Numbers 31 – 32, Bill Cosby, and Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds

Numbers 31 – 32

At this point, the Israelites are camped beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. Moses is told by the Lord that revenge must be taken against the Midianites because they are the ones who led the Israelites into idolatry. He also tells Moses that after this is done, he will die and join his ancestors.

Did it seem odd to you that the 12,000 armed men of Israel were led into battle by Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest? If you recall, Phinehas is the one who killed the Israelite and the Midianite woman he brought into his tent. Not only do they go into battle, but they also carry the “holy objects of the sanctuary” with them as well as the trumpets. They are victorious against what must have been a much larger force: they kill all the men of Midian, including the five kings. In addition, they also kill Balaam. However, they do not kill the women and children. They bring them back to camp as well as the cattle and flocks and all the wealth.

Moses is furious with the leaders of the army and you can see why. They didn’t kill the women even though they are the ones that led the Israelites astray. It must have been horrifying and gruesome to have to kill the helpless women and boys after they brought them back to camp and seems somewhat harsh, but God wanted His people to be uncorrupted by them.

The plunder they brought back was incredible. The men who fought divided up half of the plunder after the Lord’s share. The Lord also assigned a share to the people. The Midianites must have had a huge population; 32,000 girls were spared being killed because they were virgins. Imagine 675,000 sheep and goats, 72,000 cattle and 61,000 donkeys. This really added to the wealth of the people of Israel.

The miracle: not one of Israel’s warriors was killed in battle. The generals and captains of the army were so grateful for this that they gave to the Lord about 420 pounds of gold from plunder they had personally captured.

The people of Israel are in position to cross the Jordan River and begin conquering the land of Canaan, but two of the tribes (Gad and Reuben), who owned a lot of livestock, liked the area where they were camped. They sought Moses’ approval to have this land assigned to them.

Moses got the wrong impression. He thought that meant those two tribes would not help them take the rest of the land, but they just wanted to set up walled cities for their families and pens for their livestock and would then go with their fellow Israelites into battle. So, Gad and Reuben were given this land. Half the tribe of Manasseh, though there is no indication that they requested it, was also assigned land on that side of the Jordan.

Tomorrow, it’s Numbers 33 – 34.

Bill Cosby "I'm 83 and Tired"

"I'm 83 and Tired" Worth reading.....
This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in Jamaica, the UK , United States of America , Canada , Australia and New Zealand and to all the world...

"I'm 83 and I'm Tired"

I'm 83. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death or "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia , New Zealand , UK , America and Canada , while no one from these countries are allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to teach love and tolerance..

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and early 20's be-deck them selves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making themselves un-employable and claiming money from the Government.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 83.. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter and their children. Thank God I'm on the way out and not on the way in.

Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds

Today, I went to AMC and saw Tyler Perries Good Deeds. It was an excellent movie and, for once, Tyler Perry did not play multiple characters. I was delighted to see Phylicia Rashad co-starring, as well as Gabrielle Union and Eddie Cibrian. I enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

Until next time…