Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today, Moses kind of did my job for me, recapping our journey since the Exodus. But don't worry, I always have plenty to say. Let's talk about a few things of note from today's reading.
First, Moses recounts all the places they camped. If you've ever had a doubt that scripture was real, this list should help settle that for you. No author would make up these kind of details in hopes of good book sales, and no one who was trying to sound impressive about his leadership skills would tell you every step of how this 11-day journey took him 40 years.
At the end of chapter 33, we get some instructions from God. He tells Moses to instruct the people about some very important business they need to attend to when they cross the Jordan. They need to drive out everyone who lives there. All of them, all, all, all of them, all of them. And all the things they worship too. Tear down their altars and their idols because if they don't get rid of everything, some of it is going to come back to haunt them. And on top of that, God will punish them too. Double whammy.
This isn't necessarily a command to kill them, just drive them out. God knows how easily the hearts of his people are led astray when temptation is near. In chapter 34, God gives the boundaries of the Promised Land for the first time. Up until now, we've only known of it generically as Canaan or the Promised Land.
There are a few places used as markers in this layout that you may know of, but probably not by the names used in the text. So let's walk through them. The salt sea in verse 3 is the Dead Sea, because while a normal ocean is 3.5% salt, the Dead Sea is 33.7% salt. It's 10 times as salty. That's why you float when you get into it. You don't have to try to float in it. You can't not float in it. It floats you whether you want to float or not, but you want to float. It's pretty cool.
The salt concentration is also the reason nothing can live in the Dead Sea, which is where it got its modern name. But here's an interesting fact. Ezekiel 47 and Zechariah 14 prophesy about a day when there will be fresh water in the Dead Sea and it will be filled with fish. So get your float on while you can. The Great Sea in verse 6 is the Mediterranean Sea. And the Sea of Chenarith in verse 11 is the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus spent most of his three years of ministry.
If it helps you out, you might want to write those names in your Bible or look at a map. We've included the map from yesterday's episode in today's show notes as well, so look for that link if you want a visual. But keep in mind that some of the boundaries are estimates or generalities. It's hard to tell where the lines fall sometimes. And in addition to that, add the fact that the Israelites did not occupy all the land they were promised, and they also occupied some extra land they weren't promised, where the Transjordanian tribes settled in yesterday's reading.
So 9.5 tribes settled in what was originally known as the Promised Land, and 2.5 tribes settled in the above and beyond the Promised Land, the Bonus Land, the Transjordan. What was your God shot today? Mine was a superiority over all other gods.
At the very beginning of all Moses recapping today, in 33, 3-4, we hit some verses that would sort of give you a hint of how things were going to go, even if you hadn't read it all before. It says, The people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them. On their gods also the Lord executed judgments. God defeats his enemies, including other gods."
This points to a question that has come up repeatedly since we talked about it first on Day 37. God never denies that there are other gods. He just always indicates that He is superior to them. You may have heard Him called the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He's also the God of gods. In the Ten Commandments, He tells us, He doesn't say, He just says no other gods should get our affection and attention. There are two angles to this.
First, anything we worship can be a god to us, an idol, a false god. And second, here's an interesting thing we've only touched on briefly. There are also other spirit beings, demonic enemy forces that head up other world religions. They are demon gods. We've seen the demon god Baal in our reading. We've seen the demon god Molech. These are the demon gods of other religions, not equal to God and not in any way a threat to him.
We discussed all of this a bit in our February RNC episode, but if you missed that, we'll include a link in today's show notes for two helpful podcasts along these lines in case you want to check them out. We think they're really great resources. Yahweh is where it's at. He's the one true God. He sends other gods running. He shows them their limitations. He shows them His wrath, and He shows us His great protective love.
He's where the joy is. We know lots of you are fans of The Chosen, so if that's you, we have great news. We have a sneak peek of season five, which premieres in theaters on March 28th. This scene depicts a tense moment among the religious leaders of Jesus's day. We'll link to the full clip in our show notes.
We have a common problem. Jesus the Nazarene operates entirely outside our jurisdiction, dismissive of tradition and precedent. He pushes the people's attitudes toward an uncharted realm of thought, alien to both our interpretations of Torah.
Sometimes people ask me, Hey, TLC, do you listen to the Bible Recap? And the answer is yes. Every year, I read through the Bible right alongside you guys, and I listen to myself give the recap. And here's what shocks and delights me. Sometimes what I say in the recap hits me again like I've never heard it before.
I'm not kidding. It's amazing how God meets us again in spaces and places we think we've already been. So if this is your first or fifth time through the Bible Recap, I'm glad you're here. And I love leaning into a deeper and deeper desire to read, understand, and love Scripture and its author even more. See you tomorrow, because yes, I'll be here. I'm listening to myself give this announcement right now.