Rebecca F.’s Journal

Moses has told us of times when He was able to petition God and God change his mind Here Moses lets us know even God can get His fill of repeat petitions to have his mind changed. No means no, I have had enough!. You are NOT going into the promised land Do not ask me again. How many times have our kids put us in the same position. ...another example of a loving Father.

God intends for His people to be a mighty force to be reckoned with. we have to do our part- learn God's laws and ways, Believe in Jesus, Trust God to do what He says He will do. God has a job for each of us to do - somewhere at sometime. I have to trust God to change me for the better into the awesome person He would have me be.so I will be able to be closer to God and be able to o the job He has for me. I still have some areas I have not turned loose of ...some more baggage has bee found... was it hiding in the deep recesses of the attic or cellar... or is this an elephant that we have been walking around and not seeing the whole time? ... on to "house cleaning"

Lets see... The trip across the desert could have taken 11 days. The Israelites took about a year for this journey, but a lot of that time was taken up with instructing the people on God's ways. These people had worked as slaves, had not seen miracles of God, had limited knowledge of God's ways. When they arrived at the edge of their destination, They became afraid of the current inhabitants, did not trust God to deliver the gift He had promised...So God gets upset with their response and makes them wait 40 years and will try again to give his gift to these people's kids and grandkids. ---Makes me think of a parent with a couple of kids. Mom has promised a gift to Little Joe but when Joe gets home to get his gift Big Steve is holding the gift Little Joe has been promised. ... Instead of saying "Mom help" or Mom, you promised, How?"... the Israelites are basically saying- God you gave, these other guys have my gift, they are to big for me to fight, you can't do anything, you won't help, poor pitiful me... So..no wonder God became hurt with the response He received from His gift. " Hey, this is what is nice about this gift but it has this little imperfection I will not use it ", ...I keep seeing more and more emotional responses from God, Moses was able to get God to change His mind - just by talking to him and presenting a different viewpoint. I am so enjoying this journey through the Bible and in effect witnessing the relationship of Moses and God, learning how I can have a closer relationship with God.

One lesson that can be taken away in this chapter is appropriately presenting your arguments and voicing concerns to effect change. The clanleaders are presenting the concerns of the clansmen to the next in line. Remember, Moses had set up the chain of command- leaders of smaller groups- to handle smaller problems- and had instructed them to bring the problems/questions they were unable to handle to him. ..... They basically said: 1. This is what happened, 2 This was the concern, 3 this was the action taken, 4 this is the current situation/concern 5 what are our instructions/ advice etc? too many times I see people reacting to a problem that could have been calmly handled -- and would not have gotten an entire family/community unnecessarily enraged.

it took me a bit to get understanding of these safe towns. If you had killed someone even accidentally, you had a safe place to go. Usually, but not always, the *redeemer of blood was a close relative. The *redeemer of blood was a person who had certain rights and duties, among these, he had the right and the responsibility to kill his relative’s *murderer. But in this passage, God gave a new law. He allowed any person who had killed another person by accident to go to a *safe town. Then, the people there would arrange a fair *trial. At the *trial, they would decide whether the person had intended to kill the other person. If the person had not intended to kill the other person, he was not guilty of murder.. If the person had caused the other person’s death by accident, then the *redeemer of blood could not kill him. However, the person had to remain in the *safe town. The person had to live there until the *High Priest died. The *High Priest’s death removed the person’s *uncleanness. Until the *High Priest’s death, the person could not return to his own home. If he did this, then the *redeemer of blood would have the legal right to kill him. (exercpts taken from commentary posted on www.easyenglish.info )

This is one boundary that is clear.

makes me wonder how much the failure to drive out ALL of the inhabitants of the land has led to or fed the turmoil present in that area through the years.

Remember what has happened! are you willing to risk the lives of everyone here? Do you want to stay in the desert another 40 years? Think about what you are asking!

everyone gets the benefit from the spoils of war- not just a few.

I am so thankful I have a Godly husband in authority. That gives me a great sense of security when I am stepping outside my comfort zone. The knowledge of my husbands beliefs along with my feelings and the Holy Spirit to help guide me, I am more confident to step out where I would not tread before. It also gives me a safety net- I can say no to an idea if for no other reason than my husband would disapprove. I like having this safety net- I told kids in my care- if you feel pressured to do something inappropriate, and are uncomfortable just saying no then you can put the blame on me. you can say no and give me as the reason.