In today’s Bible reading,* God tells Moses to execute His vengeance against the Midianites. One thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel went out and did just that, killing every male, including the kings. And they took the women and children captive. Moses was furious when he learned that the women were still…
Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am…
We read about a prophet and his donkey in today’s Bible reading*. If you’ve been around church for very long, you’ve probably heard about Balaam. It seems that he saw himself as a mercenary prophet, a prophet for hire. After seeing what the people of Israel did to the Canaanite King of Arad and the…
Once again, the people have rejected God’s sovereign choice of their leader. To indicate whom God had chosen to serve as the priestly leader of the people, God told Moses to collect a staff from each of the Israelite tribes. He was to write the name of the tribe on the staff and write Aaron’s…
After the spies returned and reported to Moses that they didn’t think God’s people could take the land that God had given them, they began telling the people what they thought. The fears of just ten men began to spread like gangrene among God’s people. The people began to complain. They challenged God’s authority and…
Several times in today’s Bible reading* we see challenges to authority. And challenging authority was not a good thing! Anyone who’s had children knows that children will at some point challenge authority. They will test boundaries. We see it in nature, too as young lions challenge the dominant male. These are natural challenges. It’s part…
