The witness section of Deuteronomy 19:15-21 should lead us to think about truth telling as it relates to the community of Christ. After all, the text isn’t addressing honesty in general terms, its specific concern is with truth telling as it relates to the community of Israel and its judicial proceedings. The judicial system wasContinue reading “Truth Telling”
Category Archives: Deuteronomy
Community, Justice, & Truth-Telling
We’re in a section of Deuteronomy that’s largely concerned with governing. That being so, we hear about: In all this, it’s not hard to see a focus on those who were to lead Israel and the legal processes and standards they were to implement. Brueggemann reminds us that Israel is being given “a pattern ofContinue reading “Community, Justice, & Truth-Telling”
The Kingdom of More
Deuteronomy 17:16-17 says this about Israel’s king: The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate largeContinue reading “The Kingdom of More”
How to be a King
It was always the plan of God for Israel to have a king. Deuteronomy 17:14-20 is one of the passages that tells us this, but there are more. As part of the blessing God speaks to Jacob in Genesis 35, He tells him that “kings will be among your descendants” (v. 11). Then there’s talk of theContinue reading “How to be a King”
Tender Hearts and Open Hands
The Golden Gate Bridge stretches almost a mile across the San Francisco Bay, with its total length being about 8,500 feet. It is 220 feet tall at its highest point and was completed in 1937 at a cost of 35 million dollars. Building bridges was a dangerous business in the early part of the twentiethContinue reading “Tender Hearts and Open Hands”
Facing the Anakites
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is preparing a new generation of, Israelites to enter the land of Canaan. The previous generation died in the wilderness due to their unbelief and Moses wants the generation he’s addressing to do better. I think Daniel Block’s contention that we should listen to Moses here in a pastoralContinue reading “Facing the Anakites”
Someone We Can Relate To
Moses was a great servant of God, but passion for God doesn’t mean immunity from struggles whether we’re talking about Moses, Noah, Esther, David, or anyone else. And there’s no hesitancy on the part of biblical writers to call out mistakes, flaws, or weaknesses of the people they write about and that’s one reason weContinue reading “Someone We Can Relate To”
Stepping into the Story
I suppose as long as there have been summer vacations there have been children who had to write about what they did on them. And as long as there have been vacations of any kind, there have been people like us who took way too many pictures. We can post those pictures, but it’s muchContinue reading “Stepping into the Story”
Background on Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy is the final book written by Moses and a fitting conclusion to the Pentateuch (the first five books of Scripture). Genesis is the book of beginnings. Exodus advances the story from Egypt to the wilderness and ends with the construction of the tabernacle. Leviticus furnishes Israel with laws concerning the tabernacle and sacrificial system.Continue reading “Background on Deuteronomy”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 