Ron And His Stories

And so here we are on Moses’ fifth and final book, ending the Pentateuch. After this will come 12 historical books, most of which being quite long, with several having been divided in two parts each, for they were too cumbersome for the people to carry. But I’m getting ahead of myself 😅😅 but this book is also a long one like all the others in the Pentateuch, and I’m looking forward to spelling out the love of Jesus here as best as I can.

Two things before I start: I’ve read several parts of the book in the VOICE translation already, and if we’re honest, I don’t think it’s good they did that with Moses’ last words, making it all demagogue-y. This isn’t the heart of God. Also, I’m still reading this in the above translation with the NKJV, NASB, and the first Amplified version, but I may want to use language from other translations that helped us understand the Bible better now than we did when I was 21 in August 2012 when I wrote Bible notes on sticky notes for the very first time. Most Bible versions are harder for me to understand in a foreign language, so it’ll help if I can see the truth in both methods. For about 27 of the chapters in this book are updating the law for the second generation that arose from the Exodus, after all their ancestors besides Caleb and Joshua had perished for their unfaithfulness (Numbers 14:22-24) in the previous 40 years up to that point. Also, not every Bible verse in the Old Testament was written in Hebrew; the other language for some of them was Aramaic, a language that sadly is no longer spoken, but one verse in that language is Jeremiah 10:11. It is nice that we don’t need the law of Moses to follow Jesus — Acts 15 and the book of Galatians explain why. Too bad many “disciples” claim that Jesus was for it though… justice is indeed necessary for this life, but God knew no one could save themselves… I know I couldn’t. And though there’s no direct reference to a new covenant in this book, Jeremiah 31:31-34 is complimentary to this, and as a result, the Israelites and others who wanted something better than what they were born into would be able to seek Jesus, just as Amos 9:11-12 says also (quoted in Acts 15:16-17).

Well, I need to get started… I have a surprise food bag I had ordered from a restaurant for a lot cheaper than originally priced that I need to pick up at 3 this afternoon (I have about five hours at the time of writing this to get there, but thankfully, it’s not far from where I live, even on foot). It’s from Too Good To Go, an app that sells unsold food to you in a surprise bag from a restaurant for much cheaper. You can download it from the App Store (if you have an iPhone) or Google Play Store (if you have an Android, like me). And you can choose which restaurant to pick up a surprise food bag from, yea, that which is available. It’s first come, first serve, and there may not be very many items left from these places (perishable food can expire quickly), so grab them before they’re gone! OK, that’s enough rambling from me for now 😅😅 off to chapter 1!

This is the fastest I’ve gone through a book in the Bible so far when it comes to writing all these notes 📝 📋 from every chapter, and I have no regrets in getting through the last 12 or so in the last month. I had plenty of fun writing on the stories that appear in the book to make it more interesting, but I didn’t enjoy the unfaithfulness all the unbelievers exhibited, nor did I enjoy Moses himself actually being stupid and denouncing the good in chapters 31 and 32 when the new generation did what was right. Indeed, who isn’t like this in the school of hard knocks? I think it’s at a point where they can shoot the students who are supposedly misbehaving and not go to jail. For we can’t tamper with anyone’s natural growth patterns. But I guess it’s because God has no grandchildren that the disciplinarians have decided in their depraved and deluded souls to scar and maul the hearts of even the adults who want them safe! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 My second niece recently started kindergarten, I think, and her older sister is now in the 3rd grade, so I pray God keeps them safe somehow, for I feel like I’m one of the few people ON EARTH who would uplift a younger human’s well-being. For Biff Tannen is the god of the U.S., and I can’t identify with him, but most people more or less follow him like they’d follow Jesus if they were willing to, and with no hindrances. Indeed, that guy is the country’s “Dear Leader”, and there’s no signs of it slowing down. However, the Holy Spirit is stronger than he is, but offence has blocked Him from ever lifting the nation again, just as offence had made it so that God had to make the Israelites wait 40 years until everyone from the first census except Caleb and Joshua was dead. Those under 20 could take the land, but Moses and Aaron couldn’t enter, either. Regardless, Jesus still had a plan for Moses, and we see them talking in the Transfiguration (read Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:1-13, and Luke 9:27-36 for the whole story).

This is just one story out of many in how offence this the devil’s secret weapon, and most people in any church, in general, don’t want to talk about it. I don’t really know why… but I guess I can’t get an answer right now… but overall, I think Numbers is a good book. Quite underrated in numerous circles, though. I remember I discovered the stories in 2012 and did notes 📝 📋 on them, some being in a bus 🚌 lol. I didn’t really know much of what I was reading in that section of the Bible when I first picked one up in September 2009, just weeks after I first began following Jesus, but now I think there’s a lot of moments worth mentioning. I don’t really know what I’m up against with Deuteronomy, though… pray for me lol 😆😆😆

I love how Zelophehad’s daughters come to Moses again for what will happen to their land when the Jubilee year (see Leviticus 25) comes and their land is taken from them so that they keep it while they marry in their own clan, but Jesus never cared whom their husbands would’ve looked like, Israeli or otherwise. If all five of them were godly and kind and safe enough for them, that should do it. This chapter is found in page 102 of the NKJV Bible I have for this four-translation project, pages 130-131 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament), pages 204-205 of my VOICE copy, and pages 209-210 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

The chapter may be short, but it follows up from where chapter 27 left off. Some of it actually has certain things God never wanted, but again, the Israelites wanted dead religion in those days, even from Exodus 15-17, so He gave them up to the dead works that the author of Hebrews talks about (see Hebrews 6:1). And 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 still rings true today, for it’s a New Testament texts, and Jesus lives again forever, for death couldn’t hold Him down (Acts 2:24) and He cannot die again (Romans 6:9), for He is God. Zelophehad was descended from Joseph, and Gilead, Joseph’s great-grandson through Manasseh, was later known for being filled with healing balms (Jeremiah 8:22), for they built a city with the same name as him after they took Canaan, I think. I’m not very knowledgeable of how Joshua allotted the land to the Israelites when the conquest was done. But the wealth was eventually plundered when their descendants followed wickedness like sheep 🐑 and for a long time, they couldn’t get their nation back without occupation of the Gentiles. There’s a lot of Jewish people in many parts of the world as a result. But I pray they recognise Jesus, for He is willing to forgive them, and no generation is responsible for their predecessors’ sins. I know I’m not.

If my nieces never get married, I don’t know how the family line will continue, but that’s OK; we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But for now, I want all of them to have exciting childhoods and have plenty of joy all their days, even when they’re old and grey, long after I’m gone, but it would be nice if Jesus were to come back and take us home. Until then, I’ll continue writing Bible notes 📝 📋 on here, and I’ll write a retrospective to reflect on this book 📖 like I had done with all the others.

In Christ,

Ron Outland

This chapter, found in page 101 of the NKJV Bible I have for this four-translation project, page 129 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament), pages 202-203 of my VOICE copy, and pages 207-208 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy, provides details of how Israel was going to live in the land of Canaan in terms of physical geography, and God also divided the land according to where the 12 tribes would live. This should be a boring premise, like the one with most of the Leviticus chapters, but I’ve had on-and-off interests in geography for as long as I can remember, yet for many people it can be tedious to read this, and I don’t blame them! However, this was a rather special case, since Jesus hadn’t died for all mankind yet, and He was to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). It eventually happened, the veil was torn, and He rose again to reign forever one day, so we don’t need borders for nations, now. Indeed, Ephesians 2:19-22 says there’s no distinction between Jewish and Gentile humans, and those who receive Jesus, our Cornerstone (verse 20), are built into a lovely kingdom 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖 I’ve felt, since I received Him, that there should be no hostility to someone else because they look different. Indeed, everyone is facing a battle we know nothing about. Too bad offence can erupt like a volcano 🌋 with enough force to blow up a small planet in the universe, though. For the truth in 1 Corinthians 8:7 about food offered to idols is not only not common knowledge, but also, that verse is used as a platitude to bar those seeking truth about anything in the name of not being offensive. And I’ve seen people try and stop me from discovering more practical methods to implement good things by means of this. They even referenced 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 then try to tear me apart with every phrase Paul had written there! This… attack on the Word of the Lord Jesus… is unforgivable. Indeed, they’ve removed that part of the Scripture for themselves and have thus incurred the wrath of God in deleting the space in New Jerusalem He would’ve had for them (see Revelation 22:18-19). For their hearts have no love in them, and their souls delight in my ruin, so they abide in spiritual death in every way (1 John 3:14).

Speaking of drawing borders, the world’s divided into all sorts of social and economical barriers within each nation, whose borders were drawn because of the Tower of Babel incident in Genesis 11. But from the beginning this wasn’t so, for if Adam and Eve hadn’t eaten the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil until much later, there would be a lot of diversity among humans living together in perfect peace and harmony with God and there would be no land borders… until someone eats that fruit, of course. Then someone may resist it long enough for the guys to chant for their death and evil would succeed… I don’t know. I’m no expert in interpreting the Divine; I’m not that knowledgeable. But Satan probably would’ve had his way with mankind eventually 🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️ Jesus would know a whole lot more than me for sure. And I bet Enoch would’ve had all sorts of interesting information to share in his walk with God for hundreds of years before he was taken up to Heaven (Genesis 5:23-24).

I don’t have many other words to say here, so eventually, I’ll be back with chapter 35 about Levitical cities and cities of refuge… this is going to be interesting.

In Christ,

Ron Outland

I pray for the right words to say for this one, too… I’m not sure why Moses had freaked out so much in his latter days, and not just from his unfaithfulness in chapter 20 (though Psalm 106:32-33, in various translations, explains some of it). Jesus was right to say that Moses was the Pharisees’ accuser in John 5:45. Heck, I’m even willing to add that he’s been elevated to being a false god, including in the Church, the libraries, and many other cultures, given the reality of Romans 2:14-15 about our consciences, not to mention everything else in that chapter, and even before that with Romans 1:18-32 (as well as an Acts 15 reference about Moses being read in every synagogue each Saturday in south Europe) — I’m going to say it now so I don’t have to worry about strange occurrences later, all of us can do anything like what’s in that passage, even if we’re saved (though the un-Christian sins, if someone loves God, they won’t pull off again; see Galatians 5:24 and 1 Corinthians 8:3), even down to some nitty-gritty details in some parts. I won’t mention much on here, because I don’t want to highlight any sins, including my own. This chapter is found in pages 99-100 of the NKJV Bible I have for this four-translation project, pages 127-128 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament), pages 199-201 of my VOICE copy, and pages 204-205 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

I’m starting to improve in my health right now, so I’m glad I can return to work soon, but it’s because the environment is so demoralising that I was actually starting to lose interest in working in general… I want a safe and lovely environment to work in, but it’s because most of the people love and worship wickedness that I don’t want to be in a grocery store again… it would be cool if I can get the maintenance position when that one guy retires at least a month from now, but I can’t afford to be like Moses here — he actually mentioned “be sure your sins will find you out” (verse 33, NASB), found nowhere else in Scripture… he had freaked out AGAIN, this time concerning a good request that some of Israel’s tribes had, that is, Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. He conceded, but we should remember that Moses had barked at two of Aaron’s nephews in Leviticus 10:16-18 after Nadab and Abihu died offering strange fire before the Lord Jesus (Leviticus 10:1-2). I don’t know why he was like this… sinful anger never works (see James 1:19-20), but the U.S. wants to criminalise that passage, too, among many others more or less like it (I don’t think that endeavour’s worth it), but not the first part of Ephesians 4:26 in any translation, which I’m OK with, but the voters think that God needs to submit to them 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️ I want a peaceful atmosphere where I live, where I work, in my community, among my friends and family — I guess I’m asking too much from others here 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

When the two and a half tribes explained everything to Moses, he agreed to their request, so that’s nice, but he didn’t need to harp on sin of any kind even if what he had said in verse 33 was true. Is that how the preachers respond to even the most reasonable requests? I’ve been trying to learn from the good ones for many years, if I could establish revival anywhere. Indeed, 2 Corinthians 3:15 says that when Moses is read, a veil lies on the hearers’ hearts, but thankfully, Paul says immediately after this that when someone turns to the Lord Jesus, the veil is gone forever (see verse 16 there) 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗 I don’t understand why many people would mention daily this is too often quoted out of context, though.

As soon as Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh went to the land east of the Jordan River, they rebuilt the cities that had been in shambles, and a list is recorded in verses 34-42, including where Og, king of Bashan had been defeated (see Numbers 21:35). I should add that he was insanely tall and big, with his bed being 13’6″! (For those who use metrics, that’s over four metres.) Deuteronomy 3:11 is the reference for the huge bed; I forgot to mention it; sorry 😅😅 and apparently, Og was the last of the giants of the Rephaim, but Goliath would later challenge David in 1 Samuel 17, being twice as tall as he was then, being from Gath in Philistia (now the Gaza area where we should pray for love and salvation daily). Deuteronomy 3:11 also mentions that Og was from Rephaim, sorry I forgot to mention that, too 😅😅😄😄 I’m only an ordinary Fry’s employee; I don’t have any claims to be a seminary instructor… and I don’t think I can go for that; there’s too many Trump supporters everywhere, all claiming to honour Jesus with their greedy and vile souls they don’t want to cleanse. Besides, there’s people to uplift and preach the Gospel to, and I don’t want to waste my time not doing that.

The next chapter reviews Israel’s long journeys and the destinations they stopped at during the 40-year journey to Canaan, where they were about to enter. I’ll see you there!

In Christ,

Ron Outland

When I read this chapter, I’ve been struggling to explain how to write this. I don’t know what to do! For Moses doesn’t applaud Israel’s successes in defeating and humiliating Midian even though nothing else was needed after all the guys were killed in combat (including Balaam; see verse 8), as verses 14-15 explain in versions like the VOICE translation. Indeed, Jesus never delighted in anyone’s demise (Ezekiel 18:32), so it’s good that His love for them was mentioned several centuries before He came to Earth. This chapter is found in pages 98-99 of the NKJV Bible I have for this four-translation project, pages 125-127 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament), pages 198-199 of my VOICE copy, and pages 202-204 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.

I also looked into my Life Application Study Bible for a good explanation of this, which I’ve long since left unused (for I discovered about two years after I had bought it in college that the commentators don’t believe in God’s salvation even being possible for everyone, and after trying to find if they had left any good words there, I left empty-handed, for it’s not about “getting serious about sin” but believing Jesus does His work still today, whether through you, the reader, or someone else) — there’s no helpful commentary among the staff. But corruption does indeed start at the top and works its way down, the VOICE copy says in a later page. Yet the guy who wrote that other comment in the Life Application Study Bible — they’re the same people who berate us and say, “You are Jesus’ disciple, but we are disciples of Moses” (John 9:28) 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️ these enemies of the Lord are extremists, rapists who target people and animals without respect to age, boastful about things that don’t even matter, corrupt, vile, hateful, loveless, unforgiving, unable to have mercy on others, and their hearts can’t help but rejoice in the demise of the good so that they cannot leave their sins behind. Indeed, their cursed souls can only fall in love with each and every single one of the above things between the last emoji I put before this sentence and this line of the post, giving only these things the highest praise and worship. God will never welcome them.

Now, let’s get to the actual chapter: verses 1-11 are about Moses’ final conquest before he is to join his ancestors in death on Mount Nebo in Deuteronomy 34; that was a success. This was judgment from Heaven (which, again, God didn’t enjoy and never will) for what had happened at Peor (read Numbers 25:1-9). I guess that was a continuation from where verses 17-18 had left off from that chapter 🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️ they also left Midian broke, but sadly, they’d seize Israel’s food in Judges 6, quite a bit later, due to their unfaithfulness… however, I do pray reprieve for those suffering conflict and loss of loved ones in countries like Ukraine 🇺🇦 I’m sorry that Russia 🇷🇺 had started this nightmare 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Ethiopia 🇪🇹 also needs healing, but thank God they were never colonised 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 and again, God doesn’t command war today, for what was for one season isn’t for all seasons. Indeed, we live in Jesus’ new covenant, now, because of what He had announced in Luke 4:18-21.

I can only think of so much as I write this down, so with Moses’ unnecessary fury with the people of Israel for leaving the women alive in verses 14-15 and God not commanding them to take them out anywhere in this chapter, not to mention the contents of the next one, it’s safe to say Moses has, by this time, become so spiritually minded that he’s no earthly good. From there, sin is called to rememberance more than anything else until he dies, and I’ve never enjoyed that the Church here always uses this to harp on anything enough to lose an entire generation or two to atheism and unending failure. And when someone good DOES preach a life-changing message, someone (or something) instantly begins to yap about that speaker being loose in the head, calls them humanist, socialist, communist, brain-dead, promiscuous, retarded, even — these accusers speak abusively so that God will judge them in the last day (Matthew 5:22). They’d even use AI to smear their character with images like public nudity, sex with animals, bloody and gory incidents, and claim it all to be of Jesus, all being deep fakes! But social media requires us to label our content as AI if it is indeed AI, which I’m OK with, to be honest. However, they can bypass that one day with a private network, if they haven’t already. I wish hateful stuff never existed…

Verses 21-54 are of the plunder the Israelites grab from Midian, and I like to think that God is at work taking back what is rightfully yours that you’ve lost to the evil one (like in Joel 2:25). I don’t know what your journey is, but hopefully you can enjoy yourself 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 I know I don’t have much to my name, and I don’t think I can make it grow any faster, since I may get conceited or begin to lose myself in my assets, not to mention life often deals cruel hands to those who want what’s good. Indeed, with what Moses had said in this chapter, I don’t think he did what was right. I know I don’t want to follow that pattern… when I notice someone actively deceiving any human at my job, something snaps. The same thing occurs whenever I encounter someone being hateful or abusive about anything, parent or otherwise. As a result, because of what I’ve learned from the Holy Spirit through many online posts about needing to be safe when we were younger, I’m convinced parenthood in the U.S. is a sham, and no one can raise a kid and expect them to be safe here, for the evil one has the upper hand against this generation 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I have four nieces, and just the fact someone says they want more in life, knowing they don’t have what they need, yet that someone is berated into oblivion in lieu of “good behaviour” because they want to find Jesus — we all were made to pursue pleasure, but there’s no pleasure under the sun that can bring any real satisfaction. And when someone in the Church asks the deeper things, the children of the devil, who are sadly more abundant and powerful in the church than outside of it, seize their souls so that they can’t get the good answers they deserve and they leave empty-handed, often causing them to question if God is even worth it 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 we need wisdom from the Church ⛪️ but most of the time, it doesn’t even exist!

And speaking of not repeating sinful patterns, I don’t want to be like Moses here, often remembering others’ sins and not celebrating the good, like when Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh decide to settle east of the Jordan River because of the good land for their livestock. Also, I have a feeling that if Moses wanted to, he would’ve encouraged the Israelites to constantly say, “Don’t ask questions.” Why do you think Jesus says of His countrymen, “Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have set your hope”? (See John 5:45.) And wouldn’t it be good for me to say that we can’t find Him in very many places in Deuteronomy? Indeed, I’m surprised that book has anything about restoration. But that’s what the U.S. has done with the Scriptures: make a worthless and loveless religion out of that book and claim that anything else in the Scriptures is heresy. These NPCs (non-player characters in a video game) are Moses and the Pharisees, though God didn’t enjoy the Pharisees’ words. And who knows what Moses had been thinking when he wrote these latter portions of the Pentateuch? But it’s more important to gauge Jesus’ opinions concerning this. Indeed, He’s greater than Moses ever will be, but thankfully, Moses was forgiven of his sins, for he trusted in Jesus and was repentant of each error. But it was because of his sins that he died on Mount Nebo… and in the meantime, we need to heed Proverbs 19:19, which says, “A man of great anger will pay the penalty, for if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again” (NASB). Too bad the country hates this verse and wants to curse it until everyone’s hearts can no longer embrace peace 😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓 there’s another proverb that says, “Make no friends with a hot-tempered man,” but I don’t know where it is. Can someone in the comments help a brother out, please? For I think my time at work is exposing me to too many evil men, for I’m in a public environment. Indeed, I don’t think I can be much of a safe human being… and that’s really heartbreaking for me 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 I wish I could actually believe stillness deserves a chance to be sovereign… as it is, I feel I don’t stand a chance.

The next chapter is Moses complaining again about his people, this time because of the good the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh had wanted for themselves and to help their brethren remember Jesus with them (see also Joshua 22:10-34 for a similar story) — it was a misunderstanding for both Moses and Joshua, which, if God wills, I’ll get to eventually, but I pray God helps me be like Jesus here… and I’m surprised to find that later books of the Bible don’t harp on sin too much upon finishing the next one. I need some professional help for this…

In Christ,

Ron Outland