October 9, 2018 - Day 184 - Deuteronomy 31

I am writing from my Airbnb in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:

Finally, back to the story.


So Moses is old (120) and says he can no longer lead the Israelites.  He will not be crossing the Jordan.  He introduces Joshua, tells him and the people not to be afraid, and that God will be with them.  God will help them destroy their enemies.

THIS IS USEFUL AS A METAPHOR.  THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT IS NOT MEANINGFUL.

We are ALL the people of Israel.  When you go back 3500 years to one specific person, nearly all in the world will have descended from that person.  Our enemies are the battles we face in life, and there are many of them.

BE STRONG.  AND COURAGEOUS.  DO NOT BE AFRAID.  OR DISCOURAGED.

How many times are we reminded of this?  A lot.  Perhaps it was known that fear would control us.

Moses writes down the law and says they need to repeat it even seven years.

So God tells Moses that he's about to die soon, and that Israel will rebel against God, worship other gods in the process, and because of this thing that God knows about but hasn't happened yet, God is going to get all pissed off.  This is bizarrely paradoxical.


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