Darash Chai Experiment

As we begin to move through the upcoming “legal” portions of Deuteronomy, we will discover that the order of the commands is not random, even though it might seem like it. Rather, the upcoming chapters of Deuteronomy serve as real world examples of just how we are to expand the 10 Commandments into our own lives and live them out. This week we begin the second Command. Do not commit id...

In Hebrews 4:2 we read that the same gospel that was taught by the apostles was brought to Israel in the wilderness as well. Here in Deuteronomy, as we enter into the expansion of the Ten Words as presented in this ancient legal document, we discover that all of the major ideas of the gospel are discussed. This week we read of the fourth. The foundational motivation of both the gospel, and the Tor...

In Hebrews 4:2 we read that the same gospel that was taught by the apostles was brought to Israel in the wilderness as well. Here in Deuteronomy, as we enter into the expansion of the Ten Words as presented in this ancient legal document, we discover that all of the major ideas of the gospel are discussed. This week we read of the third. The concept of Justification and the connected idea of right...

In Hebrews 4:2 we read that the same gospel that was taught by the apostles was brought to Israel in the wilderness as well. Here in Deuteronomy, as we enter into the expansion of the Ten Words as presented in this ancient legal document, we discover that all of the major ideas of the gospel are discussed. This week we read of the second. The idea of grace. As we dig into this idea from an ancient...

In Hebrews 4:2 we read that the same gospel that was taught by the apostles was brought to Israel in the wilderness as well. Here in Deuteronomy, as we enter into the expansion of the Ten Words as presented in this ancient legal document, we discover that all of the major ideas of the gospel are discussed. This week we read of the first. The idea of faith, and as we dig into this idea from an anci...

We have a problem when we read the Bible. We are modern people and the Bible was not written to us. The Bible was written to an ancient people. People who did not think or act in the same ways that we do. And that leaves us behind when it comes to Biblical application. We have, in our Modern Western Culture, a concept of what law is and how it is to be used and applied. But when we search the hist...

Deuteronomy as a whole paints a picture of a kingdom. A vast kingdom with a Suzerain or a high king, and with each person being a vassal king in their own right. But a kingdom doesn’t exist in a vacuum. There are four things that are absolutely necessary for a kingdom to exist, and this parsha covers all four.

Here at the beginning of Deuteronomy we read what could be called the historical prologue of a Suzerain Vassal treaty. Last week we saw how Israel sabotaged themselves on their journey to the land. In this parsha we read of another class of enemy. The enemies that exist outside of Israel that they have faced so far on their journeys to the east side of the Jordan. From here we get a grasp on the e...

The book of Deuteronomy takes the form of a Suzerain Vassal treaty. An ancient document that is laid out in a very distinct and recognizable way. This treaty outlines the relationship between a Suzerain of High King and the kings that serve under the high king as his vassals. In this episode we begin to dig into this treaty or covenant that God made with Israel by examining the first two parts of...

As we close out the book of Numbers we discover a new class of people that God provides for and cares for. A class of people that are not vulnerable in the classical sense, such as the widow, orphan, or stranger. Rather a class of people that is vulnerable in a completely different way. People without representation, but not guilty, or vulnerable. The disenfranchised. And nestled in these instruct...

On the east side of the Jordan, before the conquest, a challenge suddenly presents itself. Two tribes have decided that they do not want to proceed. They are happy where they currently sit and the land to the east is perfectly suited to their circumstances. And so they come to Moses with a request. Let us stop here and now. We don’t want to take the land. There is contained in their request...

Nothing bores us more in scripture than endless lists of various sorts, and in this chapter we encounter a list that is unique in scripture. A list of place names that Israel passed through on their journeys in the wilderness. And as we examine the list we discover that many of the places named in this list are found nowhere else in the Bible, and others are places with history. A lot like life it...

On the east side of the Jordan two tribes approach Moses and they ask for a favor. They desire to settle on the east side of the Jordan and not enter into the land of promise. They desire for their road to be over. After some haggling they get their way and are allowed to settle. To settle for less than what God had promised them. The lessons that we can learn from this episode provide a warning,...

Once again in the course of Numbers we find a series of chapters and seem completely disconnected from each other. The text shifts from the topic of holidays and sacrifice from last week to keeping vows and then a military exercise of vengeance. But when we slow down and consider what is truly occurring in the themes of these chapters we discover that these chapters are not disconnected at all. Ra...

Once again in the book of Numbers we find a section of text that seems completely disconnected from the things that surround it. Two chapters on sacrifice and the Biblical holidays. A bunch of stuff that we simply don’t connect with. But hidden inside of this combination of sacrifice and holiday there is a plan. A plan for the world and a plan for you. And when we dig just a little deeper we...

Once again, here at the end of Numbers the text gets boring. And here near the beginning of the end we encounter a sequence of snippets that once again seem disconnected from each other. But once again, when we take a step back from the text and examine the themes of that are under discussion we discover that there is a unified theme that spans each of these segments. A theme that highlights what...

Zeal for God and for His ways is something that every believer is to seek. And zeal can lead us to a place where we hate the wrong and love the right. But all too often, we misplace our zeal. We become zealous without proper understanding, or for the wrong things. And this zeal, when misapplied, becomes dangerous to those around us. Misapplied zeal can lead us to destruction of innocent brothers a...

When Balaam looks over the masses of Israel he is intent on cursing them. Doing so will lead to his personal enrichment and elevation in honor and status. But Balaam is limited in his role. He is only able to speak what God tells him to say, and God has no intention of cursing Israel. And so the words that Balaam speaks over Israel are instead blessings. And yet by the end of the passage, Israel e...

The story of Balaam and the talking donkey is one of the more popular Sunday School stories in the Bible. We are all enamored by the oddity of an animal that speaks to this odd man. And once again we get caught in the trap of another Bible story. We focus on the oddity and in doing so we miss out on something that is of much more value than a supernaturally vocal jackass.

Israel is on the move and they are heading out of the wilderness. Their 40 years of isolation, training, and judgment are nearly over. Until then, there is the trip that lies before them, and this trip is once again fraught with tests. Will they pass? Have they learned? Is this second generation going to fare better than their parents? This journey out of the wilderness reveals a lot. A lot of gro...

It is easy to think that you have it all together. To delude yourself into thinking that the problems of the past have been dealt with. It is easy to think this when things are calm. When there are no stressors before you, and no challenges to face. But all it takes is a series of moments. The sudden onset of multiple challenges in a short time frame and suddenly you discover that the old way...

Once more the book of Numbers dwells on the obscure and borderline mystical. There are few other places in all of scripture that baffle like the Red Heifer sacrifice. It is this sacrifice that is said to have confused even Solomon in all of His wisdom. Just how can the ultimate form of cleanness from death be brought forth from a process that include death and makes everyone involved in the proces...

The rebellion has been defeated. And yet the people still don’t seem to get it. Moses and Aaron were chosen by God to lead the people. And so since death and destruction don’t seem to make the point, and new kind of example must be made.

The Rebellion of Korah is an episode that is so popular that it was ripped out of its place in the timeline and added to the movie the 10 commandments. This central narrative of Numbers is foundational in its own right. It is the culmination of the stories that have come before. The fullness of the rebellion of the people of Israel. And this chapter contains within it pointers to something much gr...

For the first time in the narrative portions in the center of the book of Numbers we encounter a chapter that seems out of place. The narratives of this central portions are put aside for a moment to address matters of sacrifice and an accessory for clothing. This chapter seems so out of place in the midst of what we have just been reading. But when we slow down and examine all that this chapter h...