Resolution - to read the Bible

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Point of interest near the end of Ch. 10 - apparently Moses' brother-in-law has been travelling with them. He reports to Moses that he now will return to his homeland. Moses points out to him that his expert knowledge of desert life is needed by them, and promises that if he stays with them he will be treated as an Israelite.
 
blackbelt1961 said:
you better ask how much is the pension before hand :)
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Actually, we're a defined contribution plan so it's more or less our problem. They match our contributions up to 5% of salary and then we decide how it is invested and it rolls to a RRIF or annuity just like an RRSP.
 
Hmm...I like the idea of a fixed "duty span" of 25 years - really, roughly 1/3 of one's life. In contrast with the more recent, and subtle but not invisible push to "work until you can't anymore".
 
Seeler said:
Point of interest near the end of Ch. 10 - apparently Moses' brother-in-law has been travelling with them. He reports to Moses that he now will return to his homeland. Moses points out to him that his expert knowledge of desert life is needed by them, and promises that if he stays with them he will be treated as an Israelite.
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Hmm...the germ of the idea that a righteous gentile, if willing to 'travel with' the Israelites, can become one of them. Suspect this is an important theological point for them.
 
Seeler said:
Lots of info about the treatment of slaves - I would hope that most of us find the very idea of slavery to be abhorant.
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A slave, by definition, is the legal property of someone else?

Do you own yourself? Are you a citizen of the country you were born in? Is the “social contract” an implicit agreement to abide by your country’s laws, and prostrate yourself before the authority of the 'State'. If a slave could vote for who their master was would they still be a slave? Can you renounce your citizenship and still own property in your country? Can you renounce your citizenship and still trade in your country? Can you ignore the laws of government in your country without being 'punished'.

There are of course differences between chattel slavery and modern slavery. We have had an 'evolution in slavery' since biblical times but I am not at all convinced that I was not born into slavery/indentured servitude - according to the law of my country of birth.
 
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BetteTheRed said:
I wonder if Jesus' frequent mention of Samaritans isn't indicative of an effort to try to 'heal' that part of Judaism. It's an interesting broader question. Is it wrong for a culture to passively promote intermarriage versus intramarriage behaviours? If you think about it, it's an adult's 'normal' first reaction to knowing their child is dating extra-culturally: will the two of them have deep cultural norms/values which will clash irrevocably? And that doesn't just mean race/nation. It can mean the mother of a rich girl wondering if her child has made a good match marrying a man from long generations of military service - an 'army brat'.
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If mentally thought about would this be counter to the powerful (jude'n) law about further knowledge being evil ... thus the tree collapsed ... stumped! Lo gos Ide ... I.E. ide went like the groundhog rule ... fear the Shadow? In another light would there be varied perspectives?
 
monk said:
A slave, by definition, is the legal property of someone else?

Do you own yourself? Are you a citizen of the country you were born in? Is the “social contract” an implicit agreement to abide by your country’s laws, and prostrate yourself before the authority of the 'State'. If a slave could vote for who their master was would they still be a slave? Can you renounce your citizenship and still own property in your country? Can you renounce your citizenship and still trade in your country? Can you ignore the laws of government in your country without being 'punished'.

There are of course differences between chattel slavery and modern slavery. We have had an 'evolution in slavery' since biblical times but I am not at all convinced that I was not born into slavery/indentured servitude - according to the law of my country of birth.
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This concept can resolve the selling of sol as a singularity in the myth ... as ethereal hosts unravel it ... from mental entanglement theory! If could be we're connected no matter what ... we just don't know it thus creating sub-con science of our own accord? Tis wile as that fellow chasing the Beep-Beep .. small flared horns inclusive ... wee spurs driving the po' chap along ...
 
BetteTheRed said:
Do you wonder, Seeler, reading this, what we've lost by our complete disconnect religiously from our Jewish siblings? This is part of their CORE - the five books written specifically by Moses - arguably, "their" Jesus.
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I've pondered this Bette. Certainly Judaism is an old religion, and contains in its roots not only modern day Judaism but also two of the world's largest religions - Christianity and Islam. I think it definitely worthy of our respect. Yes, much of the writings I've been reading recently seem tedious and repetative, but they do contain some gems. And the Jewish people value them. Although I do not agree with some of the theology (ie if they built and maintained an elaborate tabernacle God would agree to dwell in it, and be with them. Centuries later, after the destruction of the temple and the Babylonian captivity do we hear the prophets saying that God does not require a dwelling place made by human hands and they realized that God was with them in their captivity. A developing concept of the nature of God - who seemed much more 'human but more than human' in Moses time - to today's theology that, for some of us, takes a more panthenistic view of God being within us, around us,, above us, everywhere.
Much has been said about 'an old book', but I find that there is a lot of positive things to be said about a book that has kept a small and often persecuted people together for about 6000 years, and has so much influence today.
 
In the next few chapters we have Moes Brother and Sister (Aaron and Miriam) criticsing him about his Cushite wife (what happened to his first wife -Zepporah?) Miriam is punished with Leporsy.
Moses sends spies ahead into the land of the Canaanites - they return saying it is rich and fruitful, flowing with milk and honey - but occupied by powerful people. But two of them Calab and Joshua say that it can be conquered. The people complain to Moses. As a result of their complaints God decides that they cannot enter the Promised Land for forty years - until all who came out of Egypt have died, and a new generation has grown up. Only Calab and Joshua will be spared.
The people grumble and rebel against Moses and Aaron's authority. God intervenes; thee is a time when the earth opens up to swallow three families with their tents and possessions, others are killed by fire as they approach the tabernacle, and then there is a plague and thousands are killed. Was this the actions of God; or did an earthquake occur, causing the earth to split just where those tents were, followed by a fire. Then in the aftermath of the earthquake a plague spread through the camp - and the Israelites, looking for meaning in this chaos, developed this explanation?
In the period of restitution, Aaron and his sons and descendents receive more power as priests, and the surviving Levites will assist them. They will not receive a portion of land in the promised land but will be supported by tithes from the other tribes as they do their duties in the sanctuary of the Lord.
 
Cleanliness laws - mainly related to worship.
Miriam dies. There is no water in that place. The people complain and Moses strikes a rock and brings forth water. However because he did not do it exactly as the lord commanded, he is told that he will not enter the promised land.

Edom, a closely related tribe, descendants of Jacob's twin brother Esau, refuse to let the Israelites travel through their land, dcausing them to detour from the intended route.
Aaron dies; his son becomes chief priest, and the Israelites observe 30 days of mourning.
 
Seeler said:
God intervenes; thee is a time when the earth opens up to swallow three families with their tents and possessions, others are killed by fire as they approach the tabernacle, and then there is a plague and thousands are killed. Was this the actions of God; or did an earthquake occur, causing the earth to split just where those tents were, followed by a fire. Then in the aftermath of the earthquake a plague spread through the camp - and the Israelites, looking for meaning in this chaos, developed this explanation?
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Or Moses said, "God did it" because they sinned......just like some of the TV evangelical preachers.:whistle:
 
I just read the strange story of Balaam. It seems that the Israelites in their wandering through the desert come into contact with the various Canaanite people living there. They petition to pass peacefully through the Canaanite's land, but are refused. Then the Israelites fight against and defeat the Canaanites. Balak, a Moabite summons help from Balaam who lives to the east on the Euphrates River. Although not an Israelite it seems that Balaam worships God - is he a descendant of Abraham and his second wife? When Balaam eventually travels to meet Balak, rather than cursing the Israelites as Balak wishes, he listens to God and blesses them.
 
Seeler said:
I just read the strange story of Balaam. It seems that the Israelites in their wandering through the desert come into contact with the various Canaanite people living there. They petition to pass peacefully through the Canaanite's land, but are refused. Then the Israelites fight against and defeat the Canaanites. Balak, a Moabite summons help from Balaam who lives to the east on the Euphrates River. Although not an Israelite it seems that Balaam worships God - is he a descendant of Abraham and his second wife? When Balaam eventually travels to meet Balak, rather than cursing the Israelites as Balak wishes, he listens to God and blesses them.
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Possibly a differing god from the Caesar guise ... really causes chaos in the troops to speak of a god in ecce NDs ... you have to go some to understand ecce ... unless somewhat Italian ...
 
I finished reading Numbers today. What can I say? Wordy, repetative, with little apparent revelance to my life today.
The name of the book is Numbers; and there were numbers - two censuses, counting all the adult male members of the twelve tribes and the Levites.
Numbers of Israelites that are too great for me to imagine. An entire nation wandering like nomads around the Sinai for forth years? I have heard that it either didn't happen or that the numbers were greatly exaggarated. I lean towards the latter. But whatever their numbers, they were apparently a powerful group. No wonder resident tribes hesitated to grant them passage through their lands. But no matter, no permission is just an excuse to do battle and, with God on their side (they believed), they defeated any tribes that stood in their way. In one case killing all the men and boys, and adult women - and sparing the young girls to be numbered among the livestock as spoils of war.
In one way the Israelites were refugees - fleeing a country where they were enslaved and having no country as their own. But refugees are not often more powerful than the countries through which they pass.

Moving on to Deuteronomy - possibly (probably) written by a different author(s).
 
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