Daily Notes & Observations is a 365-part series that follows a chronological daily Bible reading schedule and contains a short article based on something found in the text for each day. This material is also available in paperback.

March 13, 2012

When Your Son Asks You (3/13)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Deuteronomy 5-7.

Knowledge of God’s word and obedience to it are not just for one generation, but they are to be passed down to the next. The Israelites were to remember this when they entered into the land of Canaan.

“That you might do [the commandments] in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged” (Deuteronomy 6:1-2).

But the people were not just to teach their children to obey the Law. They were to teach their children why they should obey the Law.
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March 12, 2012

Do Not Add to or Take Away from His Word (3/12)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Deuteronomy 3-4.

“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

“Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed them from among you. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you” (Deuteronomy 4:2-4).

The Israelites were given a simple instruction: keep God’s commandments. They were not to add to His commandments. They were not to omit any of His commandments. They were simply to do those things which He had instructed them to do.
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March 11, 2012

I Have Given Them a Possession (3/11)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Deuteronomy 1-2.

The Israelites were God’s chosen people and would be given the promised land of Canaan. Yet this did not give them license to take anything they wanted and destroy any nation they chose to destroy. God gave some specific prohibitions on lands they were not to take and nations they were not to destroy.

“You will pass through the territory of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful; do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession” (Deuteronomy 2:4-5).

“Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession” (Deuteronomy 2:9).

“When you come opposite the sons of Ammon, do not harass them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession” (Deuteronomy 2:19).

The children of Israel were given a possession by God. But the sons of Esau and Lot were as well. The Israelites were not even to take food and water from these nations without paying for it (Deuteronomy 2:6).
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March 10, 2012

Equal Justice Under the Law (3/10)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 35-36.

The cities of refuge were given as a provision in case anyone killed another man unintentionally (Numbers 35:6-28). If this happened, the one who took the life of his neighbor could flee to one of the cities of refuge to escape the slain man’s avenger. While there, the manslayer would be safe until he stood trial. If he was found to be not guilty of murder, he would remain safe if he remained within the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only then could he leave and return to his home.

After these rules were given, the Lord was explicitly clear that these rules would apply to all the people.

“If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. You shall not take ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to live in the land before the death of the priest” (Numbers 35:30-32).

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March 9, 2012

"Drive Out All the Inhabitants of the Land" (3/9)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 33-34.

Before crossing over into Canaan, the Lord gave instructions to the Israelites regarding what they were to do with the current inhabitants of the promised land.

“When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it” (Numbers 33:51-53).

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live. And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you” (Numbers 33:55-56).

The instructions were very simple: drive out the inhabitants of the land. While this would certainly require much effort and sacrifice, the actual command was simple and easy to understand.
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March 8, 2012

"Shall Your Brothers Go to War While You Yourselves Sit Here?" (3/8)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 31-32.

The children of Israel were to cross over the Jordan river and take possession of the promised land. However, the sons of Gad and Reuben preferred to settle on the east side of the river. So they went to Moses, Eleazar, and the leaders of the people to make their request.

“They said, ‘If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not take us across the Jordan.’ But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, ‘Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here? Now why are you discouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the Lord has given them?” (Numbers 32:5-7″

It would be entirely unfair and utterly discouraging for these two tribes to have rest and settle into their new homeland while their brothers were left to fight, struggle, and conquer the land of Canaan without them. So the sons of Gad and Reuben agreed to cross over with their brethren, help them conquer the land, and then return to the place they had chosen (Numbers 32:16-19).
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March 7, 2012

Silence is Acceptance (3/7)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 28-30.

These were some of the instructions given regarding the making of vows to the Lord.

“Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by an obligation in her father’s house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her because her father had forbidden her.

“However, if she should marry while under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her” (Numbers 30:3-8).

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