This is the Bible Book Club. And we're in the book of numbers. Welcome to the club.

Last episode in Bible Book Club, we were in Chapter 5 of Numbers, and we read about several commands for the purity of the camp, which were necessary for the final preparations for the move to the

promised land. And the purity issues discussed in chapter five and chapter six were the removal

from camp of anyone with a skin disease, which was adding onto the original law that was given to

them in Leviticus, not just the skin disease, some other things that God added to that.

The restitution for wrongs against a neighbor.

The ritual for settling suspected cases of an unfaithful wife and actually protection over the women of that time.

The rules for an individual who took a vow.

And then God gave Moses instructions for how Aaron and the priest were to bless all of Israel.

And they got that beautiful, ironic blessing.

So if we could like pull up to 30,000 foot level, there's this kind of cool thing going on between God and the Israelites.

He, you know, through he brought them out of Exodus, then he spends this time

giving them a lot of laws and rules, then they respond to his instructions and they build the

tabernacle. Then he tells them how to ordain the priest and to become pure, and then they respond

to that and put it all together and do well. And in the last one, he gives them this

blessing. And now they're going to respond to God's blessing with gifts out of their heart. So you see

this kind of giving back and forth. God says, God does something for them in Egypt,

then God gives them instructions and they do it and God gives them more and they do it.

And there were a couple of mistakes in there like that cow incident and all other things.

But there is this relationship. And I want people to see this. There was a relationship developing.

And it's hard work. It's hard work for the Israelites. They have to

build stuff and do stuff and obey laws. And God needs them to do that so he can dwell amongst them

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