Stone 5 - Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is the final book of what is known as the pentateuch and culminates with the death of Moses. Let's see what is going on.

I find this to be interesting...

Remember back in Exodus when God first called upon Moses to confront Pharoah? Moses gives God objections that he is not so good at speaking (Ex 4:10).

So get this... in Deuteronomy, Moses totally gets up and speaks to the crowd in a sort of final speech as if he were the valedictorian of his class. He calls on them to - as I will word this - get their act together. I picture an old man who sort of smack a younger man on the back of the head and questions them - "Seriously? What are you thinking?" I see no indication that Moses hesitated in this like he did back in Exodus. There is no question in my mind that God did some amazing things in the life of Moses.

Let's Review
So Moses begins his speech to the masses by summarizing the last 40 years and their journey to the current location. As he recalls the history, he does not hold back sharing the events of rebellion and disobedience by the people (Deut 1:26, 1:43). So he reminds them to obey (Deut 4:1-2). I can just hear the frustration in the voice of Moses as he recalls the events of the past, pleading with the people to obey. Multiple times he calls them to listen - like a teacher at the front of the class who snaps their fingers to get the attention of those who may have been drifting off because there is an important point coming up (Deut 4:1, 5:1, 5:27, 6:3, 6:4, 9:1).

So we get a great deal of things we have already read about in prior books but remember that they have been in the wilderness for the last 40 years waiting for the prior generation to die off because they were not going to enter the promised land. This may very well be some new information for those currently in the crowd. Remember that Moses was banned from going into the promised land so this is where his journey will end. Moses wants them to move forward successfully. (Deut 11:8-9)

Remember the Law
So in addition to a retelling of the history, Moses shares with the Israelites all of the laws that God had given them. He covers the ten commandments again, rules about proper worship, rules about leadership, rules about societal activity, etc.

Again at chapter 9, I see Moses snapping the fingers... LISTEN! Guys! C'mon! You are on the verge of whooping up on a group of guys way bigger and stronger than you and take their land because God is giving it to you. Don't get all high and mighty on yourself because it has nothing to do with you. God is evicting them because they are wicked - not because you people are righteous. (Deut 9:1-6)

He tells them the account of the golden calf incident and calls once again on them to obey and follow God. (Deut 10:12-13) Again, I see Moses as exasperated as he indicates 'for your own good' in verse 13. So here we have a recount of more laws given by God - again, for their own good.

Final Plea
After covering all the laws, Moses gives one more appeal to obey and follow God. This is another major point where I imagine Moses snapping his fingers to gain attention to the class. Although since the crowd was likely pretty large, perhaps a shout would be more effective. LISTEN! (Deut 27:9-10)

Moses is kind enough to share the consequences for obedience and the lack thereof (Deut 28) and gives a small bit of encouragement and assurance that all is within their reach (Deut 30:11-20)

Change of Command and Concluding Remarks
Near the conclusion of the speech, Moses informs the people that Joshua will be their new leader. Moses, despite all of his efforts, learns from God that they won't listen anyway (Deut 31:16-18). How sad Moses must have felt in that moment. God has Moses record a song to share with the people as evidence that this was foretold (Deut 31:19-22).

Moses gives a blessing to the people and eventually makes his way to the top of Pisgah at Mount Nebo (Deut 34:1) where he finally came to rest.

Additional Comments on Deuteronomy
I am going to reference Luke Chapter 4 from the New Testament. This tells of when Jesus was in the wilderness facing some temptations. I find it interesting that Jesus quoted Deuteronomy each of the three times he responds to Satan. In Luke 4:4, Jesus quotes Deut 8:3 - In Luke 4:8, Jesus quotes Deut 6:13 - then, interestingly, Satan tries to use scripture as well by twisting it in his attempts to test Jesus. Satan quotes Psalm 91:11-12 in Luke 4:10-11 to which Jesus quotes Deut 6:16 in reply.

Jesus was well aware of scripture and used it often. Remember that the laws for Israel were there to help set them apart or make them holy. Clearly, Jesus was set apart and holy.

Jesus used Old Testament scripture to combat Satan and this helps us to reinforce the words of Paul in his letter to Timothy that all scripture is good for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. (2Tim 3:16)

Next week we will see how Joshua moves forward with the Israelites.

Here is the video for Deuteronomy from the Bible Project.

Stone 4 - Numbers

Numbers is a book that is not for the mathematician as the name might imply. There are, however, a great deal of numbers found here due to the taking of a census.

Now - as a military guy, I could not help but notice a resemblance to some military activity so here is an 'armed forces' take on the events in the book of Numbers.

Company... Attention!
I was a part of OIF I, the first wave to go over back in 2003. As such, when we arrived, there was nothing there. We had to build it. At the Tallil Air Base we dug in and created Camp Badger.

Okay, so I am comparing the Israelites digging in and building camp at Mount Sinai to us building camp at Tallil. We were a group around 500 and I recall taking up quite a bit of space which means that this group of Israelites was massive. The group of able-bodied men age 20 or older came to over 600,000 (Num 1:20 and 1:46). This did not include any women and children and it did not include the Levites (Num 1:47-49). That means that this group was likely well over a million people if not two or three million! Can you imagine them all moving en masse? WOW. Just wow. I thought the mall was crowded.

So you have Moses and Aaron pretty much leading a couple million people through the wilderness under the divine leadership of God. The Lord basically gave the instructions to Moses and Aaron and it was up to them to disseminate the information and carry out the orders.

When I was serving, it was not uncommon to hear something along the lines of "In war you follow orders or people die". This certainly seemed to be the case here too (Num 1:51) God doesn't play games. He is just, fair, and merciful. We see all of this come out.

Formation!
We have quite a bit of detail about how this enormous group of people were to be organized around the tent of meeting as well as what the responsibilities of several groups of people were.

Drill and Ceremony and the UCMJ
What organization would be complete without some policies, procedures, and a little direction on how to handle insubordination? God shares how the unclean were to be handled, how people were to be compensated, how to make vows, and how to prepare the tent of meeting.

Forward... March!
After all of the logistics are taken care of, we find it is time to break camp and move out. The ensemble was to head to an area known as Paran (Num 10:12).

Morale
Well, you would think they were doing a doubletime out to Paran with full battle rattle because they did not take long to start complaining (Num 11:1 and 11:4-6). Remember Moses who was basically the human representative here? Imagine if a couple million people started complaining to you...

Well, Moses, under considerable stress cries out to God (Num 11:11-14) for some help. What I find interesting is that Moses increased his staff not by a couple more guys to share the load but by 70 people (Num 11:16-17)!

If it wasn't bad enough that a couple million are whining about stuff to you - how about having two who are very close to you start complaining about your position of leadership in a sort of jealous way (Num 12:1-2)? God nips that in the bud right away (Num 12:5-11).

Reconaissance Missions
Twelve guys get sent out on a recon mission to check out the land of milk and honey (Num 13:17-20). They came back to report that it was indeed the land of milk and honey (Num 13:27). However, 10 of the guys were pretty negative and pessimistic about the possibility of taking the land from the powerful group currently there.

Oh - c'mon - you know how easy it is for us to latch on to the negative things people say... That is exactly what happened, and of course they griped about Moses and Aaron some more, (Num 14:1-2) despite the pleas of the other two guys who were optimistic about doing it with the help of the Lord (Num 14:8).

As stated before - God doesn't play games and he grants them their rebellious desire (Num 14:28-30). So a trip from Sinai to the promised land that should not have taken a super long time ended up taking 40 years until the generation died off (Num 14:34).

More Bad Morale
Later on, 250+ guys gathered to confront Moses and Aaron, accusing them of going too far (Num 16:1-2)
Challenge accepted.
In the end, this uprising ended up taking many thousands of lives (Num 16:49). God does not tolerate rebellion.

Roll Out, Men!
Finished in Paran, it was time to head out towards the promised land to Moab - only this leg of the journey was going to take a while. Again the people rise up and complain to Moses and Aaron about food and water (Num 20:2). God gives them a plan but Moses, however, makes the mistake of placing himself and Aaron on too high a plane (Num 20:10-11). he should have given God the credit for bringing water to the people. As a result, they will also not be able to enter the promised land (Num 20:12)

The Israelites seem to have been slow to learn as they continued to complain and incur the wrath of the Lord (Num 21:5-6).

The Israelites won a number of battles during their time in the wilderness and sort of developed a reputation (Num 22:2-3). Balak was the king in Moab so he thought he might hire this guy named Balaam to curse the Israelites and try to gain an advantage (Num 22:5-6). Balaam tried to warn him that he could only say what God says to say (Num 22:38) but Balak didn't listen.

So Balak's plan backfires and Balaam ends up blessing the Israelites three times rather than cursing them.

Divine Defenses and Divine Rules
Early on we mentioned that we would see aspects of God being just, fair, and merciful. he punishes those who deserve it, feeds them and provides water, and even has this guy blessing them without their knowledge. He prepares, punishes, provides, and protects his people. Who better to have in your corner?

They aren't getting it though... the Israelites end up worshipping Baal (Num 25:3). Remember that God doesn't play games. This was a commandment that was being blatantly broken. What do you suppose happened...? Yup (Num 25:5)

Field Promotions
Remember that Moses lost his opportunity to enter the promised land so he appeals to God for a new leader that can take them in (Num 27:15-17). Also recall that there was two guys that went out on the recon missions to the land of milk and honey who were optimistic while the other ten were not - well, joshua was one of the two and he gets the field promotion (Num 27:22-23). I bet he was not expecting that.

Skirmish
Next we have a pretty big battle with the Midianites. Since the Lord is on their side, the Israelites win pretty handily and take a pretty huge plunder - including over half a million sheep and goats - that can only be messy...(Num 31:32-35)

SITREP, OPORD, and ROE
Now Chapters 33 thru 36 gives a movement log from when the Israelites left Egypt followed by some directives for when they cross the Jordan. Who gets what and how it is to be divided up amongst the people. Pretty detailed. We will get to see how this part of history plays out in Deuteronomy.

Here is the overview of Numbers by the Bible Project.

Stone 3 - Leviticus

Welcome to the book of Leviticus - a book with many guidelines over which a great deal of controversy still remains.

We Are Sinful
The Isrealites were rescued from Egypt and were on the way to the promised land. My understanding is that many guidelines were provided to the Isrealites in order to set them apart as a nation that they might live in the presence of God. Well, sin and God simply do not mix, as it were. They cannot share space together. The Levitical Law made some provisions.

I will admit that Leviticus was a challenge to read as there was a great deal of repetition but what I find most striking about the book is the message of Christ hidden within.

The only way for people to be in the presence of God was if they were pure - thus the sacrifices and other procedures. Jumping to New Testament for a second in order to draw a comparison, Romans 6:23 states that the wages of sin is death. I see the sacrifices were the animals paying the price for our sins but the effect was temporary since we would ultimately sin again and those wages would need to be paid again. Our actions have consequences. Eventually, Christ came as the ultimate sacrifice such that all sin has been atoned for and we no longer need to perform sacrifices. However, the sin in our lives still needs to be atoned for so as individuals, we need to accept the gift God has provided. Rejecting Christ would be like one of the Israelites of Leviticus choosing not to make themselves pure. As soon as they try to enter the presence of God, they will die. God will exact the punishment.

We see this happen to Aaron's sons (Lev 10). Their actions were unauthorized - they were impure.

All These Laws
As I understand it, there are three categories of laws - ceremonial, civil, and moral. Today we recognize the moral law which is based on the holiness of God. The moral law transcends time.

Ceremonial Law
The ceremonial law centered around the rituals needed to be pure which would allow them to be in communion with God. In the majority of these cases - it was simply a matter of being impure from natural event that were not sinful in and of themselves. For example having a skin rash, having touched a dead body, or giving birth are not sinful but simply things that made people 'unclean' or impure.

Since Christ offered himself as the perfect sacrifice, there is no longer a requirement to perform these sacrifices. The animal sacrifices were to take the place of our own deaths due to sin. Christ's death on the cross was enough to cover all for all time. The gift is available to all but the gift must be accepted.

Civil Law
Probably the most elusive of the three. An everchanging landscape of law over the years as cutures have tried to define right and wrong, moral and immoral, and distinctions between good and evil. These laws were basically about how to deal with those who were in violation of the law and were provided to the Israelites at that time. Since then cultures have changed and so have these laws. As a citizen of the United States, I need to obey the laws that are established here - not the ones given to Israel thousands of years ago.

Moral Law
While civil law continues to morph over time and ceremonial law is no longer necessary, moral law as based upon God's holy standard is still in effect. As Christians, we no longer have to sacrifice an animal nor are we expected to stone people to death for their crimes but we are still expected to strive to become more Christ-like.

Why Bother?
So what good is Leviticus? Why bother reading it? As members of the 21st Century, I think we grapple with most if not all of the concepts in Leviticus. Let me suggest to you a couple of things to consider.

1. We are told in 2Tim 3:16 that all of scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness. All would include Leviticus.

2. Go back to that time some 3000+ years ago when sacrifice was a common thing among all peoples as a way to try and appease the gods. This is what they understood. What if God used this as a strategy to help the people understand the real meaning of Christ's ultimate sacrifice that would eventually come? God speaks to them on their level in a way that they will understand. For us, in 2016, at the time of this writing, it seems barbaric but it was commonplace then - they got it - now that it is no longer required of us - we don't get it and find it repulsive.

I do not want to diminish the importance of the laws and commands given to the Israelites. While not all of it is applicable in today's culture it still retains immeasurable value. Leviticus is about how the people at that time could be pure. It was a preparation for Christ. We should not surrender our attempts to gain a closeness with God, to worship Him and develop a relationship with Him. How should we be preparing our hearts for a relationship?

Let's try to make ourselves ceremonially pure through repentance and the acceptance of the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
Let's become obedient followers of the law as established by our leadership.
Let's continue to live more like Christ and strive to behave according to the moral law established by the good and holy nature that is God.
Let's continue to pick up the Word of God and read books like Leviticus. It won't be easy. Following Christ won't be easy either.

Being holy is to be set apart. God details how the Israelites are to be set apart in Leviticus (Lev 19:2).
Let's set ourselves apart as well.

Here is another great review from the Bible Project on Leviticus.

Stone 2 - Exodus

The second stone is on the book of Exodus.

New Leadership Bring Change
At the end of Genesis, Joseph was in a position of high status in Egypt. As a result, when his father and brothers and the rest of the family came during the famine they lived comfortably and thrived.

This came to an end when it was time for a new king to come into power. Unlike the old king, the new one did not know Joseph (Ex 1:8) and he was afraid that the numerous outsiders might one day turn on them. Remember that God had changed Jacob's name to Israel (Gen 35:10)? Well, all these descendants are now refered to as the Israelites. Pharoah enslaves them and forces them to do hard labor (Ex 1:13-14)

Also remember how Joseph had mentioned that the situation his brothers put him in were meant for evil but God meant it for good (Gen 50:20)? I find an interesting parallel here in Exodus. So the new Pharoah decided he wanted to kill all of the sons of the Hebrews by having them thrown into the Nile River (Ex 1:22). Moses was one of the sons born at that time. He was placed in the river in a basket (Ex 2:3) and at some point downstream, none other than the daughter of the very Pharoah who ordered him killed picked him up (Ex 2:5). What Pharoah intended for evil, God intended for good.

That Hebrew outsider known as Moses got to grow up in the home of the Egyptian king. Wow!

It would appear that Moses was aware that he was an "outsider" and not really an Egyptian. In fact, he actually kills an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew (Ex 2:11-12) It states that the Hebrew was one of his people which makes me think that Moses knew he was not truly an Egyptian despite being raised in the house of the King of Egypt. Afraid, Moses runs away for a while (Ex 2:15) - I understand, though, that Moses was not necessarily afraid of Pharoah but possibly something else such as the Israelites refusing to accept him.

Some time later Moses encounters the infamous Burning Bush. While this seems preposterous for many, I cannot help but think that if we believe that God created the universe and all the life within it, why is it so hard to think God is capable of this? He spoke it all into existence so we know He can speak. How about burn a bush without consuming it...? Easy. Even in chemistry class I have had students soak dollar bills in a solution of alcohol and water and set them on fire and watch as they do not get consumed. So, yeah, I am pretty sure God can handle this one.

What I find to be a bit more curious is yet again another similarity to the people of today when it comes to doing what God calls them to. God calls Moses to go back to Egypt and help the Israelites get out. There is a pretty lengthy exchange between Moses and God where Moses tries to peddle off a bunch of excuses as to why he is not the right guy for the job or other generic objections. (Ex 3:11, 4:1, 4:10, 4:13, 6:12) I know I have been guilty of this at times too. Our flesh wants nothing more than to rationalize it away.

So Moses hooks up with his brother Aaron and together they go to tell Pharoah to let them all go. They are denied and the plagues start coming and Moses and Aaron ask Pharoah several times more and still they are denied and the plagues keep persisting - a total of 10 in all.

The tenth one is to kill all the firstborn sons (Ex 11:5) unless you have the mark of blood on the door (Ex 12:7). Exodus 12:13b says "...when I see the blood I will pass over you." What a striking connection to the lamb who was slain and whose blood covers us so that on judgement day when God sees the blood of Jesus he will pass over us as well.

After this plague Pharoah finally lets them go. However, it is not long before Pharoah changes his mind and chases after them (Ex 14:5). Fast forward to the Red Sea where the waters are parted, the Isrealites cross and the water comes crashing down on the Egyptians (Ex 14:28-29)

Freedom
How quickly we fall back on our selfishness! All these Israelites, who were just freed from some pretty harsh conditions are complaining about food and water. No doubt, feeding that large a crowd for several days in the wilderness would be no small task. I am pretty sure there were not MREs back then, either. Nonetheless, God is able to provide. Oh, how we grumble. Perhaps if we only knew...

After a long time wandering around the countryside the Israelites finally come to Mount Sinai and God works up the Ten Commandments for Moses to bring to the people along with several other rules that will help to set them apart as a nation - to bring them closer to becoming holy. How awful, then, to see the group blatantly violating the first two laws - and so soon after experiencing what they just had experienced at the base of the mountain.

Much of the second half of the book of Exodus is sort of slow, dry, and repetetive. In short, there are lots of instructions for creating several things followed by all of the instructions repeated as they are completed. The main attraction is the tent for the Lord. This tent is to be a holy place where the Lord can come and dwell among the people. Right in the middle of these instructions and creation, though, is the golden calf story (Ex 32) which is the violation of the first two commandments. This really angers God. Luckily for the people, Moses was there to intercede.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion over some of these Old Testament books and all the rules within them. However, I think it is really important to take the entire book in context rather than just reading a single verse.

Here are a couple more videos from the Bible Project that do a really nice job walking through in an easy to understand way.

Stone 1 - Genesis

Thank you for taking the time to join me on this journey through the Bible. Our adventure begins in Genesis.

There is an awful lot going on in Genesis. As I understand it, there are four main events and four main people that sit as central themes to the book.

Events

• Creation
• The Fall
• The Flood
• Expansion

People

• Abraham
• Isaac
• Jacob
• Joseph

Creation Account

I accept what the Bible says as truth. I also find the debate over the age of Earth to be of particular interest. In reading through this account multiple times over the years, however, I am unable to find any claims to the age of Earth. I will admit that at one point in my life I was a Young Earth advocate. I recognize that the Young Earth concept derives in great part from the geneologies and ages of people given throughout Genesis and other books all the way back to Adam as a way to come up with a ballpark age. I have since shifted to more of an "on the fence" stance. While it is all interesting to me I have to question whether it really matters...? If we were to conclusively prove the age of the Earth one way or the other, it wouldn't discredit the Bible since it makes no claims to the age of Earth in the first place. Secondly, our relationship with Jesus Christ is what makes the difference in the end anyway, right?

The Fall

All the way back to the beginning we find example of deception and blaming others. The serpent asks the question of whether or not 'God really said' (Gen 3:1) and sows seeds of doubt and ultimately a poor choice is made. When Adam and Eve are confronted, Adam points the finger at God and Eve (Gen 3:12). God then questions Eve and she points the finger at the serpent (Gen 3:13). Can we really deny that type of behavior continues to this day?

The Flood

Remember 'The Fall'? Well, things were still falling and falling hard. A great deal of time has gone by and things got so bad that God decided to exercise his right to judgement and  "restart the computer" as it were. Continuing forward, we have more of the same, really, but God promised that he would not wipe us out in that fashion again (Gen 9:8-17). Instead, something different takes place.

Expansion

As the people gather to build a tower that would reach the heavens in order to make a name for themselves, (Gen 11:4) God comes and confuses their language and they stop for lack of communication (Gen 11:7-9). I imagine that they all scattered into groups based on who could understand each other.

Thoughts

As the book transitions to talking about Abraham and his family, I thought I would mention that throughout the book there has been a lot of family lineage presented. That kind of reading, quite frankly, can be dry but I think it is important to consider why it is there and the tone it sets for the book as a whole. This information is presented as a historical record and was meant to be such. I recognize that other books of the Bible are written in a certain style or genre and should be treated as such when interpreting them.

Abraham

When I served in the Iraq war from 2003-2004, I stayed several months at Tallil not far from a place known as Ur. I have often said to people that if Iraq was not such a volitile place that it would be an amazing tourist destination. The history there is amazing. I was never a big fan of history in school but after visiting Iraq I did develop a new appreciation for it. To experience and be in those places brought some realism to it all. I had an opportunity to visit Ur, the birthplace of Abraham (Gen 15:7).

There is not much left of the place but it was amazing nonetheless. Although the picture below is not my own, I can remember seeing it exactly like this. At some point, I may convert my hard copy pictures to digital. You can see the Ziggurat Temple in the background. I stood atop that temple and was able to look out over the ruins in the foreground. I could also detect the color brown as far as the eye could see.

At any rate, Abraham is the one with whom God chooses to create a covenant. What I find interesting here is the impatience that we see displayed. God tells Abraham that he will have offspring (Gen 15:3-4), but they are old and eventually, I suppose, after some trying without success, take matters into their own hands (Gen 16:1-2). Ishmael was born with Hagar the slave. This was not God's plan. To this day we continue to try and do things on our own.

Eventually, roughly 14 years later, Abraham and Sarah have Isaac. Personally, I cannot imagine the thoughts that were going through Abraham's head as he went up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac (Gen 22:1-2). Now, I am not sure how old Isaac is at this point but he is old enough to talk (Gen 22:7). This portion of the story often makes many question God. I don't think that God ever intended for Abraham to follow through - God provided the sacrifice just as Abraham said He would (Gen 22:12-13).

Issac

Next we learn about Isaac who marries Rebekah and eventually has twin sons Jacob and Esau. The lineage now passes from Abraham to Isaac and God reaffirms the covenant with him (Gen 26:2-5). Interestingly, Esau, as the firstborn of the twins and therefore entitled to particular birthrights of that culture, gives up his birthright and also loses the blessing intended for him when Isaac is dying. This was due to Jacob's scheming.

Jacob

Oddly, to me, we have Jacob's wife, Rachel who is having trouble bearing children (Gen 30:1) for her husband. Sarah and Abraham had this issue (Gen 16:2) and so did Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 25:21). Now Jacob had several wives and children. We see that Jacob wanted Rachel but ended up with Leah, her sister and both of their slaves. Jacob ended up having 12 sons with the four of them. 

Now, let me just interject here that I do not see this as some sort of endorsement for polygamy. As a historical record of events these things are stated as such. God endorses every event of human history in the Bible no more than McGraw-Hill endorses every act of history in the history books they publish.

Rachel finally has a son which they name Joseph (Gen 30:22-24), Jacob has his name changed by God to Israel (Gen 32:27-28), and then Rachel has a second son named Benjamin but she passes away from labor complications (Gen 35:16-18).

Joseph

Now, Joseph was Jacob's (Israel's) favorite son (Gen 37:3), but that pretty much makes all his brothers angry (Gen 37:4), so after he has some dreams where they are bowing to him they conspire to kill him (Gen 37:18-20). They ended up deciding to sell him into slavery instead. Another curious thing to me is that he was sold to the Ishmaelites. Remember Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar? Anyway, Joseph ends up becoming one of the head honchos in Egypt under Potiphar not without some additional trials.

Can you imagine what Joseph went through and what he may have been thinking? How easy would it have been for him to blame God for his circumstances...!? How difficult a situation.

Joseph does some dream interpretation for Potiphar and sees that there is a great famine to come. Eventually the great famine brings Josephs's brothers, who think he is dead, to Egypt for help. Later, Jacob, who is now Israel and the rest of the family make it to Egypt where they are all reuinited and live well with Joseph... for now...

Thoughts

I think I would be remiss if I did ot mention Judah. Judah was actually the third son born to Leah and Jacob. God's promise will move through the line of Judah. Genesis 38 shares a bit about Judah and Tamar who have twins where Zerah sticks out a hand and "gets credit" for being the firstborn. However, he pulls his hand back in and Perez actually comes out first.

After the whole family get to Egypt, they stay and we pick things up in Exodus.

Here are a couple videos from the Bible Project that I think are nicely done. Their plan is to do all of the books of the Bible this way. I, for one, look forward to them. I will include as many of them as part of the Stones as they have available.

52 Stones

Over the next 52 weeks we will be taking a journey through the Bible. The Bible is not a single book but a collection of 66 books - each one with a style and genre of its own. Within the Bible we can find examples of historical accounts, prose, poetry, songs, wisdom, advice, and prophecy.

Each Saturday will be an opportunity to review one or two books. Since there are 66 books of the Bible we will double up on some of the smaller ones. We will move in order from Genesis through Revelation.

These will be the "stones" each week - 52 in all.

I will attempt to provide a broad overview of the book as well as include any additional supporting media that I might find related to the book. I will also include some general thoughts of my own and encourage all of you to weigh in with some thoughts as well.

I do not know the origin of the quote but there is one that I have been pretty fond of over the years...

"The only difference between stepping stones and stumbling blocks is how you use them."

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pss/1359407958

I invite you all to join me on this adventure each week.
May these stones facilitate your progress and bring you to new locations.

Next week is our first stone... Genesis.
See you then.

Help Me Die

Scary title, right? Before you jump to conclusions about what this means, take time to hear a small part of my story and why I want this.

I am selfish.

There - I said it - but it is true. Most people probably already knew this.
I think about me.
I look out for me.
I care about me.
I want the things I like.
I prefer to be satisfied.
I want to be happy.
I am an adult and I do what I want to.
Me, me, me.

Remember Jan Brady? She was frustrated that Marcia was getting all the attention. She would rather it were about her instead.

This type of thinking is why I fail. I must be more than just a wannabe.

On March 26, 1989 - I made a decision to follow Jesus and I chose to be baptized on July 14, 1990. I was not afraid to share at school, to spread the good news, to help others find what I had found. I remember being "on fire". I had a certain sense of purpose, a mission even. I had even went as far as applying and being accepted to Saint Paul Bible College - now known as Crown College. I had no idea how I was going to pay for it. I was simply listening to what I thought God wanted me to do.

As if in response to this - God took me to another state and within months of graduation from high school was off to basic training for the US Army.

SAY WHAT!!??

If you knew me as a high school kid - you would know that I was just some Jesus freak gymnast that really had no desire to get involved with the military. Once again, I was just trying to listen to what I thought God wanted me to do.

As a follower of Christ, I was excited but also very green behind the ears. I went from a life where I chose to submerse myself in church activities and surround myself with like-minded people to a very radical environment where choices were something we did not get very often, the activities were anything but church-like, and the people expressed a very diverse set of worldviews.

I survived, obviously, but I was different. I was trained to use weapons, I was hardened, I became impatient, and I gained a sense of needing to be in control. On the flip side, I also learned to be on time.

I still sought after God upon returning from BASIC and AIT but not quite with the same fervor. Since I was living in a new place, I tried a new church. Oh dear - that was a nightmare. As I recall, one of the Sunday school leaders told us that it would be bad for us to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarves because it was evil. Garbage in - garbage out, she would say. Ironically, I was working at a local gas station when they still rented VHS tapes. The same Sunday school leader came in and rented a handful of rated R films. My time at that church was very short lived.

I moved again to go to school - college - but not a biblical one. I got married, started having children, and started trying to build a career. I seem to recall trying a church here and there but never staying long or getting involved. I seemed to have lost my enthusiasm and desire for it. I had been sucked in by the world around me and started to think of myself a bit too much.

God was a part of my life but not as much as He should have been. I was totally dissing my friend Jesus. He was thinking of me but so was I and that is a problem. I should have been thinking of Him.

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The image on the left is a somewhat popular way of thinking in our culture today. I think that some people genuinely use phrases like this one to help motivate people who are in a rut of some kind and are very well intentioned.

I cannot help but wonder, though, what type of "collateral damage" does the thinking represented by this statement create?

I am glad that Jesus chose to think of us first or we would not have access to the wonderful gift that He gave.

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I would be lying if I said that I did not think there was a place for thinking of oneself but those examples mostly fall under the category of survival. I have experienced the "dog eat dog" competitive nature of the world. It is easy to get trampled. Please don't get me wrong - I don't think there is anything wrong with striving for excellence or being the best that you can be. The issue is one of the heart. Do I struggle with this? You bet!

I later went back to school because I thought that was what God wanted me to do. At the time, I was working several jobs to make ends meet and really felt like I needed to consolidate into a single job. After my wife and I had prayed over it, I recieved a phone call two days later from a college recruiter asking if I had thought about going back to school.

SAY WHAT!!??

Yeah, I did go to school earlier and completed a two year degree. Going back to school again would allow me to get a four year degree and become a teacher. I listened to the call and started filling out an application. I began full-time college work the following Fall semester.

Oh boy, was that a ride! Not only did the school end up closing, forcing me to change my plans for a degree but after graduating, I had to do even more work in an alternative certification program. To top it off, before I could finish the program, I was called to war - Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I remember being angry that things were not going as I thought they should. I mean, God sent me on this path, right? Why all the obstacles? There I was focusing on myself again.

The war did not help my relationship with Jesus. It wasn't like there was a church for me to attend and there was an awful lot of let's just say "negativity" being poured into me during that time. I became bitter and increasingly frustrated by people in general. It was all about me and how I felt. It was all about staying alive and keeping others around me alive. It was all about not questioning orders. Woe is me, woe is me, woe is me.

I came home with an attitude. I was happy to be home but I really had no desire to be around people at all. I was only interested in retreating into my own little hole where I could think about myself and take care of me and how I felt. I did not want anyone else's input on it.

YES I'M FINE! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!

I may not have said it but I was thinking it.

I was an ugly person.

I eventually found work as a teacher but it was a 75 minute trip one way. The experience was not entirely positive either. I was still struggling with the certification process that was interrupted by the call to war. To make a long story shorter, I taught two years full time and then moved into the technology department. I eventually gained a proper certification and taught a few classes over the next few semesters while doing tech stuff. A nice benefit for being a veteran was some additional college funding. I was given 128 college credits and since I already completed an undergraduate degree, I decided to get a second one with an IT focus along with a graduate degree in education. Was this part of God's plans?

I retreated into my studies - full time work and full courseload for two different colleges. DON'T BUG ME - I HAVE SCHOOL WORK TO DO!

Through much encouragement from my wife and softening from the Holy Spirit, I decided to go back to church. I wasn't interested in talking to anyone though. I just wanted to go in, listen, and get out as fast as I could. I wanted to just be the guy that sneaks into the last row and disappears quickly after the pastor says Amen.

God, because He was still thinking about me, because He still loved me, began massaging the stiffness out of my heart. Work was pretty good, the child count increased to five, and I was slowly starting to recall what it was like to seek after God again. It was - it is - a good feeling.

Then I get this feeling that God wants me to make another change but it involves making some choices that are counter-intuitive to our culture. I am drive farther to take a job with less pay. I struggled with this but at the same time had peace about it. A sorf of relief. I felt as if God was asking me how much I was willing to sacrifice to follow him.

Let's just say that God's path is not necessarily a smooth path. The new position was extremely painful in many ways. I wasn't happy, my wife wasn't happy, and the bills did not stop coming. I have come to see that it was not a place to rest but a place for God to expose me to things along the way. He helped open my eyes to new things that are driving me towards acts for the Kingdom. He continues to mold me and shape me for His plans and for this I am grateful.

So, almost 26 years after deciding to follow Jesus, I am feeling, yet again, that Jesus is asking me to do something. I don't mind because I know that He knows what is best. That does not make the requests easy however.


I need to die.

This is not some sick suicide thing or a die with dignity thing.

This is much more than that.

I need help.

If I am to truly follow Jesus, I need to die.
The ME that is ME. The person of the world that I am must cease to exist.

You see, I still struggle with ME. I still think about me too much.

I am selfish.

My old self must die and I must be made new in Christ. So many years I have believed but now I must surrender myself, stop thinking about me and start thinking about Him. I need Him to help me think about others first - to put aside my own desires - to be the best that I can be for Him - to strive for excellence on behalf of the Kingdom. To set an example. Model the walk.

There's a Savior that took death from me,
There's a King that demands more from me,
And a Family that deserves better from me.

It is time to be more than a wannabe.
It is time to die.
For them.
For Him.