Deut 24-34 - And that, as they say in France, is that

The readings - Days 66-69 - Deuteronomy 24-34

Is it fair to just clump the entire last 10 chapters of Deuteronomy - indeed, the closing chapters of the epic Pentateuch - into one post, and a comparatively short one at that?

Probably not.

But, as I tell myself to further justify the decision that has already been made to do just that, that's the way it is. I have never been overly concerning myself with the notion of making exhaustive commentary on every little thing in each reading, so I feel like giving a cursory nod to the conclusion of a book that has been itself largely focused on reiterating the message and details of previous books is probably acceptable.

Deut 21-23 - I guess it's a good book that can make you this mad...

The readings - Day 65 - Deuteronomy 21-23

Without wanting to sound tired and make people bored, can I just say how inexpressibly thankful I am that society does not follow Old Testament laws as a model for how 21st-century Canada should run?

That may sound overly broad, but I have never been more convicted in that statement than I am today. Yes, there are many laws in the OT that would greatly benefit people in this day and age (regular forgiveness of debts, obligatory help for the underprivileged, respecting the property of those around you, not murdering each other, etc)... Then there's this one:

Deut. 17-20 - Occupy Ancient Israel

The readings - Day 64 - Deuteronomy 17-20

So we're still trucking away with all the laws, etc, but there remain those merciful gems of interest scattered here and there.

Take, for instance, the stuff about setting up a king, talked about in chapter 17. Having spent a lot of time reading Judges over the years, I always had the impression that the whole "Israel wants to have a king" thing was a fairly new phenomenon - something that had arisen at around the time that the events in Judges were taking place.

Seems that (and for the record I'm not surprised by this) God saw it all coming. He outlined for Israel what type of king they should have, and the details are fascinating:

Deut 11-16 - FACT: God loves a party

The readings - Days 62 and 63 - Deuteronomy 11-16

...And the dilemma continues. I'm still more or less enjoying Deuteronomy, and the chapters are just whizzing by, largely because they're a little like deja vu, with a lot of repetition.

Now, though, it seems that we're getting into the meat of the book. That's good.

However, the "meat" of the book is starting to closely resemble Leviticus, what with all the laws, regulations and details. That's bad. Well... not bad... I think you know what I mean.

There were two things that struck me over the past two days of reading, though.

Deut. 5-10 - so far, so good

The readings - Days 60-61 - Deuteronomy 5-10

So Deuteronomy is progressing...

I'm in an interesting position, because I can't think of a time over the last 60 days when I've felt less motivated to actually make a new post.

It's not because I'm not enjoying the book itself, mind you, because I am, but it's mostly just because so far the book has consisted of nothing but recap from Moses to Israel, so apart from the occasional minor discrepancy between the original account and Moses' retelling, there's just not a lot of new ground to cover.

Deut 1-4 - Wait... what?

The readings - Days 58-59 - Deuteronomy 1-4

I hope I don't jinx it by speaking too soon or anything, but Deuteronomy's not half bad... But yeah, I know I'm done 4 of 34 chapters, so a lot can still happen.

It's got a different... feel... about it than Numbers or Leviticus had. It's somehow (so far) more conversational and less "all-business". We get a four-chapter re-cap to open the book, but it doesn't feel like you're just re-reading things you've already read, because it's Moses speaking. He's telling the Israelites' story back to them. And fair enough, considering how, unlike the preceding two books, this one starts after they're already done their time in the wilderness. He's speaking to the brand new generation that's finally allowed to go in to the Promised Land, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua.

The question of authorship in the Bible has rarely interested me, really. I usually just find it a distraction, and rarely actually contributes to any deeper understanding of the text itself.