In Deuteronomy 2 and 3, Moses continues to recount Israelite history and how, with God’s blessing, they routed their enemies; when they were faithful, God gave them the victory, even over “giants” (Deuteronomy 2:11, Deuteronomy 2:20; Deuteronomy 3:13). Of course, this brings up the difficult topic, which we must at least touch on, regarding the destruction of these … Continue reading –>
A specter has been haunting the early parts of the book of Deuteronomy, the specter of Kadesh Barnea. This unfortunate story, as we have seen, set the immediate background for the book of Deuteronomy, and it’s worth taking a closer look at it. Read Numbers 14:1-45. How did the people react to the report of the … Continue reading –>
After the long trek in the wilderness, Moses, speaking for the Lord (he was a prophet, though, indeed, more than a prophet), said: “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to give to them … Continue reading –>
Despite some of the error that modern science tries to promulgate as truth (such that our universe by itself arose from “absolutely nothing” or that all life on earth arose by chance from simple chemicals), science has nonetheless given us some astonishing insights into God’s creative power. The harmony, the balance, the precision of many … Continue reading –>
All through the Bible, the presence of Moses is felt. And though he’s not mentioned until Exodus 2:2, he had written the book of Genesis, God’s authoritative and foundational story of who we are, how we got here, why things are as bad as they are, and yet, why we can hope anyway. Creation, the Fall, … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:29, Exodus 32:29-32, Numbers 14:1-45, Ephesians 3:10, Genesis 15:1-16, John 14:9. Memory Text: And they “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” ( 1 Corinthians 10.3-4, NKJV). “These are the words which Moses … Continue reading –>
I Met Jesus at the Shop By Hong Soon-mi It didn’t seem that life could get much worse. My husband was stricken with bone-marrow cancer. Then his parents died. I had to pay for my mother-in-law’s funeral on my own and then take on responsibility for my family’s livelihood. Sometimes I didn’t even have 1000 … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: For a deeper and very well thought out study on the great controversy theme, based on the idea of God as love, and written by a Seventh-day Adventist, see John Peckham’s Theodicy of Love: Cosmic Conflict and the Problem of Evil (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018). The fact that this work has been published … Continue reading –>
“All that the LORD has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8; see also Exodus 24:3, Exodus 24:7). Though, no doubt, the people had meant those words each time they said them, sacred history shows that, unfortunately, their actions time and again contradicted their words. Though they were the chosen people, though they had entered freely into the covenant … Continue reading –>
The Exodus and all that it entailed, from the blood on the doorpost in Egypt to the drama at the Red Sea — what an experience! No doubt it made an impression on those who lived through it. (And those who died, from the first-born children in Egypt to the soldiers at the bottom of … Continue reading –>
