Bible in One Year Day 72 (Numbers 24-25, Deuteronomy 26, Psalm 107)

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Day 72:  The Plains of Moab

Agape Bible Commentary 

Numbers 24 25 

Chapter 24

Numbers 24:1 Balaam's Third Commissioned Oracle

This time Balaam did not offer additional altar sacrifices; instead he turned toward the orderly encamped tribes of Israel. 

Question:  What did God's prophetic vision reveal to Balaam?
Answer: Balaam saw beyond the present orderly encampment to the conquest of Canaan and the Israelite tribes settled on their own fertile lands-a new Eden, as suggested in verse 6.

Question: What Israelite hero might be the man the oracle refers to who came out of Egypt and who is connected to the vision of the Israelites settling the land of Canaan in verses 2-6?  See Ex 17:8-16; Dt 31:7-8.

Answer: The Israelite hero that is prophesied in verses 7-9, who God has "brought out of Egypt" (verse 8), seems to fit the description of Moses' successor Joshua; he is the man who will lead the conquest of Canaan, settling the various tribes on their ancestral lands and serving God his great king. He also defeated the Amalekites in Exodus 17:8-16.

However, other parts of the prophecy do not fit Joshua.  He did not serve a human king.  Israel was a theocracy at this time and did not have a human king ruling over the confederation of tribes.  In addition, Israel was not a "kingdom held in honor" by the other nations of the region at the time of Joshua.  Scholars have also suggested Saul, Israel's first king (defeated King Agag of the Amalekites in 1 Sam 15:9-33) and David, Israel's second king who was one of King Saul's most successful military commanders and an acknowledged hero of Israel. 

The Fathers of the Church saw in this prophecy a reference to the future Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who bore the same name as the hero Joshua and who was also "brought out of Egypt" (Mt 2:19-21).  They wrote that in this part of the oracles that Balaam began uttered blessings that proclaimed the Christ (Tertullian, Against Marcion 4.28.8), seeing the flight of Mary and Joseph taking baby Jesus into Egypt (Mt 2:13-15) from whence He was to return one day be acclaimed King of Kings (Eusebius, Proof of the Gospel 8.3) and foreseeing the mystery of Jesus' Passion and Resurrection (Ambrose, On His Brother Satyrus 2.43).  In the Gospel of Matthew 2:14, St. Matthew will make a reference to Hosea 11:1 as prophecy that was fulfilled when Joseph took Mary and baby Jesus into Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod: This was to fulfill what the Lord has spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt (Mt 2:15).  In Matthew's quote and in Hosea 11:1 the word "son" is singular.  Since the reference in Numbers 24:8 is also in the singular, the Fathers of the Church saw this passage as referring to the Christ.

Concerning this prophecy, Bishop Eusebius wrote in the fourth century AD: The oracle in the previously quoted prophecy, in saying that the Lord would come into Egypt, foretold the journey of our Lord Jesus Christ when he went into Egypt with his parents.  Here we have the prophecy of his return from Egypt in its natural order, when he came back with his parents into the land of Israel, in the words "God led him out of Egypt."  For our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ of God, was the only one of the seed of Israel and of the Jewish race who has rule over many nations, so that it is indisputable that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy which says, literally, that a man will come from the Jewish race and rule over many nations" (Eusebius, Proof of the Gospels 8.3).

Numbers 24:10-11 Balak's Response to the Third Commissioned Oracle

In a rage, a frustrated Balak dismissed Balaam from his service.

Question: Who did Balak blame for Balaam's loss of profit from the venture?
Answer: Balak pointed out that Balaam's God, Yahweh, as deprived him of the wealth and honors Balak had promised.

The last oracle is separate from those commissioned by Balak.  Special Messianic importance has been attached to this oracle like the previous oracles.

Balaam's Final Prophecy (Num 24:15-24):

1. Israel's future king and the fall of Israel's enemies (Num 24:15-19).
2. The future of two regional peoples (Num 24:20-22).
3. The future invasion of the Sea People (Num 24:23-24).

Numbers 24:12-25 Balaam's Response to His Dismissal and His Final Oracle
Balaam was unable to curse Israel, but now in an ironic twist, Balak's hired seer curses Moab in a prophetic oracle that also prophesies Israel's victories.  In this passage, Balaam uses two names for Yahweh from Genesis: Elyon, "God Most High: (see Gen 14:18, 19, 20, 22; also frequently used in the Psalms) and Shaddai, which most scholars translate as "Almighty" (Gen 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25; also see Ex 6:3).

The ancient peoples of the Near East studied the heavens for omens of future events.  A new star or a comet signified the birth of a god or a deified king, and a falling star or an eclipse was an omen that pointed to the death of a king (Is 14:12).  The word "scepter" is shevet in Hebrew, a word that also means "comet" or "meteor" (JPS Torah Commentary: Numbers, page 208).  According to this prophecy, in the distant future a king will arise from Israel who will conquer Moab and the nations of "the children of Seth" (those who are not from the line of the "promised seed" of Noah's son Shem) as well as the nation of Edom-Seir and the last survivors of the Moabite city of Ar.  These are among the people over whom Abraham was promised his descendants were to have dominance in Genesis 15:18-21.  The description of the future victory as crushing the head of Moab and the skulls of the children of Seth is language from the curse of the serpent in Genesis 3:15.

Question: What connection does Balaam's prophecy have to Jacob's prophecy for Judah in Genesis 49:10-12 and who is the future king of Israel who will conquer these peoples?  See 2 Sam 8:1-14; 1 Kng 11:15-16; Zec 9:9-14; Mt 21:1-9; 26:27-28; Jn 6:54-56; 19:1, 34.
Answer: The prophecy is similar to the prophecy in Genesis 49 of a king of Israel coming from the tribe of Judah.  King David was from the tribe of Judah.

King David of Judah fulfills some of the prophecy here and in Genesis 49:10-12 but not all. David did not ride into Jerusalem on the foal of a she-donkey, nor were his robes covered in the "blood of the grape", etc. David's son Solomon partially fulfilled the prophecy in Genesis 49:10-12 by riding into Jerusalem on his father's mule on his coronation day, but it was Jesus who fulfilled this prophecy and the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 by riding into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey on Palm/Passion Sunday in 30 AD.  It was Jesus whose robes were to be washed in the blood of His Passion, which yielded the gift of His Precious Blood through the transformation of the "blood of the grape" into the gift of the Eucharistic cup.

There is also a significant Messianic fulfillment of this passage in the reference to the "star" that comes from Jacob (Num 24:17) and the star that signified the birth of Jesus, the heir to the Davidic kingdom (Mt 22).  The emblem of a star was not associated with King David until centuries after the destruction of the second Temple-a triangle is the Greek symbol for the letter "D", delta.  The "star of David" is one Greek delta imposed upside-down over another delta.  The Fathers of the Church saw Balaam's prophecy as the star that appeared in the heavens on the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem. 

When the Wise Men (Magi) approached King Herod to help them find the newborn king, a worried Herod (who was an Idumean and not a Jew) consulted the Jewish scribes and teachers and told them to search for the prophecies in Scripture concerning the coming of the Messiah (Mt 2:1-7).  The Fathers of the Church believed that Balaam's prophecy of the star and a future king was surely one of the prophecies pointed out to Herod along with the prophecy that the Messiah was to be born from the tribe of Judah in Bethlehem, the city of his ancestor King David (Gen 49:10; Mic 5:1-3; CCC 528).

Question: Compare Balaam's prophecy in Numbers 24:17-19 as it was fulfilled in King David and as it was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.
Answer:

Balaam's prophecy in Numbers 24:17-19 partially fulfilled in David and completely fulfilled in Jesus
Prophecy	David	Jesus
I see him-not in the present.  I perceive him-not close at hand = an important birth in the future	David changed the history of Israel.	Jesus changed the history of mankind.
A star is emerging from Jacob, a scepter is rising from Israel* ... =  a king of Israel	David was a descendant of Jacob from the tribe of Judah who became king of Israel.	Jesus was a descendant of Jacob and David from the tribe of Judah whose birth was announced by a star.  He is the King of Kings.
... to strike the brow of Moab, the skulls of all the children of Seth.  Edom too will be conquered land, Seir too will be a conquered land, when Israel exerts his strength, when Jacob tramples on his enemies and destroys the last survivors of Ar.	David conquered all the nations who were enemies living on the borders of Israel.	Jesus' enemy, King Herod, was an Idumean (Edom).  Jesus' dominion is over all earthly kingdoms and all of them will answer to Him in the Last Judgment.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2010 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.

*see Gen 49:10

Chapter 25: Israel's Fall from Grace on the Plains of Moab

Chapter 25 is in a sense the conclusion of the Balaam narrative.  While the Israelites were encamped at Shittim, near the shrine of Baal of Peor on the frontier between Israel and Moab on the Plains of Moab, the Moabite women seduced the Israelite men into worshipping Baal through ritual prostitution during the sacred banquet of communion sacrifices that were offered to the god Baal.  Baal had replaced El as the principal deity of Canaan and the Transjordan.  Shittim is called Abel-ha-Shittim in Joshua 2:1b.  It was part of the Plain of Moab just to the northeast of the Dead Sea (Num 33:49). 

Numbers 25:1-9 Israel at the Sanctuary of Baal-Peor

The sexual orgy at Peor in honor of the false god Baal evoked the wrath of God.  Moses and the faithful of Israel were distraught and were weeping in front of the Sanctuary.

Question: What was God's first command to stop the orgy?
Answer: He told Moses to take all the Israelites leaders who encouraged the worship of Baal and to execute them.

Phinehas saw how one of the men of Israel brought a Midianite woman to his tent (Numbers 25:6). When Phinehas saw this, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear. He “went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly” (Numbers 25:8).

 A print from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations

Numbers 25:10-13 Yahweh's Covenant of Peace with Phinehas

Question: Who is Phinehas?  See Ex 6:25; Num 3:32; Josh 24:33; Judg 20:281 1Chr 6:21; 9:20; Sir 45:23/28-24/30.
Answer: A priestly grandson of Aaron, son of the High Priest Eleazar, who succeeded his father as chief of the Levitical guard and who later succeeded his father as Israel's High Priest after his father's death.

Question: Why was the covenant with Phinehas called a "covenant of peace"?
Answer: Like his grandfather Aaron, Phinehas had the courage to stand in the breech between God's wrath and the salvation of the people.  His act of courage restored peace between God and Israel.

Numbers 25:14-18 The Aftermath of Israel's Covenant Ordeal

The woman who was killed was the daughter of a Midianite chieftain in alliance with the Moabites.  After this disastrous event, relations with Midian were no longer friendly and eventually the Israelites went to war against the tribes of Midian.  Only those Midianites related to Hobab who remained loyal to Israel were given, as Moses promised, a portion of the Promise Land to call their own.  It was according to the blessing of Balaam: Blessed be those who bless you, and accursed be those who curse you! (Num 24:9b).  God blessed those Gentiles who blessed Israel and punished those who cursed Israel.

God formed a covenant of peace with Phinehas that promised a perpetual priesthood that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ the everlasting High Priest of the New Covenant.  It was a covenant within the covenant of Sinai, just as the covenant with Aaron and his descendants was a covenant within the Sinai Covenant.  The covenant with Phinehas is the sixth Biblical covenant. The inspired writer of Sirach extolled Phinehas' heroism: Phinehas son of Eleazar is third in glory because of his zeal in the fear of the Lord, because he stood firm when the people revolted, with a staunch and courageous heart; and in this way made expiation for Israel.  Hence a covenant of peace was sealed with him, making him governor of both sanctuary and people, and securing to him and his descendants the high priestly dignity for ever (Sir 45:23/28-24/20).

Question: Why did Balaam tell Balak that it would be an effective tactic to use false worship and sexual sins to separate Israel from Yahweh's blessings?  When had God warned Balaam three times that he was in danger of acting contrary to the will of God (two warnings are within Balaam's oracles?Question: Was Balaam a saint or a sinner?  See Num 22:8-24:25; 31:8-16; Dt 23:5b-6 [23:4b-5]; Josh 13:22; 24:9-10; Neh 13:2 and Rev 2:14 and quote a significant passage.
Answer:  In the beginning, Balaam was a man with a prophetic gift who profession devotion to Yahweh as his God, but in the end Balaam was a sinner who turned away from God's plan in favor of his own ambitions.  In His letter to the Christians at Pergamum, Jesus called their members who strayed from the path of righteousness the "followers of Balaam": Nevertheless, I have one or two charges against you: some of you are followers of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap for the Israelites so that they committed adultery by eating food that had been sacrificed to idols ... (Rev 2:14).

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Agape Bible Commentary 
Deuteronomy 26 

Chapter 26:1-15

This chapter addresses two ceremonies in which the heads of the Israelite families must make declarations of obedience before Yahweh's altar once a year after entering the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The Declaration of obedience and Profession of faith associated with the offering of the first fruits

First Fruits 

After the redemption of the firstborn on the night of the last Egyptian plague, the first-born of man and beast belonged to God (Ex 13:11). After taking possession of the Promised Land, the Israelites were also to offer Yahweh the first fruits of the produce of the land which were consecrated to Him (Ex 22:28; 23:19; 34:26; Lev 2:12, 14; 23:10-17; Dt 18:4).  These are tribute offerings to God the liberator and great King of Israel.  In ancient Near Eastern kingdoms it was a common practice to bring the king tribute offerings in appreciation for the king's protection and in acknowledgement of his sovereignty over the people.

Question: To whom does Yahweh share the first-fruits of the animals and the produce of the soil and well as the redemption tax paid of every first born male child?  See Num 18:8-19; Ez 44:15, 28-30.
Answer: It is the way that God provides for His chief priests and Levites in addition to the Israelite's redemption tax for first born sons.

Question: The declaration of obedience in verse 3 is followed by a profession of faith.  In what form is the profession of faith given in verses 5-9?
Answer: It is a summary of salvation history that is centered on the Egyptian deliverance.

Question: According to verses 5, who was the "wandering Aramean and what is meant by the term?
Answer: The reference is to Jacob/Israel, who was a descendant of Abraham who came from Haran, a city in the Mesopotamian providence of Aram-Naharaim, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Abraham's homeland after leaving Ur of the Chaldeans was Haran in Mesopotamia, known also as the land of Padanaram.  Abraham and his descendants were Arameans and not Israelites.  There were no Israelites until God changed Jacob's name to Israel (see Gen32:29/28 and 35:10).  The members of Jacob/Israel's family are not called "Israelites" until Genesis 46:8 on the journey into Egypt.

Question: Why isn't Jacob/Israel called a Jew?
Answer: Originally that designation meant one who is a member of the tribe of Judah (one of the twelve tribes of Israel).  Later, in the period of the divided monarchy, it meant one who was a citizen of the nation of Judah and in the Roman period, one who was a citizen of Judea.

Question: What is the theological point of the declaration that the head of the family had to make before Yahweh's altar?

Answer: Theologically, the point of this declaration is that Israel's identity is not rooted in the mythological like her neighboring states-Israel's origins are historical.  According the Pentateuch, Israel was called into existence at a precise moment in time and at a specific place-in the Exodus out of Egypt and at Mt. Sinai.

Deuteronomy 26:12-15 The Oath for the Third Year Tithe

The obligation of the third year tithe was declared in Deuteronomy 14:28-29: At the end of every three years, you must take all the tithes of your harvest for that year and collect them in your community.  Then the Levite-since he has no share or heritage of his own among you-the foreigner, the orphan and the widow living in your community, will come and eat all they want.  And so Yahweh your God will bless you in all the labors that you undertake.

Question: Every third year the tithe was collected and kept in the community to feed what groups of people within the community?
Answer: They were to provide food for the Levites, the widows, the orphans and the resident aliens.

Question: After the collection and the giving of the third year tithe for the poor, what must the covenant member, who is the head of his family, do upon the next visit to Yahweh's Sanctuary?
Answer: He must make a public declaration before Yahweh's altar that he has fulfilled his obligations to the poor and has not abused the tithe by handling the tithe while in a ritually unclean state would defile it.

Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Exhortation and Promise

As we near the end of the second homily, Moses urges the people to remain faithful to Yahweh if they want to receive the blessings He has promised.   

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 72 Deuterocanonicals and Prophecy 

CHALLENGE: “The deuterocanonical books aren’t Scripture because they aren’t prophetic. None of them claim to be written by a prophet, contain predictive prophecy, or contain messianic prophecy.”

DEFENSE: The criterion by which a book is to be evaluated for the canon is whether it is divinely inspired, not whether it is “prophetic” in those senses. Further, claims about the deuterocanonicals not containing any prophecy are inaccurate.

Books are Scripture if they are divinely inspired (2 Tim. 3:16). They do not have to have someone who functions as a prophet as their author (Luke, for example, was not known as a prophet, but he wrote at least two books of Scripture—his Gospel and Acts). Despite this, the book of Baruch is attributed to the same Baruch who served as the prophet Jeremiah’s scribe in writing the book of Jeremiah (Bar. 1:1; cf. Jer. 32:12, 36:17–18). Also, Baruch 6—also known as the Letter of Jeremiah—is attributed to Jeremiah himself (Bar. 6:1). 

Books do not have to contain predictive prophecy to be Scripture. Many do not contain forecasts of specific, future events in the literal sense of the text (i.e., the sense intended by the human author, apart from additional, spiritual meanings intended by the Holy Spirit). Ruth, Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes are examples of books that do not contain predictive prophecy. However, the deuterocanonicals do contain predictive prophecy.

This is true both of prophecies already fulfilled (see 2 Macc. 15:13–29) and prophecies still in the future (see Bar. 4:21–5:9; Tob. 14:5–7; 2 Macc. 7:23, 12:43). These reflect the same types of prophecy found in the protocanonical books of Scripture.

Messianic prophecy is usually found in the spiritual sense of Old Testament texts. For example, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1b) literally applies to the nation of Israel (see Hos. 11:1a), but in the spiritual sense it also contains a messianic prophecy (Matt. 2:15).

The deuterocanonicals contain messianic prophecies of this sort that are just as clear as those found in the protocanonicals.

For example, Wisdom 2:12–23 contains a meditation on how the wicked plot against a righteous man who regards himself as God’s son. They condemn him to a shameful death, but they do not recognize the secret purposes of God, who created man for incorruption. This is a clearer messianic prophecy than most.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist

Bible in One Year Day 71 (Numbers 23, Deuteronomy 24-25, Psalm 106)

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Day 71:  The Source of the Law

Agape Bible Commentary 

Numbers 23 

Numbers 23:1-10 Balaam's First Attempt to Curse Israel

Balaam instructed the Moabites to build seven altars and to offer two sacrifices on each altar.  Seven was a number of significance for all the various peoples of Canaan and the Transjordan.  

In the earlier sacrifices and the sacred meal shared with the Moabite delegation, Balaam clearly accepted the contract to curse the Israelites-but he warned them it was a contract he may not be able to fulfill.  The second series of sacrifices were meant to bless the oracle he was prepared to give. Since he was not an Israelite, he was not part of the Sinai covenant law and was not restricted from building other altars.

Question: What was the law concerning the practice of witchcraft/sorcery for members of the Sinai Covenant?  See Ex 22:17; Lev 20:6, 27, Dt 18:10-12.
Answer:  Seeking to determine the will of God was permitted, but sorcery, seeking to predict the future apart from the will of God, was forbidden and punishable by death.

 Keshafim (sorcery) was a practice that was forbidden under the Law of the Sinai Covenant. Balaam heard the voice of Yahweh, but he also practiced divination through observing omens (Num 24:1).

Question: Why didn't Balaam curse the Israelites?
Answer: As Balaam told Balak in 22:38, Yahweh used him as an instrument for conveying God's divine will and he could not speak on his own contrary to God's will. 

In Balaam's first attempt, God put words of praise in his mouth.  The content of the first oracle:

1. He began his poem by alluding to his Aramean heritage. The first line of verse 7 can mean that he was destined to answer Balak's invitation to come from his homeland to this region for this very event or that he recently made the journey. 
2. He praised Israel for being God's chosen people out of all the nations of the earth.  Verse 10 is an allusion to great numbers of the Israelites and the dust clouds the people raised on the march.
3. The oracle concluded with a petition that Balaam's destiny may be linked to the blessings of Israel.

The third part of the oracle can be seen as God's second warning to Balaam.

Balaam Blessing the Israelites (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)

Numbers 23:11-15 Balak's Response to the First Oracle

Sedeh-zophim in verse 14 is literally translated "mountain of the watchmen".  It was probably a lookout post for the seers/astronomers who were "watchers of the skies" to observe omens like the movement of celestial bodies or the flight of birds.

Question: What was the Moabite king's reaction to the first oracle and what is Balaam's defense?
Answer: Balak was shocked that Balaam had not only failed to curse the Israelites but that he blessed them!  Balaam reminded the king that he can only speak the words that Yahweh gives him.

Balak wasn't about to give up and concluded that perhaps the problem wasn't with the renown seer but with the site chose for the oracle. Perhaps a better vantage point could produce better results.  The building of altars and offering of sacrifices was repeated to enhance the second attempt to curse the Israelites.

Balak Wearing a Crown

Numbers 23:16-24 Balaam's Second Oracle

The content of the second oracle:

1. The oracle begins by addressing Balak and commanding him to understand that it is Yahweh's will to bless Israel (verses 18-20).
2. The second part recalls Israel's liberation from Egypt (verses 21-22).
3. The third part prophesies Israel's future success in her conquest of the region (verses 23-24).

Notice in verse 17 that Balak uses Yahweh's divine name.  He now acknowledges that it is Israel's God and Israel's God alone who determines the fate of His people.  Balak changed the site of the second round of sacrifices and the location of Balaam's oracle hoping that he could favorably influence Israel's God.

Question: What was God's response to Balak's maneuverings?  See Num 23:18-19.
Answer: God answered that he is not like human beings.  God is faithful and keeps His promises, unlike human kings like Balak who lie and change their minds according to the circumstances.

Numbers 23:25-30: Balak's Response to the Second Oracle

After the second failure to curse Israel and God's direct message to him, Balak was not prepared to give up his plan to curse the Israelites.  Again he changed the location of the sacrifice hoping the win Yahweh's favor. 

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Agape Bible Commentary 

Deuteronomy 24 -25 

Chapter 24: Divorce and Daily Life

The next section has twelve laws dealing with divorce and righteous living within the community of Israel.  Verses 22:6, 10, 14, 17, 19-21 are addressed to ethical treatment of the poor.  Laws prescribing the conditions that are acceptable for divorce are not found in the Torah or in any other of the Bible books.  There are sexual and marital prohibitions listed in Leviticus 18:1-22 and 21:7, 14 (for the marriage of priests), and laws concerning marriage to and divorce from captive Gentile women (21:10-14).  The only part of the Law that speaks of a reason for divorce is found in the case law in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 in which a man has found some "impropriety" for which he wants to divorce his wife, which might be assumed to be a violation of one of the laws given in the Holiness Code forbidding certain kinds of sexual unions (Lev 18:1-22).

Deuteronomy 24:1-4
Laws Regulating Divorce and Remarriage

When Jesus spoke of divorce in the New Testament, His teaching was unambiguous.  In the Sermon on the Mount, after speaking of the commandment forbidding adultery in the Decalogue and coupling the breaking of that commandment with the promised of eternal destruction in Gehenna/Hell of the damned (Mt 5:27-30), Jesus quoted from this passage in Deuteronomy, saying 'It has also been said, Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal.  But I say this to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of an illicit marriage, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery (Mt 5:31-32 quoting Dt 24:1; emphasis added).

The priests and scribes interpreted Deuteronomy 24:1, deciding for what reasons a man could divorce his wife beyond the law prescribed in the Holiness Code forbidding marriages within the prohibited degrees (Lev 18:1-22).  Some scholars list adultery as one of the reasons, but this was unnecessary.  If a man could prove adultery with witnesses, the wife was stoned to death, freeing him from the marriage; or if he only suspected adultery, there was the ordeal by bitter water that could settle the issue for the family and the community (Num 5:13-31).  The problem with the ambiguous nature of the passage in Deuteronomy 24:1 was that evidently any excuse came to be accepted for a "writ of dismissal."  However, when asked about the subject of divorce Jesus gave a very clear teaching on marriage and divorce to some Pharisees who were testing Him in front of a large Jewish crowd.  Please read Matthew 19:1-9 or Mark 10:1-12.

Question: What was Jesus' answer to the Pharisees who asked him if it was against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext?  See Mt 19:3-9 and Mk 10:2-12.
Answer: First, Jesus rejected polygamy by saying it was God's plan from Creation that one man should be married to one woman (Mt 19:4-6).  Then, when the Pharisees brought up Moses' legislation on divorce (Mk 10:4), Jesus replied that Moses' legislation was based on the hard-hearts of the Israelite men and affirmed for a second time that this was not God's plan from the beginning (Mt 19:8; Mk 10:5).  He further clarified His statement when questioned by His disciples by saying that anyone who divorced and then married someone else was committing adultery (Mt 19:9; Mk 10:11-12).

Question: What was the one exception that Jesus gave for divorce?

Answer: In the case of "unfitness" (probably illicit marriage), one could divorce.

Question: What is the obligation of a newly married man?

Answer: To make his wife happy.

Love was usually not a factor in the selection of a bride. Most marriages were arranged by the parents, and the betrothal period was intended to give the prospective bride and groom a chance to become acquainted under the supervision of the bride's family.  Still, the couple remained relative strangers (unless they grew up in the same village) until the marriage.  This law gave the husband the opportunity to win his bride's love and to produce an heir before he risked his life fighting for Israel.

Question: Why was it forbidden to take a millstone as collateral in exchange for a loan?

Answer: A millstone was necessary to grind the grain to produce flour that could be baked into bread.  Bread was the basic necessity of life for ancient people.  To take one's millstone as collateral for a loan would be an unreasonable hardship on a person or a family and was an act of cruelty that the law forbade-it would be a threat to the life of the person, hence the phrase that would be to take life itself in pledge.

Law 6: This law is a repeat of the law in Exodus 22:25-26.  A standard of Israelite righteousness is established in this law.  One does not force exact payment of a loan that would be a hardship for the debtor, but instead one allows a poor person to retain his pledge overnight if the item pledged is necessity for daily life, like a handmill or a cloak (also see Job 22:6; Am 2:8).

Law 7: Exploitation of the poor is expressly forbidden in the Law, including foreigners living in the land; also see Dt 24:17-18; Jer 22:13; Mal 3:5; Jm 5:4.  Any wages due to a worker must be paid before sunset (Lev 19:13).

Law 8: Punishment for a crime was to be the responsibility of the perpetrator.  Members of the person's family could not be held accountable for a family member's criminal act.  This Law establishes the doctrine of individual responsibility.  It is a doctrine that is applied in 2 Kings 14:6 where this passage is quoted, and it is affirmed in Jeremiah 31:29-30, in Ezekiel 14:12-20, and in 18:10-20.

Law 9: The Law is to be applied with justice for all member of society.  This law is a repeat, with slight variation, from Exodus 22:20-23. Like Exodus 22:20, the command is that Israel's historical experience of slavery and poverty in Egypt should make them more sensitive to the rights of foreigners living in their land and to the plight of the poor.  It is a command that will be repeated at the end of this section of laws in 24:22.

Law 10: Commands providing for feeding the poor are found in each of the codified laws (see Ex 23:11; Lev 19:9ff).  

Question: How did the widow Ruth's knowledge of this law help her to provide food for herself and her widowed mother-in-law?  How did this convert to the faith's knowledge of the law become an additional blessing?  See Rt 2:2-4; 4:9-10.
Answer: Ruth's knowledge of the law led her to ask Naomi to let her go into the fields to glean.  It was in gleaning the fields that she met her future husband. 

Law 11: Olives were harvested by beating the branches with long poles to dislodge the ripe fruit (see Is 17:6).  Owners of olive trees were to only beat the branches once; leaving the remaining immature fruit that had not yet ripened at the time of harvest to be collected later by the poor.

Law 12: Owners of vineyards were to only have the harvesters go through the field once, leaving the remaining immature clusters to ripe for the poor.

Chapter 25: Miscellaneous Laws

Deuteronomy 25:1-4
Limited punishment and the ethical treatment of animals/laborers
Flogging was generally used as a punishment for workers and children.  The law limited the number of blows a man could receive in a flogging to prevent serious injury or the possibility of flogging someone to death.  A man was to be appointed by the court to count the number of blows so the person doing the flogging did not loose count.

Question: What was the limit on the number of blows that could be struck?
Answer: Forty.

Question: How does St. Paul use this passage as an example in his letter to the Corinthians and to St. Timothy?  See 1 Cor 9:9; 1 Tim 5:17-18 and also Lk 10:7.

Answer: It is St. Paul's argument that faith communities should provide for the welfare of the apostles sent by Christ to minister to them and to plant the seeds of faith in the same way that it is commanded by God that an animal laboring in the harvest should receive its fair share for the labor it performs.  In his letter to St. Timothy, he also refers to Jesus' statement in Luke 10:7 that a worker in the Lord's harvest of souls deserved his wage.

Deuteronomy 25:5-10 The Levirate Law

Question: What are the conditions under which an exception is granted?

Answer:

1. The brothers were living together with their families.
2. The dead man's wife has no children.*
3. The brother-in-law must be willing to take up this responsibility.

Question: What story in Genesis is concerned with such a marriage and the widow's determination to assert her rights?  What other Biblical heroine claimed the same right through a kinsman redeemer?

Answer: In the story of Tamar and Judah, Tamar deceived her father-in-law Judah in order to secure her right to bear a son from the tribe of Judah.  Ruth made the same claim on her dead husband's kinsman, Boaz.

Question: What were the two practical reasons for such a practice?
Answer:

1. A childless widow was expected to return to her father's house where she became a person with no status within the family.  If she had a child in her husband's family, she may stay and if she had a son, she could expect that he would care for her in her old age.
2. The son born from the brother-in-law but recognized as the heir of the woman's dead husband perpetuated the family name and added to the stability of the family inheritance rights.  A daughter born to the widow and the dead man's brother could also inherit the share of the dead brother if there were no sons.

Question: How did the Sadducees use this law as an argument against the doctrine of the resurrection in a discussion with Jesus, and what was Jesus' reply?  See Mt 22:23-33.  The Sadducees did not believe in the Resurrection of the dead.
Answer: They suggested a hypothetical case in which a woman had been widowed repeatedly and married seven brothers, asking Jesus to which husband she would be married at the Resurrection.  Jesus replied that there would be a final resurrection but that there was no marriage in heaven.

Deuteronomy 25:11-16 Unseemly Behavior in Brawls and Honesty in Using Weights and Measures

It was forbidden to deliberately attempt to damage someone's sexual organs.  This is the only example of punishment by mutilation in the Pentateuch.

Dishonesty in the application of weights and measures in trade was strictly forbidden. 

Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Remembering Amalekite Treachery.

Question: Who were the Amalekites?  Why are the Israelite's commanded the blot out the memory of these people?  See Gen 36:12; Ex 17:8-16.

Answer: The Amalekites were descendants of Esau who attacked the children of Israel on their march out of Egypt on the way to Mt. Sinai.  The battle with the Amalekites was Israel's first major battle and first victory.  After the battle, God told Moses to write down the events of the battle to commemorate it.  God then made the promise that He would be at war with Amalek generation after generation.  The new generation of Israelites is admonished to remember the treachery of the Amalekites and to fulfill God's promise.

This isn't the first reminder of the treachery of the Amalekites since Israel's victory in Exodus chapter 17. In Balaam's oracle of the future king in Israel, the oracle is followed by the reminder of the destruction of the Amalekites (see Num 24:1-20; also see 1 Chr 4:42-43).  God has no mercy for those who refuse to show mercy to the weak and helpless.

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 71 Translations of Translations? 

CHALLENGE: “The Bible has been translated over and over again in history. That’s like making a photocopy of a photocopy—eventually, the image becomes blurry. Why should we trust the Bible, considering how many times it has been translated?” 

DEFENSE: Modern Bible translations are made directly from the original languages, not other translations. 

There have been many translations of the Bible, but the major translations published today are not based on other translations. The books of the Bible were originally written in three languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. These are not mysterious, lost languages. Each is well understood. Knowledge of them has survived down through history.

In fact, there are people today who speak dialects of these languages as their native tongues. Hebrew is commonly spoken in modern Israel, Aramaic in various Middle Eastern communities, and Greek in Greece. 

Languages change over time, but scholars have access to extensive collections of ancient manuscripts—as well as modern reference works—that enable them to understand these languages and to translate the books of the Bible directly from them. These languages are not particularly difficult, and there are many introductory textbooks and courses that let anyone who wants to learn them do so. The fact that knowledge of these languages is so widely available means that the major translations serve as a check on one another. 

As long as no translation has a monopoly, readers can check other translations to see how they render a passage. There will always be oddball, eccentric translations of the Bible (just as there can be for secular works written in other languages), but these are usually produced by single, eccentric individuals.

By contrast, the major translations of the Bible are made by teams of scholars who develop a consensus about how to render a text. They thus do not reflect the views of any single translator. Many Bible commentaries and other reference works discuss translation issues extensively, allowing individuals to see arguments for and against different ways of rendering a passage. Finally, modern Bible software is designed to let even an individual who does not know these languages to examine the original language text, look up the meaning of words, understand the grammar, and make an informed assessment.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist

Freedom from Idolatry - Excerpt from Let Freedom Ring

                                   

  Excerpt from Let Freedom Ring 

"Freedom from Idolatry" by Fr. Rick Heilman

Reports surfaced that there was no cell phone activity in a high-security portion of the Wuhan Institute of Virology from October 7 through October 24, 2019, indicating that there may have been a "hazardous event" on or about October 6. On the very same day (October 6), Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of Akita received a private message ... the first since 1973 (year of infamous Roe v. Wade decision). The message was not unlike the warning Jonah received for Nineveh, in that it called for repentance: "Put on ashes and pray a repentant rosary every day."

It's more than interesting that Our Lady of Fatima appeared with her warning from May to October in 1917, urging the world to pray the rosary, repent, turn from its wicked ways, and return to the Lord, or there would be consequences. This warning came just before the 1918 plague (the Spanish Flu) broke out and claimed 50 million lives. Until now, this was the last plague in which churches were closed.

A consistent theme in the Bible is that when the people distance themselves from God and His will, which always leads to idolatry, God repeatedly allows a punishment, which is usually a plague.

Our Lady of Fatima pointed to the errors of Russia: "Russia will spread its errors throughout the world, raising up wars and persecutions against the Church." It was in May of 1917 (just as Our Lady first appeared to the children in Fatima) that the Russian Revolution broke out, leading the way to communism. Communism is a reductively atheistic materialist worldview which aims at undermining anything Christian in society. At its essence, communism is an idolatry of man over God, and its atheistic materialist worldview has spread across the planet like a virus.

What about our time? On March 24, 2020, as we were entering the height of the COVID-19 plague's worst devastation, Bishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas, tweeted the following: "People of the world, fall to your knees. Fall to your knees to beg forgiveness of your sins. Stop worshiping yourself, stop worshiping creation, stop worshiping your desires, fall to your knees and worship God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Repent!" Bishop Strickland was among many, including myself, who recognized the biblical and historic connection between idolatry and plagues.

According to paragraph 2113 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, Satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc." What do we revere ahead of God?

So many times, I have pointed to the Pew Research study from August 5, 2019, which revealed that nearly 70% of professed Catholics don't believe in the Real Presence. 70%!!! I recall Bishop Robert Barron being shaken by this, but very few others. Personally, I believed this was a "make or break" moment in which the Church needed to act decisively, or else.

But no, instead, the talk of communion for those in mortal sin, ending celibacy for priests, women as deacons, sodomy no longer being a sin, nature worship, etc. only accelerated in the weeks and months that followed (leading up to October 2019). It became so escalated during this time, that there was even an apparent movement to "normalize" pagan idols being brought into our churches. It was as if you could hear God say, "ENOUGH!"

Okay, so what do we do? My thoughts go to Nineveh and Jonah's warning given to them. What did they do? They repented and even put on sackcloth as an outward sign of their humility before God. Most importantly, and this is repeated throughout the Bible, they put down their idols and made God the highest priority in their lives.

Now is the time for us to be honest with ourselves and ask, "What am I making a priority ahead of God in my life? What are my idols?" We must ramp up our prayer and fasting, particularly for the bishops and priests in our Church to become more and more courageous in their stand against the forces in the world who oppose God and His will. The laity must be courageous too!

Satan and his narcissistic useful idiots are emboldened, maybe as never before. Why? Because we are too busy with our idols to stand up for God and His will. The hope is that the horror of this plague and the shock of unbridled evil from sea to shining sea will bring us to our knees, as a country, as we call out to God seeking His love and His mercy!

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).

We love You, Lord! We are so sorry, Lord! Heal our land, Lord!

 

Prayer of Reparation

My Lord and my God, we have allowed the temptation of the devil to move our hearts to not see fulfillment in Your goodness. We have stilled our tongues in the face of evil. We have been too self-involved to notice the damage our sins have wreaked on our neighbor and broken faith with You. We have expected You to be pleased with our duplicitous and selfish hearts. We have, at times, been a source of scandal for those searching through our sinfulness and rebellion to You. In our fear, we have allowed the ancient foe to advance. We turn to You Lord, in our sorrow and guilt, and beg Your forgiveness for our idolatry and lack of sorrow. We beg for the grace of Your goodness to build up within us what You sought to build up in Your apostles in that tempest-tossed boat. We know, Lord, if You will it, it will be done. Trusting in You, we offer our prayer to You who live and reign forever. Amen.

Bible In One Year Day 70 (Numbers 22, Deuteronomy 23, Psalm 105)

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Day 70:  The Offence of Balaam 

Agape Bible Commentary 

Numbers Chapter 22 

Numbers 22:1-6 King Balak of Moab Sends an Appeal to the prophet Balaam

The Israelites have arrived in the final encampment after defeating the Amorites and taking their territory along the Jordan River Valley from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north (Num 21:21-24).  The phrase in Hebrew, "beyond the Jordan of Jericho" in verse 1, means the Israelite camp was situated at a point on the east side of the Jordan River directly across from the city of Jericho on the west bank.  They were encamped in the territory they had conquered from the Amorites, the same territory of King Sihon of the Amorites had claimed after defeating the army of Moab (Num 21:25-26)-territory that Moab apparently now wished to reclaim. 

Balak knew some of the history of the foreign people encamped upon the Plains of Moab across from Jericho.  He knew that they had come out of Egypt forty years earlier. 

Question: Why was Balak afraid of the Israelites and why didn't he attempt to drive them out by force?
Answer: He was afraid because there were so many Israelites, and he feared they would consume all the region's resources.  

Question: What ancestor of the Israelites was an Aramean from Haran/Nahor?  What other Arameans were ancestors of the Israelites?  See Gen 11:31; 24:2-4, 10, 67; 29:1-6, 15-30; Dt 26:5.

Answer: Abraham was an Aramean as were his kinsmen who continued to live in Haran.  His son and his grandson both married Aramean women from Haran.

In Numbers 23:7 Balaam mentions the region of Kedem/Qadem as his homeland. 

Question: In Numbers 23:7, what does Balaam say was the region of his homeland and how does that relate to Abraham's family?  See Gen 29:1-4.
Answer: Balaam claimed the region of Kedem/Qadem as his homeland.  Haran was a city located on a tributary of the Euphrates in Mesopotamia.  The city was the home of Abraham's family before he left for Canaan.  

Numbers 22:7-14 Balaam Gives His Answer

Balaam had the genuine gift of prophecy.  He was in communication with Yahweh and even called Yahweh "my God" (Num 22:8, 18-19). 

Question: What do the prophetic gifts of this non-Israelite Gentile and his special communication with Yahweh reveal?
Answer: Balaam's prophetic gifts show that God did not limit His interaction with the family of Adam to the descendants of Jacob/Israel.  God called all peoples of the earth to know and serve Him, just as He also called and blessed the Kenizzite Gentile, Caleb.

Question: What instructions did Yahweh give Balaam? See Num 22:12.
Answer: He was not to accept the Moabite King's invitation.  He could not curse the Israelites because they were blessed by God.

Numbers 22:15-21 King Balak's Second Appeal to Balaam

After Balaam's refusal Balak upped the ante in a second attempt to convince the prophet to be his agent against Israel. 

Question: What did Balak offer in the first appeal as opposed to what he offered in the second?
Answer: The first time Balak offered wealth, but in the second appeal he offered power.

Question: How did Balaam refer to Yahweh?
Answer: He referred to Yahweh as "my God."

God came to Balaam in a dream that night.

Question: What was the divine revelation?
Answer: This time God told Balaam to accompany Balak's emissaries back to Moab. 

Balaam and the angel (Gustav Jaeger) 

Numbers 22:22-34 Balaam's Donkey and the Angel of God

Balaam began his journey with the envoys from Moab (verses 21 and 35), but verse 22 only mentions his two servants traveling with him, making a party of three men.

Question: What is the significance of the mention of Balaam in the company of only two servants making the journey?
Answer: This is another signpost where the number three points to something significant that is about to happen in God's plan for man's salvation. 

We have seen this significant marker using the number three before: for example when Abraham was visited by three "men" in Genesis 18:2 and when Abraham took three persons (his son Isaac and two servants) on the journey to Mt. Moriah (Gen 22:3.  We will see this "sign" again many other times, including the New Testament, for example in the Gospels when Jesus took three Apostles with Him to ascend the Mt. of Transfiguration (Mt 17:1; Mk 9:2; Lk 9:28). 

Question: What are those events within the episode and list the verses?
Answer: Balaam struck his donkey three times (verses 28 and 32) and the angel blocked Balaam path three times (verses 23, 24, 26, and 33).

Question: Why do you think God reversed His earlier instructions by telling Balaam in a dream to go to Moab?
Answer: The text does not provide any information as to why God reversed his instructions in the dream, allowing Balaam to go to Moab, or why God became angry with Balaam for going.  One reason is obvious-without going and giving God's blessings and prophetic vision for Israel we would not have the oracles that point to the significant events that will take place in the future of God's people. 

St. Peter also wrote of Balaam's deficiencies, comparing him to men who are more concerned with material rewards than with offending God: They have left the right path and wandered off to follow the path of Balaam son of Bosor (a variation of Beor in Greek),who set his heart on a dishonest reward, but soon had his fault pointed out to him: a dumb beast of burden, speaking with a human voice, put a stop to the madness of the prophet (2 Pt 2:15).

The exchange between Balaam and the donkey gives us some insight into Balaam's character.  It is difficult to know what is most surprising-the donkey given the power of human speech or Balaam's seemingly calm reaction to the talking donkey.

Question: The donkey had faithfully served Balaam "all his life" (verse 30), and yet what did Balaam say he would have done to her had he the means to fulfill his intent?  What does this tell us about Balaam?
Answer: He said if he had a sword he would have killed her.  Balaam is ungrateful for his beast's long years of service.

It is also interesting that the angel chastised Balaam for the way he treated the donkey.  According the blessings God first gave mankind in Genesis 1:28, we have dominion over creation but only as caretakers.  We do not have the right to abuse what God has created.   Chastising Balaam for his treatment of the donkey, the angel told Balaam that he was under a death sentence from which his donkey saved him.  The angel also added that had he killed Balaam that the donkey would have been spared!

Question: Why was Balaam under a death judgment and why did Balaam confess that he had sinned in verse 34?  What was his sin?  What were God's instructions to Balaam when He gave him permission to make the journey?  Also see 2 Pt 2:15 and Jude 11.
Answer: According to Balaam's instructions when he was given permission to make the journey, God told the prophet in verse 21 that he was only to do what God told him to do.  Since God can read the human heart, it must be that Balaam was already contriving in his proud heart how he could get the riches and honors that Balak was offering him by weakening Balak's enemy even if he could not voice a public curse against the Israelites.

St. Jude compared Balaam with Cain (Gen 4) and Korah (Num 16-17): Alas for them, because they have followed Cain; they have thrown themselves into the same delusion as Balaam for a reward; they have been ruined by the same rebellion as Korah-and share the same fate (Jude 11).  It was the sin of pride and their opposition to the will of God that was the downfall of both Cain and Korah.  Only God can read a human heart and Balaam's heart had been read and was judged not entire pure.  However, with the divine messenger's warning and his confession of sin, Balaam had the opportunity to repent and to resubmit himself to God's plan. 

Numbers 22:36-42 Balak Meets With Balaam

King Balak expressed his irritation that Balaam didn't come when he was first summoned.  It probably didn't sooth Balak's irritation, but Balaam reminded the king that he had certain limitations.

Question:  What were those limitations?
Answer: He can only say the words that Yahweh gives him.

Balaam will repeat three times to Balak that his prophetic gifts come from Yahweh and he can only say the words that Yahweh gives him (Numbers 22:28, 23:12 and in 24:12-13).

Agape Bible Commentary 

Deuteronomy Chapter 23 

Deuteronomy 23:2-9
Restrictions on Access to Israel's National Assembly

The "Assembly/Congregation of Yahweh" (kahal, meaning the "called out ones" in Hebrew) served as the national governing body, similar to a national legislature, and was responsible for a broad range of judicial, political, and national policy matters (for example see Judg 20:2; 2 Sam 5:1-3; 1 Kng 12:1, 20).  The national governing Assembly was composed of all the adult males of Israel meeting in plenary session and sometimes refers to their tribal representatives acting as an executive committee.  The Assembly of Israel convened to declare war on an enemy state, to elect a king, to adjudicate legal cases, to distribute land and in covenant renewal ceremonies where allegiance was sworn in obedience to the Law of Yahweh as Israel's King.  This is not the same as the special assemblies of worship during the pilgrim feasts (first and last day of Unleavened Bread and the eighth day of Tabernacles; Lev 23:7-8, 36; Num 28:18, 25; 29:36) to which non-covenant members were not admitted.

There were three types of emasculation in the ancient world: the cutting off the testes, the cutting off of the penis, or a castration that removed both the testes and the male member.  Such procedures were usually forced on slaves who served in the royal harem.  Sometimes eunuchs rose to positions of power within ancient societies, like the Ethiopian eunuch healed by the deacon Philip who was the chief treasurer in the court of the Ethiopian queen (Acts 8:26-39). 

Question: What other reasons is given for the exclusion of the Ammonites and Moabites?

Answer: The other reason given for the exclusion of Ammonites and Moabites is their failure to be hospitable to the Israelites and the Moabites attempt to curse the Israelites during their journey through the Transjordan. 

Question: This legislation presents what four conditions in which a person is barred from participation in Israel's national assemblies (verses 2, 3, and 4-7)?

Answer:

1. Men with crushed testicles or whose male member has been cut off to make them eunuchs.
2. No offspring of incest (like the Ammonites or Moabites) or adulterous intercourse, or the son of a prostitute.
3. No resident aliens who are descendants of Ammonites or Moabites.*
4. No resident aliens who are the Egyptians or Edomites until the third generation.

The problem with men who have been emasculated by having their sexual member cut off is that they would forever be ritually unclean because of leaking urine.  If these restrictions are limited to resident aliens, emasculation would probably be the result of a punishment under the laws of neighboring countries or self-mutilation associated with pagan rites.  Ritually impure Israelites and non-covenant members were restricted from attending worship services.

The legislation concerning descendants of Aaron who are eunuchs or who have other physical deformities being barred from serving at the altar is given in Leviticus 21:17-23.

The prophet Isaiah, however, spoke of a time in the Messianic Age when even eunuchs and Gentiles would be welcomed at Yahweh's altar (Is 56:3-5). 

Question: When was this prophecy fulfilled in the New Covenant?  See Acts 8:27, 36-39.
Answer: Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled when the Ethiopian eunuch, who served as an official in the court of the queen of Ethiopia, was baptized by St. Philip. Probably St. Philip the deacon of Acts 6:5 and not Philip the Apostle (see Acts 8:1-5).

Deuteronomy 23:10-15/23:9-14 Hygiene within the Military Camp of God

One of the premises of the legislation in the books of Leviticus and Numbers is that impurity is incompatible with the presence of God.  Since God is present to fight for Israel within the camp of His holy warriors, an even stricter code of cleanliness must be in place than the laws of cleanliness which are observed in the residential camp of the covenant people where God resides in the Tabernacle: Hence you will warn the Israelites against contracting a state of uncleanness, rather than incurring death by defiling my Dwelling which is among them (Lev 15:31).  It was for this reason that anyone who had a contagious infection or genital discharge, or who was defiled by contact with a corpse had to leave the residential camp until a state of ritual purity was reestablished (Lev 15:16-16; Num 5:1-4). The same rules of ritual purity were in force in the military camp.  Most cases of ritual impurity required a ritual bath with ritual purity being restored at the beginning of the next day at sunset (Dt 23:12 and Numbers chapter 15).

Question: What were the practical reasons for requiring the soldiers to keep the camp permanently in a state of ritual holiness?

Answer: The emphasis on holiness would make the soldiers constantly aware of God's presence, their duty to be His holy warriors, and their dependence of His favor for their victory. Another practical application was that attention to hygiene would avoid the spread of sickness within the camp where men were living in close proximity to each other.

Deuteronomy 23:16-26/23:15-25 Five Laws

Law 1: While slavery is not forbidden in Scripture, God placed regulations upon how slave owners were to treat their slaves humanely.  

Law 2: No Israelite was to engage in prostitution or ever serve a pagan god as a ritual prostitute, a Canaanite practice for both men and women.  

Law 3: In ancient Israel, loans were usually charitable loans to covenant members who had fallen on difficult times (Ex 22:24; Lev 25:36-37).  It was a moral obligation to help an impoverished covenant member without increasing his poverty by requiring interest.  Lending without interest is listed as a virtue and praised as an act of generosity (Ps 15:5; 37:26; 112:5; Prov 28:8; Ez 18:8, 13, 27; 22:12). 

Law 4: Vows were usually made when a person sought divine assistance when making a petition like the birth of a child, deliverance from illness, or victory in battle (see Num 21:2; 1 Sam 1:11; Judg 11:30-31; Jon 1:16; 2:10). Numbers chapter 6 gives instructions concerning vows of abstention in association with a Nazirite vow and the necessary sacrifices at the completion of a vow.  Vows were to be fulfilled as soon as possible after the petition was granted, usually at the next pilgrim feast (1 Sam 1:21).  To act without appreciation for God's deliverance and to neglect one's vow was a grave sin (Num 30:3; Ecc 5:3-5).⁽¹²⁾

Law 5: Travelers often had to pass through grain fields and vineyards.  This was not considered trespassing, and hungry travelers were permitted to eat some of the farmer's grain or to eat some grapes or figs, as Jesus' hungry disciples helped themselves to some grain from a farmer's field (Mt 12:1-2) and as Jesus looked for figs to eat when He was hungry while traveling from the Mt. of Olives to Jerusalem one morning (Mt 21:18-19).

Question: What restrictions were placed on travelers who took advantage of this generosity?
Answer: Travelers must only hand-pick and eat what they needed.  They could not carry away grain or fruit in a bag or basket nor could they cut the grain with a sickle.

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 70 Abortion as a “Religious Issue”

CHALLENGE: “Abortion is a religious issue, and those who disapprove of abortion must not impose their religious beliefs on others.” 

DEFENSE: Abortion is not a “religious issue.” It is a human-rights issue.

Even if abortion were a religious issue, there is no reason why religious people should set aside their moral values on this topic or any other. Religious values have played an indispensable role in issues from caring for the poor and the sick to ending slavery and tyranny. 

To suggest that religious people should not bring their values to bear on public issues also misunderstands the nature of democracy, which exists precisely to allow people to express their views on how society should be run.

But the truth is that abortion is not a religious issue. When people say it is, they imply that it is a matter of faith rather than reason. This is false. A powerful case against abortion can be made without bringing religion into the discussion. Unborn children simply are innocent human beings, and their innate right to life must be respected like that of any other innocent human being (see Days 88, 185, 191, 202).

It is a scientific fact that the unborn are living human organisms. This is not a religious claim. It does not depend on the teaching of any church or spiritual leader. It is a matter of basic biology, and only deliberate self-deception could allow one to avoid this fact.

Once you recognize that, the question is what you will do in response: Will you acknowledge the right to life possessed by all innocent human beings? Or will you begin the rationalizations people engage in when they wish to deprive an entire class of human beings of their right to life whether that class be unborn children, the mentally retarded, Jews, or anyone else. 

In other words, the question is whether you will side with those who justify and commit genocide or with those who seek to protect innocent human beings. From a moral perspective, the correct choice is obvious, but too many today use the claim that abortion is a “religious issue” simply to shut down rational discussion of the subject and evade the clear implications of the facts.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist