DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 10

Chapter 10
Summary:	Moses' speech continues: "At that time, the Lord said to me, 'Cut two tablets of stone like the first pair, and come back up the mountain. Also you are to make an ark of wood. I will write upon the tablets the words that were written on the first tablets which you broke, and you shall put them into the ark.' "So I made an ark from shittim wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up into the mountain carrying the two tablets. He wrote on the tablets, the same as he had written before, the ten commandments - which the Lord dictated to you in the mountain out of the midst of fire - and gave them to me. I came down the mountain and put the tablets into the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the Lord commanded me. "The people of Israel took their journey from Beeroth (of the children of Jaakan) to Mosera, and there Aaron died. After he was buried, his son Eleazar ministered as the head priest in his place. "From there, the people journeyed to Gudgodah, and from there to Jotbath, a land with many rivers. It was at this time that the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant, to stand before the Lord, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. While the Levites do not receive an inheritance like their brethren tribes do, the Lord is their inheritance - as the Lord your God promised them. "I stayed up in the mountain, like the first time, for forty days and forty nights. The Lord listened to me up there, and would not destroy you all. The Lord then said to me, 'Take your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I had sworn unto their forefathers, to give to them.' "And now, people of Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all of his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, to keep his commandments and statutes, which I command you this day for your own good? Behold, the sky and the heavens above is the Lord's, as is the earth and therein. The Lord loved your forefathers and chose their descendants above all people, as he continues to this day. Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and don't act stubborn. "The Lord your God is God above all gods, the Lord of lords, a great God, mighty and terrible, which has no regard for any person, nor can he be bribed. He executes judgment of orphans and widows, and loves foreigners, giving them food and clothing. Therefore, you too are to love foreigners, as you were foreigners yourselves in the land of Egypt. "You shall fear the Lord your God, and serve him, cling to him, and swear by his name. He is your praise, and he is your God, that has done for you all these great and terrible things, which you have seen with your own eyes. When your forefathers arrived in Egypt there were only seventy of them in number, now the Lord has made your population as numerous as the stars in the sky."
Thoughts:	Moses's speech continues, and he recounts the tale of receiving the second set of stone tablets containing the "ten commandments". as originally told in Exodus: Chapter 34. Although Moses' speech claims that God also asked Moses to build the "ark of the covenant" at the same time, this contradicts the book of Exodus which has this event occurring in Exodus: Chapter 25 prior to the writing of the first set of tablets containing the "ten commandments". Moses (again, self described as the "meekest man on earth") also contradicts the book of Exodus by taking credit for having built the ark of the covenant, when Exodus: Chapter 37 clearly credits Bezaleel for this task. He then restates that God wrote the "ten commandments" upon the new stone tablets and that Moses placed them into the "ark of the covenant". Moses next states that the Israelites then traveled from Beeroth to Mosera, where Aaron died (it's unclear whether Mosera is an alternate name for Mount Hor or an encampment nearby) and his son Eleazar took over as the head priest. Moses then states that the Israelites journeyed from Mosera to Gudgodah, and from there to Jotbath, where he states that God appointed the Levites to 'minister' under him. Moses then returns back to his story of staying up in the mountains for forty days and forty nights, and once again tells the people of Israel that he managed to talk God out of killing them all, as well as God's command for the Israelites to go take the "promised land". He then tells the Israelites that the only things they are required to do, is to fear God, to "walk in all of his ways", to love him, to serve him with all your heart and soul, and to obey all of his laws and commands. Moses states that God owns the heavens and the earth, and because he "loved" Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Israelites should stop being such a stubborn group of people - in which he makes a rather humorous analogy to circumcising the foreskin off of one's heart in order to remove their stubbornness. Moses continues, stating that God is the god above all gods; the ruler of all rulers; and is great, mighty, and terrible. He adds that God also cannot be reasoned with nor bribed, and favors the underdogs (orphans, widows, and foreigners) whom he loves - except for these foreigners. Moses states that they are to be loving towards foreigners, stating that the Israelites themselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt. Moses concludes that the Israelites are to obey God and to swear by his name, because of all the great and terrible things he has done. He adds that when their forefathers arrived in Egypt, that there were only seventy of them, but now they are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 9

Chapter 9
Summary:	Moses' speech continues: "Hear, O [people of] Israel, you are to cross the Jordan River today, to go in and conquer nations greater and mightier than yourselves; to possess great cities that are highly fortified; against great tall people, the children of the Anakims - whom you know, and have heard it said 'Who can stand up against the children of Anak!' "Understand that the Lord your God will be with you today, and that he will go before you [in battle], and as a consuming fire he shall destroy [the children of Anak]. He shall bring them before you, so you can drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said unto you. "After the Lord you God has cast them out before you, do not say in your heart that the Lord has brought you in to possess this land because of your righteousness, because it is due to the wickedness of these [heathen] nations that the Lord drove them out before you. You are not possessing this land because of your righteousness, but [again] the Lord is driving out these nations for their wickedness, and so that he may fulfill his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land for being righteous, for you are actually stubborn and unruly people. "Remember, and do not forget, how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from Egypt, until you arrived at this spot today, you have been rebellious against the Lord. In [Mount] Horeb, you provoked the Lord to wrath - so much so, that the Lord was angry enough to have destroyed you all. "When I had went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone containing the covenant which the Lord had made with you, I had stayed in the mountain for forty days and forty nights - during which time I neither ate bread nor drank water. The Lord had delivered to me two stone tablets - written by the finger of God - on which was written, all the words that the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain out of the midst of the fire. On the fortieth day, when the Lord gave me the two stone tablets containing the covenant, he said to me, 'Get back down the mountain quickly, for the people you brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They quickly turned aside from the ways which I commanded them and have made themselves a molten image.' "Furthermore, the Lord said to me, 'I have seen these people, and they are a stubborn group of people. Leave me, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven, and instead I will make you into a nation mightier and greater than they are.' "So I came back down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire as I held the two tablets of the covenant in my hands. I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made yourselves a molten calf. You had turned away quickly from the way in which the Lord had commanded you. I took the two tablets and threw them from my hands, breaking them before your eyes. "I again fell down before the Lord, and as I had done before, spent another forty days and forty nights where I did not eat any bread, nor drink any water, because of your sins and in doing wickedness in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the Lord had kindled with wrath against you, for he had wanted to destroy you - however, the Lord listened to my prayers. The Lord was very angry with Aaron and wanted to destroy him as well, so I prayed for him as well. "I took your sin - the calf you had made - and burned it with fire. I stamped it and ground it into a fine powder, and cast the dust into the brook that descended from the mountain. "Again, at Taberah, and then again at Massah, and then even again at Kibrothhattaavah, you provoked the Lord to wrath. Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, 'Go up and possess the land which I have given you,' you still rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and didn't believe him or heed his words. You have rebelled against the Lord from the day that I met you. "Thus I fell down before the Lord for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time, because the Lord had said that he would destroy you. So I therefore prayed to the Lord, and said, 'O Lord God, do not destroy your people and their inheritance, whom you had redeemed with your greatness and brought out of Egypt with your mighty hand. Instead, remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; focus not upon the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of these people, or the land from which you brought us out from will claim, "Because the Lord was unable to bring them into the land which he promised them, he hated them and slayed them out in the wilderness." They are your people, and your inheritance, which you brought out with your mighty power and your outstretched arm.'"
Thoughts:	Moses's speech continues, and he prepares the Israelites for their task of crossing the Jordan River and conquering the "promised land" and the giants - the sons of Anak - dwelling in their fortified cities. He tells the Israelites that God will destroy the giants, but that they are not to confuse the reason why God is allowing them to take their land. Moses insists that God's reasoning for driving the giants out the land is solely because of the "wickedness" of the giants, and not because the Israelites are righteous in any way. In fact, Moses tells the Israelites that they are actually stubborn and unruly people. He recounts to the Israelites the story of Exodus: Chapter 24 when God instructed him to ascend Mount Sinai, wait around for 40 days and 40 nights without eating and drinking, in order to receive the "ten commandments" carved onto two stone tablets, by the "finger of God". When Moses did this of course, fearing that Moses had gone missing, Moses' brother Aaron forged the Israelites a "golden calf" for them to worship. God's response naturally, is to get angry and decide to commit genocide upon the Israelites. Moses recounts how God had told him to get down there and put a stop to all this "golden calf" worshiping, and how he himself became so angry that he broke the two tablets containing the "ten commandments". Moses states that he became afraid of God's threats to kill off all of the Israelites and prayed for them; in turn he also prayed for Aaron who God also was angry with and wanted to destroy as well. Moses tells how he destroyed the "golden calf", ground it up into fine powder, and tossed it into the stream. (Although Moses stops his story short of where he forced the Israelites to drink from the water, and ordering the Levites to slaughter the Israelites who wouldn't with their swords, regardless of their family relations.) Moses then brings up more instances, such as the people whining about eating "manna" from Numbers: Chapter 11; the people whining about not having any water to drink from Exodus: Chapter 17; as well as the people gluttonously dining on the quails God gave them, also from Numbers: Chapter 11 - the bottom line being, God hates complainers. Moses then caps it off with the Israelites fear of the facing giants living in the "promised land" from Numbers: Chapter 14. Moses then basically says that the Israelites have always been a whiny ungrateful bunch of sods for as long as he can remember. Moses closes out the chapter by telling the people that he had to talk God out of committing mass genocide against the Israelites, and God's desire of making Moses' descendants become the "chosen people", by convincing him that this would look bad to the Egyptians, and that if he killed everyone off, he would be breaking his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 6

Chapter 6
Summary:	Moses addresses the Israelites, saying, "Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, for you to obey in the land you are to possess - that you might fear the Lord thy God and obey all of his statutes and commandments, which I command you, your sons, and your grandsons, all the days of your life, that your days may be prolonged. Therefore, people of Israel, listen and obey these commandments, that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as the Lord God of your forefathers had promised, in the land of milk and honey. "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord - and you shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your might. These words that I command you on this day, shall be in your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall speak these laws you are sitting at home, when out for a walk, when you go to sleep, and when you awaken. You should write them onto a sign bound to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them upon the posts of your house, and upon your gates. "It shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which he promised to your forefathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - to give to you great and goodly cities, which you would not have to build yourselves; houses full of good things, which you didn't have to furnish yourselves; wells digged, which you did not have to dig; vineyards and olive trees, which you didn't have to plant. When you have eaten until you are full, then beware lest you forget the Lord, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, from your slavery. "You shall fear the Lord your God, and serve him, and shall swear by his name. You shall not worship other gods, of the gods of the [heathen] people which are around you - for the Lord your God is jealous, lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroys you from off the face of the earth. You are not to tempt the Lord your God as you tempted him in Massah. "You shall diligently keep the commandments, testimonies, and statutes of the Lord your God, which he has commanded you. You shall do what is right and good in the eyes of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore unto your forefathers, to cast out all of your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken. "When your son asks you later on in the time to come, 'What do these testimonies, statutes and judgments mean?' You shall answer your son, 'We were the Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. The Lord showed us signs and wonders, great and terrible, upon Egypt, upon the Pharaoh, and upon all the Egyptian people, before our very eyes. He brought us here from out of there, that he might bring us here to give us the land which he had sworn to our forefathers. The Lord commanded us to fear the Lord our God, for our own good, so that we may remain alive, as we are today. It shall be our righteousness if we obey these commandments before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us."
Thoughts:	Moses addresses the Israelites again to enforce the importance of obeying God's commandments. He stresses that people's fear of God should motivate them to obey his laws. Basically Moses is stating that you must obey God if you want to live, even if it means doing something immoral, such as committing mass genocide upon a nation of people - except for the virgin daughters which can be 'kept for yourselves'. Incredibly, some believers would argue that if the command was issued from God, then that alone makes it a moral act - no matter how heinous of an act it may be. If God told you to rape your grandmother and kill your grandfather, then it would be morally correct for you to do so. In response to this, the believer might insist that God would never command such a thing, but in the Old Testament outside of the countless genocides he's commanded, he also commanded Abraham to sacrifice his own son - which he was ready, willing, and able to do, and he attempted to do so before God stopped him. While the apologist will argue that this was "just a test" of Abraham's faith, this completely sidesteps the fact that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his own child simply because God told him to do so. Abraham didn't argue or plead with God, nor did he question him, he simply tricked his son into going on an errand with him alone, and after building an altar with Isaac's help, he then ties the boy to the altar and prepares to plunge a knife into his own son. The apologist tends to be quick to point out that God didn't allow Abraham to go through with this human sacrifice, however, that's not the point - if God commanded someone to rape their grandmother, and the man ties her to a bed, rips her clothes off, and is prepared to do the deed until God tells him to stop, he has still acted immorally. The act of attempting to murder or rape another human being is immoral, demanding that someone perform a heinous task is immoral as well - regardless of what the motivation might be. Just because the command to do something evil came from God and not a mortal man does not suddenly make it moral. Moses then tells the people to love God will all of their hearts, which I simply find an impossible request. One simply cannot be commanded to love - love is something that usually must be earned, nurtured, and maintained to sustain itself. If you do not love someone or something, someone else requesting for you to do so isn't going to accomplish anything sincere. Moses instructs the people that they are to also "love" God's laws, and are to be taught to their children, as well as repeated where ever they may be, from dawn to dusk, and that they are to be written down on a card and tied to their hands, as well as written on the posts of their gates and houses. This may mean to be taken for the people to simply memorize and live the commandments, but doubtless it has been taken literally by some. Moses then tells the people to be grateful to God since he has brought them into a land where there would be no need to build cities, houses, wells, vineyards, and plants - even though God didn't build these things either. Simply put, he let the "heathens" stay in the land long enough to build "great and goodly cities" and then let the Israelites ransack and loot the place. Moses also makes sure to remind the Israelites yet again that God brought them out of their slavery in Egypt. Moses' next commands the Israelites to fear God, serve him, and swear by his name, but warns them not to worship other gods - like the "heathens" that surround them do - or God will destroy the Israelites from the face of the earth. He tells the Israelites not to tempt God, like they had done in Exodus: Chapter 17 when they first whined about not having any water to drink. He again restates that the Israelites are to keep the commandments and teach them to their future generations.

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Summary:	Moses gathers the people of Israel and said to them, "Hear, the people of Israel, the laws and judgment which I speak to you on this day, that you learn and obey them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Mount Horeb, and he made this covenant not with our forefathers, but with us who all of us are here alive to this day. "The Lord talked with you face to face from the mountain out of the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to show you the word of the Lord, for you were afraid of the fire, and did not go up the mountain." Moses then restates the ten commandments: I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work , thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. Honour thy father and thy mother , as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. Neither shalt thou steal. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's. Moses continues, "These words the Lord spoke to all of you at the mountain, from the midst of fire, from the cloud, and in thick darkness with a great voice - he added no more, but wrote them down onto two tablets of stone, and delivered them to me. "It came to pass, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness - for the mountain did burn with fire - that the heads of your tribes and your elders came before me saying, 'Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen a day where God has talked with man, and man survived, but why should we [tempt] death [again]? This great fire could consume us, and if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore we could die. For what mortal has ever heard the voice of God speaking out the fire, as we have, and lived? 'Go hear all that the Lord has to say and speak it to us afterward, and we will listen and obey.' "The Lord heard your words when you said this to me, and the Lord said to me, 'I have heard the words of the people, and they have spoken wisely. They have a great heart in them, that they would fear me, and always keep all my commandments. If they obey, all will be good for them and their children throughout their generations. 'Tell the people to return to their tents, but when you return, stand here and I will speak to you all the commandments, statutes, and judgments for you to teach them, that they may follow in the land which I give them to possess.' "You are to obey exactly as the Lord your God has commanded you, you are not to deviate from his law in either direction. You shall walk in all the ways that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that all may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess."
Thoughts:	Moses gathers the Israelites and prepares them to listen to his retelling of the "ten commandments" that we first encountered in Exodus: Chapter 20. Moses tells the people that these commandments differ from most of God's covenants, since the people this covenant was made with are still alive and listening to Moses' speech this day. However, this couldn't be possible considering that this speech occurs after the last generation of Israelites - the one who were present in Mount Horeb - were made to wander around the desert for forty years, and they had all died out since then. Moses states that God spoke to the Israelites "face to face" from the midst of fire upon the mountain, and also claims that he served as an intermediary between God and the people, because they were afraid of the fire, and did not go up the mountain - which might very well have something to do with the fact that they were threatened with death if they were to attempt to approach the mountain. Moses then retells the ten commandments, which is almost identical to how they appear in Exodus: Chapter 20 with only some slight differences to the wording of the fourth commandment, with an additional reminder of God's rescue of the people from slavery in Egypt. Moses tells the people that these commandments were written by God onto two stone tablets that were delivered to Moses. He then mentions that the people were frightened of hearing God's voice and somehow couldn't shake the apparently common superstitious fear of the time, being that you apparently are not supposed to be able to hear the voice of God and live. The Israelites, according to Moses, asked Moses to be their middle man, delivering God's message to them, so that they would not have to fear God's voice speaking out of the flames again. Obviously this sets Moses up in a position of power that is easily abused - as now anything that Moses claims is "God's word" is to be believed as such, without any way of discerning whether what is being said is in fact "God's word" or Moses' own personal agenda. The Israelites aren't even allowed to venture up near the foot of the mountain, nor are they allowed within the tabernacle, both under the penalty of death. Thereby creating a "man behind the curtain" facade in which Moses and the priests can take advantage of the blind trust the people have in that the edicts they receive are the "word of God", the privacy they are afforded by having areas that are off limits to the public - enforced with capital punishment, and very little recourse for anyone to dispute their leadership. The biggest problem with religion is that it discourages critical thinking, that people are not to question authority for any reason, and that laws are not to be amended or adapted to evolve alongside of societal changes. Over time we find that many laws simply serve no function to us any longer, or were unjust from the very beginning (such as slavery) but were kept on the books to avoid civil unrest between proponents and the opposition. As we discover new technologies that alter the way we live - such as the automobile, radio, telephone, and the internet - we need new laws to regulate the usage of these technologies to protect people's safety. We simply can't rely upon the laws that were in effect in 1776 to govern the modern world in 2009. It's even more unfathomable to attempt to live as people did in the bronze age over 3000 years ago did, yet that is exactly what religion attempts to encourage. The Catholic church is against the use of contraception and carries this message even when dealing with HIV stricken countries like Africa where condom usage would better help contain the further spread of the disease than simply telling people to practice abstinence - which obviously doesn't work very well with their own priests and their ensuing sexual abuse scandals. Moses tells the Israelites that even God himself approves of the Israelites suggestion of having Moses play middleman, and says that life will be peachy and keen so long as they follow all of God's commandments. God tells Moses to send the congregation of people back to their tents so that he can speak with Moses alone and give him all the commandments, statutes and judgments for him to teach the Israelites. Moses finishes off the chapter by stating that these laws are to be obeyed exactly as God commanded them, and not to be added to or subtracted from, or altered in any way.

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Summary:	Moses continues his speech to the Israelites, saying, "Now therefore heed, O Israel, to the laws and judgments which I teach you. Obey them so that you may live and enter the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you. You are not to add to or subtract from the laws which I command you. You are to keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. "Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor. God had destroyed all the men who followed Baalpeor from among you, but those that followed the Lord your God are still alive to this day. "Behold, I have taught you laws and judgments as the Lord my God has commanded me, that you shall do in the land when you arrive to possess it. Keep these laws and obey them, for this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of [other] nations, which will hear these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation are wise and understanding people.' For what nation is there so great, who has God amongst them, and that the Lord our God is in all things that we can call upon him for? What nation is there so great that has laws and judgments so righteous as this law, which I set before you this day? "Take heed of yourselves, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things you have seen, and lest they depart from your heart for the rest of your life - teach them to your sons and grandsons; especially the day that you stood before God on Mount Horeb, when the Lord said to me, 'Gather the people together before me and they shall hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.' "And you came near and stood under the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire into the heavens, and was covered in dark clouds and thick darkness. When the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire, you heard his voice, yet did not see him. He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to obey - the ten commandments - which he wrote upon two stone tablets. "The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you laws and judgments for you to obey when you arrive in the land you are going to possess. Therefore take heed - as you had not seen any manner of image [of God] on the day that the Lord spoke to you in Mount Horeb from out of the midst of the fire - lest you corrupt yourselves by creating any graven image, the likeness of any figure, male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps along the ground, or the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth. "Lest you look up into the heavens, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars - all that appear in the heavens - should you be driven to worship and serve them, which the Lord your God has commanded against - to separate you from the other nations under the heavens. The Lord has taken you and brought you out from the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as you are this very day. "The Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I shall not cross the Jordan River, nor may I enter the land which the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance. I must die here in this land instead, but you shall go over without me and posses that good land. "Take heed of yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and create a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you - for the Lord your God is a consuming fire and a jealous God. When you have resided in the land long enough to produce children and grandchildren, and corrupt yourselves by creating a graven image - or the likeness of anything [forbidden by God] - and thereby do evil in the sight of the Lord your God, provoking his anger, I shall call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon after utterly perish from the land where you are headed. You will not live any longer in the land, but shall be utterly destroyed. The Lord will scatter you amongst the nations, and you will be left few in number amongst the heathens, where the Lord will lead you. There you will serve gods created by men from wood and stone, which neither see, hear, eat, or smell. "But if from then you you shall seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things have come upon you, even in the latter days, if you turn to the Lord your God, and shall be obedient to his voice - for the Lord your God is a merciful God - then he will neither forsake you, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your forefathers which he promised unto them. "Ask now, even since the beginning of time, since the day that God created man upon the earth, in all of heaven from one side to another, whether there has ever been - or has ever been heard of - any such thing as great as people hearing the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you [all] have heard, and lived [to tell of it]? Or has anyone heard of God having taken our nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, signs, and wonders, as well as by war, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm, and by great terrors, such as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? "This was shown to you so that you would know that the Lord he is God, and that there is no other beside him. Out of the heaven he made you hear his voice so that he could instruct you, and upon the earth he showed you his great fire - and you heard his words from out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your forefathers, he therefore kept his covenant with their offspring and brought them out of Egypt using his mighty powers. He drove out nations greater and mightier than you are, to give to you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. Know therefore this day, and know in your heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath - there is none else. You shall therefore obey his laws which I command to you today, that you and your children after you may prolong your days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God has given thee forever." Moses then set aside three cities on the east side of the Jordan River to be used as "cities of refuge". He picked Bezer (a city in the wilderness in the plain country, given to the Reubenites), Ramoth (a city in Gilead given to the Gadites), and Golan (a city in Bashan given to the Manassites). Moses set the law before the people of Israel, on the east side of the Jordan River, in the valley near Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon - king of the Amorites - whom Moses and the Israelites had slain. They possessed this land, as well as the land of Og - king of Bashan. They had destroyed the two kings of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan River, and occupied the land from Aroer - which is by the bank of the Arnon River - to Mount Sion (which is also called Mount Hermon), and the plains on the east side of the Jordan River, even unto the sea, under the springs of Pisgah.
Thoughts:	Moses' speech continues taking on less of an air of recounting specific events and more of an establishment of God's law. He tells the Israelites that they are to obey the laws and judgments which Moses taught them and to practice them in the "promised land". Moses specifically states that God's laws are not to be changed in anyway - they are not to be added to, nor are any laws to be subtracted, which seems to be in contrast with modern religious practice, else we would see a lot more public stonings. Moses then mentions the Moabite/Midianite conflict in Mount Peor from Numbers: Chapter 25, reminding the people about God's wrath over the situation, and claims that every person who behaved themselves during that time is still alive today. Moses then states that if the people obey these laws, he believes that they will impress other nations with their wisdom and understanding(!) I don't think Moses could be more off the mark as he is here. Stoning unruly children, accusing your wife of unfaithfulness and making her participate in a magic ritual to prove her innocence, stoning people to death for picking up sticks on a Saturday, and justifying the fatal beating of a slave - providing he survives longer than two days after the beating are not ethical, moral, wise, "righteous", or "understanding" by any means. Anyone who admires such ridiculous laws are as amoral as those who follow them. Moses continues to boast about the nation of Israel, stating that it's better than other nations since God doesn't live amongst and speak to the other nations. He also boasts again about God's laws calling them "righteous", and stating that other nations don't have these "righteous" laws that the Israelites do. He then tells the people to remember the events of the exodus (especially everything that occurred at Mount Horeb, and to retell these tales to their children and grandchildren, lest they become forgotten. He tells the people most of all to remember the day God appeared as a cloud of flaming smoke upon the mountain (which seems more probable that this was most likely a volcano erupting), and begins to recount this event. Moses remind the people that while they heard God's voice bellowing from the fire on the mountain, they did not see him. Moses continues and recalls that God made his covenant with the people of Israel there upon that mountain and gave it to the people written on two stone tablets - the ten commandments. Since the people had not seen God's image, Moses sternly warns them never to make any graven image of anything in heaven, as well as on earth, male or female, beast or fowl, insect or fish. Moses states that worshiping the sun, moon, or stars - like he asserts that other nations do - is also forbidden, as God doesn't want his "chosen people" acting like the heathens in other nations. Moses again rubs it in that he believes it is the Israelites fault that God got angry with him for striking a rock with a stick instead of speaking to the rock, thereby God refuses to let Moses cross the Jordan River enter the "promised land". Once again this seems a bit at odds with the book of Numbers claiming Moses to be the "meekest man on earth", when Moses can't even seem to accept responsibility for his own mistakes, and preferring to blame others. Moses returns to his topic against creating graven images, stating that God is a "consuming fire" as well as a jealous god. Moses' tone then becomes a bit ambigious as to whether he is making a prophesy or a supposition about the Israelites creating graven images within the "promised land" - promising that if the people do such in the land, they will utterly perish and will be destroyed, with any survivors being scattered across the surrounding "heathen" nations - where they'll be forced to worship false gods made from wood and stone, that don't see, hear, eat, or smell as apparently God (Yahweh) is able to do. However, if after God has doled out all these brutal punishments, Moses adds, if you seek God out with all your heart you will find him. Moses claims that this is because God is in fact a "merciful" god. This method of thinking is simply not rational and has always personally bothered me. If a parent severely beats a child for breaking a rule, and the beatings and punishments continue until the child has sincerely apologized, we would not consider the parent a "merciful" parent simply because they stopped beating their child after receiving an apology. Most rational people would not be calling that parent "merciful" for stopping the beating, rather they would most likely call them sadistic for beating their child in the first place. Yet when we substitute God into the analogy instead of the parent suddenly the rules change and the believer justifies behavior such as setting priests on fire for using the wrong fire to light incense, and threatening their surviving family not to grieve over their deaths or they'll be killed as well. It simply does not matter what rule was broken - even if the child pushed his sister down the stairs - the appropriate response is never non-stop continual violence until an apology is made, this simply is not justifiable as "mercy" in any way, shape, or form. Moses now challenges the Israelites to think of whether anyone in the history of the earth has ever experience or heard of a nation of people hearing the voice of God speaking out of the midst of fire as they had, and lived to tell about it. He also posits that no other nation had escaped the oppression of another nation by the manner of "temptations, signs, and wonders" in addition to God's might and his "great terrors", such as how God freed them from their slavery in Egypt. However, many religions posit that their "chosen people" have direct contact with god(s) and have many incredulous myths which they assert are true despite credible evidence. Moses now states that the whole exodus was a display of God's powers to the Israelites to prove that God is the almighty god, and that there are no other gods beside him. Moses states that God had driven out nations of people mightier than the Israelites (such as the "giants" Moses discussed at length in Deuteronomy Chapter 2 and Chapter 3) and gave their land to the Israelites, so therefore God's laws are to be obeyed. Again, this is an argument I simply cannot understand. Moses is stating here that because God rescued the Israelites from slavery, helped them destroy other nations in battle, and allowed them to take the land, that these three conditions justify unwavering and unquestioning obedience. Basically what Moses has argued is that "might makes right", meaning that God's powerful actions for Israel's benefit mandate obedience in return. If you were wrongly imprisoned in jail and a heavily armed vigilante militia came to your aid, broke you out of jail by overpowering the police, and then gave you a home to live in by forcefully removing the occupants, this does not mean by any stretch that you must be obedient and condone the actions of the militia. While the militia may have had sincere and honorable intentions, they also broke the law and displaced an innocent bystander out their home in accomplishing their task. While your freedom was deserved for being wrongfully imprisoned, this obviously is not the right or proper way to go about vindicating yourself. The chapter then sees Moses picking out three "cities of refuge" outside of the "promised land". He picks one city from the possessions of each of the tribes living outside the "promised land" - Bezer (Reuben), Ramoth (Gad), and Golan (Manasseh). It's now noted that two of the Amorite kings had been slain, and the chapter close out with Moses setting God's law before the Israelites.

EXODUS: A Recap

While the book of Genesis may be the most hotly debated book of the bible for fundamentalist believers, creationists, and proponents of "Intelligent Design", the book of Exodus tends to be one of the more favored biblical books for the skeptics and atheists - mostly due to the absurdity, cruelty, intolerance, sexist and bizarre nature of God's laws.

This book is mainly the beginning and introduction to the legendary biblical character of Moses, whose significance lies in the common assertion that the first five books of the bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) are thought to have been written by Moses himself. Most archaeologists tend to view the book of Exodus as non-historical, and at best an exaggerated account containing a sliver of truth, as there are many events that just don't hold up to our known archaeological evidence. For example, with over 600,000 Hebrew men leaving Egypt, it is likely that when counting wives, children, and the elderly amongst them that a number of two million or more would be accurate - a sizable chunk of the entire Egyptian population of around 3 to 6 million. Such a sizable population drop (not to mention the hoards Egyptian people that God kills with plagues and the entire Egyptian army that he drowns in the Red Sea) would have had a severe chaotic impact on the economy of Egypt to which no known evidence supports. Also implausible is that the 70 descendants of Israel described in Genesis: Chapter 46 managed to increase their population to over two million in a matter of 400 to 430 years.

The story of Moses' birth and subsequent escape from infanticide suspiciously mirrors the story of King Sargon that is thought to possibly predate the earliest writings of the Torah - the Jewish books of the Old Testament. His adoption by Egyptian royalty also seems suspect and similar to other mythologies including that of King Sargon.

Moses goes into exile from Egypt after he witnesses an Egyptian strike a Hebrew slave, knocking him to the ground, and retaliates with murdering the Egyptian. He travels to the land of Midian where he marries and settles down as a shepherd for about forty years. Also suspect is that Moses' father-in-law is inexplicably referred to by two completely different names, suggesting multiple authorship.

God appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush and sends him on a mission to liberate the people of Israel from their slavery and teaches Moses a variety of magic tricks, or "miracles", that somehow aren't so "miraculous" as a bunch of Egyptian sorcerers are able to duplicate many of them.

However, before Moses can get on with his mission (and meet up with his brother Aaron) God almost kills Moses in the desert in a bizarre scene more at home in a David Lynch film. Apparently God wants to kill Moses as he hasn't yet had his son circumcised (which is not readily explained) and upon hearing this, Moses' wife Zillah lops off their son's foreskin with a sharp knife and throws the bloody foreskin at Moses. God flees the scene after this, rightfully so.

While Moses and his brother Aaron impress the leaders of the Israeli tribes with their magical staffs that turns into snakes, the trick doesn't go over quite as well with the Pharaoh of Egypt who somehow finds a bunch of sorcerers who are able to turn magic staffs into snakes too. Unimpressed with the magic tricks God taught Moses and Aaron (and despite the "coup de grâce" Aaron's snake delivers by eating the sorcerer's snakes) the Pharaoh refuses Moses' request that the Israeli people be allowed to go out on a three day picnic to sacrifice animals out in the wilderness.

Moses and Aaron continue battle it out with the Egyptian sorcerers with both sides being able to turn the Nile River into blood and conjure frogs, but Aaron and Moses somehow stump the sorcerers when they create lice out of the dust on the ground. Defeated, the sorcerers insist to the Pharaoh that this must be "the finger of God" that created the lice, instead of perhaps maybe coming the conclusion that perhaps Moses and Aaron might simply just be better magicians than themselves. Despite the defeat of the sorcerers, as well as their conclusion that because they can't conjure lice that God must be involved, the Pharaoh still isn't letting his Hebrew slaves go on their little picnic in the desert.

All the time while God dishes out magic plague after plague (including destroying all the Egyptian livestock, while sparing the Israeli animals; causing boils to appear on both people and animals; deadly hailstorms; and swarms of locusts) God also manipulates the Pharaoh into either outright saying "no" to Moses' demands, or allowing the people to go (usually under restrictive conditions) and then later changing his mind, disallowing them to go. God makes the Pharaoh keep saying "no" to Moses so that God can flex his might miracle muscles in an attempt to wow both the Egyptians and Israelis alike.

God's next devious plan is to go around killing all of the firstborn male animals and Egyptian people, while sparing the Israelis. In order to ensure that he knows which houses to skip - the ones housing the Israelis - he has them slaughter a whole bunch of lambs and splatter the blood over their door frames of their houses. He makes up a bunch of elaborate conditions on how he wants the people to do this, and how to eat the lamb meat afterwards, and tells Moses that this whole event is going to be a mandatory annual holiday for the people of Israel, introducing us to the Jewish holiday of Passover - as God "passes over" the houses of the Israeli people.

As God is now sure that the Pharaoh will wind up kicking out the Israeli people after this horrible slaughter, he tells Moses to have the women folk go out and ask the Egyptian citizens to give them all of their valuable jewelry and clothing. God forces the Egyptian people to hand over their possessions gleefully to the Israelis, which basically strips them of all their wealth and possessions.

Sure enough, God's mass slaughter of the firstborn Egyptians makes the Egyptian Pharaoh want to be rid of the Israelis and he finally allows them to leave Egypt, with their families, livestock, and all the Egyptian wealth with them.

After the millions of people all managed to leave Egypt on the same night(!), word gets back to the Pharaoh that the Israelis have no intentions of ever returning back to Egypt after their three day picnic. Enraged that he has just lost a good two million or so Hebrew slaves, he sets off after them with his entire army of chariots in tow. While God has Moses seemingly trap the Israelis against the Red Sea, God instead has another trick up his sleeve.

As the Egyptian army gets closer, God has Moses part the Red Sea with his magic staff and after drying the bottom of the sea bed with an eastern wind, has the Israelis cross to safety. When the Egyptians go in after them, he has Moses and his magic staff close the Red Sea back up again, killing the entire Egyptian army by drowning.

After some rousing songs and dances, the people of Israel start having problems acquiring food and water out in the desert and start angrily complaining to Moses, blaming him for dragging them out in the desert to die. Every time Moses pleads with God on their behalf, God somehow solves their problems by leading them to an oasis, making magical food formed on the evaporated morning dew, or having Moses bang his magic staff against a rock causing a stream of water to come forth.

God decides to test the people's obedience by instructing them not to store the magical food overnight (which its magical properties cause it to become maggot-ridden), nor go out gathering food on Saturday (on which day the magic food doesn't appear). Of course, when people go storing food and trying to gather food on Saturdays, God gets angry and frustrated.

Later on the Israelis get attacked by an Amalek army to which Moses is able to manipulate the battle with his magic staff. When he raises the staff above his head, the Israeli army gains the upper hand in the battle; and when Moses' arms get tired and he lowers the staff, the Israelis begin losing. So, Aaron and his pal Hur stand on either side of Moses helping him lift his arms in the air until the Israelis defeat the Amalek army.

Soon after Moses' father-in-law with two names arrives to drop off Moses' wife and kids to him and is baffled by all the time Moses is wasting solving problems for the Israelis. He helps Moses set up a judicial system to disperse the workload before riding off into the sunset.

The people now arrive at Mount Sinai and God begins to meet with Moses on a semi-regular basis on the top of the mountain. God wants the people to be aware of his presence and has Moses tell them all that he will appear in the form of a dark thunder cloud within a couple of days. However, he tells Moses to rope off a boundary at the foot of the mountain and instructs the people to kill anybody - including any stray animals - that tries to climb up the mountain, or even come anywhere near the boundary line. Much like the Wizard of Oz, God doesn't want anybody peeking behind the curtain. God's theatrics of thunder, lightning, and blowing a ram's horn(?) frighten the people into submission and obedience.

God starts giving a whole bunch of rules to Moses for the people of Israel to follow, most that if broken result in death by stoning. The rules are diverse in nature and deal with how to care for and beat your slaves; how to sell your daughters into slavery; what to do when your oxen go kill crazy and whether or not you should be killed for it too; how if you defend your home from a thief and mortally wound him, you'd better hope it occurs at night, otherwise you're automatically condemned as a murderer; learn to understand things that constitute a stoning like cursing your parents, worshiping other gods, working on Saturdays, and practicing witchcraft; and the charming rule of never boiling a baby goat in its mother's milk.

God invites Moses to bring his brother Aaron and about seventy of the elders of the people up to hang out on top of the mountain. They all have a big feast in the presence of God, and afterwards God has Moses climb higher up the mountain to have some private chit-chat. God tells Moses that he's got these ten extra-important rules that he's going to carve on some stone tablets, and that he wants Moses to stick around until he's done writing them. After six days, he lets Moses head back down again, but when Moses returns to the top of the mountain he stays up there for forty days and forty nights straight.

God tells Moses that he wants the people to build him a tabernacle, so that he can live amongst his chosen people and gives Moses a large shopping list of items that will be needed to build his home along with precise building plans. God then fills Moses in on how he wants all of his ritualistic animal sacrifices performed, and all the specifics he expects to be performed in his tabernacle.

God gives Moses the two tablets containing his "Ten Commandments", and stresses repeatedly that anybody caught working on Saturdays must be killed.

Meanwhile, the Israelis start thinking that after forty days of not hearing from Moses that he must have disappeared or ran off and begin panicking that they might also no longer have a god around to lead them. Moses' brother Aaron comes up with a plan to make the people a new god out of the molten gold from everyone's earrings. He melts the gold in a fire and shapes into the image of a golden calf, and the people start a drunken party in honor of their golden calf god. Our God Yahweh, however, is not amused and decides that he's going to kill the whole lot of these people until Moses chastises him for reacting in such an evil way. He talks God out of his kill frenzy by reminding him that he did kind of promise Abraham, Isaac, and Israel that he'd give them a whole ton of descendants and that they'd become a great nation.

Instead Moses comes down from the mountain, melts the golden calf in the fire, grinds up the molten gold into fine powder and force feeds it to these heathen calf worshipers. He then demands that whomever is going to start taking God seriously is going to have to kill a bunch of the people who don't, regardless of family ties or friendship. In the end about 3,000 Israeli people are slaughtered at the hand of the sword.

Moses pats them all on the back for obeying God and slaughtering their sons, brothers, and neighbors for being a bunch of heathens and promises them that God will bestow great blessings upon them for doing so. God instead sends them a plague.

God now tells Moses that he doesn't want to travel with the people of Israel now because he's just going to be too tempted to just murder the whole lot of them, but Moses manages to coax him back along. God in turn pulls a guilt trip upon the people and tells them that they're too shameful of a people to wear jewelry anymore and commands that they strip themselves of their jewels. Moses asks God if he can be allowed to see his face, but while God refuses as he tells Moses that no one is allowed to see his face and live, he settles for letting Moses see his backside as he walks ahead of him.

Moses heads up to the mountain with two new tablets for God to write another copy of the "Ten Commandments" on, and stays up there for another forty days and forty nights. While he's waiting, God tells Moses that when the Israelis reach the "promised land" that they're not to have any tolerance towards the people living there. They're not to sign any peace treaties with them, they are to smash and break all of their religious altars and idols, and they're not to marry any of those "whoring" daughters as they'll corrupt the minds of God's chosen people.

When Moses finally comes down from the mountain with the new copies of the "Ten Commandments", he freaks the people out unknowingly as his face has somehow acquired a strange glow from having spent all that time hanging around with God. He later puts a veil over his face, but continues to take it off in God's presence in order to soak up more of the godly glow.

Moses finally gets two fellows named Bezalel and Oholiab (along with a bunch of people working under them) to start building the tabernacle, its furnishings, and a bunch of priest costumes. The people keep donating supplies until Moses has to force them to stop donating.

Moses anoints his brother Aaron, along with Aaron's sons, as the priests of the tabernacle, while God begins leading the people of Israel towards the "promised land" by using the form of a cloud in the daylight, and a cloud on fire at night.

EXODUS: Chapter 40

Chapter 40
Summary:	God now tells Moses to put together the tabernacle on the first day of the first month, to place inside of it the ark containing the ten commandments, and to install the veil to cover the ark. He then tells Moses to bring in the table and to place the utensils on it, and to also bring in the lampstand and to light the lamps. God tells Moses where and how to set up the altars, the drapes, the washbasin, and the curtain door to the courtyard. He then tells Moses to anoint everything in the tabernacle with the anointing oil, and to bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tabernacle, washing them with the water in the washbasin. Next, God tells Moses to clothe Aaron with the holy garments and anoint him, and to put the holy robes on Aaron's sons, and anoint them as he did their father. God notes that the anointing shall be permanent from generation to generation. Moses got to work assembling the tabernacle, everything it was to contain, and anointed Aaron and his sons as God had commanded him to. A cloud then covered the tabernacle and filled it with the glory of God, and to which Moses was unable to enter as it did so. Whenever the cloud lifted and moved, the people of Israel followed it; and when it rested, the people remained until it moved again. The cloud rested upon the tabernacle in the daytime, and at night there was fire in the cloud so that the people could see it in the darkness. This continued throughout their journeys.
Thoughts:	This final chapter in the book of Exodus leaves us with Moses putting together the final touches to the tabernacle and anointing it, as well as anointing his brother Aaron and sons as priests. God states that the anointing of Aaron and his sons is permanent and will extend to generations of Aaron's lineage. God then takes on the form of a cloud again (highlighted with fireballs at night) that somehow is impenetrable for Moses to pass through as it is filling the tabernacle with God's glory, which just seems plainly silly. The people of Israel follow the cloud and let it lead them in their journey to the promised land.

EXODUS: Chapters 33 & 34

Chapter 33
Summary:	God tells Moses to lead the people of Israel towards the "promised land", and again tells him that an angel will drive out the tribes living there. God then tells Moses that he will not travel amongst the people of Israel, calling them stubborn and unruly*, and that he would be tempted to destroy them. When the people heard God's threat they went into mourning and stripped themselves of their jewelry and fancy clothes. God apparently tells Moses to command them to remove their jewelry, leaving these two verses in doubt as to whose idea it was. Either way, the Israelis wore no jewelry from this point on. Moses erected the tabernacle tent far outside of the camp wherever they went. Whenever Moses went to the tabernacle, the people would rise and stand at their tent doors watching until he reached the entrance. As he entered, a pillar of cloud would appear at the door while God spoke to Moses. The people would then bow and worship the cloud from their tent doorways. Inside Moses would speak to God face to face, and afterwards would return to the camp, but leaving his assistant Joshua behind. Moses asked God to clearly guide him towards the "promised land", and that if God would not accompany them, then the people would not move from this spot. He further explains that if God does not accompany them, how will others know that the Israelis are "different" from any other people of the earth. God agrees to do as Moses asked, and in turn Moses asks to see God's glory. God tells Moses that he will make his "goodness" pass before him and will announce the meaning of his name, but that Moses cannot see the glory of his face, as man may not see him and live. However, God tells Moses to stand on a rock beside him, and that when his glory goes by, he will cover Moses' face with his (God's) hand until he has passed, then will remove his hand and will let Moses see his back as he passes.
Notes:	1.) The King James version uses the term "stiffnecked" here.
Thoughts:	God, apparently still brooding over that whole golden calf business from Chapter 32, tells Moses that he will not travel with the Israelis to the "promised land" because it would be too tempting to kill them all. Apparently God lacks self restraint and seems to have little patience, tolerance, or compassion towards his chosen people. The odd thing here is that Moses is painted here in a far more compassionate and loving light than God is. Here, Moses knows that his people can be a bunch of imperfect screw-ups and as opposed to God, he knows that outright killing them is not the answer (refer to Exodus: Chapter 32 where Moses talks God out of slaying them all), and nor is abandoning them. Here it appears that Moses is actually a better leader than God himself, or at the very least has far more compassion, patience, and understanding towards his fellow man. Despite Moses murdering an Egyptian in revenge for striking a Hebrew slave and commanding the Levites to slaughter 3,000 of their own people, Moses' death count is still well below God's - despite that God has had a several thousand year headstart, his high kill counts occur in spans of less than a year (the mass Genocide in Genesis: Chapter 7 with the flood, and the mass murder committed in the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis: Chapter 19). Next up we have an unclear account of why the Israelis stopped wearing jewelry. Verse four makes it seem like the people themselves stopped wearing their jewelry by their own free will, where verse five shows us that God had actually commanded that the people remove their jewelry as a punishment. While we can conclude that it ultimately was God's decision and a small punishment of his, it's curious as to why verse four is written as such to make it appear as if the people removed their jewelry out of remorse for their "bad behavior". Perhaps the people may have realized their "bad behavior" after God's punishment, or at least the extent of how they upset God, but verse four seems to imply that the people imposed this punishment upon themselves. Moses then tells God that if he's not going to travel with them, then the people aren't going to move from this spot. God relents when Moses explains that if God isn't traveling amongst them, then how will their enemies realize that they're a "different" people, and presumably "better than them", without God's presence. Finally Moses asks to see the glory of God's face, which God refuses on the grounds that mortals looking upon his face will surely die. Instead, God curiously decides to put his hand over Moses' eyes as he passes by and lets Moses see his backside as he passes him. This may just be one of the silliest verses we've read so far, at least since The Tower of Babel story.
Chapter 34
Summary:	God now tells Moses to prepare two stone tablets - just like the ones he sort of broke earlier - to write the ten commandments upon again. He tells Moses to be ready to climb the mountain in the morning to retrieve them, adding that no-one is to accompany him, nor shall they come anywhere near the mountain - including stray animals. In the morning, Moses returned to Mount Sinai with the two stone tablets. God descended upon the mountain in the form of a cloud, passing in front of Moses, and announced the meaning of his name. He tells Moses that he is Yahweh, the merciful and gracious god, slow to anger, and rich in steadfast love and truth. Yahweh continues by saying that he shows this "steadfast love" to many thousands by forgiving their sins, and that he refuses to clear the guilty, requiring a father's sin to be punished to his sons and grandsons, and further generations. Moses once again begs God to accompany the Israelis to the "promised land", to which God again agrees. He makes a pact with Moses, stating that he will perform a bunch of mighty miracles so that the people of Israel will see his power, and that Moses' part of the agreement is to obey all of the commandments. God continues on telling Moses again that he will drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hevites, and Jebusites. He warns Moses not to compromise with the inhabitants living in the "promised land", stating that if he does then soon he will be following their "evil ways". He tells Moses instead that he is to destroy their heathen altars and destroy their idols, for the people of Israel are only to worship Yahweh. God tells Moses that they are not to make any peace treaties of any kind with the people living in the land, calling them "spiritual whores" for sacrificing to other gods. He also forbids them from taking any of their daughters as wives, as they will make the sons of Israel go "whoring after" other Gods. God then reminds Moses not to forget about celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and repeats his mantra about every first born male belonging to him. He tells Moses again that the firstborn colt of a donkey may be redeemed by substituting a lamb, but that if one chooses not to redeem it, then its neck must be broken. He adds that no one shall appear before God without a gift. God now repeats his commandment about the sabbath, and follows it up with his laws about the three annual pilgrimages. God adds that no one will attack or conquer their land while they appear before God, as God will drive out the nations before them and enlarge their boundaries. God reminds Moses not to use leavened bread in any ritual sacrifices, nor is any of the Passover lamb to be kept for the following day. God also repeats that the people must bring the best of their first crops, and also that a young goat must not be cooked in its mother's milk. God tells Moses to write down these laws (again?) as they will be the terms of the covenant between God and the people of Israel. Moses was up on the mountain again for forty days and forty nights, in which time he did not either or drink anything. God rewrote the ten commandments on the new tablets and sent Moses back down the mountain. Unbeknown to Moses, his face glowed from being in the presence of God. Because of the radiant glow upon Moses face, Aaron and the people of Israel were frightened to go any where near him, yet Moses called for Aaron and the leaders of Israel before him. Afterwards all the people of Israel gathered before Moses and he gave them the Ten Commandments. When Moses finished speaking with the people he placed a veil over his face, which he removed each time he went into the tabernacle to speak directly with God. He would leave the veil off as he passed on the instructions God so that the people would see his face aglow with the glory of God. Afterwards he would put the veil back on until he returned to speak with God again.
Thoughts:	God has Moses get two more stone tablets to write the ten commandments on and to replace the ones Moses had broken earlier. He tells Moses to swing by in the morning to pick them up, while warning him that he is to come alone - adding that no one, man or animal is to even go near the mountain. When Moses arrives, God takes the form of a pillar of clouds and tells Moses about the meaning of his name, Yahweh. He suspiciously describes himself as "merciful", "gracious", and "slow to anger" - which run contrary to what the bible has described so far about God's temperament. Mercy was not shown to the millions (more probably actually billions) of innocent infants, children, and animals drowned in the flood story in Genesis: Chapter 7, nor towards the millions of firstborn sons he killed in Egypt in Exodus: Chapter 11 - these are not examples of "mercy" by any stretch of the imagination. God's claims of showing "steadfast love" by forgiving people's sins seems to run contrary to his claim right afterwards that he refuses to clear the guilty. God seems to forget that Moses committed murder in Egypt (killing an Egyptian who knocked down a Hebrew slave) and that God himself, almost killed Moses for simply not having his son circumcised in Exodus: Chapter 4. His claims of guilt being inherited by further generations of the offender are still as ridiculously absurd as they were when he claimed this in the book of Genesis. God then tells Moses that when they arrive in the "promised land" that they are to smash all the inhabitants "heathen" altars and their religious idols, as he doesn't want the Israelis to be contaminated or tempted by some "false" religion. Religious and cultural intolerance is also not a good indicator of "mercy" or "compassion" either. In fact God doesn't even want the Israelis to enact any kind of peace treaties with the inhabitants, and especially not to marry their "spiritually whoring" daughters, as they'll only contaminate the people of Israel with their false gods. Once again, misogyny and bigotry rears its ugly head, implying that these people - especially the young women - are subhuman and irredeemable. God repeats to Moses a few of his favorite mantras including animal sacrifice for the firstborn, that sheep can be substituted for donkeys (but if not, then break the donkey's neck!), and that no one is to appear before God without some sort of gift for him - apparently God is very materialistic. He repeats his sermon about not working on Saturdays and about the annual pilgrimages he expects. He tacks on that no enemy armies will be able to attack or invade the Israelis during these festivals, as God will personally enlarge the boundaries and drive out any attackers. God continues repeating previous statements to Moses about: not using yeast in any bread products used for sacrifices, that the passover goat meat is not to be eaten the following day, that the first of the crops belong to God, and the ever so charming rule of thumb not to boil a baby goat in its mother's milk. God makes Moses write all this stuff down again, and Moses stays up on the mountain for forty days and nights without eating or drinking, presumably as God puts Moses into some kind of suspended animation for the elapsed time. God gives Moses the new tablets containing the ten commandments, and unbeknownst to Moses, his face is shining and glowing from having been in the presence of God. Apparently Moses' new shiny look scares the dickens out of the people of Israel, so Moses decides to start wearing a veil, which he later begins to take off every time he speaks with God, in order to ensure that he soaks up a bit more godly-sheen. He gives the people the ten commandments and manages not to smash these two tablets to bits.

EXODUS: Chapters 31 & 32

Chapter 31
Summary:	God tells Moses that he has appointed Bezalel (who is the son of Uri, and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah) to be the one to construct the tabernacle and everything it is to contain. He then tells Moses that he has appointed Oholiab (son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan) to be his assistant. Both will be blessed with wisdom, abilities, and special skills to aid them in constructing the tabernacle and all it will contain. God now tells Moses, yet again, to tell the people of Israel to rest on the sabbath day, reinforcing that any one who works on that day must die and shall be killed. God stresses once again, that this day is holy and compares it to the creation account in Genesis: Chapters 1 & 2. God then gives Moses two tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments, which were written upon them by the "finger of God". The commandments are*: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not kill*. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal*. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his slaves, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
Notes:	1.) The commandments are actually stated in Exodus: Chapter 20, however, there are many disagreements of how exactly these 16 verses are divided into ten commandments. Wikipedia lists the common methods of dividing them by various religions and sects of Christianity. 2.) Most Christian religions use the more specific translation here as "You shall not murder". 3.) Judaism asserts that this commandment refers to kidnapping, as the commandments preceding this one are capital offenses.
Thoughts:	God tells Moses that Bezalel and his helper Oholiab have been appointed to build the tabernacle and everything it is to contain, adding that he'll endow them with the proper wisdom and skills to build it all. In God's habitual tendency of repeating himself ad nauseam, he once again tells Moses to instruct the people to obey the law of not working on the sabbath or they are to be killed. I find it fascinating that many Christians still hold the Ten Commandments in high regard, often insisting that they should be displayed in government buildings, yet virtually none observe the sabbath day despite God being very clear that people are to be killed for not observing it. God has made this law quite clear in Exodus: Chapter 16, Exodus: Chapter 20, and Exodus: Chapter 23, yet many Christians continue to work on Saturdays. Finally finished engraving the stone tablets with his mighty finger, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments that we had heard earlier in Exodus: Chapter 20. First off, God doesn't want anyone worshiping any other gods, as by his own admission, he is a jealous and possessive god. Next off, he doesn't want anyone creating any idols - carved images or otherwise - for the means of worshiping. I'm not sure if this includes those statues of Jesus, the virgin Mary, or various saints that people buy and sell in this modern age, or perhaps even paintings and pictures of religious figures that people tend to pray to. Next up, God says that no-one is to use his name (meaning the name Yahweh, or the bastardized English form as Jehovah) in vain. This is puzzling as to why God is so protective about how people use his name in language and seems rather petty. Next we're told to keep the sabbath holy and that no work is to be done at all. This, as stated earlier is a capital offense. Working on Saturday means you have broken this commandment and that you must be taken out to be stoned to death. Again, this is quite puzzling as to why this one commandment has pretty much been abandoned by believers in modern western civilization who stress the importance of the Ten Commandments. Perhaps to the modern world there are only Nine Commandments? Next up God tells us to honor our mothers and fathers, without exception. Honestly, sometimes we have to concede that parentage is not always a sign of a decent person. Some parents abuse their children verbally, physically, and sexually and are not worthy of honor or respect. The bible however makes no distinction here, and again reviling or cursing either of your parents is another capital offense - according to Exodus: Chapter 21. Next God commands that we are not to kill - or if you prefer, murder. Unless of course you are Moses, then it's okay to murder an Egyptian in retaliation for striking a Hebrew slave (Exodus: Chapter 2). God of course, is exempt from having to set an example for his people, as he has wantonly killed millions of people so far, which I've described in more detail in my summary for Exodus: Chapter 20. Next God adds that we are not to commit adultery, where adultery in this context is defined as a man who has sex with a married woman who is not his wife. Presumably, this exempts a man regardless of his own marital status, from having sex with prostitutes (female ones, of course), unmarried female slaves, and unmarried women (who presumably become his wives or concubines). This is another capital offense for both the adulterer and adulteress. Next up God tells us that stealing is wrong, which as noted above in my footnotes, the Jewish view is that this pertains to kidnapping and not property theft. God's penalties are quite different for thefts of property versus kidnapping, where the latter is again a capital offense. God now commands that a person shall not bear false witness upon his neighbor, which basically means that you are not allowed to misrepresent the truth, or lie about your neighbors. Finally God commands that we are not to covet our neighbor's "belongings" which included under this header are his wife, his slaves, his home, and his livestock. This commandment has always seemed a bit silly to me as most people tend to desire what belongs to other people. However, there is definitely a distinction between what we may want versus what we are actively pursuing. In some senses I believe it's actually healthy to want things that our friends and neighbors have; for example, admiring your neighbor's new car and wanting one just like it, often leads us to work harder and try to succeed to achieve that goal. A point of contention I often have with believers is over the idea of lust being a "bad thing". As a married man, I often lust after other women - it is a natural urge for us to look at an attractive person and desire to have sexual relations with them. I often share these thoughts with my wife, as she shares her own thoughts with me, and this actually has the effect of strengthening our trust in one another and teaches us about our tastes in beauty and sexuality. The difference is that I am committed to my marriage and despite my desires I don't jeopardize my marriage, nor do I put my freedom in jeopardy when I see a piece of property or merchandise that I desire but can't afford. I'm sure we've all "plotted in our heads" from time to time how "easy" it could be for us to score with another person or how we could shoplift a desirable item in a store, but there's a definite difference between thinking and doing. Fantasy and daydreaming - even about bad things - can be healthy and can help us relieve negative thoughts just by playing it through in our heads or on paper. Often times when we're angry it can be quite therapeutic to write a nasty letter to someone who is angering you without actually sending it to them. It's the mechanism of releasing these thoughts, regardless of their negativity, that allows us to be introspective towards ourselves and to release emotions rather than having to express them.
Chapter 32
Summary:	When Moses didn't come down from the mountain in a timely fashion, the people of Israel became worried that he had disappeared. They then turned to Aaron and asked him to create a god that could lead them, assuming that Moses had vanished in the mountains. Aaron had the people give him their golden earrings and he melted them down to make a golden calf out of the molten gold. The people became happy again as they personified the golden calf as the god who had brought them out of Egypt. Aaron saw their happiness and built an altar before the calf and announced that tomorrow there would be a feast to Yahweh. The people woke up early the following morning and began offering animal sacrifices to the golden calf. Afterwards they sat down to a feast, drinking, and being merry. God then told Moses to quickly descend from the mountain as he states that the people have "defiled" themselves and have abandoned all of God's laws. God then decides that he shall let out his anger and destroy them all, adding that he'll make Moses and his descendants into a great nation instead. Moses however pleads with God not to do it, asking him why is anger is so great towards his own people. He then points out that the Egyptians will say that God had tricked the people of Israel into coming out to the wilderness so that they could be destroyed in seclusion. Moses tells God to turn away from his anger and wrath and away from the terrible evil that God is planning against his own people. Moses finishes by reminding God that he had made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel and would be going against his own word by slaying the Israelis. God changes his mind and spares the people, sending Moses down from the mountain with the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. When Moses' assistant Joshua heard the noise of the people below them, he thought they were preparing for war, to which Moses replied that they were actually singing instead. When Moses neared the camp and saw the people singing and dancing before the golden calf, he threw the stone tablets to the ground in anger, breaking them both. He took the golden calf and melted in a fire, and when it cooled he ground the metal into a fine powder, spreading it upon the water, and forcing the people to drink it. Moses then turned to Aaron asking him what must the people have done* to make Aaron bring such a terrible sin amongst them. Aaron told Moses not to be so upset and that he should understand what a wicked bunch of people these are*. He explains to his brother Moses that the people had thought he had vanished and that he had asked for their golden earrings. Aaron tells Moses that when he melted the earrings in the fire that the calf had simply come out of the fire. When Moses saw that the people were naked* - at Aaron's doing, shaming themselves amongst their enemies - he stood at the camp entrance and shouted to the people, ordering that anyone who was on God's side was to join him over where he stood. All of the Levites came over. Moses then told the Levites to arm themselves with their swords and to go across the camp slaying everyone, even if it meant killing their sons, brothers, or neighbors. The Levites did as they were told and killed about three thousand men. Moses then told the Levites that they had ordained themselves for God's service by obeying God's command* even though it meant killing their sons, brothers, and neighbors. He tells the people that God will bestow a great blessing upon them. Moses tells the people the next day, that although they have committed a great sin, he would now go before God to plead for his forgiveness. When Moses appeared before God he begged of him to forgive the people, and if not, then God can kill him instead. God replies that the people who sinned against him would be killed. After telling Moses that the people would get their punishment, he instructs Moses to lead the people towards the place he had told him about, assuring Moses that an angel would travel on ahead of them. God then sent a great plague amongst the people for worshiping Aaron's golden calf.
Notes:	1.) It was Aaron's idea to make the golden calf, not the people of Israel. 2.) Aaron is shifting the blame here away from himself and implicating the rest of the people for his own doing. 3.) The bible once again reinforces that nudity is shameful. 4.) It is not specified that God himself gave this command, and as written appears that Moses had given this command alone.
Thoughts:	During Moses' forty day and forty night stay on top of the mountain, the people became convinced that Moses had vanished and pleaded with Moses' brother Aaron to make them a new god. Aaron comes up with an idea to melt down the people's earrings and forge a golden calf out of the molten gold. This makes the people happy and they apparently party it up with a feast, some drinking, song, and dance. God however is not amused and tells Moses that he's going to kill them all (so much for love and compassion). Moses pleads with God to not kill the people and uses an interesting word here - "evil". Moses apparently sees that God's overreaction by wanting to murder everybody for worshiping a silly golden calf is evil, and adds that he'd also be breaking his promise and vows to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel by not letting their descendants become a great nation. Another interesting thing happens here - God changes his mind, implying that God can be wrong about things, may make rash decisions, may kill people for the wrong reasons, and may make mistakes. This is interesting in the respect that believers often state that God's judgment is perfect and infallible, and while we can question many things about some of his choices elsewhere, clearly here he changes his mind, which shows that God's judgment has the potential and possibility of being wrong. It can be argued that God didn't go through with a "mistake" here, but the point is that it took Moses to convince God that he was wrong and was about to do something very evil. So God sends Moses on down the mountain, and upon seeing all the people singing and dancing in front of the golden cow he smashes the two tablets containing God's ten commandments. He then asks Aaron what the heck is going on, to which Aaron shifts the blame away from himself and towards the "wicked" people of Israel. Moses then melts the golden cow, grinds up the gold into powder, mixes the powder into their water, and forces the people to drink it. He then tells whoever is with him and wants to obey God's laws to suit up for a slaughter. As the Levites step up, swords in hand, Moses tells them to slaughter everyone else - regardless of family ties. Three thousand people are killed at the hands of the Levites which begs the question of how many of the 600,000+ people were actually descended from Levi? Something doesn't quite add up to assume that there were 597,000 Levites and that everyone else in the remaining three thousand was descended from the other tribes. Moses pats the Levites on the back for slaughtering all of the 3,000 people - regardless of their family connections - and tells them that God will bestow a great blessing upon them. (The joke however, will be on them when God sends a deadly plague as his "thanks".) Moses then begs God to forgive the sinners and that he'll sacrifice his own life in turn to save them (sound a little familiar?). God instead tells Moses that the people who turned against him will get what they have coming to them for sinning against him. God sends a nasty plague to deal with all of that golden cow worshiping, which somehow our instigator Aaron manages to survive.