I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
The passage finishes the summary of the travels of the Israelites through the wilderness. Then while they are camped near the Jordan River, across from Jericho, God gives Moses commands regarding the boundaries of the land they will be given and how to divide it up among the tribes. Out of the land given to the other tribes a total of 48 towns and their surrounding pastureland are to be given to the Levites. Six of the Levitical towns are to be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety.
Moses gave the people specific commands from God regarding the cities of refuge. If someone accidentally kills someone they may flee to a city of refuge. The community is to gather and judge whether the person killed the victim by accident or on purpose. They must have at least two witnesses to testify that the killing was intentional, otherwise they are to escort the slayer back to the city of refuge where he must remain until the death of the high priest. If the slayer leaves the city of refuge before the death of the high priest and is killed by a relative of his victim it was not to be considered murder. However, once the high priest dies the slayer is free to return to his lands. The law specified that all murderers are to be put to death, but only on the testimony of two or more witnesses. The law also specified that they were to never accept a payment to allow someone convicted of murder to escape death, nor a payment to allow someone who accidentally killed someone to return to their lands early. The law was to apply the same to everyone.
In one of the villages where Jesus went to teach a man with an advanced case of leprosy approached Jesus and requested that Jesus heal him. The man begged Jesus for healing and said that he knew that if Jesus was willing, He could heal him. Jesus was willing and healed the man. Jesus told the man not to tell anyone about his healing. Instead Jesus told the man to follow the Laws instructions regarding being examined by a priest and the sacrifices for cleansing that the Law specified. This did not stop the spread of word about Jesus’ healing power, rather it made it spread even more rapidly. People came from all over to hear Jesus and be healed by Him. It was such that Jesus had to withdraw to lonely places to find time to be alone and to pray.
One day while Jesus was teaching in a house, some men tried to bring a paralyzed man in to the house to Jesus. Pharisees and teachers of the law from all over Galilee and even some from Judea and Jerusalem were sitting there listening to Jesus such that the men could not get in to see Him (the phrasing of the passage suggests there was more to the crowd than just the Pharisees and teachers of the law). So, the men took the paralyzed man up onto the roof and removed some of the roof tiles and lowered the man to Jesus from there. When Jesus saw the faith expressed by the man’s friends, he told the man that his sins were forgiven. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were offended that Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven, since only God can forgive sins. Jesus recognized what they were thinking and asked them which was easier, to say “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Stand up and walk”? Then to demonstrate that He had the authority to forgive sins, He told the man to get up and walk. The man immediately got up, picked up his mat and praised God as he went home.
Shortly after this Jesus saw Levi sitting in his tax collector’s booth and called him to follow Him. Levi immediately got up, left everything and followed Jesus.
A psalm of praise for all peoples. There are several verses here that I love. There is verse 5, where I find the NLT to reach me the most:
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
And then verse 8 where I prefer the NIV:
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
God’s power calls forth songs of joy from my heart.
The things that the righteous desire bring good to everyone, while the wicked hope for things which bring wrath upon themselves.