Deuteronomy 4
This is a long chapter - Moses gets down to the main bits of what he wants to leave wit the people of Israel, the one thing that sets them apart from all other nations, the law of God.
The law is not to be taken away from, but neither is it to be added to.
The Law is to be taught to children and Grandchildren and the Israelite people will have a reputation of being wise and understanding and alone in that the God of Israel hears prayers and answers them - which is more than can be said of the god of others.
Moses reminds the nation that they heard the law with their own ears at Mount Sinai and though they knew God was with them , they never saw any form to God, because of this they are not to distract themselves with images and idols
Moses threatens that if Israel degenerates into worshipping idols or the stars or celestial bodies that they will become corrupt and will be driven out of the land
for some reason the chapter breaks and mentions that Moses sets up 3 cities of refuge in the lands occupied by Israel to the East of the river Jordan
The main thing for me in this chapter is that God is described in verse 24 as "A consuming fire, a jealous God"
What on earth does this mean? Do you know i am not sure, but it sounds dramatic doesn't it?
Perhaps God is Jealous in his love for his people and anything that separates them from him?
What about a consuming fire? Fire can be devastating, and the aftermath of a wild fire can be extreme, but what remains afterwards is more fertile and free for things to grow that would otherwise not stand a chance.
Another thought is that heat is vital in a lot of engineering - metal is extracted from ores by application of heat, refining metals is usually done by heating them and allowing the impurities to come to the surface.
Even something as basic as welding 2 pieces of metal toghether actually consumes some of the metal - what actually happens on a molecular level is that the metals melt and flow into each other and on a molecular level the different pieces of metal are the same at the weld.
Perhaps a jealous God whose laws and statutes make me more pure is the kind of God I want to worship after all.
This is a long chapter - Moses gets down to the main bits of what he wants to leave wit the people of Israel, the one thing that sets them apart from all other nations, the law of God.
The law is not to be taken away from, but neither is it to be added to.
The Law is to be taught to children and Grandchildren and the Israelite people will have a reputation of being wise and understanding and alone in that the God of Israel hears prayers and answers them - which is more than can be said of the god of others.
Moses reminds the nation that they heard the law with their own ears at Mount Sinai and though they knew God was with them , they never saw any form to God, because of this they are not to distract themselves with images and idols
Moses threatens that if Israel degenerates into worshipping idols or the stars or celestial bodies that they will become corrupt and will be driven out of the land
for some reason the chapter breaks and mentions that Moses sets up 3 cities of refuge in the lands occupied by Israel to the East of the river Jordan
The main thing for me in this chapter is that God is described in verse 24 as "A consuming fire, a jealous God"
What on earth does this mean? Do you know i am not sure, but it sounds dramatic doesn't it?
Perhaps God is Jealous in his love for his people and anything that separates them from him?
What about a consuming fire? Fire can be devastating, and the aftermath of a wild fire can be extreme, but what remains afterwards is more fertile and free for things to grow that would otherwise not stand a chance.
Another thought is that heat is vital in a lot of engineering - metal is extracted from ores by application of heat, refining metals is usually done by heating them and allowing the impurities to come to the surface.
Even something as basic as welding 2 pieces of metal toghether actually consumes some of the metal - what actually happens on a molecular level is that the metals melt and flow into each other and on a molecular level the different pieces of metal are the same at the weld.
Perhaps a jealous God whose laws and statutes make me more pure is the kind of God I want to worship after all.
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