Joshua 6: The “Battle” of Jericho

Alright! Joshua 6! Another one of those über-famous stories that also happens to be über-weird and über-interesting. I just figured out how to put an umlaut on my “u,” so I plan on üsing it liberally. I’d like to start talking about this battle by acknowledging the difficulty of reading about the slaughter of an …

Deuteronomy 16: The Place The LORD Will Choose

The world is changing. I feel it in the water. I smell it in the air. Much that once . . . wait . . . this is not the beginning of Lord of the Rings. But Galadriel has a point. Things are changing. The Israelites are in the throws of a major shift in …

Numbers 28: Formulas For Offerings

As happens frequently in Numbers, interesting narrative is interrupted by some laws. These laws don’t seem to flow naturally out of the previous story, but may have some relevance to later stories. We’ll see how this one goes. Numbers 28 is a list of five different times when the Israelites should offer sacrifices. When you …

Numbers 9: Keep The Passover

This post would be another one of my “on location” posts where I write from somewhere that is not my home. Today, I am sitting in a lodge looking out at the sunset on a lake north of Spokane, Washington. It is stupid beautiful. This is the annual InterVarsity Northwest Regional gathering and I will …

Leviticus 23: Six Reasons to Party!

So, you’re feeling a little down in the dumps after the last few chapters of Leviticus. I get it. That was some tough stuff. Lots of getting cut off from the people and burned alive and stoned to death and all that. Well, are you ready for a little pick-me-up? How about six pick-me-ups? I …

Exodus 13: Remembering Their Story

When in the future your child asks you, “What does this mean?” you shall answer, “By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. – Exodus 13:14 God and Moses are adamant that the people remember their story. They should be able to explain it to their children. …

Exodus 12 part 2: The Scandal of the Passover

photo © 2004 Dennis Jarvis | more info (via: Wylio) I read Exodus 12 and get whisked away to my sophomore year in college. Most nights a friend of mine in my dorm would drop by and we would get into huge arguments about God that would last for hours and leave both of us …