Posts
God’s message to me: God has a purpose, plan and place for me. While the genealogies may seem pointless and refer to people we don’t even know, they show the plan that brought great things. While the you may need to check center column references you will see many names you have heard before. Some people were known by other names and, translation sometimes resulted in different spellings over time but, the references can show you the name you are familiar with. You’ll see the line of king Saul, the line of the priests. The line of later kings and other lines to important figures, even prophets.
Promises: God planned things long before we got here. You can see through these genealogies the path that brought high priests and kings into power and provided a place for the prophets. You can see how that plan was developed over generations and began to take shape decades or even centuries before the major players were born.
Commands: Another command for Israel. Take a census every ten years. The US Constitution provides for a census every 10 years based on that command. For us it is a simple count of the population to establish political districts. In Israel it was an exercise in Genealogy. Keep in mind that these were not separate family trees. These are all part of the same family tree going back to Jacob (Israel) for the family of Israel and beyond to Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Esau and others because they are cousins to the brothers of Israel. The relationship of Israel towards Edom and the Ishmaelite was determined by their familial relationship. God commanded Israel not to harass them because they were brothers. Edom and the Ishmaelite weren’t quite as good about recognizing that reason for peace which led to conflict and eventual destruction for them as we will see.
Timeless principles: No matter how much we try to stand out as individuals, our heritage will always be a factor in our lives. Whether we are descended from royalty or rug makers, Whether our families were rich or coal miners, we are a product of our background. Family ties are generally the strongest and determine how we interact with others. Even if we don’t like our family we are stuck with them and the influence us.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: The genealogies become more interesting as we realize how they effected who was king and how different kings were influenced by family loyalties. We’ve seen the line of kings in Israel (Samaria) and Judah (Jerusalem), these genealogies make it easier to understand the family ties that caused people to chose different kings.
more to learn for in-depth study: As the genealogies bring us up to date on where the major players came from we approach the details of stories we already heard. King Saul is the first person we see in the next section and we will flesh out details for a great many more.
tomorrow: First Chronicles 10-12
Showing posts with label census. Show all posts
Showing posts with label census. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Second Samuel 22-24
God’s message to me: One nation, Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. Government is at it’s best when it serves in the fear of the Lord. When we elect leaders who do not feat Him or allow them to be elected because of our apathy over weak leadership from those who oppose unGodly men, we deserve the pain we will suffer as a result.
Promises: I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me. David knew and proclaimed that the Lord was the source of his strength. God gave him the strength and skill to defeat his enemies and delivered him through supernatural means from those enemies to strong for David to take on himself. It was God’s power that made enemies cower in fear at David’s presence. It was God’s power that overcame rebellion among the Israelites. It was God’s will which led David’s enemies to destruction.
Commands: The last words of David were the orders of God to leaders. Leaders must rule in the fear of God. Leaders must be just. Leaders are an example which shines like morning light and refreshes like fresh grass and the clean air after a rain. Rebellion must be dealt with decisively and with force so that it does not spread, clearing the rebels like removing weeds from the garden.
Timeless principles: When government abuses it’s power all the people suffer. Our own system of holding a census every 10 years is based on the law of Israel that calls for a census every 10 years. When David called for a census when it wasn’t due the result was a plague that wiped out about 2/3 of the fighting men of Israel. We should consider this when members of our government distort the constitutional rule of the census to use polling, ongoing census outside of the 10 year limit, or the requirement of information they are not entitled to being taken with the census. It seems like such a little thing that many would go along with the idea and not argue but, here we can see a biblical example of such abuse and the potential for it to cause harm.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: The stories of the rulers of Israel give us many principles for government. In fact it is easy to see parallels between the lessons of the old testament and the US Constitution. It is important to note that David did not simply take things from the people for public use. We can apply these principle by applying the constitution and forcing our political leaders to obey it. For example: “Amendment 5“ (the last line) “... nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
more to learn for in-depth study: Read the Founding documents of the United States of America. You can get a free copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States for free from the Heritage Foundation by visiting https://secure.heritage.org/bookstore/. This isn’t an order and it’s not required to complete your study but, if you want to see how our founders felt about God and His place in government, these documents will help a great deal. You should also read the Federalist Papers and other writing of the founder such as the speeches of our early presidents which can be found online.
tomorrow: First Kings 1
Promises: I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me. David knew and proclaimed that the Lord was the source of his strength. God gave him the strength and skill to defeat his enemies and delivered him through supernatural means from those enemies to strong for David to take on himself. It was God’s power that made enemies cower in fear at David’s presence. It was God’s power that overcame rebellion among the Israelites. It was God’s will which led David’s enemies to destruction.
Commands: The last words of David were the orders of God to leaders. Leaders must rule in the fear of God. Leaders must be just. Leaders are an example which shines like morning light and refreshes like fresh grass and the clean air after a rain. Rebellion must be dealt with decisively and with force so that it does not spread, clearing the rebels like removing weeds from the garden.
Timeless principles: When government abuses it’s power all the people suffer. Our own system of holding a census every 10 years is based on the law of Israel that calls for a census every 10 years. When David called for a census when it wasn’t due the result was a plague that wiped out about 2/3 of the fighting men of Israel. We should consider this when members of our government distort the constitutional rule of the census to use polling, ongoing census outside of the 10 year limit, or the requirement of information they are not entitled to being taken with the census. It seems like such a little thing that many would go along with the idea and not argue but, here we can see a biblical example of such abuse and the potential for it to cause harm.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: The stories of the rulers of Israel give us many principles for government. In fact it is easy to see parallels between the lessons of the old testament and the US Constitution. It is important to note that David did not simply take things from the people for public use. We can apply these principle by applying the constitution and forcing our political leaders to obey it. For example: “Amendment 5“ (the last line) “... nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
more to learn for in-depth study: Read the Founding documents of the United States of America. You can get a free copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States for free from the Heritage Foundation by visiting https://secure.heritage.org/bookstore/. This isn’t an order and it’s not required to complete your study but, if you want to see how our founders felt about God and His place in government, these documents will help a great deal. You should also read the Federalist Papers and other writing of the founder such as the speeches of our early presidents which can be found online.
tomorrow: First Kings 1
Monday, February 9, 2009
Numbers 1-3
I had my office torn apart yesterday to do some reorganizing and never got the computer clear to make this post.
God’s message to me: My God is a God of numbers and exact timing. This book starts with a date.
Promises: God promised that the nation of Israel would be nurtured in Egypt. They went in a family under 100 and came out as a nation of around 1 million. That’s a promise fulfilled.
Commands: God commands a census and record keeping in these passages. He shows us that Dates, Numbers, timing, and precise records are all important to Him.
Timeless principles: God made you for a destiny. He knows where you belong and what you are meant to do. Within His perfect plan is the perfect duty for you and the perfect place for you to be. You are not lost in the crowd, He has recorded your name, your place and your destiny.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: God was quite specific that the Levites were not part of the census. Counting them with the census would have brought punishment. When your counting up over 90% of the population the temptation is to finish the job. Do as God says precisely. Over kill is just as bad as not finishing. (yes, I realize that the Levites were, eventually, counted. It was separate from the census and made a point dedicating the first born. This is only the first census and knowing who not to count in future census takings will be important. God will reiterate the point about not taking the census to far. Keep this in mind When King David takes a census in the future)
more to learn for in-depth study: Entering Egypt with 66 able bodied men and their wives and little children. Leaving Egypt the nation included 603,550 men of war over the age of 20 plus women children and those to old to fight. This didn’t even count the tribe of Levi since they were set apart for the Lord’s work. This is also after the loss of a number of people do to sin against God in worshiping the Golden Calf.
Keep in mind also, the number of times God has commanded records to be kept and things to be written down. In spite of the claims by those who try to prove inaccuracy in the Bible, this is not an oral tradition. This was a written record from the beginning. Even if we reject evidence that writing existed before the flood we cannot reject the plain evidence of writing in Sanskrit, Hieroglyphs and other forms after the flood. Joseph was prime minister of Egypt. His family lived as the family of visiting royalty in the land for generations until the last 2 pharaohs. Moses was a prince of Egypt. There is no way that writing was unavailable to these people and God’s specific command to write things down makes it clear that things were written.
The Levites became the replacement for the firstborn. The first born were to be dedicated to the Lord but the Levites were taken as payment for the firstborn of the children of Israel. Their entire tribe was dedicated to serving the Lord in and around the temple. Aaron was of the tribe of Levi and became the subdivision. It was His descendants who would serve as priests. A Levites served the temple but only the sons of Aaron served as priests. There were 22,000 males over the age of one month in the tribe of Levi who served the temple. There were 22,273 first born males over the age of 1 month in all the other tribes of Israel. The extra 273 were redeemed for 1,365 shekels which were given to Aaron and his sons.
tomorrow: Numbers 4-5
God’s message to me: My God is a God of numbers and exact timing. This book starts with a date.
Promises: God promised that the nation of Israel would be nurtured in Egypt. They went in a family under 100 and came out as a nation of around 1 million. That’s a promise fulfilled.
Commands: God commands a census and record keeping in these passages. He shows us that Dates, Numbers, timing, and precise records are all important to Him.
Timeless principles: God made you for a destiny. He knows where you belong and what you are meant to do. Within His perfect plan is the perfect duty for you and the perfect place for you to be. You are not lost in the crowd, He has recorded your name, your place and your destiny.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: God was quite specific that the Levites were not part of the census. Counting them with the census would have brought punishment. When your counting up over 90% of the population the temptation is to finish the job. Do as God says precisely. Over kill is just as bad as not finishing. (yes, I realize that the Levites were, eventually, counted. It was separate from the census and made a point dedicating the first born. This is only the first census and knowing who not to count in future census takings will be important. God will reiterate the point about not taking the census to far. Keep this in mind When King David takes a census in the future)
more to learn for in-depth study: Entering Egypt with 66 able bodied men and their wives and little children. Leaving Egypt the nation included 603,550 men of war over the age of 20 plus women children and those to old to fight. This didn’t even count the tribe of Levi since they were set apart for the Lord’s work. This is also after the loss of a number of people do to sin against God in worshiping the Golden Calf.
Keep in mind also, the number of times God has commanded records to be kept and things to be written down. In spite of the claims by those who try to prove inaccuracy in the Bible, this is not an oral tradition. This was a written record from the beginning. Even if we reject evidence that writing existed before the flood we cannot reject the plain evidence of writing in Sanskrit, Hieroglyphs and other forms after the flood. Joseph was prime minister of Egypt. His family lived as the family of visiting royalty in the land for generations until the last 2 pharaohs. Moses was a prince of Egypt. There is no way that writing was unavailable to these people and God’s specific command to write things down makes it clear that things were written.
The Levites became the replacement for the firstborn. The first born were to be dedicated to the Lord but the Levites were taken as payment for the firstborn of the children of Israel. Their entire tribe was dedicated to serving the Lord in and around the temple. Aaron was of the tribe of Levi and became the subdivision. It was His descendants who would serve as priests. A Levites served the temple but only the sons of Aaron served as priests. There were 22,000 males over the age of one month in the tribe of Levi who served the temple. There were 22,273 first born males over the age of 1 month in all the other tribes of Israel. The extra 273 were redeemed for 1,365 shekels which were given to Aaron and his sons.
tomorrow: Numbers 4-5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)