The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/numbers/30.htm

This chapter of the Book of Numbers deals with “Vows of Women”. Feel free to read it and understand it how you wish, but my takeaway applies to everyone, man, woman, husband, wife, child, it doesn’t matter; the lesson is to keep your word. Not keeping your word is no different than telling a lie, and specifically, keep your word to God. If you make a vow to God, keep it.

In Chapter 31, God commands Moses to go to war with the Midianites. If you research, Midianites were the descendants of Midian, one of Abrahams sons he had with his concubine Keturah. And while he was a son of Abraham and raised to be Godly, we all know we can become separated from God.

And according to scripture, the army of the Israelites, better referred to as the Army of God, attacked the Midianites and killed the men, then brought back the women and children, along with the plunder of livestock and jewels. And it gets even more graphic after that.

Again, I may be wrong, but this doesn’t sound like something Jesus would do, and I still haven’t figured it out yet. Yes, I know what I am reading, but the Bible has been interpreted in so many different ways, I can’t take all of what seems to be bad stuff to heart.

I believe in the Trinity, a “Godhead” if you will made up of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The are individual yet they are one. And I don’t have answers. All I know is that God is not a tyrannical, sadistic God. Yes, the entire motive for eliminating the occupants of the promised land is to rid that land of sin. The people of Canaan were sacrificing children to Baal; how much more sinister can you get, aside from aborting a baby because you don’t want to be inconvenienced.

There’s an answer, I just don’t know what it is. For whatever reason, the children of Israel were successful in eliminating the pagans from the land of Midian.

And while we’re on the subject, we will later see where God instructs the children to toally wipe out all from the land of Canaan, and they failed to do that. Could that be the problems Israel faces today? They are still, after thousands of years, fighting pagans. Pagans who are having sexual relations with children, pagan who oppress women, pagan who kill homosexuals.

Jesus is love, so God is love. I don’t believe God would do any different than Jesus. I hate to be cynical, but a lot of this is contradictory to the teachings of Jesus.

In Chapter 32, they are preparing to cross the Jordan into the promised land. But the tribes of Gad and Reuben had an abundance of livestock, and the land where they were was perfect for raising livestock. They asked Moses if they could stay and occupy that land.

Moses told them that if they took up arms and helped the other tribes conquer the promised land, that they would inherit the land. And they agreed.

And that is why, when you look at a map of Israel and the locations of the land each tribe ended up inheriting, that the Reubenites and Gadites were on the east side of the Jordan.

There are many things that we don’t understand, but I’m sure when we get to Heaven, God will reveal them. Let’s all pray for understanding today. Amen.