Be the King you’d want to have

Be just.

Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don’t know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it “really” means.. Let’s see where this takes us!

Deuteronomy 17

I’m reading Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Verse 1: A defective gift is not a gift. A blemished offering is no offering at all.

Verses 2–7: I think this goes back to my running theme. Israel descended from Shem, representing the Spirit. Canaan descends from Ham, representing the Flesh. The Flesh believes external things are the source of abundance and therefore are worthy of worship.

Such thoughts must not be tolerated. Interpreting the Bible as allegorical, the “man” or “woman” within you who would worship external things must be eliminated. Do not be like the Canaanite, for you are an Israelite, descended from spirit.

Verses 8–13: If the “judge” and Levitical priests are viewed as representing the LORD God, the highest Self, I see a parallel with meditation or “sleeping on” a problem or conflict in one’s life. If a “common sense” solution isn’t obvious, “go up to the place [in your consciousness] that…