Deuteronomy 3-5

God’s message to me: God’s laws are neither excessive nor burdensome. The ten commandments are said to be the foundation of Civilized behavior and there are countless claims that similar rules can be found in most societies. (I could argue that point but it would take quite a few articles and, frankly, there are many books on the subject that clarify the point while barely scratching it’s surface.) We often try to find ways around the rules but, they are, literally, written in stone. Would you like to see how well you live up to the 10 commandments? Take the good test.

Promises: Fear God and obey His commandments and it will be well with you.

Commands: Do not add to or take from the Word of the Lord.

Timeless principles: Deuteronomy 4:27-31 should be enough to end all talk of replacement theology. God does not break blood covenants like he had with the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Neither the Muslim nor the Christian is a replacement for the Jew as God’s chosen people. As predicted here, the Children of Israel are returning to their land under the promise of God after being forced to scatter through the world for many generations. They are not forgotten or forsaken of God but blessed with His promise.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Obey God’s law. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Deeds are better than words. Faith without works is dead. How many ways can the bible and men of good conscience describe this before we understand.

more to learn for in-depth study: Chapter 3 describes the boundaries of the land taken before the Jordan river and reiterates the fact that Moses was not permitted to cross the Jordan into Canaan. Instead, he was only to see the promised land from a nearby mountaintop and Joshua would lead the people in.

Og king of Bashon is defeated and all his people destroyed in 60 fortified cites plus many rural towns. Og was a giant. His bed was 6 foot wide and 13 1/2 foot long. As biblical giants go he wasn’t all that big and you will see bigger in upcoming stories.

Here the word for giant is Rephiam and refers to the descendents of the nephelim giants of Genesis which were fallen angels.

Fun fact: Mount Hermon is easily found on a the map, even today, as it still goes by the same name.

The Lost World of Giants

Some want to deliver the idea of giants into the realm of allegory and myth. They can’t accept the idea of giant people within their understanding. I point them to the fossil remains of dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs and many other legends of the ancient world would never survive in our current environment but, the environment has changed. From the time of the flood onward there was a thinning of the atmosphere and it’s protections. Without the additional protection and air pressure most of the ancient creatures we take for granted could not have lived. The idea that humans had longer life spans and unknown creatures such as the giants flourished is no more fantastic than believing in T-Rex or his gigantic cousin. In fact the giant version is a recent discovery so it’s not unreasonable to believe fossils of other things we currently don’t believe in just haven’t been found.

tomorrow: Deuteronomy 6-9