David Clinkscales

The God of Justice

We are quick to make God in our image, especially where justice is concerned. God tells us to let our lives be led by honesty, practicing justice instead of letting enticements sway our decisions. But…

Deuteronomy 16:19 (NIV), Deuteronomy 16:20 (NIV)

None of These Foods

I admit, reading these dietary restrictions is a little weird. The specificity of the lists make me think they're purposeful, but as a person who has always known the convenience of a refrigerator/freezer…

Dang, That's Brutal!

We read these things and think it sounds good. Sure, worship God God's way. Makes sense. Then we read how people who don't worship God God's way are to be killed and we think, "Whoa! That's a little insane,…

Deuteronomy 13:1 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:2 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:3 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:4 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:5 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:6 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:7 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:8 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:9 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:10 (NIV), Deuteronomy 13:11 (NIV)

Monkey See, Monkey Don't

Going through the Bible the way I have been, it's a lot easier to see the follow-through, the through-line of what's going on. When we skip around, as much as we may appreciate it at the time, we miss…

Deuteronomy 12:1 (NIV), Deuteronomy 12:31 (NIV)

Canceling Debts

Where would we be today if we took this teaching to heart?We are so overrun by greed and poverty and class distinctions that such a counter-cultural idea is unthinkable to us. But if we lived out this…

Deuteronomy 15:1 (NIV)

The Tithe

The provision of a tithe, as earlier mentioned as food for the priests and Levites as their portion, here takes on another function. According to this, your tithe isn't even a matter of 'losing' that…

Deuteronomy 14:22 (NIV), Deuteronomy 14:23 (NIV), Deuteronomy 14:24 (NIV), Deuteronomy 14:25 (NIV), Deuteronomy 14:26 (NIV)

What is Detestable?

Before God separates the detestable from the acceptable, He reminds the people who they are and what they are called to be. That makes me think we here see two different reasons for God's dietary restrictions.…

Deuteronomy 14:3 (NIV)

Death for Distraction

This entire chapter is about the dangers of others distracting us from worshipping and following the one true God. Those who would pull us away from God, to follow false gods, must be dealt with severely.…

Deuteronomy 13:5 (NIV)

Blessing or Curse

God is here giving us the immutable truth of our choices and their consequences. We didn't design life, so we don't get to reform the rules according to whim or popular opinion. It's not up to us. I love…

Deuteronomy 11:26 (NIV)

In Remembrance Of...

A dreaded question from children to parents everywhere is, "Why?"God is preparing the Israelites for this dreaded question that will surely come from their children in the years and generations to come.…

Deuteronomy 10:12 (NIV)

Wicked

Here, as elsewhere, we are reminded why God apparently reacted so harshly to these people that possessed the promised land before the Israelites. In light of this we might still be able to say God is…

Deuteronomy 9:4 (NIV)

Faithlessness Destroys?

Is it not being faithful to God, the rejection of truth that destroys us, or is it God that destroys us B/C we're unfaithful to Him/truth? Semantics, surely, because they're one and the same, but there's…

Deuteronomy 8:19 (NIV), Deuteronomy 8:20 (NIV)

Long-Term Memory

We are reminded repeatedly in scripture to praise God for His many blessings, but we still tend to make them about us, don't we?The blessings, I mean. Don't we look at our blessings and think, "I'm so…

Deuteronomy 8:10 (NIV)

Absolute Devotion

After reading the history of what went down in the wilderness, doesn't this all make sense? Sure, the wandering is b/c the Israelites didn't obey in the first place, but wasn't God also giving them forty…

Deuteronomy 8:1 (NIV)

God is Harsh

A great many people have stumbled over OT passages like this, that begin with the wiping out of another people. It begins with a description of how the native people will pull the Israelites away from…

Deuteronomy 7:1 (NASB), Deuteronomy 7:2 (NASB), Deuteronomy 7:3 (NASB), Deuteronomy 7:4 (NASB), Deuteronomy 7:5 (NASB), Deuteronomy 7:6 (NASB), Deuteronomy 17:2 (NASB), Deuteronomy 17:3 (NASB), Deuteronomy 17:4 (NASB), Deuteronomy 17:5 (NASB), Deuteronomy 17:6 (NASB), Deuteronomy 17:7 (NASB)

Worthy or Blessed?

Moses, under the inspiration of God Himself, is warning the people against an all too likely possibility. As humans, we tend to depreciate the value of anything that comes too easily. If we didn't have…

Deuteronomy 6:10 (NIV), Deuteronomy 6:11 (NIV), Deuteronomy 6:12 (NIV)

My Faith Is Personal

Where did this idea come from? I don't think it came from scripture because here we are told to talk about God's commands to us. I think this is more of a cop-out than God-given sensitivity. Our personal…

Deuteronomy 6:9 (NIV)

The Lord Our God

As you read the OT, you find that this designation is actually quite rare. Many times the fallen people we look to for example are more likely to say 'the Lord YOUR God.' There is no ownership, no fidelity…

Deuteronomy 5:27 (NIV)

Wheels Set In Motion

Our culture has grown fond of saying things like, "I can do what I want. I'm not hurting anyone," and we feel justified in saying so. Unfortunately for us, God didn't set things up so carelessly and without…

Deuteronomy 5:9 (NIV), Deuteronomy 5:10 (NIV)

Hear, Learn, and Follow

Similar to what Jews memorize as the 'Shema' (Hebrew word for 'hear' - "Hear, O Israel, the Lord Your God, the Lord is One. Deut. 6:4), is this instruction for the Israelites to not only hear the commands…

Deuteronomy 5:1 (NIV), Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)

The rest of the story...

Reading this passage we might be tempted to think God unfair for holding poor, innocent Moses responsible for the wrongs of others. But here we see a great example of how history is written with the winners…

Deuteronomy 1:37 (NIV), Deuteronomy 3:26 (NIV), Deuteronomy 4:21 (NIV)

Tender Imagery

As a new father, there are numerous ways I can carry my son. When we are playing, when I'm holding him but doing something else, or when I'm carrying him only until I can set him on his two feet and help…

Deuteronomy 1:31 (NIV)

Snakes in the Grass

There's a recurring theme running throughout the OT thus far: the people whine, God gives them something to whine about, they see they were wrong, and God provides their means of deliverance.This particular…

Numbers 21:5 (NIV), Numbers 21:6 (NIV), Numbers 21:7 (NIV), Numbers 21:8 (NIV), Numbers 21:9 (NIV)

Getting in God's Way

Here Moses and Aaron make a fatal mistake before the people: they make God's provision about them. When God tells Moses what to do before the assembly of Israelites, and what Aaron's part is in the…

Numbers 20:7 (NIV), Numbers 20:8 (NIV), Numbers 20:9 (NIV), Numbers 20:10 (NIV), Numbers 20:11 (NIV), Numbers 20:12 (NIV), Numbers 20:13 (NIV)

A True Priesthood Knows Its Place

What is it about humans, that we want what we don't have? And our envy that saps joy from what we possess and places it in the unknown? With Korah and his followers, they claim more than they have been…

Numbers 16:3 (NIV)