Israel is about to undergo two major lifestyle changes.
The first major change is that once they cross the Jordan River and take over the Promised Land, they are no longer going to be one cohesive and large group of people situated around the Wilderness Tabernacle.
Instead, they are going to be spread out over several thousand square miles…
…and per tribe and clan be assigned to inhabit separate districts.
This was a major transformation in the lifestyle of the Israelites and the biggest question that now arose since the Tabernacle was going to be dismantled was…
…where in the world would the Israelites worship and sacrifice?
Since the Torah only permits ONE LOCATION for worship and sacrifice, depending on where the Temple (the replacement for the Tabernacle) would be built, for some tribes it would be relatively easy to journey to fulfill the sacrificial requirements and for others it would be a serious pain in the neck.
This is the issue we’re going to be dealing with in this and the next up and coming chapters.
This was going to be a major concern because scattered throughout the land of Canaan were a ton of altars dedicated to the false gods of the indigenous inhabitants.
The second major change that was going to occur once Israel moved into the Promised Land was their transformation from being a Bedouin-style society (a wandering society) to a settled farming society.
A good portion of the Torah laws are actually geared towards an agricultural society.
Come to think about, from an earthly perspective at least, the seven Biblical Feasts were all agricultural feasts that couldn’t be properly observed by a gypsy-style wandering society.
So what’s the takeaway for today?
The takeaway is this.
It’s important that we carefully study this transformation Israel went through from being a rag-tag mob of wanderers to a fully settled community.
Why is this important?
Because the truth is over time societies will change and evolve.
That’s the way it’s been since the dawn of history.
However, God’s justice system does NOT change.
That’s why it’s useful for us to see how the Israelites applied and lived out the Torah amidst changing conditions.
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