn from their zeal.  Many Christians think of God only once a week, at church on Sunday.  Six days a week God is far from our minds as we are consumed with work, family, TV, sleep, and other various activities.  Then on Sunday we suddenly turn our minds to God, reunite with Him, act like we've never forgotten Him, when in fact for six days we have.  From this verse in Deuteronomy I have learned my own lesson.  God needs to be placed back in His proper position at the top of my priorities.  A quick word to the original hearers, the Israelites, again echoes through the ages to land upon the ears of an unworthy follower, and its power, its profundity, is no less than on that day thousands of years ago.  It moves, it inspires just the same.

*I have been away for a while, but that is because I've been letting other, less important things run my life.  I hope that God's words in Deuteronomy 6 leave a lasting impression.  If so, I can resume my reading of the Word and plow straight ahead!

Deuteronomy 4 - A More Beautiful Point of View

The sentimental tone that I noticed at the very outset of Deuteronomy seems to intensify in Chapter 4. Moses is pleading at this point that his fellow Israelites follow the Commandments and do not fall again into idolatry. Many things from Exodus and Numbers are repeated in this chapter, but as it says in my commentary, it is relayed with "a more beautiful point of view." Moses, now at the end of his life, is exhorting the people gently, with almost a sadness in his voice (for, possibly he knows that they will ultimately fail in keeping God's commands). Chapter 4 reads almost like an inspirational speech. And this becomes especially poignant when one imagines the setting. Moses is speaking to the people, behind him is all of the Promised Land, from the flowing waters of the Jordan across the hills and valleys all the way to the sparkling and vast Mediterranean! The people no doubt are bursting with excitement over the prospect of calling such a beautiful place home. But, Moses, being the great prophet that he is, knows better. He knows that even though a beautiful land awaits them, the people could easily lose it if they fall back to their old sinful ways. A few verses capture this idea vividly. In fact, these verses read almost like an actual prophecy (which in all likelihood they are), for we know now that the people did lose the Promised Land during the Babylonian Captivity, and, again, during the 1st century Diaspora. And, just as is indicated in verse 31, God in His Mercy allowed the Jews to return to the Promised Land after their captivity just as He will allow their eventual conversion and redemption at the end of the world. Here are the verses in full:

"I call this day heaven and earth to witness, that you shall quickly perish out of the land, which, when you have passed over the Jordan, you shall possess. You shall not dwell therein long, but the Lord will destroy you,
And scatter you among all nations, and you shall remain a few among the nations, to which the Lord shall lead you.
And there you shall serve gods, that were framed with men's hands; wood and stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
And when thou shalt seek there the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him: yet so, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and all the affliction of thy soul.
After all the things aforesaid shall find thee, in the latter time thou shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt hear his voice:
Because the Lord thy God, is a merciful God: he will not leave thee, nor altogether destroy thee, nor forget the covenant, by which he swore to thy fathers." (Deuteronomy 4:26-31)

The significance and profound vision contained in these verses should be obvious, as it continues to hold relevance for the Jews even today.

Deuteronomy 3 - The Bed of Og

Giants were not just fabled beings written about in the early chapters of Genesis. Even unto the days of Moses and the wars of the Hebrews prior to their entrance into the Promised Land, giants existed. And even unto the time of a young David. These giants were simply men of a large stature, but of course their scale has at times been exaggerated. Suffice it to say that men of frightful proportions roamed the land and their defeat by the Israelites demonstrated that with God's power we may even slay giants.

In Deuteronomy 3 we hear of one of the more famous of these giant men, Og. Og is mentioned also in Numbers, but here in Deuteronomy we learn of an interesting fact. Deuteronomy 3:11 reads: "For only Og, king of Basan, remained of the race of the giants. His bed of iron is shewn, which is in Rabbath of the children of Ammon, being nine cubits long, and four broad after the measure of the cubit of a man's hand." Nine cubits apparently works out to be about 13 feet in length, and so this would indicate that Og was at least 12 feet in height! Of course these small details are inconsequential to the ultimate meaning of the text, which, again, is meant to show God's might even in the face of earthly power. Og's "bed," which some scholars believe was actually his sarcophagus, is a tantalizing bit of minutiae. I find it even more interesting that Moses even indicates where this bed can still be seen ("in Rabbath of the children of Ammon"). My commentary includes an interesting side-note. It says that Alexander the Great would have beds made for his troops extra large, so that the inhabitants of the region he was conquering would think his army was comprised of giants and be fearful. I suppose a similar thing could have occurred with Og's bed, but we'll never know, at least not in this life.

To get back more on track to what really matters in this book, I want to also mention the utter heartbreak I felt toward the end of the chapter, when Moses relays God's pronouncement that he will not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. I mentioned in an earlier post that Moses's tone in Deuteronomy is much more melancholic than in previous books. He writes with a sadness, perhaps a sadness for the loss of his people and for his own loss. The sins of the people prevented them from entering the Promised Land, and Moses's shortcomings would prevent him as well. In Deuteronomy 3:25 it seems that Moses is still hopeful that he may yet be able to pass over the Jordan. But the Lord responds to Moses, "Go up to the top of Phasga, and cast thy eyes round about to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east, and behold it, for thou shalt not pass this Jordan" (Deuteronomy 3:27). I could feel the utter sorrow Moses must have felt at that moment! He can gaze out over a most beautiful and bountiful land, but he cannot enter. That promise has been made to Joshua. Moses encapsulates the Old Law, and the Old Law can only get us so far in reaching God in heaven. Joshua represents the New Law via his figuring of Jesus Christ, and it is the New Law which will allow us passage into God's dominion in heaven. In the end, of course, Moses enters the eternal Promised Land, as we see him described during Jesus's Transfiguration. His temporary sorrow here on earth when barred from Canaan must now seem as nothing as he enjoys forever the Beatific Vision of God. He is now in eternal bliss!

Deuteronomy 2 - Eastern Mediterranean Maneuvering

There is a lot captured in Deuteronomy 2. It is essentially a retelling of the various altercations the Israelites underwent during their wandering in the desert, but it seemed to me that Moses includes here many more details that were left out before. The overall picture painted in this vivid chapter is one of a very active and dynamic region. From Egypt to Gaza to Canaan to the Euphrates and even up into Asia Minor and across the sea to Cyprus, there is constant activity, constant movement, constant interaction (sometimes peaceful, sometimes not) between the various peoples. And into the middle of this Eastern Mediterranean "storm" the Israelites entered.

It was the historical places and people mentioned in Deuteronomy 2 that captivated me the most. We read of Ar, the grand Moabite city, the riches of which we can only imagine. Moses even mentions the Philistines, who of course begin to play a more important role in the history of the Jews once the latter is established in the Promised Land. (Interestingly, the actual first mention of the Philistines is way back in Genesis 10:14). It is speculated that the Philistines actually originally came from the island of Cyprus, a fact I find interesting as it indicates the amount of traveling and movement these ancient people were capable of.

There is even mention in Deuteronomy 2:23 of Cappadocia and the Cappadocians. It is said that the Cappadocians invaded southern Canaan, including Gaza, and expelled the Hevites. This struck me as fascinating since the Cappadocians are a people from Asia Minor, who dwelt in the vast center of modern-day Turkey. I had no idea that they had ventured down into the valleys of the Canaanites and conquered such notable cities as Gaza! As Biblical scholars testify, the Cappadocians were a foreign people, descendants of Noah's son Japhet, and thus a long way from home on the shores of the southeast Mediterranean!

The Bible is so full of remarkable history. It is a sacred text meant to edify, but in it is captured, perhaps unintentionally, a fascinating history of the eastern Mediterranean. It is amazing to read about the world at the time of Moses. It wasn't a vacuum that the Israelites wandered in; it was a vibrant, tumultuous, and real world full of diverse cultures, ancient histories, and all the war and peace still found in modern society.

Deuteronomy 1 - From a Father to a Son

And so begins the final book of the Pentateuch. On the surface it would seem that Deuteronomy would just be a repetition of all that had been said in the previous books of the Torah. However, right away in Chapter 1 I found there to be a distinct difference in this book. And the difference seems to be in the tone. As I understand it, the Book of Deuteronomy is comprised of sermons given by Moses to the people in the final days of his life. Thus, the tone of Deuteronomy is one of sentimental supplication. There is almost a melancholy in the words. Moses has seen the iniquity of the people he has helped to save, and he wants more than anything for them to reach their ultimate salvation symbolically captured in the earthly Promised Land. He speaks to them as a father would to his son. He cares for them, he loves them, he does not want harm to come to them. And therefore he pleads, he exhorts, he prays that they will follow the Commandments and be the people God wants them to be.

Two verses in particular capture this tone well:
"And in the wilderness (as thou hast seen) the Lord thy God hath carried thee, as a man is wont to carry his little son, all the way that you have come, until you came to this place.
And yet for all this you did not believe the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 1:31-32)
Here Moses demonstrates the fatherly love God has towards His children. God protected the Israelites in their travels by miraculous means, and yet they still murmured and dissented! And thus Moses is saddened, and rightly so. There is repetition in Deuteronomy as Moses relays the incredible events that have transpired in getting the Israelites to Canaan. However, it is not plain repetition but rather like a wise old man looking back on his life and highlighting the most important events so that future generations will never forget. May we never forget!

Concluding Thoughts on Numbers

The Book of Numbers is filled with a variety of events. After reading Leviticus, which is a very "specialized" book (being exclusively concerned with the Levitical Law), the Book of Numbers seemed to meander and give a little "taste" of several different issues facing the Israelites during their journey. There is a unifying theme, of course. During the entire length of Numbers one thing remains clear: the people of Israel are wandering in a vast wilderness. Exodus gives us the beginnings of this wandering, and after a brief digression in Leviticus, Numbers resumes the journey for us, taking us all the way to the very border of the Promised Land. Numbers also reemphasizes for us the ultimate meaning of this epic wandering. The people of Israel have sinned, they have been ungrateful, and they have blatantly turned their backs on the covenantal law established on Sinai; and thus they have been resigned to a life of desolation as they have proven themselves unworthy of entering the Promised Land. God makes it clear that these wandering people will not enter Canaan, which shouldn't surprise us after we see example after example of their decadence in Numbers.

But of course it needed to be so. We would have no example to turn to for our sinful behavior if the Israelites had been perfect angels on their march to Canaan and allowed to enter right away. Instead, they exhibit all the same weaknesses we suffer from today. And we can learn from their experiences. God does eventually allow the subsequent generations of Israelites to enter the Promised Land; He does show us His Mercy by giving the people numerous chances to correct their behavior; and He does, ultimately, open up the Promised Land of heaven to each and every one of His children through His Son's sacrifice. So the account of the Exodus is not a tale of despair, but rather a solemn example of human frailty and the ultimate necessity of God's Mercy.

Of the several events relayed in Numbers, a few of the most profound were the failings of Aaron and Mary, Moses's siblings, the account of Balaam, and Joshua's appointment as Moses's heir. Aaron and Mary, questioning Moses as they did, showed that even from on high humans can fail. Overcome by the poison of pride, Aaron and Mary began to wonder why it was that Moses seemed to be getting special treatment. This is a profound example for all of us, as the feeling of prideful "deservingness" is something that plagues most of us. Numbers also captures the death of Aaron and Mary, as they significantly (and just as with Moses) are not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.

Balaam's story is fascinating and one of the highlights for me in Numbers. The idea of a pagan prophet being overcome by God's Power is a poignant illustration of the utter ineptitude of polytheistic paganism. The account also helps us see God's ultimate plan laid out for the Israelites concerning the Promised Land.

And Joshua's ascension previews for us his upcoming role as the great leader of the people and the one to actually break open the gates of Canaan, just as Jesus (whom Joshua prefigures) breaks open the gates of heaven! In many ways, Numbers in general is a "prequel." It points forward to the great events to come, but stops just short of getting to them. We even read of the beginning of the distribution of land among the twelve tribes, as Ruben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasses are given land just east and outside of the designated Promised Land.

And thus as Numbers concluded, all I could think of was "what's next?!" And next is Deuteronomy. I now begin the final book of the Pentateuch! The Law will be proclaimed one last time as definitively as possible. And after that, the people will enter their land and the history of the Jews will officially begin. I anticipate (and pray for) a wealth of illumination to come my way as I travel through the dense precepts captured in the great Book of Deuteronomy.

Numbers 36 - King and Priest

I have officially concluded my reading of the Book of Numbers! I will soon be posting my final thoughts on this book, which took me an entire year to complete, but I first wanted to mention some brief observances of the last chapter of Numbers.

Numbers 36 is primarily concerned with an issue arising out of the tribe of Manasses -- that of an inheritance concern. Moses expounds upon the Law by declaring that the Israelites are to marry only within their tribes to preserve each tribe's inheritance. It was a straightforward chapter, though what caught my attention was a footnote for verse 8. Numbers 36:8 reads, "And all women shall take husbands of the same tribe: that the inheritance may remain in the families." The footnote mentioned that this rule did not apply to the Levites since they did not possess an inheritance. Thus, the connection made by the commentators is that it shouldn't be a surprise that Elizabeth, of the tribe of Aaron, should be related to Mary, of the tribe of Juda. As the Levites weren't bound by the law described in Numbers 36, they could marry outside of their tribe. I had always heard of Mary being of David's (and thus Juda's) line, and thus Jesus, symbolically, was from a kingly line. But now this adds another element. Since Mary was related to Elizabeth, who is of the Levitical line, Jesus, technically speaking and symbolically of course, is both of the kingly line of Juda and the priestly line of Aaron! In God's Eternal Wisdom, He caused His Only Son to be born via a line of kings and priests, as Christ is the King and the Priest!

Numbers 34-35: Sanctuary

As I get ever closer to the end of Numbers, the Israelites get ever closer to entering their Promised Land. Great battles must still be fought with the Canaanites, but in Numbers 35 Moses and his brethren begin thinking beyond those battles to a time when they will be firmly established in Canaan. I got the sense that, for the first time, the Israelites could begin to formulate laws appropriate to life in the city. For forty years they had been a wandering, nomadic people, setting up tents and camps in the vast deserts between Egypt and the Holy Land. And now, suddenly, they could begin to contemplate a structured existence within fortified walls. The thought of it I'm sure brought joy to their hearts.

One of the main topics of Numbers 35 is the idea of asylum within the cities of the Levites. I found this quite interesting as it is evidently the beginning of the whole idea of a sacred space being a safe-haven, or sanctuary, for the exiled, down trodden, or wrongly charged. This was a firmly established rule in Christendom throughout the Middle Ages and even into the Early Modern Period. A church was meant to be a sacred place, a sanctuary for those in need, a place of healing, and above all a place not to be confused with temporal and secular structures and institutions. A church, as a house of God, (and symbolized by the cities of the Levites in Numbers), is meant to be a place associated with the world beyond; a place that acts as a link to heaven for those of us still on earth. I think the idea of sanctuary (or asylum) is wonderful and it's disappointing to see its application decline so in recent history. It's a very Biblical concept and ought to be promulgated perpetually by the Church.

One other interesting thing from Numbers 35 is the law that someone utilizing sanctuary in a Levitical town cannot leave or seek his freedom until the death of the High Priest. According to some scholars, this is meant to show how our freedom and release is dependent upon the death of Christ (whom the High Priests symbolized). We cannot go "home," that is, to our eternal home of heaven, until Christ performs His fulfillment of the law upon the cross, which of course has occurred.

One more chapter to go in Numbers!

Numbers 32-33: Stations of the Desert

Today is the feast day of the great Saint Patrick. On this day I will officially end the longest hiatus I've taken from this blog since I began it back in April of 2009. My last post was in early December of 2010, which means for about three and a half months I have not directed my mind towards Sacred Scripture, a fact that I am ashamed of. Beginning this Bible-reading endeavor was meant to keep me motivated, and though by and large it has done this, I still suffer from lapses of determination in which I allow other facets of my life to gain superiority over a much greater facet -- reading the Word. The good news, at least, is that I've never once questioned this endeavor nor come close to giving up on it all together. Even during my lapses, in the back of my mind I know that I have a job to do, one that is more important than most of the other activities in my life. That job consists in striving to understand Scripture, become knowledgeable of it, and, hopefully, to gain graces from the mental meditations the Word inspires. We are now in the season of Lent, and I knew I could not let another day, especially during this time of year, go by without turning to the Word. I hope and pray that any future hiatus will be a brief one, and that my reading from here on out will be much more focused and much more steadfast.

I am still on the Book of Numbers, which I began nearly a year ago in March of 2010. When I left off, the Israelites were on the very doorstep of their promised land. They had been skirmishing with the locals, and still showing ingratitude towards the One Who led them through the desert. Now, in Numbers 33 we get a summary of sorts of the entire journey from Egypt to Canaan. Every stop along the way, every town or city or camp, is mentioned by name. It's fascinating to read about the journey in one brief chapter like this. It reminds the reader just how far the Children of God had come, through what obstacles they had to endure, through what sins they committed. The journey from Egypt was a miraculous one. And it was a symbolic one. Many Biblical scholars say that each station, or stopping point, mentioned in Numbers 33 is representative of a certain sin or struggle that we have to endure on our own journey through life. The Israelites could not have gone straight from the slavery of Egypt to the milk and honey of the Promised Land. Such a radical transition would have left them unappreciative, unworthy, untransformed. Instead, God leads them on an epic, 40-year odyssey that indeed transforms them. They still suffer from ingratitude, but this is because they do not cease being human. As humans they can never completely be worthy of the Promised Land -- it is only God Who can unlock those gates and through His eternal Mercy allow them to enter. But they can still transform themselves, better themselves, and please God to allow them to enter into His domain. So it is with us. We must undergo a transformation, which is why we must endure this life, with all its obstacles and temptations. If God had created us and then instantly placed us in heaven, we would have no concept of what it means to love God or what it means to suffer or sacrifice to obtain a good. In fact, we wouldn't even know good, because we wouldn't have ever known evil. The suffering we endure in this life (and the suffering endured by the Israelites in the desert) prepares us for a place in which we will know goodness and happiness, that is heaven (symbolized by the Promised Land of Canaan).