Moses goes on in this chapter to explain God’s rules for positions of leadership. He even hints at the possibility that the Israelites might have a king one day. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to find out about the future of the Israelites! But we’re not quite there yet. In fact, we’re just beginning! I know it’s taken almost five long chapters (which repeat a lot) to get the Israelites to where the “real” journey begins, but it will be worth it when we move on to have all this background info under our belts. Don’t give up! Just a few chapters left, and then … Joshua. Oh, the adventures we’ll see!
I didn’t underline much in this chapter, but I did put some brackets around verse 3 because I thought it showed something significant. It says that anyone caught worshiping the stars, moon or sun should be stoned to death. That’s not what stood out to me, though, the phrase “the forces of heaven” stood out to me. God’s not saying in this verse that the stars, moon and sun don’t do exceptionally miraculous things – they are FORCES OF HEAVEN! He is saying, however, it is wrong to worship those forces instead of the God who created them. It’s easy for us to “worship” what we can see. We can see the stars, moon and sun, but we must focus on the One who made them.
Writing prompt: sun, moon, stars
We all are familiar with horoscopes and astrology, and this chapter helps us to see how those types of beliefs may have come about. I’m certainly guilty of reading my horoscope habitually in my younger days when it was printed in the newspaper. I didn’t put much stock into it, but I did read it for fun. Plus, it was on the page with the crossword puzzle and word scramble, so it was too easy to take a peek. No will power, in other words. Astrology is pretty familiar, I believe, throughout the world, but the worship of the earth, moon and stars is not. Many Native Americans celebrate a beautiful relationship with the Creator in this way. Do a little research today on the beliefs and customs and unique culture of Natives for your writing today. You don’t have to research Native Americans, either. Every country has a Native people group. Write about whichever one you want.
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