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Warfare 2 - Deuteronomy 20

When Israel is going to go to battle, first they are commanded not to be afraid because “the Lord thy God is with thee… For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for your against your enemies, to save you.” Then priest will come out and pray over the people. The order on these instructions might be a little confused, because I would imagine that the priest would pray over the army right before they attack, but here Moses is giving the options for people to leave the army is they meet a specific criteria. The first out option is if a man had recently built a house but had not dedicated it yet. TB notes that there is no other reference or command for the people to dedicate their houses, so this is an odd one to note. But the thought process might be that if a house has been built but not yet inhabited and that man dies in war, then that house could go to another family and out of his family’s control. Another out option is if a man planted a vineyard “and hath not yet e...
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Warfare 1 - Deuteronomy 20

It’s really interesting to reflect on the perspective of a Hebrew soldier facing the task of invading a land of people to expel them. TB says that the census of 600,000+ eligible men of fighting age was literal and some of the other articles that I’ve read say that as well, while some say that it was figurative. But the general consensus is that regardless of the actual number, the armies of those living in Canaan outnumbered those in Israel, so they were at an inherent disadvantage from the beginning. TB says, “On the one hand the Lord acknowledges that Israel WILL be going up against armed forces which are both larger than Israel’s AND which have technological superiority (chariots). However verse 1 tells Israel to recall whap happened in Egypt. Israel not only had no weapons, but it had no army. Israel had no ability to free or protect itself from Egypt; God simply brought a superior power to its knees in supernatural ways. Therefore since God is with Israel, and it is God’s holy wa...
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Eye For An Eye - Deuteronomy 19

TB noted that the past couple of chapters “described the 4 main types of human governmental authorities that God ordained to rule over Israel: kings, judges, prophets, and priests. As we begin chapter 19 today we enter a 3-chapter section that will deal with matters that fall under the control of these various government authorities.” If that wasn’t clear from the last few posts, then that’s my bad. Moses reminds them that this is for when they get to the promised land by saying, “When the Lord thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the Lord the God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses.” TB makes a profound statement about the meaning of that verse, saying, “What this first verse is bringing to mind is that even though it is the 600,000- man army of Israel that is about the enter into battle to conquer the Land of Canaan, this is actually the Lord’s war. Therefore whereas a general of an army might promise his people that HE wa...
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Prophets - Deuteronomy 18

Chapter 18 is also short, just 22 verses but contains a very interesting topic. The first topic Moses covers here is the Levites and reiterates that they won’t have any inheritance of land and that they are to sustain themselves (and presumably their families) through the sacrifices offered, specifically the sacrifices of the first fruits, which is the offerings of the first born animal and produce. The second and very interesting part has to do with prophets and the spiritual abilities of the people that are allowed. TB notes that at the time the Hebrews left Egypt, and really all the cultures around them, relied heavily on priestcraft as a dominant portion of their “spirituality”. TB points out that trying to decern the future has been a human focus since the dawn of time and really, it makes sense. I’m definitely guilty of this, especially right now, with the thing that happened in my family, I’ve spent the better part of a year trying to figure out why this happened, what could h...
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Kings - Deuteronomy 17

It has been a very interesting week. I’m obviously going through a very spiritually intense time right now and I have a lot of thoughts and I considered just doing a post on my spiritual thoughts of the week and maybe I will do one later, but I think the only one that I will put out right now is something that I heard that said, “everyone wants an angel to appear to them, but usually when angels show up they just recite the scriptures. So if you want angelic visitations, read the scriptures.” I thought that was pretty interesting. I’ve had some significant scriptural insights this week, among other methods but they’ve been things I’ve never heard before even though I’ve read the Book of Mormon like a hundred times. Little nuggets that I’m hearing for the first time, but I’m sure have been there the whole time. I really like chapter 17 for several reasons that we will get into. In the beginning of the chapter Moses talks about worshipping false gods. The IM comments, “Moses set the pen...
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Introduction - Deuteronomy 17

Chapter 17 is actually shorter than the last 3 chapters but there is so much more that is interesting here. The first point that is worthy of discussion is the IM’s introduction to the section on chapters 17-33. I’ve been thinking recently about what the point of this life is for so many people who seem to be “throw aways”, meaning those who’s lives seem just to tragically brutal. For instance, what about these man who, in this country, have been sentenced to life in prison for crimes that are disproportionate. For instance in the state of Florida, there are several crimes that are “punishable by life” such as armed robbery, drugs, all types of stuff and so I’ve been seeing these posts interviewing this prisoners who went to prison when they were 17 and have been in there for 25 years and are never going to be eligible for parole and I just think how absolutely tragic. So many of these men are now dedicated to God and run ministries in prison and help rehabilitate younger offenders an...
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Rejoicing - Deuteronomy 16

Chapter 16 is shorter as well, and mostly deals with the festivals that we have covered previously. One thing that I think is interesting to note is that the word that keeps coming up when describing these festivals is “rejoice”. I was talking to my daughter tonight and she said something to the effect of “I want you to have something good in your life that you live for.” I’m obviously still pretty upset about the issue that happened in my family and I guess probably just life in general, it’s always been a giant slog through. There was a very short time during 2005-2006 when I was happy and generally not super stressed out, but that’s it, that was the only time, like I said, everything else has just been soul crushing. But when my daughter said that, and reading it here now, it almost makes me wonder if, for me, if “rejoicing” and being “happy” if that’s not the ultimate demonstration of faith. That’s interesting, I’m going to have to think about that. I’m always pessimistic and prepp...
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