This is not what God wanted… this happened per request from the Israelites. Be prepared for me to say this A LOT during this section of the Old Testament, but I’m sure you’re already aware of this… and don’t get me wrong, I love Israel, but for some reason, like the other people groups, they had intended to follow something other than Jesus. Weird, huh? But this chapter is found in pages 43-44 of the NKJV Bible I’m using, pages 56-57 of the NASB Bible I have (from the Old Testament; they have new pages for the New Testament for some reason) pages 97-98 of my VOICE copy, and pages 92-93 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.
Slavery is mentioned as being legal, and Moses’ followers wanted sexism to draw others away from God. Yet it was everywhere in the world in those days (thank God the slave trade is gone!) — people still want to control others’ thoughts today, though. It’s obvious, isn’t it? They do this with the media and all sorts of sensual entertainment, not to mention misusing God’s name as if tomorrow didn’t exist. But Jesus quotes verse 17 in Matthew 15 and Mark 7 where He speaks with the Pharisees that had come down from Jerusalem (read from the beginning of either one and until verse 20 in Matthew 15 and verse 23 in Mark 7). I do believe Jesus wants to forgive everyone who does this, though. But sadly, I have nothing else to say here; I’ll just return in chapter 22 in hopefully a few days. Ciao!
Ron And His Stories 