Tag: land of Israel

Places of Refuge

Numbers 34-36

Want to see a map of the borders of the Promised Land?! My husband, Bill Schlegel, wrote the Satellite Bible Atlas (available on Amazon). It’s filled with real photographed maps that he’s added the sites and commentary to.  (Sounds like the way I’m doing these devotionals, but he’s much more articulate;). You can go further in depth to your Bible readings with this atlas to help, especially in the upcoming books of the judges and kings. 🙂 He wrote it for the students to use on field trips and classes in Israel.

In the midst of defining the border, God appointed cities for refuge for within. “These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.” (35:15)  Those must’ve been interesting cities with innocent and guilty persons awaiting judgment. Some probably took advantage of them and for others they found refuge they needed .

Nowadays our homes can be a place of refuge. As a mother of five I can testify to that, receiving family members after long days of work, sporting events, school, and other hard tasks. It’s comforting to find refuge in one’s home and provide that for others too looking for peace.

A hammer can build things up and it can tear things down. “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.”  Proverbs 14:1 It’s important we use our tools to build and help others rather than tear them down.

Another place we can greatly find refuge is in God. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower;  the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10 Especially after coming to the one God faith this verse means so much more to me. His personal name YHVH/LORD is strong and stable, mentioned some 6,828x in the Old Testament. That’s one out of every four verses making it 25% of the time. It’s powerful just seeing it so many times. Reading the Bible on a regular basis helps one to refocus and gain strength and peace. We can take refuge in God and His Word.

-Stephanie Schlegel

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Where do you find refuge on a daily basis? How has it brought you relief?

2. Is your home a place of refuge for others? Maybe there’s a hurting person you can invite over this weekend to share a meal or coffee with?

3. Is the name of the LORD/YHVH a strong tower for you? What’s a way that could improve that even more?

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Lessons from a 3,400 year old Travel Journal

Numbers 31-33 

Misunderstandings! Ever been misunderstood and frustrated?! It’s what happened to Moses and the people he led. The LORD told Moses to take vengeance on Midian. Among them Balaam was also killed with the sword, but the women were kept alive. This upset Moses! The women through Balaam’s counsel caused the Israelites to sin in baal worship. … Moses worked out a solution.

Then two of the tribes wanted to settle east of the Jordan River with their abundant livestock. This upset Moses again! How could their brothers go to war while they sat there?! After a lengthy response he heard their intended promise to cross over with them to help them fight and after return to their livestock and cities.

It can be frustrating to be misunderstood. That’s why it’s important to listen and be patient with others. “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19

Lastly, let’s not skip over the AMAZING travel journal of chapter 33, and like my Bible geography teacher/husband would say, “It shows these are real places and a real God.” Many of these places are still called that to this day, and it’s from some 3,400 years ago! Pictured above on the left is an aerial view of the Jerusalem/Jericho area looking to the north of Israel with snow capped Mount Hermon on the northern tip.  Did you know that there’s a ski resort up there with 14 ski runs and 5 chair lifts?! YES! One winter on the same weekend one of our boys was skiing up there with friends while the other was snorkeling in the Red Sea (on the southern tip)! Don’t misunderstand Israel, it’s a BEAUTIFUL place! 🙂

-Stephanie Schlegel

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you get angry when you’re misunderstood? How can you be quicker to listen to the person before responding in words and anger?

2. How do you clarify yourself? In anger? With patience? Kindly? Today, try to respond better to a misunderstanding, and ask God’s help to do so.

3. Have you ever kept a travel journal of the places you’ve been? What would people think if they found it 3,400 years later?! :0

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Not a Fairy Tale

A Survey of the Land

Joshua 17-18

Fairy tales don’t have settings. Sure, technically the setting would include in the forest or at the castle or under the sea but we don’t REALLY know where the stories took place. City? Country? Even continent? We aren’t told. Believe it or not, Cinderella’s castle wasn’t actually in Orlando. Fairy tales don’t have detailed settings; because, fairy tales aren’t real.

But, the Israelites occupying the Promised Land, as well as SO MANY other events of the Bible, those are stories with a setting, a lot of very specific and detailed settings to be exact. For the last couple of days, and for the next few days, our Joshua Bible reading has and will include a good bit of geography from ancient Israel. Some of these places actually still exist in the exact same location, today! And others have been lost through the years. Just for fun I looked up the “Stone of Bohan son of Reuben” which is just one of several landmarks listed as part of the northern boundary of Judah’s inheritance (Joshua 15:6). Sure enough, no one knows where that stone is today or what significance it held, but it meant something to the people of their day. The writer of Joshua didn’t give GPS coordinates, but he gave all the information needed for the tribes to find and settle their land, and he left enough clues for us to retrace and map out who got what.

This was their new home. The land promised to them by God. The home they had been anticipating for hundreds of years, and fighting for the last 4-5 years. It was better than a fairy tale or dream – this was a real true event. Real people in a real land receiving their real inheritance from a very real God.

I enjoy Bill Schlegel’s Satellite Bible Atlas which offers a historical geography of the Bible. Every major Bible event is mapped out, with dates and commentary. And, this post would have been available sooner today, but I was having too much fun watching videos Schlegel created which include further photos and videos of the REAL land of Israel. They really help the Bible lands come to life. I encourage you to see for yourself at Satellite Bible Atlas and accompanying videos. As an associate professor in Israel for 25 years Schlegel knows the area very well.

One day I plan to visit the Holy Land, either before or after Jesus returns. Until then, it’s exciting to take some video field trips and learn more about the land God gave His children. Real people in real places. God’s promises are true.

-Marcia Railton

Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at Bible Gateway here – Joshua 17-18 and Psalm 70-72

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