Tag Archives: Deuteronomy 18-20:20

April 1, 2015 Bible Study — Who Matters To Us?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 12:10

    The righteous look out for the needs of animals, not because they are commanded to do so, merely because it is a side effect of doing God’s will. On the other hand, even when they try to be kind to animals the wicked are cruel.

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Psalm 73:1-28

    I read this psalm and it reminds me of when I have looked at people who I thought had the perfect life and I envied them. How come they had everything they wanted in life when I was struggling? This psalm so perfectly reflects what I learned. The wicked always seemed to have everything they could possibly want. I remained faithful, but I began to doubt.
    Then God showed me how things were not the perfect picture which those people painted: the great music or movie star who had everything money could buy committed suicide. Why? Then the stories came out about their struggles with substance abuse and/or with people they loved who did not love them back. Or the man with the great job, the beautiful wife, the talented kids, the beautiful house…he’s getting a divorce. It turns out that he and his wife have been fighting for years and perhaps those talented kids have turned to drugs or some other form of rebellion. His whole life is coming tumbling down around his ears.
    I am not saying that there are not people with great lives, but it is not the wicked who have great lives. I really do have the great life. I know others who have things I wish I had, but I made my choices. I chose the things I wanted more, and God gave them to me. Because I have remained faithful to Him, my wife and I have a wonderful marriage. My beautiful wife is not looking elsewhere for satisfaction in her life. We work together to serve God and find the things which make life worth living…which is redundant right there. Serving God is the thing which makes life worth living.
    Well, that is not where I was going when I started writing about this psalm, but it is where I went and it works for me. I hope it works for you.

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Luke 9:28-50

    There is one thing in every one of the accounts of the healing of the demon possessed boy that I do not understand. It is when Jesus says the following, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you and put up with you?” What does He mean by that? Who is He addressing? Is He addressing the boy’s father? Is He addressing His disciples? Is He addressing the crown? I do not know. I struggle with it because it looks like a statement which should tell me something important about following Jesus, but I don’t know what that something is.
    Fortunately, there is something Jesus says in this passage which I do understand. “Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.” There are different ways to look at this, but they all come out around the same place. There are two different takes I want to look at. The first is that if we want to be among the greatest in the sight of God, we cannot puff ourselves up and seek recognition from others. If we spend our time trying to show others how special we are, we are failing.
    The second take is that the people we view as being the greatest, almost certainly aren’t. It is the people we view as lowly and unimportant whom God tells us are the ones who really matter to Him. They should be the ones who matter to us as well.

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Deuteronomy 18-20:20

    This passage begins by talking about the share of the Levites and how they get a share of the offerings which people make to the Lord. There is a lesson there on how we should treat those called by God and the Church into ministry. I want to give some thought to that lesson and touch on it more later.
    Next Moses warns them against sacrificing their children. Every time I read passages in the Old Testament condemning sacrificing children I cannot help but think about our society’s attitude towards abortion. Our society tells women to sacrifice their children for the sake of “convenience”. He goes on from there to condemn all sorts of “magic”. There is no better way to sum it up than to quote the passage:

And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.

Those who do these things are detestable to God. He drove the people in the land out to make room for the Israelites because they did those things. God will do the same to our people if we do these things. And I know many people who do some or all of those.
    I was going to stop there, but then I saw the command to not convict anyone on the basis of just one witness. The emphasis in this passage is on making sure that justice is served, but there is a lesson there for us in our personal lives. We should not judge a situation on the bases of hearsay. We should be careful to carefully establish the facts before we reach a conclusion about a situation.

April 1, 2014 Bible Study — Least Or Greatest, It Depends On Who Is Counting

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 12:10

    Today’s proverb strikes me as relevant to discussions about “animal rights”. The righteous care for their animals’ needs, while the wicked are cruel. I do not believe that animals have rights, but I do believe that, as Christians, we should care for animals and make sure that we do not cause unnecessary pain or suffering to animals which are in our power. We can be sure that those who are cruel to animals will perform other wicked acts as well.

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Psalm 73:1-28

    The psalmist offers us a warning. He tells us that he slipped and almost lost his connection with God. He envied the wicked and proud because they seemed to do well. He started to wonder if he would not be better off to give up serving God and live as the wicked do. They seemed to him to live lives of ease, while he struggled and suffered misfortune. He tried to understand why the wicked seemed thrive. Then he went before God and met with others who serve God and realized that the wicked are on a path that leads to destruction. He realized that he had allowed bitterness and resentment tear him apart. He realized once more the joy of serving God. Let us remember this lesson so that we do not allow bitterness and resentment separate us from God. I will remember the wonderful things which God has done. I will testify to His greatness and love. I know the emptiness and pain which awaits those who turn from God and live in wickedness. No matter how pleasant their lives may appear, I do not wish to join them.

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Luke 9:28-50

    I never noticed this before, but the story of what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration is a bit of foreshadowing of what will happen in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain to pray. While Jesus was praying, Peter, James, and John fell asleep. While they slept, Jesus met with Moses and Elijah. They missed it! They woke up on the tail-end of the conversation. When Peter saw what was going on, he wanted to stay there, but the moment was over. How often does this happen to us? We “sleep” through a moment of great blessing, then when it is all but over, we try to freeze it and artificially extend the moment. Let us remember that God has a task for us in this world and times like the Mount of Transfiguration are to strengthen us to continue that task.
    All too often we strive to be the greatest, and seek to be honored as such. Jesus tells us that we should strive to be the servant of others, that we should not strive for authority. In God’s books it is those whom Man counts as the least who is counted as the greatest. I would rather be counted as great by God than by Man.

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Deuteronomy 18-20:20

    We are warned against being seduced by the practices of those around us who do not worship God. This is a difficult challenge for us. It is difficult to resist the blandishments. It is too easy to forget the reasons behind how God calls us to behave and instead act like those around us do. Let us keep our focus on God and avoid turning to omens and signs to determine our behavior. Even those who claim to be prophesying on God’s behalf may be leading us astray. When someone claims to speak on God’s behalf, let us listen to what they say will happen. If it does not come to pass, we will know that they do not speak for God.

April 1, 2013 Bible Study — Whoever Is Not Against You Is For You

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Daffodils blooming
Daffodils blooming

Deuteronomy 18-20:20

     Moses reminds the children of Israel that the tribe of Levi would not receive an allotment of land, that they would live on the offerings given to the Lord. He tells them to consider that fact in their offerings. Moses goes on to tell the children of Israel that they must not imitate the detestable practices of the people living in the land they are about to occupy. He details some of those detestable practices: sacrificing their children, divination, sorcery, casting spells, consulting the dead.
     Moses goes on to tell them that the Lord will raise up prophets to speak to them on His behalf and that the children of Israel should listen to such prophets. However, any prophet who presumes to speak on the Lord’s behalf whom the Lord has not commanded to do so, or who speaks on behalf of some other god, is to be put to death. Moses then tells them how to tell if a prophet is sent by God or not. If what the prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place, God has not sent them.
     Then Moses describes once more the cities of refuge that the children of Israel were to designate. They were to be places where someone could flee for safety if they unintentionally killed someone. However, these cities were not to offer protection to those who purposely killed someone. Moses sets up a standard of justice. No one is to be convicted of any crime on the testimony of a single witness, the matter must be established by the testimony of at least two or three witnesses in order to convict someone of a crime. Further if someone falsely accuses someone of a crime, if the judges prove the accuser to be a liar, the accuser shall be subject to the punishment for the crime of which they falsely accused another.
     Moses told the Israelites not to worry about the strength of their enemies armies when they go to war because God would be with them. When they prepare for battle, a priest is to come and address the army, giving it God’s blessing before the battle. After the priest has addressed the army, the officers are to send home anyone who has just built a new house or planted a new vineyard or become engaged, or for that matter is just afraid. Moses goes on to give further instructions on how they are to conduct wars.

More daffodils blooming
More daffodils blooming

Luke 9:28-50

     About eight days after explaining to the disciples that He had to die and be raised after three days, Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him up a mountain to pray. While Jesus was praying, His face changed and His clothing became brilliant like a lightning bolt. Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Jesus. Peter, James and John were sleeping when this began. They woke up to see Jesus in His full glory. Peter suggested that they build shelters for the three (Jesus, Moses and Elijah). While Peter was making this suggestion, a cloud descended and covered them and a voice came out of the cloud telling them to listen to Jesus. When the cloud lifted Jesus was alone with the three disciples.
     When Jesus came down from the mountain a father greeted Him with a request to heal his son. The father had brought his son to Jesus’ disciples but they had been unable to heal him. Jesus told the father to bring his son to Him. As the father was doing so, the demon threw the boy to the ground in a convulsion. Jesus rebuked the spirit and healed the boy, returning him to his father. The witnesses were amazed and praised God.
     While the crowd was “oohing and ahing” over the boy, Jesus once more told His disciples that He would be killed. The disciples did not understand what He was saying at the time. Meanwhile the disciples began arguing over which of them would be the greatest. Jesus responded to their argument by placing a child before them and telling them that whoever welcomed a child in His name welcomed Him. Jesus went on to tell them that the least among them was the greatest. John then told Jesus that they had seen someone casting out demons in His name and that they tried to stop him because he was not one of them. Jesus replied that they should not attempt to stop such people because whoever is not against them is for them.

Crocus blooms
Crocus blooms

Psalm 73:1-28

     The psalmist cries out that God is good to those who are pure in heart. Then he confesses that he almost allowed himself to be seduced away from God. He had become envious of the wicked and arrogant. He saw them living what appeared to be lives of ease. It appeared to him that it was a waste of time remaining faithful to God, that those who despised God and His commands lived a better life. He was tempted to proclaim this, but he kept silent and tried to understand. He made no progress until he entered into God’s presence to worship Him. Then he saw how their lives are truly empty and meaningless. The lives of the wicked will end in despair. In time our life on this earth will end, then only those who are sustained by God will find new life and the strength to continue.

Crocus blooms at ground level
Crcous blooms at ground level

Proverbs 12:10

     The righteous care for the needs of their animals, even when the wicked attempt to be kind, they are cruel. Those who take pleasure from the discomfort of other beings are inevitably evil. Those who are righteous are made unhappy when any thing suffers, even if it is a mere animal.