You may subscribe yourself at the Ascension site here and receive notifications in your email, or just follow along on my blog. Bible in One Year Readings Index
Joshua 19:1-9 ~ The tribe of Simeon's allotment within the tribe of Judah
Fourteen place-names are listed.
Question: Who was Simeon among the sons of Jacob-Israel?
Answer: Simeon was the second son of Jacob and Leah. Simeon and his brother Levi broke Jacob-Israel's covenant with the people of Shechem and were cursed by their father on his deathbed, doomed to be scattered throughout the land of promise.
In the census from numbers chapter 26, Simeon had the smallest population of fighting men of the twelve tribes. In fulfillment of Jacob-Israel's deathbed prophecy, the tribe members of the tribe of Simeon will be absorbed within the tribe of Judah and any remaining members will oppose Davadic king Rehoboam, will defect to the north, and will be disbursed among the northern tribes in 930 BC.
Joseph 19:10-18 ~ The land allotted to the tribe of Zebulun
The town of Bethlehem mentioned in verse 15 is in the region of the Galilee and is not the Bethlehem where David and Jesus were born in the Judean hill country.
Question: Who was Zebulun among the sons of Jacob-Israel?
Answer: He was the sixth son of Jacob and Leah but the tenth son in birth order.
Joshua 19:17-23 ~ The land allotted to the tribe of Issachar
Tabor is a mountain but it may also be a town "in that case there are sixteen towns listed.
Question: Who was Issachar among the sons of Jacob-Israel?
Answer: He was the fifth son of Jacob and Leah but the ninth son in birth order.
Issachar's territory was between the eastern Jezreel Valley and the Jordan River.
Joshua 19:24-31 ~ The land allotted to the tribe of Asher
Question: Who was Asher among the sons of Jacob-Israel? See Gen 30:9-13.
Answer: He was the second son of Jacob-Israel and Leah's slave Zilpah. He was the eighth son in birth order.
Question: What was the name of the prophetess from Asher who blessed the Christ Child when His parents brought Him to the Jerusalem Temple for Mary's purification sacrifice, to present her firstborn son to the Lord, and to pay His redemption tax? What was her reaction to the baby Jesus?
Answer: Anna was an 84 year old widow of the tribe of Asher. She came up just as Simeon prophesied that Jesus was "destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed..." She too recognized Jesus as the Messiah and began to praise God and spoke of the child to those who looked forward to the messianic deliverance of Jerusalem.
Joshua 19:32-39 ~ The land allotted to Naphtali
The lands Naphtali were in the mountainous region of upper and eastern Galilee.
Question: Who was Naphtali?
Answer: He was the second son of Jacob-Israel and Rachel's slave Bilhah. He was the sixth son in birth order.
Joshua 19:40-48 ~ The land allotted to Dan
The lands allotted to the tribe of Dan were situated west of Benjamin's territory, between the lands of Ephraim and Judah. These lands were still occupied by the Amorites and the Danites were not able to defeat them. Eventually many clans were driven out by the Amorites (Judg 1:34-35) and the rest by the Philistines (Judg 13-16). After being driven out by their enemies, the tribe of Dan will migrate to settle in the northern most part of Israel at Leshem/Laish (which means "lion") at the foot of Mt. Hermon on the frontier of Bashan (Judg 18; an event foretold in Moses' blessing for Dan and in Dt 33:22). Hence, when describing the entire nation of Israel, stretching from north to south, the saying will be "from Dan to Beersheba" (Judg 20:1; 2 Sam 3:10); 17:11; 24:2; 1 Kng 4:25), or in reverse from south to north by the saying "from Beersheba to Dan" (1 Chr 21:2; 2 Chr 30:5).
Question: Who was Dan among the sons of Jacob-Israel?
Answer: He was the first son of Jacob-Israel and Rachel's slave Bilhah. He was the fifth son in birth order.
Joshua 19:49-51 ~ Joshua's heritage and the allotment concluded
The allotment of the land according to Divine decree is thus completed and ends with the gift of land to faithful Joshua. Timnath-Serah was in the highlands of the tribal lands of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash (Josh 24:30; Judg 2:9).
+++
Chapter 20: The Application of the Laws of Asylum
Chapters 20-21 are one unit in which the cities of privilege were defined. Those cities were the Cities of Refuge that offered sanctuary and the Levitical Cities that were the residences of the chief priests and lesser ministers of the hereditary, ministerial priesthood.
The Cities of Refuge: The law forbidding the intentional taking of innocent life is found in the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:13 and Dt 5:17), but the command against the shedding of innocent blood extends back to the first murder in the death of righteous Abel (Gen 4:9-12) and the penalty of death is imposed for homicide in Genesis 9:5-6. In the Sinai Covenant, the laws concerning homicide (intentional killing), manslaughter (unintentional death), personal injury cases and the deaths of animals are detailed in the Covenant Code in Exodus 21:12-36. In those laws it is stated that anyone who is involved in an accidental or unintentional death can seek refuge in a place selected by God to avoid blood vengeance by the family of the one killed (Ex 21:13). Detailed instructions concerning the establishment of Cities of Refuge are given in Numbers 35:9-15. Numbers 35:16-34 then defines the difference between what could be judged intentional and unintentional killing. Further instructions are given in the Deuteronomic Code in Deuteronomy 19:1-13.
Question: How many Cities of Refuge did God command through Moses were to be established prior to the conquest of Canaan?
Answer: Six cities were to be designated cities of refuge throughout Israel "three on the eastern side of the Jordan River and three on the western side. They are to be given to the Levites as their places of residence within Israel along with other Levitical cities.
Question: What Cities of Refuge did Moses establish in the Israelite lands on the east side of the river before his death?
Answer: He designated the city of Bezer in the territory of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in the territory of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in the territory of the eastern clans of Manasseh. The cities are somewhat evenly spaced and listed from south to north in the Transjordan.
Fleeing to the City of Refuge (Charles Foster)
Joshua 20:1-6 ~ God orders the Israelites to choose Cities of Refuge
Blood feuds were the cause of much violence in the ancient Near East and also in undeveloped countries in the modern age. Any injury to a family member, whether accidental or intentional, whether real or imagined, could result in the murder of the perpetrator and possibly his family.
God forbade such acts of injustice and demanded that even in cases where intentional injury or death occurred that the community must judge by the evidence presented by two or more witnesses and the punishment must not exceed the crime (Num 35:30; Dt 17:6; 19:15-21).
The legislation limiting retaliation is also found in other codified laws in the ancient Near East and is called the "law of reciprocity," or in Latin "Lex Talionis" and is found in Sacred Scripture expressed as "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth..." (Ex 21:24; Lev 24:20; Dt 19:21) "meaning not that if someone injured your eye that you could injure his, but that the injury inflicted on the guilty party could not exceed the crime itself.(1)
However, unlike modern courts of law, it was not the state that prosecuted the one accused; it was the family of the victim. When a family member was murdered, or in other times of family distress, a member of the family accepted the responsibility as the Go'el Haddam, in Hebrew the "Blood Redeemer;" the word "blood" referring to the kinsman most closely related by blood who took on the responsibility for restoring justice and/or balance to the family.
Question: What are the qualifications that must be meant for one to offer oneself as a Go'el Haddam?
- He must be related by blood to those he redeems (Lev 25:23-25, 48-49; Dt 25:5, 7-10).
- He must have the necessary resources to pay the price of redemption (Lev 25:25-26; Rt 2:1).
- He must be willing to redeem (Dt 25:7, 9; Rt 3:12).
Question: Whose responsibility is it to seek vengeance on the wicked?
Answer: Ultimately, it is God who will seek vengeance on the wicked.
Since human beings do not always model the most virtuous of motives in regards to seeking justice, God provided for Cities of Refuge as a means of avoiding blood vengeance in place of justice. Therefore, the kinsman is the "blood redeemer" but not the "avenger of blood."
Cities of Refuge are commanded to be established in Exodus 21:13, in Numbers 35 and in the Deuteronomic Code in Deuteronomy 19:1-13.
Question: The six designated Cities of Refuge were meant as sanctuaries for what group of individuals?
Answer: They were meant to protect those who had killed unintentionally and without premeditation.
Joshua 20:7-9 ~ The Israelites choose six Cities of Refuge
The list of towns runs north to south on the west side of the Jordan River but from south to north in the Transjordan.
Question: Who was humanity's promised Go'el Haddam and how did mankind's Savior fulfill the old covenant's definition of a Go'el Haddam?
Answer:
JESUS IS MANKIND'S BLOOD REDEEMER
He offered himself for us in order to ransom us from all our faults and to purify a people to be his very own and eager to do good (Titus 2:14; see CCC # 607-9, 802)
OLD TESTAMENT QUALIFICATION | JESUS OF NAZARETH'S FULFILLMENT AS THE NEW COVENANT GO'EL HADDAM (Blood Redeemer) |
| Blood relationship Deuteronomy 25:5, 7-10; Leviticus 25:25; Ruth 2:1 | Galatians 4:4, 5 ~ ...but when the completion of the time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive adoption as sons. Hebrews 2:16, 17 ~ For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself the line of Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way be made completely like his brothers so that he could become a compassionate and trustworthy high priest for their relationship to God, able to expiate the sins of the people. Also see John 1:14; Romans 1:3; Philippians 2:5-8 |
| Necessary Resources Leviticus 25:25-26; Ruth 2:1 | 1 Corinthians 6:20 ~ Are you not your own property, then; you have been bought at a price. So use your body for the glory of God. 1 Peter 1:18, 19 ~ For you know that the price of your ransom from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors was paid, not in anything perishable like silver or gold, but in precious blood as of a blameless and spotless lamb, Christ. Also see 1 Corinthians 6:20 |
| Willingness to redeem Deuteronomy 25:7, 9; Ruth 3:12 | John 10:15-18 ~ ... just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and I must lead these too. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, one shepherd. The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down, so I have power to take it up again; and this is the command I have received from my Father. 1 John 3:16 ~ This is the proof of love that he laid down his life for us and we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Also see Matthew 20:28; Hebrews 10:7; Titus 2:14 |
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2012 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved. | |
Chapter 21: The Cities of the Tribe of Levi
Joshua 21:1-8 ~ The designated Levitical cities
The tribe of Levi was denied a heritage in the land (Lev 18:20-24; Josh 13:14, 33; 14:3, 4; 18:7), but they were promised 48 cities with pasture lands within the hereditary lands of the tribes of Israel (Num 35:2-8). After the allotting of the tribal lands was completed, and the Israelites had chosen the sites of the 6 Cities of Refuge, the heads of the Levitical clans came to the divinely appointed commission to request their promised cities.
Question: How were the Levitical cities assigned and how was this different from the way the Cities of Refuge were identified?
Answer: The tribes of Israel chose the 6 sanctuary cities, but the Levitical cities were chosen by Divine decree by lot just as the tribal lands were chosen.
There were three main clans in the tribe of Levi, all descendants of Levi's three sons: Gershon, Kohath and Merari (Ex 6:16; Num 3:17). Aaron and Moses were the descendants Levi's second son Kohath and of Kohath's son Amram (Ex 6:18, 20).
Joshua 21:9-19 ~ The towns allotted to the chief priests
The cities and pasture lands are first allotted to the chief priests who are the most prestigious members of the tribe of Levi. Kiriath-Abra was the old name for Hebron (Josh 15:13). As you continue to read about the allocation of the cities, notice that the 48 towns will not be equally distributed among the tribes; however, cities will be allotted on both sides of the Jordan River. The Levites will not possess these towns in the sense that they have ownership over them "they are not to possess the Promised Land since God is their inheritance "they will only occupy these towns in the territory possessed by the various tribes.
Joshua 21:20-26 ~ The cities allotted to the rest of the clan of Kohath
20 As regards the clans of the sons of Kohath, those Levites still left of the sons of Kohath, the towns of their lot were taken from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 They were given Shechem, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, in the highlands of Ephraim, as well as Gezer with its pasture lands, 22 Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-Horon with its pasture lands: four towns; 23 from the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, 24 Aijalon with its pasture lands and Gath-Rimmon with its pasture lands: four towns 25 and, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasture lands and Jibleam with its pasture lands: two towns. 26 In all: ten towns with their pasture lands for the remaining clans of the sons of Kohath.
After the cities are allotted to the chief priests, the other Levitical cities are not allotted in the birth order of the ancestral fathers of the clans: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (Gen 46:11; Ex 6:16; Num 3:17). The Kohathites are given precedence because they are the clan of the chief priests who are the descendants of Aaron, and they have the honor and the danger of transporting the most holy furnishings of the Sanctuary. They are the first clan in the list of duties of the Levites (Num 4:4-20), followed by the duties of the Gershonites (Num 4:21-28) and finally the Merarites (Num 4:29-33).
Joshua 21:27-33 ~ The towns allotted to the clan of Gershon
Question: Where are the cities for the clan of Gershon located?
Answer: All the cities are in northern Israel and on the west side of the river with the exception of those cities assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh in the Transjordan.
Joshua 21:34-40 ~ The towns allotted to the clan of Merari
Question: Where were the cities of the Merari clan located?
Answer: Only the cities of Zebulun were located on the west side of the river.
Joshua 21:41-42 ~ Conclusion
The number of towns agrees with the total promised in Numbers 35:7.
Joshua 21:43-45 ~ Grateful recognition of God's faithfulness
God's covenant name is repeated four times, and the Hebrew word kol "all," is repeated 7 times "6 times in the Hebrew text of these three verses and a 7th time in 22:2. The repetition in this passage emphasizes God's commitment to His covenant with Israel and His faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. He has put everything/all in place for their success. Now, all Israel has to do is to continue possessing the land and driving out the pagan inhabitants, none of whom are offering any real resistance.
The phrase "which he had sworn to give to their ancestors" in verse 43 echoes not only the promises God made to the Patriarchs but also God's opening promise to Joshua in Joshua 1:6: Be strong and stand firm, for you are the man to give this people possession of [to inherit] the land which I swore to their ancestors [fathers] that I would give them. The statement in verse 44 that God granted them "rest" (literal Hebrew translation) is a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 12:10: You are about to cross the Jordan and live in the country given you by Yahweh your God as your heritage; he will grant you peace [rest] from all the enemies surrounding you, and you will live in safety. The Israelites were also reminded of this promise in Joshua's address prior to crossing the Jordan River in 1:13 and 15. Notice the fulfillment of the promise of "rest" will be repeated again in 22:4. See the theological implications of the word in Lesson 2. The phrase "House of Israel" in verse 45 is only found this one time in the Book of Joshua. It emphasizes Israel's unity as a corporate covenant people.
+++
A Daily Defense
DAY 87 Too Many Rules
CHALLENGE: “The Catholic Church has too many rules.”
DEFENSE: This is a cliché and does not stand up to examination.
First, how many rules is “too many”? People never propose a number for how many would be appropriate. They just repeat a stock claim to criticize the Church.
Second, the rules the Church has are much fewer than those of any group of comparable size. The Church has a billion members, the large majority of whom belong to its Latin rite. The main legislation governing the Latin Rite is the Code of Canon Law, which is one volume that runs a little over 500 pages in a standard English edition. By comparison, the United States has around 300 million citizens, but the main federal legislation governing it—the United States Code—is thirty-four primary volumes in its 2012 edition, totaling more than 45,000 pages!
Third, most laws the Catholic Church has exist to deal with situations an ordinary member will rarely encounter. Such situations happen, but so infrequently that an ordinary Catholic is not expected to know the details of the laws dealing with them. They can be briefed as the situations arise (e.g., what you need to do when being confirmed, a once-in-a-lifetime experience).
An ordinary Catholic is expected to know comparatively few rules, such as the Ten Commandments and the five precepts of the Church (CCC 2041-43). They should also know how to prepare for the sacraments they regularly receive (primarily confession and the Eucharist). This doesn’t include everything a Catholic needs to know, but it does indicate the relative modesty of the rules that apply to an ordinary member’s experience.
Fourth, Catholics should know basic moral principles, but so should everyone. Everybody should be a moral person.
This leads to the real reason that the “too many rules” charge is made. It isn’t about the number of rules. Instead, it is about specific moral rules. Almost invariably, the person making the charge doesn’t like one or more rules of a moral nature—usually dealing with personal gratification (e.g., don’t have sex outside of marriage, don’t abuse alcohol or drugs). But these are basic moral principles that belong to human nature. The Catholic Church is merely pointing them out, and the “too many rules” charge is a smokescreen to mask personal temptations.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
No comments:
Post a Comment