Gideon, Gideon, Gideon...

 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7 

Gideon, Gideon, Gideon...

Judges 6-8 tell of the exploits of Gideon...a man from a small tribe and family, thrashing his grain in a hidden place to keep away from the sight of the enemy, doubting what he is called to do...called, “o mighty man of valor”...did his call by night for fear of his own family and others, raised a fearful son, a man who was clothed by the Spirit of the LORD...

He wanted a sign of blessing and got more... burnt offerings, two fleeces, a dream...

He started with at least 32,000 warring men...then down to 10,000 as 22,000 left fearful and trembling...then finally down to 300 of the most inexperienced...drinking water was a test...

( my Bible notes says that those who drew water to their mouths were the least experienced because those who lay flat were more experienced because they were out of sight of the enemy as they lay down, those who sat drawing water with their hands were in sight of the enemy without knowing it and not as watchful, hummmm interesting) 

But, God used those 300 inexperienced men to route the huge army of the enemy...using empty jars, torches, trumpets ....plus nighttime...

Gideon went on to rule the area, only saying, “ I will not rule over you and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you”...for  40 years...and then the Israelites turned back to their wicked ways, following after other gods...forgetting the Lord their God who saved them from their enemies...one generation of faithfulness...

Those three short chapters of narrative of a man’s life, fears, strengths, conquests...a short story of anyone’s...how we face or not face life...the fears we struggle with, the families we have, the places we live...are used as Paul writes to Timothy...

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 

When called, God provides...big or little...He is there...through my fears, my questions...thank YOU...

Consequences....

 

Consequences....

Deuteronomy 28 outlines blessings and curses of following the Lord...

I realize I am not a Jew, not part of the Jewish nation, but I can be numbered among those who serve the Lord...He delights when we serve Him, is moved with pity with those who don’t or have turned their backs on Him and He disciplines those whom He loves...

Judges starts with Joshua finishing his life, called “servant of The Lord” as was his mentor, Moses...

The sentence, “and there arose another generation ...who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done...” is heartbreaking ...as is the last sentence of Judges...”everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.

These proceed and succeed the time after time that the words, “ and the people of Israel did what was evil”... 

I know we all have a “free will”... from the time of Adam and Eve...why not choose right, avoid the wrong...why not serve a creator who delights in us, loves us infinitely, who desires fellowship, why serve evil...why have to go to the bottom before calling out to God...

We are enticed by our own lust for so much, power, entitlement, riches...etc...

I am so glad God hears us when we call...as the Israelites did time after time...and still does...

Thank YOU...help me to pass on what God has done...so that generations may know Him and His Works...help me not to just do what is right in my own e yes...help those who follow to find the right path...following Jesus...the Truth, the Way...

When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 

And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. 

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 

And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 

And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. 

And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. 

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 

And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. 

They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. 

And they provoked the Lord to anger. 

They abandoned the Lord  and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. 

And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 

Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. 

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 

Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. 

They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 

Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. 

For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 

But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. 

They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 

So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” 

So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Judges 2:6-23 

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

Judges 3:7 

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord .

Judges 3:12

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died.

Judges 4:1

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.

Judges 6:1

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.

Judges 6:1

And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

Judges 13:1

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25 

14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:1,6 

Gardens along the way...41 ...first fruits...

 Gardens along the way...41...first fruits... 

Here is it almost March...where did January and February fly to....

I walked to my mailbox yesterday in the nippy cold, windy day before a snow/rain storm approaching sometime today...reading and sorting my mail as I walked...

Looked toward my bare branched trees, and almost hidden were flowers blooming...small intricate crocus peeking up...faces reaching for the sun......”first fruits” of spring ....promises of more to come...

Going through the Old Testament, first fruits were spoken of a multitude of times...who, what, when, how, to whom they were to be given...

I looked at the flowers, and could only give thanks for their beauty, perseverance, their gift to my heart...to the God of all creation...then I thought, how can I give these first fruits and ran to get my phone to take a picture and share...

Something, seemingly insignificant, brightened my day through the dull grays and browns of winter...the blustery winds of life...give and rejoice...thank YOU...

You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.

Exodus 23:16 

And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

Leviticus 23:40

and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Numbers 13:20

All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the firstfruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you. The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it.

Numbers 18:12-13 

We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord;

Nehemiah 10:35 

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 3:17-18

The “little” word “all”...

 The “little “ word “all” ....

Finishing the book of Joshua, the “little” word ,”all” means sooooo much...it comes up over and over...all means all...nothing less...

Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. 

And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 

And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. 

Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 

Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. 

Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 

“And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. 

All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 

But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. 

Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.” 

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. 

Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. 

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord .” 

(No “all”, but fits with these other scriptures, Joshua was “all in” in whom he would serve)...

Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

Joshua 21:43-45,22:5,23:14-16,24:14-15,31

Many years later Jesus would reiterate the “all”...

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. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:37-40 

Whom are we “all” for... where does our “all” stand?

Thank YOU for Your “all”...you gave your “all” for me...

What happened to the manna...

 What happened to the manna....

From manna to the fruit of the land...

It is amazing how God provides....think of the perfect timing of the Israelites entering the promised land...spring...the spring harvests, all the way through the the summer and fall harvests...while they were conquering the land piece by piece...no more “ 365 ways to cook Manna” recipes...what a gift of variety after 40 years...

Time after time, throughout the Bible, the are pictures and times of God’s perfect timing...this is one...

I am sure we can each look back over our lives and see those times as well...those “ifs, thens”...those “shoulds”, those “wows”...those “thank yous”....those provisions in unseeming times...even some “whys”...a caring word, hug, a special gift, a look that catches our hearts...provision...thank YOU...as Christians, our inheritance is so much more that the fruit of the land....it is redemption...the seal of the Holy Spirit...an eternal home...and so much more...

The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. 

They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

Exodus 16:35

So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. ( Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

Numbers 13:21-24 

But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

Joshua 2:6

“Flax was cultivated alongside  barley and wheat and was used to make linen...flax and wool were used to make the two main fabrics at this period. The transformation of flax into linen was performed by women. Flax and barley were harvested from the spring equinox tomApril....the conquest of Jericho corresponded to the season of barley and flax harvest, Rahab was  in the process of drying flax stalks on her roof” Archeology  Bible,ESV, page 286.

“The Jordan overflows all its banks, due to spring rains and snowfall from Mount Hermon to the north, throughout the time of the grain Harvest in March and April....” page 288

While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 

And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 

And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. 

And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Joshua 5:10-12

https://archive.gci.org/articles/harvest-seasons-of-ancient-israel/

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,  to the praise of his glory. 

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

Ephesians 1:3-14,2:13-14

Be Strong and courageous....

 Strong and courageous.....

Ten years ago I thought I needed a new prescription in my glasses...

A group of others and I were preparing to go to Mongolia and teach VBS to missionary kids. A wide variety of ages, experiences in the group, we wanted to venture out of our comfort zones and bless others...I was packing two trunks with crafts, lessons, prizes in anticipation of this adventure...but, I needed new glasses...or so I thought.

The doctor was visited and I was informed that instead of new glasses I needed surgery ASAP. That office visit was on Thursday and I was three hundred miles away and in surgery Monday morning....then weeks of recovery, head down for a while, no sight in one eye and no travel...a huge change of my plans...

So when I heard the same diagnosis a couple of weeks ago, it was not met with great jubilation...but God reminded me again that He has another path...which may not be to mine, but He has lessons for me to learn...

In the first event, I didn’t get to go, but He provided a much better person who needed that experience in her life to further her faith, I got to stay home and pray, learn new lessons, my husband got to go, but within months he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and we started down that path and my eye was taken care of so we could concentrate on his life.

As I prepared for this second surgery, He brought a dear friend who was experienced in care giving and also had a bad case of “cabin fever”...so we had a bit of fun before surgery and now she is caring for me as an antidote for her “fever”...

 As I read in Joshua 1 yesterday morning before the surgery, the words spoken, “ be strong and courageous “ popped off the page four times in one chapter. Then I looked that phase up and found it five other times... words of encouragement spoken both from God and men to others in life changing events...speaking down through the ages to us as well...thank YOU...

Moses speaking to Joshua...

Be strong and courageous. 

Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” 

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 

It is the Lord  who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Deuteronomy 31:6-8

God speaking to Joshua....

And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

Deuteronomy 31:23

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. 

Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. 

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. 

Only be strong and courageous.”

Joshua 1:6-7,9,18

David speaking to Solomon...

Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. 

Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.

1 Chronicles 22:13

 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. 

Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. 

He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.

1 Chronicles 28:20

Hezekiah to the people....

“Be strong and courageous. 

Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 

With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” 

And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

2 Chronicles 32:7-8 

 

Just weights...

Just weights....

My father worked for the Department of Agriculture in California. One of his jobs early on was to go around to grocery stores, testing their scales to make sure they were accurate...he did that at gas pumps as well...if they passed he put a round sticker on the item, initialing and dating it if it passed, or condemning if not...I remember looking for those stickers wherever we went to see if my dad had been there...I loved seeing his “sign of approval”...”my dad “...

Still reading Deuteronomy, God speaks about just weights...not being dishonest, but being just, fair...blessings, abominations...it is spoken of in various places in the Word as well...being honest in our  dealing with others...not only that, but not showing partiality...giving one honor over another ...giving correct “weight” to one and not another...

Thank YOU, help me to be honest in my dealings with all people...

“You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 25:13-16 

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. 

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. 

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

Proverbs 11:1-3 

Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord. 

Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord, and false scales are not good.

Proverbs 20:10,23

Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?

Micah 6:11 

My brothers,  show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 

 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

James 2:1-6,8-9 

 

Sojourner, the fatherless, the widow...

 Sojourner, the fatherless, the widow...

I have a picture on my wall, handed down to me from my grandmother, it is old in an old frame, depicting the gleaners of olden times gathering grain in a harvested field...to me it has always been Ruth, whether or not that is true, I don’t know...but I enjoy that picture...and it has meaning to me, not only as a family “heirloom” but the care God has for widows and orphans, the sojourners...He Provides...they were not left out in His care or commandments...thank YOU...

And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 19:10 

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.

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 

“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.

Deuteronomy 24:19-21

The Book of Ruth

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!

Psalm 119:18-19

Learn to do good. Seek justice, Rebuke the ruthless, Defend the fatherless, Plead for the [rights of the] widow [in court].

Isaiah 1:17 

Thus says the Lord, “Execute justice and righteousness, and rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor. And do no wrong; do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

Jeremiah 22:3

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

Zechariah 7:8-10 

Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.

James 1:27

https://biblehub.com/topical/s/sojourner.htm

Valentine’s Day....

 Valentine’s Day...

And yet another Valentine’s Day is upon us...

Roses, flowers, candy, trinkets, cards, stuffed animals, dinners for two, gifts of love are the push for the day...

When I worked In floristry, we bought thousands of roses, men stood in lines waiting for flower orders or vying for the last arrangements to be had. We Literally sold every flower we had on hand...as well as stuffed animals, candy...whatever we had that may show signs of love....we hired extra people, extra delivery personnel, started a month in advance creating bows, dried flowers, vases, gifts, procuring empty space with tables to for cool rooms for flower storage...took orders over phone and wires, online, by the hundreds...flowers were ordered months in advance from the wholesalers...it was a big, busy, tiring, rewarding day/month...we went home exhausted, feet and body aching...all in the name of love...

Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day were counted as the bread and butter days for florists...we had to make it through those well to make it through the year...

But, love shown is more than a flower or a box of candy, it is a deep need. It is showing up everyday through the thick and thin of life, giving when there is no return...some times a pure act of will rather than a warm an fuzzy feeling...taking care of one another...putting lives on the line...

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 

35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35

The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Deuteronomy 30:6 

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Psalm 86:5 

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. 

For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:9-12,16-19

Thank YOU....for your great, steadfast love...

https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2

Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, Valentine’s Day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus. Other accounts hold that it was St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, for whom the holiday was named, though it is possible that the two saints were actually one person.

Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 CE by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus. According to legend, the priest signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and, by some accounts, healed from blindness. Other accounts hold that it was St. Valentine of Terni, a bishop, for whom the holiday was named, though it is possible the two saints were actually one person. Another common legend states that St. Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war. It is for this reason that his feast day is associated with love.

Formal messages, or valentines, appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s commercially printed cards were being used. The first commercial valentines in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s. Valentines commonly depict Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, traditionally the seat of emotion. Because it was thought that the avian mating season begins in mid-February, birds also became a symbol of the day. Traditional gifts include candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.

Valentine's Day card

American Valentine's Day card, c. 1908.

© Photos.com/Thinkstock

The day is popular in the United States as well as in Britain, Canada, and Australia, and it is also celebrated in other countries, including Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea. In the Philippines it is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date. The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends. Many schoolchildren exchange valentines with one another on this day.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello, Assistant Editor.

Themes....recap...

Themes....recap....

There are several authors, groups who have summarized the books of the Bible into a few words or chosen what they felt the theme verse is for each book.

The following are a few...they don’t all match as you can see from the various ones for the book of Deuteronomy...

My suspicion, for me personally,  is that what my theme would be is what God is dealing with me or teaching me dictates my theme ...

Case in point...I always loved the book of Ruth...it was romantic, redemptive...but, when I became a widow, the whole book turned into care for the widow, still redemptive, but deeper ...same book, same story, at a different level...

Or the book of Psalms has met my personal needs in so many places, depression, joy, praise, caring, cleansing, compassion, teaching, character of God and so much more...

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 

In Deuteronomy, there are times when I need the encouragement to be strong and courageous....there are times when I need to be reminded to love the Lord with all my might....times when I need to be reminded to ask my elders and to teach or hand down to the generations...and on and on... 

I am so glad there is so much more learning to do...words to read, words to write... and  lessons to learn....God’s Word needs more than a brisk, quick read...it needs basking, diving into, listening with our hearts, learn from, consuming, defining, holding tightly, soaking into, enfolding, touching, live by, crying over, rejoicing with, mediating on, fear, remembering, searching, doing, disciplined with....and so much more....thank YOU...

Genesis 1:1

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

Leviticus 20:26

You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

Numbers 23:19 

God is not human, that he should lie,

    not a human being, that he should change his mind.

Does he speak and then not act?

    Does he promise and not fulfill?

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:5 

Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Deuteronomy 32:7

Deuteronomy=Moses gives Israel instructions (in some ways, a recap of the laws in Exodus–Numbers) for how to love and obey God in the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy=obedience 

https://www.thenivbible.com/blog/66-inspirational-verses-from-every-book-of-the-bible/#:~:text=Inspiration%20from%20the%20Pentateuch.%201%201.%20Genesis%201%3A1.,4.%20Numbers%2023%3A19.%205%205.%20Deuteronomy%2031%3A6.%20

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/an-amazing-summary-of-the-bible-in-66-verses.html

https://overviewbible.com/books-of-the-bible/

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:103,105

Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

Deuteronomy 4:6

But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9  

Reviews, blessings, curses, and changing of the guard...

Reviews, blessings,  curses, and changing of the “guard”...

The last word in the book of Numbers is “Jericho”...

These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Numbers 36:13 

And the first words of Deuteronomy....

These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 

See, I have set the land before you. 

Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’ The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 

May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! 

Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 

And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

Deuteronomy 1:1,8,10-11,13,18

It seems there is a change, a review of the Israelites...they have moved from slavery to the edge of the promised land...Moses as their leader, mentor, stops to review their times, their God-given laws, their relationships, their covenants, their past, and their future...

He is handing over the Torch...

Like Paul in 2 Timothy, Moses wants them to carry on...

Moses so wanted to entered the promised land, but his leadership has come to an end...

“And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Deuteronomy 3:23-29

Paul, in prison, may have known his end is coming as well...

Both, Moses and Paul encourage their followers, review...mentoring ....

Moses reviews the laws given, the journey taken...sees the land promised..the covenants agreed upon...

Paul uses the word “entrust” several times as he exhorts Timothy ...

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 

Moses speaks of the Law, while Paul speaks of promise of the life that is in Jesus Christ...who is the fulfillment of that  Law...

Two men at their end, wanting the best for their followers, those who come after...both seeking the Promise...

As an elder, now myself...I so want those whom  I have “led”, either family or those entrusted to me over the years to seek that promised “land” as well...to follow God...

“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,  who will be able to teach others also. 

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

2 Timothy 2:2,15,22,24,3:14-17,4:22 

Thank YOU for the review of Moses and Paul...the new beginnings...the promises kept...the mentors before and after...the encouragements to move, to follow, to move forward...

Their reflections and admonishments...

 

Numbers...

 Numbers....

The book of Numbers starts right off with -

The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers' houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 

From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. 

And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers. 

And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; from Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; from Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; from Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; from the sons of Joseph, from Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; from Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; from Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; from Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; from Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; from Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan.” 

These were the ones chosen from the congregation, the chiefs of their ancestral tribes, the heads of the clans of Israel.

Numbers 1:1-16

I loved that He again named everyone personally...still named by clan of Jacob’s sons...

Moses and Aaron complied , numbering can by clan, exactly as commanded...

Starting with Reuben, the first born on down the line...

Until all were counted...except the Levites, who were to take care of the tabernacle and all of its furnishings...

These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers' house. So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel— all those listed were 603,550.

Numbers 1:44-46

(Quite an army)

After that was the arrangement of the camp...

But these numbers come up again further into the book...

Moses, at the LORD’s command, sends spies into the promised land, leading men from each tribe ...naming  them by name again...including Caleb and Joshua... they are to look over the land, assessing the people, the land, the cities... which they did, bringing back fruits of the land, grapes, pomegranates, figs as well as their reports...being gone for 40 days...

The report was good on the land...but ten were afraid of the people ...Caleb stood and said...

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Numbers 13:30-33

And the people rebelled of going into the land....and wanted to choose another leader and return to Egypt!

Joshua and Caleb plead to go into the land, Moses pleads for the people...

Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

Numbers 14:19 

So a God pronounced judgement...

...your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.” And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— the men who brought up a bad report of the land— died by plague before the Lord. Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Numbers 14:29-38....

So those who were numbered, also died before the promise was fulfilled...

In my minute mind, did they step into the promised land as soon as the last one died?

What was it like for Joshua and Caleb to wander for 40 years knowing that they were right ? Did they ever resent being kept out because of others...

But, they were being trained more and more as leaders just as Moses was in his sojourn before leading the nation out of Egypt ...knowing that the promised land was waiting...

Thank YOU...for numbers, lessons in obedience, rebellion...consequences to actions...

WAit....

 Wait...

One of the hardest things I find to do is ...wait...

We live in a hurried world...we want things instantly ...results from tests, grocery lines, Stop lights, Amazon delivery, flu shots, whatever....we wait...impatiently, tapping our toes...rolling our eyes at others...anxiously “twiddling our thumbs”...all the while, wait, wait, wait..

Some people came to Moses in Numbers with a question and his answer was the following...

And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

Numbers 9:8 

How convicting...how often do I wait for God’s answer...do I forge ahead doing my own thing without His direction....saying to myself “of course this is what He would say or do”...not waiting for that peace that accompanies the “real direction”...ohhh..

These men’s question was concerning celebrating Passover...and they did get their answer on exactly how to do it...

Further, in the same portion of scripture, God gave them directions on stopping and going at His Leading...

I am not trying to be trite, but, it was like a holy command of “Simon says”...only this was “God says “... they moved when God said , stayed when He said...waiting ...again...and they did this for 40 years!  Oh, were complaints to be sure...as well as discipline....

But, back to Moses...I desire to have that attitude of waiting for what God has in store...waiting for His perfect will, answer...

Thank YOU for patience with me in such times that I want to move ahead of You...calm my spirit to seek Your right answer...

 Numbers 9

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 25:5 

Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 33:20 

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Psalm 37:7  

But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 38:15

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Psalm 62:5

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Lamentations 3:26 

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8:25 

 

 

Guarded...

 Guarded...

 In the book of Numbers, God give instructions about the movement of the people on their journey through the desert...they are pretty specific. The Levites are the guard the tabernacle on all sides, carrying certain items as they go, given their own duties as well. Moses and his brother Aaron led the procession to guard the priests...with a rearguard as well...

There are many references to “guard” throughout the Word, but my all time favorite is when John records Jesus prayer from his disciples and all who come because of their word....that means He prayed for me...he was not only setting a guard for those with him but down through the ages, those who believed...that just brings chills and tears  of thankfulness...

David prayed, Nehemiah prayed for guards to be set for protection, for their hearts, their ways and Jesus went away but sent The Holy Spirit to help and guard those who believe...thank YOU....

9 I am praying for them. 

I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 

10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 

12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 

24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 

25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 

26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

John 17:9-12,20,24-26 

“Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

Exodus 23:20 

But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the people of Israel. And the Levites shall keep guard over the tabernacle of the testimony.”

Numbers 1:53 

They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. 

They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. 

And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” 

The clans of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle on the west, And the guard duty of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent with its covering, the screen for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court that is around the tabernacle and the altar, and its cords—all the service connected with these. 

To Kohath belonged the clan of the Amramites and the clan of the Izharites and the clan of the Hebronites and the clan of the Uzzielites; these are the clans of the Kohathites. And their guard duty involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the vessels of the sanctuary with which the priests minister, and the screen; all the service connected with these. 

To Merari belonged the clan of the Mahlites and the clan of the Mushites: these are the clans of Merari. And the appointed guard duty of the sons of Merari involved the frames of the tabernacle, the bars, the pillars, the bases, and all their accessories; all the service connected with these; also the pillars around the court, with their bases and pegs and cords. 

Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel. And any outsider who came near was to be put to death.

Numbers 3....

“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones....

1 Samuel 2:9a

And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

Nehemiah 4:9

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.

Psalm 25:20-21

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:11

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.

Psalm 119:9-11,17

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Psalm 141:3 

Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked.

Proverbs 13:6 

The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; whoever guards his way preserves his life.

Proverbs 16:17 

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 58:7-8,11 

33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.

Mark 13:33 

By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

2 Timothy 1:14

Another saint has gone home...

 Another saint has gone home...

I awoke this morning to thoughts of another saint going home...my prayers for another woman jointing the ranks of widowhood ....daughters missing their father, grandchildren missing their grandfather...

There is sadness, loss in their camp...as well as others who have had the privilege of knowing him...we rejoice in his home going...knowing that he is at peace, having finished his earthly journey well...

I am sure he was welcomed with, “well done, good and faithful servant”...

But there is an emptiness, a hole  left behind...that only God’s peace can fill...there will be tears, memories, as well as laughter at fun times...a quietness of the empty room, a chair at the table...

Ambushes coming  from no quick phone calls, someone coming through the door, no quiet conversations, an embrace, the secret smile or nod on encouragement...the sound of their vehicle coming up the drive, the small invaluable things we miss...

But, picturing their entrance into the next realm...I imagined lines of people, well wishers, shaking hands, clapping him on the back, laughter and awe...a place he had only read about coming into view...God is the Light...a robe of pure white...singing like none other, overwhelming sense of peace and wonder...all with no end...rooms prepared...a banquet laid...promises kept...God in his splendor...

Then I opened my computer, this article popped up...

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/10-beautiful-descriptions-of-heaven-from-the-bible.html?utm_source=Daily%20Bible%20Living&utm_campaign=Daily%20Bible%20Living%20-%20BibleStudyTools.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=4279543&bcid=da862c45ddf0953aba8004a42993b38a&recip=543616088%20

2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:2-4,6-7

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11 

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn.

Psalm 89:15-17 

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.

Psalm 116:15 

Thank YOU....