Welcome to the Bible in a Year for 2025. Intro to this series and resource links available here, plus here’s how I’m approaching this year.
Scriptures for Today:
Reflection:
More than needed (19:9) - The goal was to settle everyone. To that end, Judah had more land allotted than they needed and the Simeonites apparently didn’t have enough. I enjoy the simplicity of the statement: “The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah’s portion was more than they needed.” Everyone’s goal was to settle the whole country—all the tribes—in the land. Judah didn’t need it, but Simeon did.
Cities of refuge (20:1-9) - Capital punishment was part of the Law and a person, a relative of the victim called the “Avenger of Blood,” was designated to carry it out. Yet there was also a recognition that an accidental death could occur—the action without the intention—that might stir up the Avenger of Blood and there needed to be a way to protect the person claiming to be innocent until a sort of due process could happen to confirm guilt or innocence. Here the “cities of refuge” dictate spoken of in the Law is actually put into place.
Rest on every side (21:43-45) - God has brought them to the Promised Land. There’s a sense of completeness in this. His word has been kept.
Vengeance (Psalm 58) - This psalm is rough and includes violent imagery throughout. The writer is clearly angry. That’s the importance of psalms like this—to demonstrate that we can bring our anger to God. Candidly.
Questions:
When have you had extra of something that you could share?
When have you experienced a “rest on every side” kind of satisfaction after weathering a challenging season? Were you able to enjoy it?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, help me to live authentically before you all my days. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
If you liked this post from Seeds of Faith, why not share it and/or subscribe?
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™