Day #48
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 20 - 22 ...
There are parts of the Bible that are "easier" to
read than others. Some parts of the Books of Moses, the Book of the Law,
describe commands that are difficult for us to imagine, or even to comprehend. As you read these chapters you need to keep
something in mind: Mankind is utterly and totally sinful and without
restraint we would act no differently than animals. Throughout history
there are countless examples of "man's inhumanity to man," and
in every case people act shocked and surprised that people could do such
horrible things. God reveals in His Word the truth that we are all
infected with a disease that, if left untreated, is fatal and leads to eternal
death 100% of the time.
In the days of Moses the people of Israel were just
becoming a nation. They did not yet understand fully their identity as
the people of God. The nations around them worshiped other gods and did
things like offering their children as sacrifices to their gods - burning them
alive. Israel was supposed to be different. They were supposed to
be holy. God's commandments told them to love God and to love their
neighbor as themselves. But human nature, left to itself, is focused on
SELF. All you need to do to prove that point is to look around you.
Here in Deuteronomy God gives guidelines to His people to keep their sin
and rebellion in check.
We begin in Chapter 20, with God instructing the
people about war. Even these instructions reveal that this nation is
different because THIS nation belongs to the LORD, their God! God tells
them when they go to war, "do not be afraid of them, because the LORD
your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you" (20:1).
“The PRIEST shall come forward and address the army, saying, ‘Do not be
fainthearted or afraid: do not be terrified or give way to panic before
them. For the LORD your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you
against your enemies to give you victory’" (20:2-4).
God gave them specific instructions, telling
them, "Do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely
destroy them ... Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable
things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your
God" (20:16, 18). We read a short time later in the first
chapter of the book of Judges that they did not drive out the Canaanites, and
they lived to regret it. They continually gave into the temptation of the
gods of the nations around them and worshiped them and did all sorts of foolish
and dishonorable things. So when you get to the rest of the instructions
in these chapters you need to understand the recurring phrase, "You
must purge the evil from among you."
God speaks about "innocent blood" (21:1-9),
and then He speaks about how to treat a woman taken captive during war and of
the right of firstborn sons for someone who has two wives. Human nature
needs restraint; the sinful nature must be controlled. These laws were
made necessary because the people were imitating the actions of the nations
around them and God was actually protecting them. But what about the
rebellious son who was to be taken out of the camp and stoned? God says, "You
must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be
afraid" (21:21). How could God condone such a thing?
Few people today recognize the infectious nature of
sin. Imagine the worst virus the world has ever known ... a virus that
causes death 100% of the time. One person in your family has the disease
... what do you do to protect the rest of the family? It sounds extreme
and we are obviously not called to do that today ... or are we? God calls
the Church to exercise discipline in the Body by excluding those who turn away from
the truth and indulge in sinful rebellion against God. In much the same
way God calls the Church to purge evil from among us. That doesn't mean
that any of us are without sin, but that where there is no repentance and no
desire to please God, that person is to be warned, and if they do not confess
their sin and turn back to God, they are to be removed from being part of the Body.
Sin is serious and the decline of the church today and its influence on
society can be traced to an almost total lack of biblical discipline.
In
the midst of these laws we find one of the most significant truths revealed in
the Old Testament ... 21:23: "anyone who is hung on a tree is
under God's curse." As Paul writes about putting our faith in
Jesus, he explains, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by
becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on
a tree'" (Galatians 3:13). Sin brings God's curse. From
the Garden of Eden forward mankind lies under the curse of God's just judgment.
The Law reveals mankind's depravity, mankind's sin, and the need for
controlling it ... and the need for a CURE!!
Praise God, following the pouring out of His
Spirit, God overcomes the curse and sets free those who are born again.
The Spirit controls what we cannot! Paul explains it all in his
letter to the Romans: "The mind of sinful man is death, but the
mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to
God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled
by the sinful nature cannot please God" (Romans 8:6-8). Then he
says to believers, "YOU, however, are controlled not by the sinful
nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. ... And if the
Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His
Spirit, who lives in you" (Romans 8:9-11).
Through His law God kept His people from destroying
themselves and kept a "godly seed," a "remnant,"
throughout the centuries leading up to Christ's birth. Today His
Spirit works in the remnant that is saved by grace through faith in Jesus.
Praise God for His amazing grace!
"Almighty God, You are the Lawgiver and Judge
of all mankind and all that You do is good and right. Only through the
knowledge of Your truth can we find freedom from the curse of the Law through
faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. As we see the horrible depravity of mankind,
continue to move us to confess our own sin, our own need for a Savior, and give
us grace to repent, to turn away from sin and to pursue righteousness for Your
Name's sake, that we may be a people holy to the Lord, our God. In Jesus'
name, Amen"
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