Accomplishments of David

·         David is named anointed King over Judah.

·         Gains rule over all of Israel after 7 ½ years.

·         Establishes Ark in tabernacle house of the Lord.

·         Takes it to the city of David.

·         Victorious over the Philistines.

·         Moabites become his servants.

·         Syrians become his servants.

·         His posterity and kingdom will be established forever.

David, after being blessed and strengthened by the Lord, desires to build the Lord a house. David’s home would have been much larger and grander in comparison physically than the tabernacle which by now was several hundred years old. The Lord in David’s request, answers him through Nathan the prophet and is told that he is not to build him a house. The Lord declares that he has not commanded him to do so, and that he is not prepared to do so because he was a man of blood, or had seen much conflict and violence.

However, David is promised great blessings and that his kingdom will be established forever. The Lord promises David that his son will have the blessing to build a temple. He is promised that the Lords mercy will not depart from his son. This proved to be a messianic prophecy as well for the savior when born into mortality was a descendant of David and would have been next in line to the throne if they royal family had been recognized at the time. In this way Jesus was rightful heir of the Kingdom on earth as well as in Heaven.

If I were in David’s shoes, I would have been overwhelmed by the wonderful blessings that were bestowed on me as well as my posterity. To be promised that my family name would be that which the Savior of mankind would come through would be humbling. I would also be saddened of not being able to help in the building of the temple, while at the same time being over joyed that my son would be established and have the responsibility to do so.

Week 9 Joshua's Farewell

Did the sun really stand still? Did God create Heaven and Earth and set forth the laws in which they are governed? We can find evidence from the Book of Mormon for other accounts of such heavenly phenomenon happening.  The earth, according to Helaman in these events, was made to stand still rather than the sun. The altering rotation of the earth could and would explain the sun standing still. A critic might say that it cannot happen because science cannot explain it. This argument is very weak seeing as there are still many things which science cannot explain with certainty; gravity for example is a known force on earth, but science cannot explain how it occurs.

Choose Ye this Day..

Israel's Successes 

•Israel defeats Ai after Achan and his household is destroyed 

•Israel defeats Amorites and their allies.

•Conquer the whole land 

•Israel is given rest.

Israel's Failures 

•Israel is defeated by Ai because of disobedience.

•Israel fails to destroy all inhabitants of Canaanites and some continue to live among them.                

         Many prophets in their final addresses to their people are filled with concern for their people and their well being. It seems they try to address those areas that easily beset the people. Joshua’s address to the Israelites is not different. As the Israelites began to overtake the land they did not keep the commandments of the Lord and spared some of the Canaanites, which proved to be a stumbling block for them ever after. I think the theme of his final words is mainly stay with the Lord God Jehovah and quit; do not pursue after other Gods. This was a continual problem for Israel. It but continued to plague them throughout the ages and resulted in their destruction and scattering. Joshua wanted to spare his people from themselves and yearned, as I am sure all prophets do, for the people to take head and live his counsel.

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Israel Commanded to Destroy the Wicked!

Nations the Lord commanded the Israelites to destroy: Amorites, Canaanites Hittites, Hivites and the Jebusites. Why would God command this?

The Lord commanded Israel as they went forth among these people and as they were delivered into their hands, that they were to destroy them. They were to spare none of the Canaanites, but were to completely destroy from off the earth. There were also commanded to destroy all remnants of them, particularly their places of worship, their alters and their graven images. The depravity of these nations was so terrible and infectious that Israel would have been polluted and destroyed.

These same types of sins can be found everywhere in the world today, we are not immune from them and must be cautious in our own lives. We can be sure that similar judgments will be poured out upon this world from time to time as the lord again prepares the earth for his return. Immoral sexually explicit behavior is the worst kind of behavior accepted by a people. The Canaanites had adopted prostitution and homosexuality as a form of worship and were proud of it. We need to be careful as a people that we do not embrace this trend that is creeping into our modern world with widespread acceptance.  

We can protect ourselves and our families by standing in holy places and honoring the covenants we have made with God. Giving ear to his counsel through his prophets and putting our faith into motion will keep us aloof and apart from the depravity of the world that would threaten our own destruction.

Week 6 Day of Atonement

The Lord, instituted many feast days among Israel, they all had their significance and always pointed back to Christ. The Day of Atonement was the most sacred of them all. This day served as a sign to Israel that they had been atoned for, and that they were restored to a state in which they could be fellowshipped with God again.

Aaron had to make atonement for himself and his house before he could offer and atonement for Israel. I believe this was necessary, because he represented the great high priest Christ who when he offered the literal atonement was perfect and holy, therefore the high priest officiating would need to be clean as well.

Two goats were used as a in the ritual. One was sacrificed and its blood offered for Israel symbolic of Christ. The second was the scapegoat which had Israel’s sins vicariously placed upon it and being led out and left in the wilderness symbolic of Satan.

I believe both goats helped to portray different aspects of the Atonement. One shedding its blood was to give life and the other to represent the taking of our sins upon him as well as separating our sin from us and seeing them no more. It also portrayed the vicarious nature of the atonement.

We have heard the word vicarious many times, we use it refer namely to temple work for those who have long slept and are not capable of performing the ordinances for themselves. God has always aloud this kind of merciful act of service to be performed by others as long as it was done by one having authority. So it is with the Atonement. Christ had the authority to perform the act and vicariously represented each of us as he offered himself, doing that which we could not do for ourselves, namely reconcile ourselves to God.

Murmuring; a Past and Present Problem

Exodus chapters 15 thru 17 can show us a great deal about the Lord and his patience and mercy for his children. When I read these chapters I feel a little taken back by the attitude of the Israelites. They have just been delivered by the hand of God through Moses. When first arriving at Marah the water there was bitter or undrinkable, the people quickly began to murmur, notwithstanding three days earlier they walked across the Red Sea on dry ground. One might think what is wrong with these people. After two months the children of Israel again become disgruntled with Moses for the want of food. At this point the people are wishing they were still in bondage in Egypt. The scripture isn’t clear about how much time passes before the people again become angry with Moses and almost ready to stone him, for the want of water.

This pattern goes on and on and even begins before they have even been delivered from Egypt. Even though miracles occur before their very eyes they still complain and are ready to jump ship at every hardship. We might be tempted to stand back and think with some self-righteous indignation that we would never do that, or would we? Why is it that people murmur against God and his prophets? May I suggest that we are not that far removed from our ancient Israelite forerunners. How many of us has asked why me or said that’s not fair when trouble finds us?  When economic hardships come, do we expect that the church or government programs should step in and save us; while we sit back with and murmur about the hard lot we have been dealt.

We find in the Book of Mormon the Brethren of Nephi murmur against their father and the Lord over and over again. They too had seen miracles and angels yet they still complained and strayed off the path. The difference to me is two main points. One, are we humble enough to endure and grow from our experiences. Do we believe that we should be entitled to Gods blessings without any trouble along the way? Two, where are our testimonies, and what have we set our hearts upon. We need to remember the blessings we have received and have faith that our Father will continue to help us, though we may have to struggle and stretch ourselves to find the relief and salvation he has for us. There is real danger in murmuring, I have seen this in those I have known both family and friends. When we are disposed to murmuring and criticizing the Lord and his anointed darkness comes and the spirit leave and soon apostasy occurs and we leave the solid ground of truth.

Week 3 Joseph

What made Joseph so special?

Joseph being the second to last born to Jacob certainly didn't give him any important standing in the family order. He was far from receiving the birthright as a result of his order. Rueben being the oldest was to receive the birthright, but lost it after he defiled his father’s bed. Each succeeding brother would have had reason to believe that the birthright should fall upon them; however, Jacob decided to place the birthright on Joseph.

Joseph was favored of his Father being the son of his beloved Rebekah. Jacobs’s gift of the coat of many colors was a sore spot for his brethren. It is believed that the coat was not important for its colors, but for what its style it may have represented. It is thought to have been a coat that would have signified the birthright as well as nobility. This certainly would have been salt in a wound with his elder brethren. We don't really know from early accounts but we can assume that Joseph would likely have been a

very obedient and diligent child from what we know of him later in his life, another reason for him to have been favored.

The one thing that stands out to me the most is the foreshadowing role of the Savior that Joseph plays. Joseph certainly was obedient and was committed to keeping the commandments. Joseph was also acquainted with grief and hardship early in his life. Most of all he literally was a Savior to Israel by saving them from the famine, by so doing he saved the house of Israel.

So what can we learn and apply from the account of Joseph. Another small takeaway that I found was, despite his hardships, God blessed his and all that his hand touched prospered. This is a blessing that is typical with those that humbly serve the Master and strive to follow him. Not all of life works out the way we would like it to but even our hardships can be turned into blessings that prosper and benefit us in mortality.

Week 2 Who is Melchizedek

Who is The Man Melchizedek?

From the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament we find relatively little information about this man other than he was the King of Salem and that Abraham paid tithes of all he possessed. Who was this man who blessed Abraham? What can we learn about him from his name?

How grateful we ought to be for modern day scripture which can shed light and give more information on this great High Priest. In the days of Abraham the patriarchal order was observed and Abraham would have been next to Melchizedek in the priesthood. We can learn from the Joseph Smith translation that Melchizedek was a man chosen of God from an early age who, “stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fires”. We also know that he served next to his father and that there were many before and after him, but none greater. From this we can see that he was in the similitude of the Son of God and so righteous was he that his name was chosen to reference the high priesthood to reverence the name of deity whose priesthood it is and is named after.

According to Alma Melchizedek King over the land of Salem and his people were full of all manner of abominations and wickedness. Melchizedek exercised great faith and the office of the high priesthood and preached repentance, because of this his people repented and Melchizedek received the title the prince of peace, another similitude of the Son of God. Many of his people in time were also lifted up to dwell with the people of Enoch. From these we can conclude that Melchizedek was a great and holy High Priest whose righteousness must have been next to God in order that Gods holy priesthood should be called after his name.