A New Era

Hello all,

You are almost a quarter of the way through reading the Bible.  This next account is one of my very favorites.  I love the accounts of Joseph and Joshua and of Ruth and Esther.

You have made it through and the do's and don'ts of the Jewish Law.  One of the regulations that I try to picture is the one regarding levirate marriage where if brothers lived together and the one brother dies without children, the other brother is to marry his "sister-in -law" to provide a son to carry on his brother's family line.  We read about this practice when we read about Tamar and Onan.  I try to imagine having to marry a brother-in-law in order to have a home and a family.  (No offense meant Bob Dodd in case your reading this lol)  What if the future "mate" was mean or difficult... ?    What if the brother's wife didn't like the sister-in -law and was extremely jealous?  What if the brother was poor and was barely managing taking care of his own family....?  At any sorts IF he chose not to marry his sister-in-law then she was to bring him before the elders, spit at him and loose his sandal and his FAMILY...was to be known as "The family of the unsandaled."   This was a supreme disgrace.  Its one of the rare instances in the Bible where I read of a women having a course of action she could take in her own defense.  I did some research regarding the significance of the curse The family of the unsandaled.  I found a website that explains the Torah and ties in the New Testament.  If you want to read more and the curse's significance go to:  http://www.torahclass.com/  and go to Deuteronomy 25.  I have added it as a link under Jewish websites. It is very interesting but a little too much to explain and go into on my blog. 

I try to imagine what it must of been like to live during that time.  It was a time of hard work but also a time of God's glory and power.  When the people stood at the Jordan watching the priests begin to carry the ark into the water, I can imagine them standing there and a hush comes over the people as the priests wade out into the river. The priests in front going deeper and deeper until all the priests feet were in the water. They had heard the stories of the Red Sea parting but except for Joshua and Caleb they had not seen a miracle of such magnitude.  I'm sure that for many, the daily miracle of the pheasant and the manna had became a matter of routine and taken for granted.  Some were likely bored with the fact that they wore the same shoes and clothes for the last 30 years.  Some of the women were ready to shoe shop at  DSW.   But then once all the priests feet were in the Jordan, it happened,  the waters parted and they crossed onto dry land.  The scripture relates that this occurred during flood season. 

Each tribe was to have a man shoulder a stone for a memorial to be built reminding the Israelites of their crossing.  The priests stood in the middle of the Jordan with the ark until all had passed by.  The men were instructed to get a stone near where the priests stood.  That's where the BIG rocks were.  The flow of water, force of gravity and the weight of the rocks gradually will move the larger rocks to the lowest point.  God wanted a big memorial so that they would have a big memory of what he had done for them.  Do you think that when each tribe picked their person that they picked the strongest man in their tribe.   That's what I would have wanted to do.   I would have wanted my tribe's rock to be the biggest of all to show God and everyone of my love and dedication. 

I'm hope you are enjoying reading the Bible as much as I am.  I pray for you often asking God to help you take the time to read and asking him to open his word to you in a fresh and fulfilling way.

Keep reading

Bon Apetit