There is a context in which remorse is expressed – either despair or confidence in having another go. Our texts today offer such confidence through the Psalm. Meanwhile, the wandering tribe of Israel pauses on the brink of occupation against hostile tribes while being reminded of the nature of their backing. Peter and John call their people back to this memory in the wake of miraculous healing.
Tough love asks us much
Owning wrong yet turning right
Am I up for it?
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The world’s at my feet,
Do I have tickets on me?
Think again, Sonshine!
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Something good has happened
Not because you’re great but in spite –
God draws you in.
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Wondering Pilgrim 
Considering what happened in Ukraine today, Deuteronomy 9:1-5 offers a new way to think about the conflict: Western decadence and hubris having unintended consequences.
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Indeed. The dynamics of unreflective international power plays have been around forever.
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Perhaps it’s as much to do with the humanly-unknowable outcomes as it is with the extent of anteaction consideration.
How much of the middle east’s historic turmoil is a consequence of the Hebrew invasion & how much the failure to exterminate the “….ites” they were supposed to?
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A deep ponderable! One of the difficulties of reading ancient sacred texts is the transfer of abiding principles forged through the formative faith orientations of warring bronze age tribal societies to contemporary experience and awareness. For all our sophistication, certain human traits persist, particularly in the interests of self-preservation, expansion and control over others. And how easily we sanctify these traits rather than confess them!
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