Bible Study CALLING ALL BIBLE STUDY ENTHUSIASTS! Come and join us for an indepth study of the Book of Deut.

[Deborah13]

That is what i get for thinking :blush

I'm not sure that thinking is completely incorrect. What of that number 70, that we see again?
Both in prophecy and in forgiveness.

 

[reba]

thank you Deborah13

 

[Chopper]

Chapter 10 This chapter displays a stark contrast between all that God had in His hand of creation. He made the heavens, the earth with all that is on it, yet the crowning glory of His creation, man, is stubborn as compared to the heavens & earth's occupants which obey God's intents without a choice

Since man was given a free will, which is different than Jehovah's other creations, He places an important word before men to keep their interests on Him and on Him only! And that word is FEAR!

Moses goes into great detail of how the Lord their God freed them from their captivity of Egypt with miracle upon miracle. Therefore Israel must have a new heart (circumcised) as compared with their forefathers which were "stubborn", to appreciate and follow closely Jehovah.

For Israel's good, they must walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord their God with all their heart and all their soul, (meaning no idols or anything that would divert their reverence and duty to the Almighty God, and to keep the commandments and statues of the Lord.

This reminds me of our duty to love our Savior Jesus Christ. Our Egypt was being lost in sin. With the great, great sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross, He made it possible for us to choose Salvation thru Jesus the Christ. As a result, the word FEAR applies to us as well. A Christian is to acknowledge those 10 Commandments as a foundation of all requirements of that "narrow road". Our fear is not cowering before Jesus, but a reverence and deep love for what He had to suffer for our freedom from sin and death. We too are to be completely devoted to our Master Jesus, for everything that pertains to life and security.

 

[TOG]

TOG Sinthesis you guys must be reading you can jump in with comments of Deuteronomy

it is not nice to pick on granny

I'm working on it. I'll post it later today.

The TOG​

 

[Chopper]

stretched-out arm! this phrase is showing up a lot.. got me to wondering about it...

IMO, where ever we see the "outstretched arm" of the Lord, it is in reference to an effort extended to someone or something. Usually the word "power" is connected. It's interesting that every time I have seen the hand of the Lord it's always the right hand and not the left. So the right hand represents the power of God, and the out stretched arm, is connected with something other than His voice is used for accomplishing something that He wanted done.

 

[TOG]

Many of the things we usually associate with the New Testament are actually allusions to, quotes from or commentary on something from the Old Testament. In this chapter we see the sources of two such quotes, and we see that they are connected.

And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (Deu. 10:11-19 ESV)​

The words “and now” in verse 12 connect what follows to what preceded it. In chapter 9 Moses told the Israelites that it was not because of their own righteousness that God was leading them into the Promised Land, but that it was because of His grace and faithfulness to the covenant he had made with their forefathers. Now He is about to lead them in (this was less than a month before they crossed the Jordan), so what should be the people's response to the grace God was showing them? The answer is to love God, fear Him and keep His commandments. He also says that the commandments were given for our own good. God has also shown us much grace and has done great things for us, and our response should be the same – to love God, fear Him and obey His commandments.

Another response was that the people should “circumcise their hearts”. But what does that actually mean? Our Western way of thinking is primarily influenced by Hellenism and a Hellenistic (i.e. Greek) world view. The Greeks considered the heart to be the seat of the emotions. Today we assosiate the heart with emotions, especially with romantic love. We say things like “I love you with all my heart”. But in Hebrew, the heart represented the mind and the seat of the will. So it's the will that Moses is talking about. Circumcision of the heart is contrasted with being stubborn. Having a circumcised heart means being obedient to God and not being stubborn in wanting to do things our own way. Contrary to what some believe and teach, circumcision of the heart is not a New Testament replacement for the Old Testament practice of circumcision of the flesh. Physical circumcision is the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendents. A person who has a circumcised heart is one who's will is submitted to God's will and who is obedient to His commandments. The two do not contradict each other.

Moses goes on to say that they are to love the foreigner (“sojourner” in the ESV) , because they themselves were foreigners in Egypt. God loved them and brought them out of slavery when they were foreigners, and so they should love the foreinger also. Most Jews today believe that this only refers to converts to Judaism, and this was probably the case in Jesus' time as well. But that can't be what was meant, since the same Hebrew word is used for “foreigner” both when it refers to the ones they are supposed to love and to the Israelites in Egypt. This is in agreement with what Jesus said when he told us to love even our enemies and that everyone we came into contact with was our neighbor when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The TOG​

 

[TOG]

IMO, where ever we see the "outstretched arm" of the Lord, it is in reference to an effort extended to someone or something. Usually the word "power" is connected. It's interesting that every time I have seen the hand of the Lord it's always the right hand and not the left. So the right hand represents the power of God, and the out stretched arm, is connected with something other than His voice is used for accomplishing something that He wanted done.

I think I read somewhere that the "arm of the Lord" represented Messiah. Do you know anything about that jasoncran ?

The TOG​

 

[Chopper]

Chapter 11 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made His demands clearly known. Israel must obey, love Him, and Him only. They must obey His commands, statues, and rules as long as they live.

Their livelihood would depend on their love for Jehovah only, no other gods, especially the Canaanite fertility gods. As long as they obeyed God's commands, the ground, which belongs to Jehovah, would be blessed and produce plenty. If they rebel? Then God would see to it that the ground would rebel! Quite simple really.

Jehovah's Words are supposed to be written and placed in strategic places to be a constant reminder of what Jehovah expects from them. On their doorposts, so that visitors or strangers would note them, on their and near their eyes so they would constantly be aware of them, on their hands so that they would see them.

Life would be simple, blessings for following the Lord's commands, curses if they don't!

 

[reba]

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God

Deu 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
Deu 11:27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
Deu 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

 

[Chopper]

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God

Deu 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
Deu 11:27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
Deu 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Reba, oh how I praise Yahweh for sending His only Son to die in our place so that we could inherit the blessings that we see here in Deuteronomy. I praise God also for the Holy Spirit for His seal of promise on our lives, and His anointing on our lives to keep us in the commandments, statues, and rules of our Heavenly Father. I often realize thru reading Deuteronomy how fortunate we are that the Holy Spirit does not allow us to be rebellious. God's chastisement will bring us back if that ever happens. What a great God we serve.

Thank you for quoting Galatians 3:14, that brought back to my mind that the blessings of Abraham include you me!

 

[reba]

The more we slowly go into the OT the more i see it not much different then NT. Our sacrifice ( Thee Lamb of God) is the only true one..A picture of Him is on about every page of the OT ... The Israelites had grace ... those naught heads had the cloud of presence by day and warmth of His love by night....I bet we today would do no better then they did...

 

[Chopper]

The more we slowly go into the OT the more i see it not much different then NT. Our sacrifice ( Thee Lamb of God) is the only true one..A picture of Him is on about every page of the OT ... The Israelites had grace ... those naught heads had the cloud of presence by day and warmth of His love by night....I bet we today would do no better then they did...

Boy, you sure said a mouth full with "I bet we today would do no better than they did". It absolutely amazes me that the Israelite's could rebel so easily without the indwelling Holy Spirit. That has been a tremendous lesson for me to appreciate just what being saved by Jesus and having the Holy Spirit in me really is. How fortunate it is that you and I were born when we were, otherwise we would have rebelled right along with the others. (at least I would have).

 

[reba]

As a PK i have rebelled over the years He is full of mercy , grabs me by stiff neck and gives me a good shaking ...

 

[TOG]

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,

The phrase "the curse of the law" doesn't refer to the law itself, as many seem to believe, but to the curse that God said would come as a result of not obeying the law. We are not freed from the law itself.

As a PK i have rebelled over the years He is full of mercy , grabs me by stiff neck and gives me a good shaking ...

You're a PK? I thought the Promise Keepers was only for men.

The TOG​

 

[reba]

does being a tomboy count?

 

[TOG]

does being a tomboy count?

I guess it must count. I looked it up on acronymfinder.com, and that's the first thing I found that made sense here. Let me take another look...

Pepole killer? I hope not!... Pain Killer? Are you in that band? Hm.... Peacekeeper? That sounds good... Wait... That's a missile, so that's probably not it... Oh... Here's one, right down at the bottom of the list... Pastor's Kid?

The TOG​

 

[Chopper]

As a PK i have rebelled over the years He is full of mercy , grabs me by stiff neck and gives me a good shaking ...[/quote

LOL, my kids needed a shaking now and then, that's why they turned out to be great adults that I'm proud of.

 

[TOG]

Chapters and verses make it easy to find things in the Bible, but sometimes they can get in the way. People tend to start and stop reading at the beginning of a new chapter and most of the time there's nothing wrong with that. But sometimes the verses and chapters don't seem to be in exactly the right place. Deuteronomy 11 is one of those places. Any time you see the word “therefore” at the beginning of the chapter, as is the case with this chapter, you know that it is intended to be understood in light of what immediately preceded it.

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven. You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. (Deu. 10:17-11:1 ESV)​

The first verse of chapter 11 should be the last verse of chapter 10. It is saying the same thing as we saw in chapter 10 – because God has done great things for us, we should respond by submitting to His will and obeying His commandments.

Verse 8 is interesting.

You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today (Deu. 11:8 ESV)​

Notice that the word “commandment” is singular. The law is one whole, not in many parts as some teach (ceremonial law, moral law and others). We cannot pick and choose which parts to obey and which parts to ignore.

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. (James 2:10-11 ESV)​

But while verse 8 mentiones “the commandment that I command you today”, verse 13 has “the commandments I command you today”, in plural. We can view all of God's commandments as a single commandment. Jesus tells us what that commandment is.

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:37-40 ESV)​

Although Jesus does mention two commandments, They are in reality one – love. As Hillel I said (albeit in a slightly different context) “That's the whole law, he rest is commentary. Now, go learn the commentary.”

Some people take the commands in verses 18-20 literally and put on teffilin (the “little boxes” some Jews wear on their head and arm) and have a mezuzah (a small (usually) metal tube containg the Sh'ma) on their doorpost. Others say that these verses aren't to be taken literally but are symbolic. Whichever it is, they are telling us that it is important to keep God's word constantly in mind, at all times and in all places. This was one of the first things God told Joshua when he had taken over as leader after Moses died.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Josh. 1:8 ESV)​

Paul also said something very similar.

Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (I Thess. 5:16-18 ESV)​

Christianity isn't something we do for one or two hours a week. It's 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, without any days off.

The TOG​

 

[Deborah13]

Many of the things we usually associate with the New Testament are actually allusions to, quotes from or commentary on something from the Old Testament. In this chapter we see the sources of two such quotes, and we see that they are connected.

And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (Deu. 10:11-19 ESV)​

The words “and now” in verse 12 connect what follows to what preceded it. In chapter 9 Moses told the Israelites that it was not because of their own righteousness that God was leading them into the Promised Land, but that it was because of His grace and faithfulness to the covenant he had made with their forefathers. Now He is about to lead them in (this was less than a month before they crossed the Jordan), so what should be the people's response to the grace God was showing them? The answer is to love God, fear Him and keep His commandments. He also says that the commandments were given for our own good. God has also shown us much grace and has done great things for us, and our response should be the same – to love God, fear Him and obey His commandments.

Another response was that the people should “circumcise their hearts”. But what does that actually mean? Our Western way of thinking is primarily influenced by Hellenism and a Hellenistic (i.e. Greek) world view. The Greeks considered the heart to be the seat of the emotions. Today we assosiate the heart with emotions, especially with romantic love. We say things like “I love you with all my heart”. But in Hebrew, the heart represented the mind and the seat of the will. So it's the will that Moses is talking about. Circumcision of the heart is contrasted with being stubborn. Having a circumcised heart means being obedient to God and not being stubborn in wanting to do things our own way. Contrary to what some believe and teach, circumcision of the heart is not a New Testament replacement for the Old Testament practice of circumcision of the flesh. Physical circumcision is the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendents. A person who has a circumcised heart is one who's will is submitted to God's will and who is obedient to His commandments. The two do not contradict each other.

Moses goes on to say that they are to love the foreigner (“sojourner” in the ESV) , because they themselves were foreigners in Egypt. God loved them and brought them out of slavery when they were foreigners, and so they should love the foreinger also. Most Jews today believe that this only refers to converts to Judaism, and this was probably the case in Jesus' time as well. But that can't be what was meant, since the same Hebrew word is used for “foreigner” both when it refers to the ones they are supposed to love and to the Israelites in Egypt. This is in agreement with what Jesus said when he told us to love even our enemies and that everyone we came into contact with was our neighbor when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The TOG​

You said, "Most Jews today believe that this only refers to converts to Judaism, and this was probably the case in Jesus' time as well."

I think there are Christians who think the same way as these Jews, that it is only Christians who a worthy of their kindness. ​

 

[jasonc]

gah, discussing the Torah and someone is using Yahweh. gah. its just a me thing.

of course the Hebrews were to love the goy. its in this book chapter 4 is the first allusion to that.