The Bible by David Alley

by David Alley

Season 1

Deuteronomy 7 - The Promised Land | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 7 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 7 Moses continues talking about the land they are about to enter and how they must think and act. There were seven nations that had to be destroyed and removed by God’s command. They had already destroyed the Amalekites, but not completely, and the Midianites completely and completely defeated Og of Bashan and Sihon of the Amorites. For a merciful God, these commands seem unmerciful, but they demonstrate our complete lack of understanding of the situation being dealt with. In the same way a life-taking cancer must be removed from the body, even if it takes away an organ such as one lung, or one kidney, or the breasts, there is really no option other than death. These nations had to be dealt with, because of the seriousness of their sins, and it demonstrates to each of us the high stakes there are in dealing with our own sins. They have a task in the promised land - to completely undo the idolatry that previously existed with all of its sexual practices. They had to remove them and abhor the practices of the nations before them. There are many things the world loves that we do not abhor. But it is because we cannot see it for what it is. Imagine how you would feel if you had a dream of a something you desired, such as money, or food, or a promotion, but as you sought it, suddenly you were in a pool of vomit and maggots. Such is the love of this world. May the Lord open our eyes to see the vomit and maggots that so many love. In 1 John 1:25 we are told “do not love the world.” This is NOT the same as in John 3:16 where it says that “God so loved the world…” but it was talking about how he cared for its people, but we are now learning not to love what the world loves.

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Aug 11, 2022

12:59

The Bible: Deuteronomy Chapter 6

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 6 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 6 we have a chapter devoted to the first law of the ten commandments. In it we see a major theme of Deuteronomy, obedience. Blind obedience is to be commended, but in reality, God seeks to impart understanding, hence a speech such as this. If we do not care for God, and put his law to the side thinking we understand it, our lack of understanding results in lack of obedience. But if we seek to understand why, it results in such clarity of heart and mind, that it changes us, and it becomes our delight to obey. Chapter 6 is where we start to see more clearly the theme, although it has been there all along in the book. Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6 a number of times in his later gospel ministry. Here are the words that Christ used in Matt 22:34-40 when debating with the Pharisees. They asked what was the greatest commandment and he quoted verse 5. The heart is the seat of desire, it is what you care about. These are not laws to be kept out of obligation, or fear of punishment, but out of it mattering to you. Many believers follow the Lord more legalistically, but it is supposed to be something that we want to keep, not feel the need to keep. Later in Jeremiah the new covenant was prophesied to be “written on your heart.” So when one is truly saved by Christ, they now desire to keep the Lord’s ways. This is where the love of God in the heart begins. In his testing in the desert with Satan, Jesus also quoted from verses 13 and 16. His second quote “do not test the Lord your God” is a clear bible statement about the divinity of Jesus. We also consider monotheism in this chapter in light of the verse 4 saying, “the Lord is one.” Why would you have to say that the Lord is one, if there is only one God, but it makes sense later when we see God is three persons.

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Aug 10, 2022

13:09

Deuteronomy 5 - The Ten Commandments Repeated | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 5 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 5 Moses recounts the ten commandments. The differences between this and the original version in Exodus 20 is in Moses’ voice retelling. Here we have Moses’ own words, where earlier we had Moses’ recording of God’s words, but the meaning is the same. In the earlier decalogue, it was said here that you would live long if you honoured your parents, but here it is now live long and go well with you. This is firstly practical, because parents love their children, and honouring them opens the door to their lifelong help and support, but also spiritual because there is a greater reality here than just practical outcomes. Going well with you is also something beyond this lifetime. These ten commandments, also called the decalogue, seem simple to keep at surface value, but in practice are nearly impossible for anyone to keep. The last about coveting now goes deeper than just what one does, to what one desires, and there we have the heart exposed. Jesus in his sermon on the mount took this point much further when he said if anyone hates his brother he has already committed murder. This is such a difficult point for people to get their heads around, but the reality is that what we love or hate is who we are. Sin is in the heart, more than outwardly. The temporary consequences of our actions affect us now, but there are eternal consequences for our desires. Verse 33 says “You shall walk in all the way which Yahweh your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” Here the command to walk with the Lord is linked to having prolonged days, but it is spoken in a sense of not just one’s lifetimes, but of generations. When we walk with the Lord it has a future effect, as King David did on his generations.

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Aug 8, 2022

14:35

Deuteronomy 4 - Warning against Idolatry | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 4 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 4 in verse 2 it says “You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.” This is very similar to what is said in Revelation 22:19 “And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” On top of this Jesus said in Matt 5:18 that “not one smallest part of the law will disappear.” How do we as NT believers keep the commandments? The truth is that we look for Christ in the law and cling to Christ. We don’t cling to the shadows, but find the reality the shadows speak to. God spoke amazingly to these people back then, but we think that he has not spoken to us amazingly now. Yet we have the written words of God in our hands. We also have the knowledge that the word became flesh and dwelled among us. God has spoken to us “in these last days by his son.” (Hebrews 1:2) We are in a much more privileged position than these Israelites. When we walk with the Lord this is the result. We are not to understand the Law as a literal wooden thing that must be followed so strictly that we live as OT Jews. Rather the Law reveals the Lord who we follow and this is the result. How Did Jesus keep the law when he seemed to violate some parts of it? Simply, he understood it at its true level, not what it was trying to illustrate. We see this type of thing at work in Jesus own life, in his language to his own disciples, for example in John 4 when he talked of having food to eat.

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Aug 7, 2022

19:30

Deuteronomy 3 - Conquest of the Transjordan Region | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 3 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Deuteronomy 3 it recounts the defeat of Og of Bashan. In the previous chapter the defeat of Sihon king of the Amorites was also recounted. The victory over both of these kings, plus the defeat of Balak and the Moabites enabled them to conquer land and obtain wealth that was not part of the allotted promised land. Going into conquest they were well endowed with resources. In the same way that God put wealth into their hands in leaving Egypt, now God is putting wealth into their hands in readiness for the conquest of Canaan. God is always providing what is required, even in abundance. The NT says that “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3) This tells us that the divine power of God which is clearly on display in Deuteronomy is also on display in our lives even if we don’t think it is explicit. As part of the recount of the conquest of Bashan, it talks of 60 cities with gates and bars. The idea of a city with gates and bars at the timing of the Exodus (1400BCE) is interesting to some who struggle with the idea of steel in the Transjordan, but archaeology in the Transjordan has already located these things in the region of Bashan at that time. https://biblearchaeology.org/research/conquest-of-canaan/3630-new-light-on-the-forgotten-conquest

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Aug 6, 2022

11:24

Deuteronomy 2 - Wandering in the Wilderness | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 2 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In this video on Deuteronomy 2 we start in 2 Kings 22, where it recounts the story of how the book of the law was discovered in the temple. This is either the entire 5 books of Moses, or most often believed to be this book, Deuteronomy. The teaching element of this book caused King Josiah to tear his clothes and repent, bringing the last great reform to Israel. That reform was so significant that while it didn’t stop the impending Babylonian invasion and the destruction of Jerusalem, the revival changed the hearts of many so that in exile they were faithful to God. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are examples of people who were influenced in Josiah’s reform, under the influence of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is also the book second most quoted by Christ after the Psalms according to Shari Abbott in her web article on the quotes of Jesus. He has quoted or referred to Deuteronomy more than 50 times in the gospels. https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/old-testament-book-jesus-quote-often/ So it's not just a repeat, but a powerfully inspired book. Many so-called experts have tried to make out that Deuteronomy is a later invention made during the time of King Josiah and then supposedly discovered as the book of the law. Even though this is believed, it is complete nonsense. It is so full of things which match perfectly during the time period including archaic turns of speech, and egyptisms which come form an Egyptian trained Moses. Plus society had changed so much that it would make no sense to make up some of the things in the books, such as daughters having an inheritance, or the dividing up the land between tribes the way it did and many other practical things like that which had no purpose if it was written 700 years later than it was. In verse 7 it recounts that they lacked nothing, but on the other hand they were in the desert and life seemed bleak. Such can reflect the Christian life at times, being both mundane and supernatural simultaneously. This is worth contemplating on, for what seems to us a life with nothing much happening is profoundly important and our eyes should be opened.

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Aug 5, 2022

18:39

Deuteronomy 1 - The Call to Obedience | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Deuteronomy 1 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. Deuteronomy 1 starts with “These are the words of Moses.” In Hebrew,the name for this book is Debarim from the phrase,ʾēlleh haddĕbārîm, meaning ‘these are the words.’ And in Greek the name of the book is Deutero Nomos meaning the second law. Forty years earlier Moses had an encounter with God at the burning bush and argued with God five times about his suitability for service. One of his key arguments was that he could not speak, but God clearly knew what he had created. Here we see what God saw when he called Moses, and the many words that came from Moses from God. What a spiritual and personal change in his life resulted from doing what God required. The Israelites are about to enter the promised land, but two things are noteworthy. First, this is the new generation that wasn’t alive when the law was given, and they didn’t experience the setting up of the tabernacle, Mt Sinai, the crossing of the red sea and slavery itself. Only two of them, Caleb and Joshua, apart from those under 20 at the time have any memory of Egypt. So Moses is effectively speaking to a new group and informing their collective memory. But secondly, Moses is about to die, and this entire book equates to something of a deathbed speech, where the dying words of a man are more important and living in light of what is about to happen. Deuteronomy also represents the closest thing in the OT to teaching. While the NT is full of doctrine and explanation, there is really nothing in the OT like that, but here we get a little closer as Moses tries to explain reasons for some things, such as in Deuteronomy 8:3 where Moses explains why God put the people through humbling experiences to teach them.

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Aug 4, 2022

19:51

Numbers 36 - Inheritance Laws for Women | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Numbers 36 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Numbers 36 we have a continuation from what was previously discussed in Numbers 27. There it was realised that these daughters had to marry within their tribe or the inheritance would be lost. Sometimes to so called experts, these chapters can seem like an appendage with no meaning, but nothing is wasted in the Bible. Spiritually, if we join ourselves to things outside of our tribe, that is outside to Christ, we find that we end up losing our inheritance. Or certainly it has an effect on our children and posterity. Also, it speaks of marriage and the importance of marrying within the Body of Christ, because to marry outside risks the loss of inheritance also. Paul in the NT talks about being equally yoked and it carries the same gravity of this passage. And finally we come to the end of Numbers. The desert book (bemidbar) is over, and they are standing on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan ready to enter the promised land. It has been an incredible 40 years. But now there are still important spiritual things to do, which the book of Deuteronomy shall cover.

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Aug 3, 2022

10:26

Numbers 35 -Cities of Refuge and Laws for Murder |Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Numbers 35 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Numbers 35 six of the Levite cities were to be designated cities of refuge - not for injustice so that one would escape, but so that one would ensure that he obtained justice. If someone accidentally killed someone, they were labelled the manslayer. The protection of the manslayer was for cases of manslaughter, and not deliberate murder. The cities of refuge were intended for both Israelites and foreigners, just as the justice of Christ is for all people, regardless of background. Anyone who comes to Christ can find refuge in Him. This passage was used incredibly among the stone age tribes of Irian Jaya who had such areas or protection in their midst, and was used to relate the gospel to them and bring many to Christ. Don Richardson relates this in his book Lords of the Earth. We can come to Christ - our place of refuge.

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Aug 2, 2022

15:45

Numbers 34 - Boundaries of the Promised Land | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to Numbers 34 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer. In Numbers 34 is outlined the boundaries of the land, and who was selected to help divide it up. The land extended from the Mediterranean on the west to the Jordan on the East, but most interestingly, three of the tribes had already selected land outside of these boundaries on the other side of the Jordan. They had chosen an “inheritance” that was “outside of God’s promise.” This is something that many people do today, choosing things they think are wonderful, but outside of Gods’ boundaries for them. Ultimately they end up with nothing, as was the case for these three tribes in the course of time. This video also discusses the names of the 12 men who helped divide up the land, all of which are hugely fascinating.

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Aug 1, 2022

11:48

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