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Bible - Book of Deuteronomy

Theme: Bible, tradition and sacred texts - Old and New Testaments · Page 1 of 2

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GRM 3.4

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Last night I dreamt that next year I will be coming to the Holy City for two feasts, instead of one only. And one will be the offering of my creature to the Temple… Oh! Joachim!…»

«Keep on hoping, Anne. Did you not perceive anything else? Did the Lord not whisper anything to your heart?»

«Nothing. Only a dream…»

«Tomorrow is the last day of prayer. All the offerings have already been made. But we will renew them again tomorrow, solemnly. We shall gain our favour from God by our faithful love.

Annotation

Tomorrow is the last day of supplication. The seventh day of Sukkot (Tishri 21) is called "Hochaana Rabba". This is the day on which the divine judgment begun on "Rosh Hashanah" is finally decided. It is therefore marked by special prayers of supplication in which we implore God to judge us favorably (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:34-43; Numbers 29:12-34; Deuteronomy 16:13-16; 30:10-13).

Book of Exodus 23, 16

Ex 23, 16 : Thou shalt observe the Feast of Harvest, of the first-fruits of thy labor, of that which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in the field the fruit of thy labor.

Book of Exodus 34, 22

Ex 34, 22 : You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year.

Book of Numbers 29, 12-34:

On the fifteenth day, in the seventh month, you shall have a holy assembly: you shall do no servile work. And you shall keep a feast to Yahweh for seven days. You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to Yahweh: thirteen young bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish, and for their meat offering, fine flour mingled with oil: three tenths for each of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each of the two rams, and one tenth for each of the fourteen lambs. You shall also offer a he-goat as a sin offering, without prejudice to the continual burnt offering with its oblation and libation.

On the second day, you shall offer twelve young bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, the rams and the lambs, according to their number, according to the rule. You shall also offer a goat for a sin offering, without prejudice to the continual burnt offering, its meat offering and their drink offerings.

On the third day you shall offer eleven bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, the rams and the lambs, according to their number, according to the ordinance. You shall also offer a goat for a sin offering, without prejudice to the continual burnt offering, its meat offering and its drink offering.

On the fourth day, you shall offer ten bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number according to the rule. You shall also offer a he-goat for a sin offering, without prejudice to the continual burnt offering, its meat offering and its drink offering.

On the fifth day, you shall offer nine bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, according to the ordinance. You shall also offer a goat for a sin offering, without prejudice to the continual burnt offering, its meat offering and its drink offering.

On the sixth day, you shall offer eight bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish, with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, rams and lambs, according to their number, according to the ordinance. You shall also offer a he-goat for a sin offering, without prejudice to the continual burnt offering, its meat offering and its drink offering.

On the seventh day you shall offer seven bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish, 33with their meat offerings and their drink offerings, for the bulls, the rams and the lambs, according to their number, according to the ordinance. 34You shall also offer a he-goat for a sin offering, without prejudice to the continual burnt offering, its meat offering and its drink offering.

Book of Deuteronomy 16, 13-16

Dt 16, 13-16 : You shall keep the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days, when you have gathered in your threshing floor and your winepress; 14you shall rejoice at this feast, you, your son and your daughter, your man-servant and your maid-servant, as well as the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow who are within your gates. You shall keep the feast seven days in honor of Yahweh your God, in the place which Yahweh has chosen; for Yahweh your God will bless you in all your crops and in all the work of your hands, and you will be full of joy. Three times a year, every male among you shall appear before Yahweh, your God, in the place he has chosen: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Tabernacles; he shall not appear before Yahweh empty-handed.

Book of Deuteronomy, 30, 10-13

Dt 30, 10-13 : if you obey the voice of Yahweh, your God, by keeping his commandments and precepts written in this book of the law, if you return to Yahweh, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul. This commandment that I am commanding you today is not above you or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, for you to say, "Who will go up to heaven for us and fetch it for us, and make us hear it, so that we may fulfill it?" It is not beyond the sea, so that you say, "Who will pass for us beyond the sea and fetch it for us, and make us hear it, that we may fulfill it?"

GRM 38.3-5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

38.3 Jesus is playing under the trees with two children who are about His own age. They have curly hair, but they are not blond. One, on the contrary, is very dark: a little head of a little black lamb which makes the skin of his little round face look even whiter, and two most beautiful large, wide open blue violet eyes. The other is less curly and his hair is dark brown, his eyes are brown and his complexion darker, but with a pinkish hue on his cheeks. Jesus’ little blond head looks like a blaze of light. They are playing in perfect harmony with some little carts on which there are… various articles: leaves, little stones, wood shavings, little pieces of wood. They must be playing at shops, and Jesus is the one who buys things for His Mummy, to Whom He takes now one thing, then another one. Mary accepts all the purchases with a smile.

Then the game changes. One of the two children proposes: «Let us play at the Exodus from Egypt. Jesus will be Moses, I will be Aaron, and you… Mary.»

«But I am a boy!»

«It does not matter. It’s just the same. You are Mary, and you shall dance before the golden calf, and the golden calf is that beehive over there.»

«I’m not going to dance. I am a man and I do not want to be a woman. I am a faithful believer and I am not going to dance before an idol.»

Jesus interrupts them: «Don’t let us play that part. Let us play this other one: when Joshua is elected Moses’ successor. So there will be no terrible sin of idolatry and Judas will be happy to be a man and My successor. Are you happy?»

«Yes I am, Jesus. But then You will have to die, because Moses dies afterwards. But I do not want You to die; You have always been so fond of me.»

«Everybody dies… but before dying I shall bless Israel, and since you are the only ones here, I shall bless the whole of Israel in you.»

They agree. Then there is an argument: whether the people of Israel, after so much travelling, still had the same carts they had when leaving Egypt. There is a difference of opinion.

They ask Mary. «Mummy, I say that the Israelites still had the carts. James says they didn’t. Judas does not know who is right. Do you know?»

«Yes, My Son. The nomadic people still had their carts. They repaired them when they stopped to rest. The weaker people travelled in them together with the foodstuffs, and the many things which were necessary for so many people were loaded into them. With the exception of the Ark, which was carried by hand, everything else was on the carts.» The question is now solved.

38.4 The children go down to the bottom of the orchard and from there, singing psalms, they come towards the house. Jesus is in front and He is singing some psalms in His gentle silvery voice. Behind Him, there come Judas and James holding a little cart which has been elevated to the rank of Tabernacle. But since they have also to play the part of the people, in addition to Aaron’s and Joshua’s, with their belts they have tied other miniature carts to their feet, and thus they proceed very seriously as if they were real actors.

They cover the whole length of the pergola, they pass in front of the door of Mary’s room and Jesus says: «Mummy, hail the Ark when it passes by.» Mary stands up smiling, and She bows to Her Son Who passes by, radiant in the bright sunshine.

Then Jesus clambers up the side of the mountain that forms the boundary of the house, or rather of the garden; He stands up straight on top of the little grotto, and speaks to… Israel. He repeats the orders and the promises of God, He appoints Joshua as the leader, calls him, and then Judas in his turn climbs up the cliff. He encourages and blesses him. He then asks for a… tablet (it is a large fig leaf) and He writes the canticle and reads it. It is not quite complete, but contains a large part of it, and He seems to be reading it from the leaf. He then dismisses Joshua who embraces Him crying, and He then climbs further up, right up to the edge of the cliff. And from there He blesses the whole of Israel, that is the two who are prostrated on the ground, He then lies down on the short grass, closes His eyes and… dies.

38.5 Mary, who has been watching from the doorstep smiling, when She sees Him lying still on the ground shouts: «Jesus, Jesus! Get up! Don’t lie down like that! Your Mummy does not want to see You dead!»

Jesus gets up smiling, runs towards Her, and kisses Her. Also James and Judas come. They also receive Mary’s caresses.

«How can Jesus remember that canticle which is so long and difficult and all those blessings?» asks James.

Mary smiles and answers: «His memory is very good and He pays a lot of attention when I read.»

«I too, at school, pay attention. But then I get sleepy with all the hubbub… shall I never learn then?»

«You will learn, be good.»

Detail

Jude, James and Jesus play in the garden of Nazareth as children. Mary is present.

Annotation

Book of Numbers, 27, 12-23: The Lord said to Moses: "Go up to Mount Abarim and see the land I have given to the children of Israel. You will look at it, and then you too will be reunited with your people, just as your brother Aaron was. Indeed, you rebelled against my word in the desert of Cine, when the community sought to quarrel with me, when the gushing water should have manifested my holiness in their eyes. This happened at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, the waters of the Kadesh quarrel, in the desert of Cine. Then Moses spoke to the Lord. He said: "May the Lord, God of the spirits that animate every being of flesh, establish at the head of the community a man who goes out into the field and comes back at their head, who brings them out and brings them in. So the community of the Lord will not be like small cattle without a shepherd." The Lord said to Moses: "Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man inhabited by the spirit. Lay your hand on him, then set him before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and give him your orders before their eyes. You will put in him a part of your radiance so that the whole community of the sons of Israel will listen to him. He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will submit him to the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word, all the sons of Israel will go out; at his word, they will return, he and all the sons of Israel with him, the whole community.

Book of Deutoronomy 34: Moses went up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dane, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean, the Negev, the region of the Jordan, the valley of Jericho, the city of Palms, as far as Soar. The Lord said to him: "This land you see, I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give it to their descendants. I show it to you, but you shall not enter it." Moses, the Lord's servant, died there, in the land of Moab, according to the Lord's word. He was buried in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Moab. But even today, no one knows where his tomb lies. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eyesight had not failed, nor had his vitality diminished. The sons of Israel mourned for Moses on the steppes of Moab for thirty days. The days of Moses' mourning came to an end. Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him. The children of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. A prophet like Moses, whom the Lord met face to face, never again arose in Israel. What signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to perform in Egypt, before Pharaoh, all his servants and all his land! With what a mighty hand, what a formidable power, Moses had acted in the eyes of all Israel!

GRM 46.6-9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

46.6 But what a fool I am! You are hungry and I am talking to You of women. Your energy is exhausted. That is why that fragrance of the earth, that flower of creation, the fruit that gives and excites love, seems without any value to You. But look at these stones. How round and smooth they look, gilded by the setting sun! Don’t they look like loaves? Since You are the Son of God, all You have to say is: “I want” and they will become sweet-smelling bread,just like the loaves housewives are now taking out of their ovens, for the supper of their families. And these arid acacias, if You only wish so, will they not be filled with sweet fruit and dates as sweet as honey? Eat Your fill, Son of God. You are the Master of the earth. The earth is bowing down to put itself at Your feet and appease Your hunger.

Don’t You see that You are turning pale and unsteady at the mention of bread. Poor Jesus! Are You so weak that You cannot even perform a miracle? Shall I perform it for You? I am not Your equal, but I can do something. I will do without any strength for a whole year, I will gather it altogether, but I want to serve You because You are good, and I always remember that You are my God, even if now I have forfeited calling You so. Help me with Your prayers, that I may…»

«Be quiet! “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.»

The devil starts with anger. He grinds his teeth and clenches his fists. But he controls himself and turns his grinding into a smile.

«I understand. You are above the necessities of the earth and You are disgusted at making use of me. I deserved it.

46.7 But come, then, and see what there is in the House of God. You will see how even priests do not refuse to come to a compromise between the spirit and the flesh. After all, they are men and not angels. Work a spiritual miracle. I will take You up to the pinnacle of the Temple and You will undergo a transfiguration and become most handsome. You will then call the cohorts of angels and will tell them to form a footrest for Your feet with their interlaced wings, and to let You down, thus, into the main yard. So that people may see You, and remember that God exists. One must show oneself now and again, because man’s memory is so weak, especially with regard to spiritual matters. You can imagine how happy the angels will be in forming a protection for Your feet and a ladder for You to descend!»

«It is said: “You must not put the Lord your God to the test”.»

«You understand that Your apparition would not change anything and the Temple would continue to be a market full of corruption. Your divine wisdom is aware that the hearts of the ministers of the Temple are nests of vipers that tear and are torn to pieces for the sake of prevailing. They are subdued only by human power.

46.8 Well, then, come. Adore me. I will give You the earth. Alexander, Cyrus, Caesar, all the great rulers, past or present, will be like the leaders of miserable caravans as compared with You, as You shall have the kingdoms of the world under Your sceptre. And with the kingdoms, all the wealth, all the beautiful things on earth, women, horses, armies and temples. You will be able to raise Your Sign everywhere when You are the King of kings and the Lord of the world. You will then be obeyed and respected both by the people and by the priesthood. All classes will honour and serve You, because You will be the Powerful One, the Only One, the Lord.

Adore me for one moment only! Appease this thirst of mine for being worshipped! It ruined me, but it is still left in me, and I am parched by it. The flames of hell are like a fresh morning breeze as compared to this fierce ardour burning inside me. It is my hell, this thirst. One moment, one moment only, Christ. You are so good! One moment of joy for the eternally Tortured One! Let me feel, what it is like to be god, and I will be a devoted, obedient servant for all Your life and all Your enterprises. One instant, one instant only, and I will no longer torture You!»

And Satan falls on his knees, imploring.

46.9 Jesus, instead, stands up. He has lost weight because of the long days of fast, and He now looks taller. His face is terribly severe and strong. His eyes are two burning sapphires. His voice is like thunder: it reverberates in the cave of the huge stone, and spreads over the stony, desolate plain when He cries: «Go away, Satan. It is written: “You must worship the Lord your God, and serve Him alone”.»

Satan, with a cry of fearful torture and indescribable hatred, springs to his feet, a dreadful sight in his furious, smoky figure. And he disappears with a last cursing yell.

Detail

Satan tempts Jesus in the desert.

Annotation

Deuteronomy 6, 13.16: You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him, and take an oath by his name. You shall not follow other gods, the gods of the nations around you, for the Lord your God is a jealous God in your midst. The anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the earth. 16. You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you did at Massa.

Deuteronomy 8:3: He made you go through poverty, he made you feel hunger, and he gave you manna to eat - food that neither you nor your fathers had known - so that you would know that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

GRM 50.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Deuteronomy states what is to be done, nothing else was necessary. But do not judge those who acted for other people, not for themselves. Do what God commands. And above all, strive and be perfect in the two main precepts. If you love God with all your souls, you will not sin, because sin gives pain to God. Those who love do not want to give pain. If you love your neighbours, as you love yourselves, you will be respectful children to your parents, faithful husbands to your wives, honest merchants in your trade, without any violence against your enemies, truthful in bearing witness, without envy of wealthy people, without any incentive of lewdness for another man’s wife. And as you do not want to do to other people what you do not wish should be done to you, you will not steal, or kill, or slander, or enter someone else’s nest like cuckoos.

Annotation

Book of Deuteronomy

Deut 5:6-21: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods but me.

You shall make no idol, no image of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth.

You shall not bow down before them to worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God: among those who hate me, I punish the iniquity of the fathers on the sons, to the third and fourth generation; but those who love me and keep my commandments, I show them my faithfulness to the thousandth generation.

You shall not call upon the name of the Lord your God for evil, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who calls upon his name for evil.

Keep the Sabbath day holy, according to the commandment of the Lord your God.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the day of rest, the Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God. You shall do no work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of your beasts, nor the sojourner who dwells in your city. So your servant and your handmaid will rest, just as you have rested.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out of it with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That's why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may have long life and happiness in the land given to you by the Lord your God.

Thou shalt not commit murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not commit theft.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife; you shall not desire his house or his field, his man-servant or his maid-servant, his ox or his ass: anything that belongs to him."

GRM 53.6-7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Listen, Israel! Deuteronomy states: “You are to appoint judges and scribes at all the gates… and they must administer an impartial judgement to the people. You must be impartial; you must take no bribes, for a bribe blinds wise men’s eyes and jeopardises the cause of the just. Strict justice must be your ideal, so that you may live in rightful possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving you”.

Listen, Israel. Deuteronomy states: “The priests and scribes and the whole of the tribe of Levi shall have no share or inheritance with Israel, because they must live on the foods offered to Yahweh and on His dues; they shall have no inheritance among their brothers, because Yahweh will be their inheritance”.

Listen, Israel. Deuteronomy states: “You must not lend on interest to your brother, whether the lack be of money or food or anything else. You may demand interest on a loan of a foreigner; you will lend without interest to your brother whatever he needs”.

The Lord said that.

But now you see that in Israel judgements are administered without justice for the poor. They are not inclined to justice, but they are partial with the rich, and to be poor, to be of the common people means to be oppressed. How can the people say: “Our judges are just” when they see that only the mighty ones are respected and satisfied, whereas the poor have no one who will listen to them? How can the people respect the Lord, when they see that the Lord is not respected by those who should respect Him more than everyone else? Does he who infringes the Lord’s commandment respect Him? Why then do the priests in Israel possess property and accept bribes from tax-collectors and sinners, who make them offerings to obtain their favours, while they accept gifts to fill their coffers?

God is the inheritance of His priests. He, the Father of Israel, is more than a Father to them and provides them with food, as it is just. But not more than what is just. He did not promise money and possessions to His servants of the sanctuary. In eternal life, they will possess Heaven for their justice, as Moses, Elijah, Jacob and Abraham will, but in this world they must have but a linen garment and a diadem of incorruptible gold: purity and charity, and their bodies must be subject to their souls, which are to be subject to the true God, and their bodies are not to be masters over their souls and against God.

I have been asked on what authority I do this. And on what authority do they violate God’s command and allow in the shade of the sacred walls usury on their brothers of Israel, who have come to obey the divine command? I have been asked from what school I come and I replied: “From God’s school” Yes, Israel, I have come from and I will take you back to that holy and immutable school.

53.7

He who wants to know the Light, the Truth, the Way, he who wants to hear once again the voice of God speaking to his people, let him come to Me. You followed Moses through the deserts, Israel. Follow Me, because I shall lead you through a far worse desert, to the true blessed Land. At God’s command, I will draw you to it, across an open sea. I will cure you of all evils lifting up My Sign.

The time of Grace has come. The Prophets expected it and died waiting for it. The Prophets prophesied it and died in that hope. The just have dreamt of it and died comforted by that dream. It is now here.

Come. “The Lord is about to judge His people and have mercy on His servants”, as He promised through Moses.»

Detail

Context: Jesus has just purified Temple for the first time.

Annotation

Book of Deuteronomy

Deut 16:18-20: In all the cities which the Lord your God gives you, you shall appoint judges and scribes over your tribes; they shall judge the people in righteous judgments. You shall not deviate from the right, you shall not act with partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for the bribe blinds the wise and compromises the cause of the righteous. You shall seek justice and nothing but justice, so that you may live and possess the land given to you by the Lord your God.

Dt 18, 1-2 : he Levite priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no share or inheritance with Israel: they will feed on the sacrifices by fire offered to the Lord, and on his patrimony. This tribe will have no inheritance among its brethren, but the Lord will be its inheritance, as he has said to it.

Dt 23, 19-20 : You shall never bring into the House of the Lord your God, to pay any vow, the earnings of a prostitute or the wages of a "dog", for both are an abomination to the Lord your God. You shall not make your brother any loan at interest: money, food or anything else that might earn interest.

GRM 53.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

53.7 He who wants to know the Light, the Truth, the Way, he who wants to hear once again the voice of God speaking to his people, let him come to Me. You followed Moses through the deserts, Israel. Follow Me, because I shall lead you through a far worse desert, to the true blessed Land. At God’s command, I will draw you to it, across an open sea. I will cure you of all evils lifting up My Sign.

The time of Grace has come. The Prophets expected it and died waiting for it. The Prophets prophesied it and died in that hope. The just have dreamt of it and died comforted by that dream. It is now here.

Come. “The Lord is about to judge His people and have mercy on His servants”, as He promised through Moses.

Annotation

John 14:6: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Exodus 14, 21-22: "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea all night with a strong east wind, and made it dry. The waters parted, and the sons of Israel entered the middle of the sea on dry ground, while the waters formed a wall on their right and left."

Deuteronomy 32, 36: The Lord will do justice to his people, he will pity his servants, when he sees that their hands are weakened, that there is neither slave nor free man left.