The revchristruelsen’s Podcast

One Nation, Under God

Text for Discussion: Deuteronomy 6. 

 

To live under the true God both in Israel long ago, and today, is to live free, and to enjoy not only His guidance, but His provision.  He is the one who sustains the Creation, and in Him is life and salvation.  

 

Hymn: We Praise You, O God (Public domain).  

The photo: "The American Flag in the Sun" by Jay Cubby, Nov 2024.  [used with permission under the Creative Commons license of Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_flag_in_the_sun.jpg]

The Strong Name of God, Written on You, Revisited

 

Text of Discussion: Exodus 15

The defeat of Pharaoh is a "type" of things to come, where God shows us the mighty acts He will bring about.  Our sins are drowned, crucified with Christ, so that we live as God's victorious people.  

 

The hymn: I Bind Unto Myself Today

A public domain hymn.  

 

(This podcast was originally published for January 7, 2022)

Reupping the Covenant

Text for discussion: Deuteronomy 5.  

As the Israelites prepared to move into the Promised Land Moses reiterated the Covenant of the Law given to them.  We call them the 10 Commandments, and they are foundational to society, yet at one point or another, everyone has broken them-sometimes carelessly and lightly.  Transgressing them was breaking the contract . . . .  What did that mean?  What did that entail?  

The hymn: Savior Again, To Thy Dear Name We Raise (public domain) 

The engraving: The engraving: by Gustave Dore - of Moses and the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  

Do Not Be Drawn Away

Text for discussion: Deuteronomy 4.

Moses warns Israel not to be drawn away to following other gods, nor any creatures on the earth, nor the stars or celestial objects.  False worship goes back to Adam and Eve; it is rooted in the ego of Adam and Eve (the first version of humanism) or in a following after the old evil foe (the serpent).  

All the roads of false worship lead back there-Moses commends us to follow the true God; in Him is all that is good, life, and salvation! 

The hymn: I Bind Unto Myself Today.  (public domain).  

The engraving: by Gustave Dore - of Moses and the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  

Greater Than All Mighty Men

Text for discussion: 

Deuteronomy 3.  

We have heard of ages upon the earth when lived gigantic flora and fauna-they are recorded in the fossil record.  But what about giant peoples?  Deuteronomy 3 records a time when Moses and Israel defeated many Rephaim, giants-which were like the pre-Flood Nephilim.  This was only with God's aid.  

 

They hymn: A Mighty Fortress 

The photo: A Meganeura from the Museum of Toulouse.  The photographer: Didier Descouens.  [Used with permission under the Wikimedia Commons license: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meganeura_monyi_au_Museum_de_Toulouse.jpg]

Cousins and Conflicts

Text for discussion: Deuteronomy 2.  

Israel had its own Promised Land.  Certain peoples were off limits to their warfare and plunder leading up to their conquest of the Promised Land.  These peoples were in actuality "cousin" peoples.  See how it all ties together . . . . 

The engraving:  (Moses and the Ten Commandments) by Dore.

The hymn: When Peace Like a River.  (Public domain).  

(podcast message revised 9/23/25)

A Second Law?

Text for discussion: Deuteronomy 1.  

The children of Israel get ready to go into the Promised Land for the second time.  Deuteronomy 1 begins with a significant speech of Moses.  What is a significant speech that shaped your life?  

The hymn: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. (public domain).  

The engraving: (the subject is Moses with the tablets of the Ten Commandments) by Gustave Dore, public domain.  

Ownership

Text for discussion: Numbers 36. 

Here we close out the fourth of the five Books of Moses.  How do you determine what belongs to who when an inheritance is being administered?  In allotting the parcels of the Promised Land to the 12 tribes, the daughters of one man named Zelophehad were the only heirs for this man, yet, the land generally went to sons.  The problem was solved when these daughters were allowed to be next of kin in receiving an inheritance, but the greater tribe wanted to make sure that tribal lands would stay with the tribe of Manasseh if they should marry.  Tune in to see how they solved the problem . . . . 

The hymns: Blest Be the Tie that Binds, What is the World to Me? 

The engraving: Gustave Dore - Moses Breaks the Tablets of the Law 

The Perfect Society

Text for discussion: 

Numbers 35.  

 

The perfect society . . . doesn't exist.  Not on earth.  Yet, God established bounds of society in which the children of Israel could live and even thrive.  The Levites did not have a territory specifically allotted to them, but they were given cities in which to live, and this chapter also specifically speaks of ways in which the Fallen world problem of manslaughter was handled.  

The hymn: When Peace, Like a River (public domain).  

The illustration: The Allotment to the Levites by Philip de Vere.  used by permission in accordance with its license:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_allotment_to_the_Levites._Vorleser.png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of Your Inheritance

Text for discussion: Numbers 34. 

 

God had an inheritance for Israel: the Promised Land-promised in the time of Abram/Abraham.  God has an inheritance in store for you.  This is the story of their inheritance, and your inheritance.  

 

The hymn: For All the Saints (Public domain).  

Painting: Noah's Dankgebet by Domenico Morelli (Noah's thank offering).  Public domain.  by 1901.