Today’s Bible reading* includes a clear case for the Bible being against slavery. It has bothered me for a long time that the Bible accepts the reality of slavery in its historical context and doesn’t seem to condemn slavery or advocate for abolition. And then I read today’s readings. Deuteronomy 22:1-3 commands returning to a…
Today’s Bible reading* includes one of the most misused passages in the Bible, “… life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot. Deuteronomy 19:21 (CSB) Are we to take that at face value, or is there more involved? Anytime someone quotes the Bible to justify something that…
Today’s Bible reading* warns God’s people to be discerning about those who present themselves with signs and wonders. If they entice God’s people to leave God to follow anyone/anything else, they are to be stoned to death. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5) This sounds pretty radical, doesn’t it? It sounds judgmental, doesn’t it? Well, the warning isn’t about…
As I read the chapters in today’s Bible reading* I asked myself, “Why is Moses repeating the same things over and over again? Haven’t these people heard this before?” And then it dawned on me! No, they hadn’t! The reason Moses is going over the story again is because his hearers weren’t alive when God…
In today’s Bible reading* we see a few words repeated several times: commands, ordinances, statutes, decrees, and most importantly: covenant. In fact, these words occur over seventy times in just these five chapters in the CSB! One thing is certain, when the Bible uses words and phrases over and over again, God is trying to…
Today’s Bible reading* is basically a summary of the forty years the people of Israel wandered in the desert after not believing God’s promises for provision and protection if they would proceed into the Promised Land. But forty years have passed and everyone who escaped their Egyptian slavery has died, except for Caleb and Joshua,…
