Woven

Oh, what a week we have had! I mean we've covered some ground. We've completed the Pentateuch. Well, we flew over this ground. We didn't trudge through every word. But, we know it's there now. Certainly, we can go back to Numbers and Deuteronomy later if we find that we want to study some of the stories in more detail.

By the way, the book of Numbers is definitely filled with stories. This book chronicles Israel through the desert. Remember, God wasn't going to allow the rebellious generation to enter the Promised Land. Numbers is full of the stories that happened during the circling in the wilderness. And, there are some really good stories. Some of my personal favorites are; spies visiting Canaan (Numbers 13-14), Moses and the bronze serpent (Numbers 21), and the talking donkey (Numbers 22). I looked back at the summary of Numbers in my Bible, and it says the purpose of Numbers is to describe how Israel wandered as well as how God trained a new generation to obey. The final sentence of my commentary says, "God could get them out of Egypt, but it was difficult to get Egypt out of them." Numbers is full of the stories God used to accomplish the difficult task. I've got a little Egypt in me, so I enjoy reading the stories and attempting to learn their lessons.

Deuteronomy.... it's one of my favorite books. We have grown to love Moses. He has a prominent place in Biblical history. He is truly a hero of the faith. When a hero takes time to write out a final message, my heart and soul perks up. I want to hear. This is what we have in Deuteronomy. As the chapters progress, I can begin to feel the emotion in Moses. He knows that he won't move into the Promised Land with the people he's been in charge of for so long. If he couldn't go, he wanted to take time to speak last words. Praise the Lord that we get to hear them too.

Of all the chapters in one of my favorite books of the Bible, chapter 29 and 30 are my favorite chapters. The emotion, the theme, the overall message is very moving. I searched and searched for a sermon/talk to share with you today from these passages, because I I can't think of a better way to wrap up this section and prepare to move into the next section.

I found one, and I know that we will benefit from the words of this sermon. However, I'm nervous. I know that I'm sharing a less entertaining message than I've shared in the past. I realize we will all be tempted to listen to a few minutes and then zone out. I'm a people pleaser, and I really like to share what I know will be enjoyable to everyone.

Today, I'm sharing a message I know that we need, and I'm not too proud to beg you to listen to every word. John Piper is another hero of our faith. He has ministered in so many different ways, to so many different people, over so many decades. His is a voice we can trust! In this message, he's actually speaking to a large group of women, so it's perfect for us. Since it's a little longer that previous messages, I'm glad you'll have the weekend to finish.

Then, we say, "goodbye," to our friend Moses. As sad as we have been that he was punished so severely even though his life was full of so much obedience, I think it's important to recognize that there's absolutely no way he entered Heaven, looked down on Israel crossing the Jordan, and said, "Man, I wish I could be there." Moses got the better end of this deal, and we get to see that even consequence from the Lord is about us enjoying His Presence. Moses fought the good fight and finished his race. God buried him. Can you even imagine the tenderness? I've heard it preached that God had to bury Moses, because Israel never would have left his burial spot if they knew where it was. Possibly, they would have built a memorial and made it their idol. I don't think that too far-fetched. They had a thing for idols.

With no place to worship Moses and no Moses to lead them, they had no choice but to follow his last instructions. We will pick up exactly there next week.

Journal -- Just talk with God about what you've learned from the first five books of the Old Testament. If we brushed over a story that you want to spend more time studying, write that out for future direction. Finally, write out your very own prayer to God.