by f ziamond | Apr 19, 2025
#ThisVerseFitz relating to modern time, modern concerns, fair laws, crime & punishment
On this sixteenth Sunday of 2025, April 20, EASTER we enter the book of Deuteronomy. This is probably not the book anyone would think about at Easter. We certainly do things differently around here. We actually attempted to change course and do another New Testament book of the Gospel. We kept being sent back here.
Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 22:5 – “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.”
Deuteronomy is the fifth and final book of the Torah (The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures – instructions from God, priests, prophets). The word ”Deuteronomy” comes from the Greek deuteronomion, meaning ”second law”. It is basically a book of biblical laws peppered with stories.
The book picks up where Exodus leaves off. Our “ThisVerseFitz #13 is regarding Exodus. Moses and Aaron have led God’s people out of Egypt and are on the mission to enter the “Promised Land” (The fertile region flowing with Milk and Honey). Due to Moses’ and Aaron’s disobedience of striking a rock twice instead of speaking to it to receive its water, they are punished. There is more about that story in the Book of Numbers which we haven’t explored yet. The disobedience leads to Aaron’s death and the reason Moses is only permitted to view “The Promised Land” from above and not enter. Instead, God chooses Joshua for the mission of leading his people into the promised land.
Exodus
Deuteronomy 3:25-29 – “Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon. But the LORD was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of his people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see. So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.”
The book describes one war after another. The aspect of war after war after war is a discouraging and disheartening part of Deuteronomy, and most of the Old Testament. It also describes some very harsh punishments for not following the rules and laws laid out in the book. The questions of “WHY are all of the WARS necessary and WHY are all the punishments necessary in God’s creation?” are often asked while reading most parts of the bible. We always refer back to what we said in ThisVerseFitz #1 and some others. This earth is far from perfect. It is a place to learn lessons in order to enter a perfect place. So much does not make sense now and we need faith to know it will make sense at another time. Although the wars seem to never end and are disheartening, God always seems to show his backing for the side of good no matter the size of evil. This “fitz” in current days as we seem to be at war with something incredibly large and it seems like it will never be taken down. This current enemy expresses its disdain for the bible and especially Deuteronomy. Maybe they panic when thinking about the harsh punishments in store for them.
Deuteronomy 7:17-23 – “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples whom you are afraid. Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left hide themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.”
In Exodus, Moses is given the original Ten Commandments. He later breaks the original tablets in Deuteronomy 9 when he sees the Israelites worshipping a statue of a “Golden Calf”. God creates the new tablets in Deuteronomy 10.
Deuteronomy 9:15-17 – “So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you. So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.”
Deuteronomy 10:1-2 – “At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Cut first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.
Ten Commandments
Ark of the Covenant
Throughout the laws and rules, there are several regarding taking care of those less fortunate. The book provides stories and examples, one of them being Deuteronomy 15:7-9 – “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, “The seventh year, the year of release is near’, and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin.”
This verse may inspire thought to consider those around you. Just because you may feel strong in faith and you believe the LORD is only listening to you, there is a possibility of encountering someone on your journey who is speaking to the LORD at the very same time who sees more than you at that moment. You may be confused while he is not. His prayer may be contradictory to yours.
There are many “ThisVerseFitz” moments throughout the book when it comes to judges looking out for “more prominent figures” in the courts, equal justice and the lack of. If they caught a small glimpse of what occurs in todays courts and judicial system, they would need to write an entire new punishment system to attempt to eradicate the insurmountable amounts of fraud and beyond. That is one area where the harsh punishments throughout the book still wouldn’t seem like enough for today’s criminals.
When the one who commits a sin or a crime, the entire country would get together and pray for God’s forgiveness. It shows that everyone took on the responsibility for the bad seeds around them. One other example of crime and punishment takes place with, “A Rebellious Son”, among many other examples – Deuteronomy 21:18- – “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
This “fitz” in modern times as there was a child who disobeyed his parents countless times. His acts were unforgivable. The acts were a result of alcohol abuse. The suggested punishment in the verse seems rather harsh as do many of the punishments described in the book. The child later grew up to understand that his actions were unforgivable and agreed he deserved such punishment. That child has written this.
God Search in Words” works exactly as a normal “Word Search” with a somewhat higher level of difficulty given the Biblical terms. Once all the words are found, the leftover letters repeat a phrase 8.0 times (meaning the phrase is present 8 times and zero letters (the first time this happened) of the phrase are left over). We call this the “AfterPuzzle”
Print N Play
Print N Play, Have some fun and Read your scriptures.
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ThisShirtFitz