SCC Discussion Blog

The New Testament is here! What an amazing journey we have been on through the Old Testament! I got so much out of it and learned so much through working through it chronologically and having the commentary insights. I am so thankful that we as a church are doing this and can’t wait to see what the New Testament has to hold!

In catching up on my reading…  I was struck by Joshua 21:43 “And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.”

Here God shows that His Promise to Abraham (Gen 12:7) was fulfilled in the conquest under Joshua.  Today there are some who claim that the promises God made to the nation of Israel are yet to be fulfilled, yet, how can this be in light of this statement?

The author of Hebrews writes that this promise is much more than merely the Land of Promise, but in reality is the Kingdom of God :

“By faith he (Abraham) sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”     Heb 11:9-10

“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.  By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,  Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:  Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”   Heb 11:16-19 (KJV)

So Abraham offering his only begotten son was a prefigure of God the Father offering His only Begotten Son by which that Promised Land/City would be reality – in Christ. and so in Christ are all the promises to Abraham -

“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”   Gal 3:16

The wonders that God has for those who are called by His Name ( Christians) are beyond anything we can imagine!

Tags: Joshua

In light of Deut. 23:3-6 (February 26th reading), where Moabites are excluded from the assembly of the Lord, even down to the 10th generation, it is very interesting that God chose a Moabite woman to bring forth the next male in the line of Jesus’ lineage. I also find it interesting that Obed was considered Naomi’s son because of the levirate law. This actually made him 100% jewish rather than 50% moabite.

I have always loved the story of Ruth, but through this particular Bible, I’ve seen aspects I never considered before. I am so very thankful that we are reading through the Bible this way. There are some times when I approach my reading with a ‘guess I have to do it’ attitude, but even then I am richly blessed. And more often than not I find myself anxious for supper to be over so that I can curl up with my Bible. This has never happened to me before. It is all such a blessing to me.

Here Judah attacked Jerusalem and took it!  However, it says, “Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.”  Interesting with the news about Jerusalem now….

I have been enjoying reading the Daily Bible in chronological order …  once I got caught up.  I am LOVING the way “The Special Feast” flows.  For the first time I am really enjoying reading parts of the Bible that used to bore me.  I have to admit I fought this.  I was one of the people that misunderstood what this was about and thought the Pastors would be preaching/teaching simultaneously along with this Bible.  After thinking about it I realized that would be an impossible task.  If they are indeed led by the Spirit to teach us, and I believe they are, then how could they be restricted in that way?  

So Thank You for suggesting we read this Bible, you guys ROCK!  And I’m glad we’re not required to eat the bitter herbs anymore, doesn’t sound tasty at all. Learning that they represent the “horrors of bondage” though … very cool.  If we’re not learning we’re not living, but that’s just my humble opinion.

I found it interesting that Moses kept telling the Israelites that it was their fault that God would not allow him to enter the promised land. I always thought it was when Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it, as God had told him to, that caused God to tell him he would not enter the land. Any comments on this?

Perhaps Balaam should have asked his donkey for advice before he made his plan to ruin Israel. Funny how he was unwilling to curse them a few chapters ago (even though it would have made him rich), now he hatches a plan to intermarry them with the rest of Moabites to destroy them!

Numbers 31:16 is a great example of what I call a “hidden verse.” One that is very easy to miss because it is given after or in the middle of where the major action takes place. BUT without the information revealed in it, we only get part of the story. You may be reading through chapter 31 and all sorts of questions may be running through your head about the killing that just took place. The explanation as to “why” the event took place is not readily available until you read Numbers 31:16…

Its sort of like “now you know the REST of the story…”

I know it seems extreme to us, but I think the judgment of the Moabites in Numbers 24:1-5 gives an insight as to how God views our “idolatry.” We tend to think, “I wouldn’t bow down or make an idol to worship,” but we often commit this same kind of immorality when we “marry” the culture around us. Our Western culture worships a kind of affluence and materialism that often takes the place God that deserves.

We can spend an inordinate amount of time, energy and resources chasing after these cultural idols… we often don’t think twice about it. God does.

This is my first blog ever, and I thought it would be a good thing to share with my brothers and sisters. As I’ve been reading through the Old Testament, I have become more aware of God’s amazing grace. In the old days, God’s people had to do extremely specified rituals to cleanse themselves to even enter into the presence of God. Now, God sees us holy and clean because He died for us. He came from heaven to earth to cleanse us so that He could dwell within us all the time to have relationship with us. All because of His amazing mercy and grace. In light of this, dear brothers and sisters, we should do joyfully what Paul urges in Romans 12:1-2… offer ourselves as living sacrifices unto Him. Living in the same type of faith that Joshua and Caleb had as they stood up to the other Israelites to be firm in the Lord and trust Him to lead the people into the promised land… even at the risk of being stoned to death. Living in faith even when it is the most unpopular, costly thing to do. All because of God’s amazing grace.

I have never understood why the Lord had Moses make the bronze snake…to me it seemed like an idol….I know the people just looked at it- they did not worship it, but still. Anybody have any thoughts?