Reading Through the Bible with Elder Linda

In this episode Moses continues to give the Israelites rules and regulations that they must live by when they get into the promised land. One thing that really stood out to me was in verses 6-7, where God shows His concern for the birds. This was encouraging to me because Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:26-34 and 10:29-31 that God not only feeds the birds, but He knows when one of them falls. Jesus sa...

In this episode Moses continues to give the Israelites instructions, rules, and regulations they will have to live by once they get into the promised land of Canaan. It was a capital offense in the Old Testament to disobey and dishonor your parents. We are under the new covenant so we no longer have capital punishment for disobedient children. That being said, I do think we have to continue to put...

In this episode Moses tells them not to steal anyone’s property, you must have more than one witness to convict someone, and what to do about a false witness. In Chapter 20 Moses gives them instructions about going to war. One thing I want us to remember is that as soldiers in God’s army, we cannot afford to be distracted. In Chapter 20:5-9, Moses tells them to dismiss any soldier who is distracte...

In this episode, Deuteronomy 18:9 - 19:13, Moses warns the Israelites not to do what the nations around them were doing (witchcraft, sacrificing their children, etc.) when they get into the promised land. He also tells them how to spot a false prophet. In Chapter 19 Moses tells them to create 3 cities of refuge once they get into the promised land. These cities would be a place of protection for t...

In this episode Moses reminds the Israelites of the punishment for worshiping other gods. Moses also instructs them to bring all difficult cases to the Priest and the appointed judge. Chapter 17 ends with Moses giving them instructions about choosing a king. In Chapter 18:1-8, Moses reminds them of their responsibility in giving to support the Levites. One thing I want us to see in this lesson is...

In this episode Moses continues to tell the Israelites that they will need to travel to the tabernacle three times a year to celebrate the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. For the Israelites the Passover represented their deliverance from Egyptian slavery; Pentecost showed their joy and thanksgiving for God’s blessings and the harvest; and the feast of Tabernacles was to be celebrat...

In this episode Moses tells the Israelites that after 6 years of service, they must release their servants (fellow Israelites who willingly agreed to be their servants). They are also reminded that the first born (animal and child) belongs to God. In Chapter 16, they are reminded to celebrate the Feast of Passover annually. The Israelites celebrated this feast so that they would always remember ho...

In this week’s episode (Deut. 14:3 - 15: 11) we read about what foods the Israelites could and couldn’t eat. We talked about a couple of reasons why they were given food restrictions: 1. Because they were to be set apart as God’s holy people (see verse 2) and 2. Many of the restricted foods would keep them from getting diseases (for instance from birds that eat dead animals). Although these food l...

In this episode Moses reminds God’s people that they are not to tolerate anyone who tries to lead them into worshiping idols and other gods. They were told that they had to completely destroy anyone or any place that would lead them into idolatry. The lesson I see for us is that we have to guard ourselves from anyone who will try to distract us from our commitment to God. We must be careful of who...

In this episode Moses continues to remind the people that if they obey God they will be blessed and if they disobey they will be cursed. In Chapter 12 God promises that once they get into the promised land (Canaan land) they will have a central place to bring all their offerings to the Lord. In other words there will be only one way to meet with God. Our take away from this lesson is for us to als...

In this episode Moses continues to remind the new generation of what God requires of them. He also tells them what they can do to always remember God and His word. The requirements he gave them are true for us today as well in Deut. 10:12-13: Fear (reverence) God, live a life that pleases Him, Love God with all your heart, serve God with all your heart, and obey God. #deuteronomy #canaan #moses #o...

In this episode Moses reminds the new generation not to forget about God when they get into the promised land and when they become prosperous. Moses also tells them that God is not giving them the promised land because of their goodness, reminding them that they have always been stubborn and rebellious. God was keeping His promise because of His covenant with Abraham. He was also using the childre...

In this episode Moses reminds the new generation that if they obey God’s laws and instructions they will live a blessed life. Remember the journey of the Children of Israel to their promised land is a type of our present journey of being changed into His image to be ready to meet Him when He returns. Just like the children of Israel, if we obey God and do whatever He tells us to do (or not to do),...

In this episode we read about how Moses reminded the new generation that they are to love God. He also told them they are to obey God, and repeat His commands to their children. He further told them to talk about God at home, away from home, when they go to bed and when they wake up each morning. In other words God wanted to be the center of their lives. We too should make sure God is the center o...

In this episode, Moses repeats the Ten Commandments that God gave to His people at Mt Sinai. I see the 10 commandments as God giving us a picture of what a kingdom citizen should look like. For modern day Christians, the law (which included the 10 commandments) was fulfilled in Christ. God knew we could not keep all His commandments without help. So He said He would write His laws upon our hearts....

In this week’s lesson from Deuteronomy Chapter 4:5 - 49 Moses warns the Children of Israel to refrain from worshipping idols. We might not worship physical idols but we must remember that anything we love more than God can become an idol. Moses also reminded this new generation that they must teach their children about God and tell them how He delivered them. This is also true for you and me. We h...

We completed the first three Chapters of Deuteronomy which included Moses reviewing their journey thus far. We started Chapter 4 where Moses is going to begin reminding the new generation about their covenant with God and what God will expect from them once they reach the promised land. One thing we should notice from this lesson is how God is faithful to the promises He made despite all the short...

In this episode Moses continues to review the journey of the children of Israel thus far. For this lesson I want us to think about how devastating negative words can be. The negative words by the 10 spies caused the older generation to fear and miss out on their blessings. Watch what you are saying…are your words positive or negative. Those who listened to the negative report had a choice to make....

In this episode we did a short review of all that we have learned this far from Genesis thru Numbers. We talked about some of the major events of the journey of the Children of Israel. One thing we should learn from them is not to draw back from God’s plans for us. They let fear take over and ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. When God gives us a task or assignment, He gives us eve...

In this episode we completed the Book of Numbers (Chapters 34-36). We read who the leaders were who would divide the land among the 12 tribes. We also learned that the people had to donate 48 cities to the Levites. Six of these cities would be designated cities of refuge which would be used to protect those who had killed someone accidentally. In the final Chapter of Numbers, God had Moses fix a p...

In this episode we read about two tribes (later three), who requested land out side the promised land. Although Moses was at first angry, he agreed to it as long as they helped their brothers fight for the promised land. One thing I saw in this is that God has great things and higher levels in the Spirit to take us to, but He will not force us to go. My prayer is for God to take me to any level or...

In this episode, God instructed the Children of Israel to take revenge on the Midianites because they caused the death of 24,000 Israelites. The Children of Israel went into battle with 12,000 warriors against the Midianites and were victorious. They did not lose one warrior! When God is with us, we will always be victorious no matter what battles we find ourselves in. Just as they thanked God for...

In this episode we reviewed the seven feasts/festivals that Moses reminded the new generation to observe once they get into the promised land. God wanted them to observe these feasts so that they would remember everything God had done for them. Just as God wanted them to remember, we too must forever remember all that God has done for us. As the song says, ‘As I look back over my life and think th...

In this episode Moses continues to remind the children of Israel of the sacrifices they are required to make once they get into the promised land. We covered the sacrifices to be offered during the Feast of Trumpets, the day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles. The feast of trumpets is when Trumpets were blown marking the beginning of a new year and a start of 10 day’s of repentance and doi...

In this episode we finished Chapter 28 where Moses continues to remind the new generation of the sacrifices they were expected to make, and the feast they were required to observe when they get into the promised land. They were required to do daily, weekly, and monthly offerings plus offerings during their festivals (feast). God had them do all these feast and offerings so that they would ever rem...