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Reflections on Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26
He Is Our Vine, Our Firstfruits Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Leviticus 23:9-14 describes the wave offering of the firstfruits. This was to take place on the day following the Sabbath following Passover. It was the firstday of the feast of weeks, a total of 7 weeks. The day following the seventh Sabbath was Pentecost (50th day, 49+1). Firstfruits was day 1, Pentecost was day 50. The first day following the Jewish Sabbath following Passover is now celebrated by Christians as Easter - a day celebrating Jesus Resurrection! The celebration of the first man who ever rose from the dead to live forever! Men had previously rose from the dead by the power of God, but each of them had died again! . God had thus deemed Christ the first man worthy to be called His own, raised and purified for eternal life! As Children of God, Jesus is our firstfruits. He is mankind's firstborn among many brethren! It is therefore fitting for us to come together before our Father on this day in thanksgiving and praise - and to celebrate this blessing of eternal life. Easter
Zechariah 3:8-10; 8 " 'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,' declares the Lord Almighty."
Revelation 12:9-11a "The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;"
Our testimony is nothing less than the word of God and the history of man. Through our firstborn brother, we claim this wandering Aramean, Abraham, as our own. In our bondage to sin, we have prospered and become many brethren! We have been freed from the bondage of sin and death by the blood of the Lamb (Passover). We have called out to God! He has become our Redeemer!
Isaiah 43:3 "For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom,"
Isaiah 49:26b "all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
Israel, we all have become your harvest! Thank you for bringing in the firstfruits. Thank you for Easter! Thank you for teaching all of us about the Holy One of Israel. Thank you for documenting His Story!
We Are His Branches Deuteronomy 26:12-15
Can we pray this prayer for blessing upon our land? Have we glorified our Lord with our honor and with our tithe? Have we cared for the poor and needy - again represented by the widow, the orphan, the alien? Have we cared for the Levite represented within our community - those individuals set apart on our behalf in the service of our Lord? It seems to me that Children of God, in seeking their Father have turned against their fellowman. They have produced widows and orphans! They have oppressed the alien and the poor! They have found themselves at enmity with God and man.
Have we cared thus for the living and celebrated the lives of our loved ones as they have passed from life to life? Have we cherished the sanctity of life through an offering of peace before our fellowman and done everything within our power to avoid the bloodshed of another human being as we present the Love of God? Have we presented our offerings before our Lord and God with honor, praise and thanksgiving and thus lifted up His name before our fellowman for His glory! Have we given Him incentive to bless our land?
Do we deserve to step across that line to live within His presence forevermore?
And the Greatest of These Deuteronomy 26:16-27:10
Don't get bogged down in all the rules. They have been summarized for us by the one who has become our firstfruits. Previously I have given the equation "Love God + Love Man." I think we can even simplify this a bit more:
In John 14:15 Jesus states "If you love me, you will obey what I command." and in John 14:23 He tells us who's words He speaks; "These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."
This is the same Jesus who spoke in Matthew 7:12; "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
He also spoke in Mark 12:30-31; "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
It seems to me the "Way" to Loving God is through Loving Man. Perhaps there is confusion as to whether this represents all of creation, or just all of man, or just the Christians, or just the Baptists, or just the Southern Baptists... I hope you get my point. Perhaps we have now found God within the law in all His purity.
LOVE!
Shouldering the Burden of Good vs. Evil Deuteronomy 27:11-26
Deuteronomy 11:29 "When the LORD your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses" http://www.bibleplaces.com/shechem.htm "Mts. Gerizim and Ebal"
Genesis 12:5b-7 "they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Genesis 33:18-20 "After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. (El Elohe Israel can mean God, the God of Israel or mighty is the God of Israel.)
Genesis 34 tells of Levi and Simeon killing Shechem and all the men of the town as Shechem had dishonored their sister Dinah. Genesis 37 tells of Joseph going to his brothers at Shechem where he was sold into slavery. Genesis 49, Israel condemns Levi and Simeon for dishonoring the family and their mighty God through their violence. Joshua 21:21 states that the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim became a city of refuge. In chapter Joshua 24, following a military career of conquests within the land of Canaan, Joshua assembled the tribes of Israel. He read the law and set up a stone. He died there and was buried.
http://www.bible-history.com/geography/maps/map_canaan_tribal_portions.html This map of tribal boundaries shows that the grouping of the Tribes who were to stand on the southern mountain, Mt. Gerizim became the southern tribes (except for the 1/2 tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan) and the tribes who were to gather on the northern mountain (Mt. Ebal) became the northern tribes as well as the tribes east of the Jordan. (except for 1/2 of the tribe of Dan). Note that Shechem lies within the territory of Manasseh although we noted Joshua 21:21 references the hill country of Ephraim. This may be due to the fact Joshua, an Ephraimite, was buried there.
The etymology of Shechem centers around two words; "early", and "burden". Perhaps then the law was given as a tool for man to separate good from evil, to know right from wrong. The history of the Israelites would provide plenty of wisdom for all of us regarding this warfare. Unfortunately, misunderstanding has caused the tool to create a seemingly heavy burden when love is removed. Thankfully, Christ removed the burden and shed the light of God on the purpose of love within.
Although the Levites were to stand on Mt. Gerizim to the south for blessing, it is they who lead the congregation for the 12 curses listed in Deuteronomy 27:15-26. It would appear all of the people on both mountains join in the response of "Amen".
(vs. 15) No idols. (Exodus 20:4.)
(vs. 16) Honor your parents. (Exodus 20:12, Leviticus 20:9)
(vs. 17) Don't bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16, Leviticus 19:14)
(vs. 18) Do not take the name of the Lord in vain (Exodus 20:7, Matthew 15:13-14)
(vs. 19) Do not Steal (Exodus 20:15, Malachi 3:5-10)
(vs. 20-23) Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 20:14-17)
(vs. 24-25) Do not Murder (Exodus 20:13, Matthew 26:14-15)
(vs. 26) LOVE (The Bible)
Reflections on Luke 10:38-11:13
The Virtue of Devotion Luke 10:38-42
Sitting at the feet of Jesus, taking the time to listen and learn. Life is better when a child of God takes time for devotions. Often I have found if I do not take time out for devotions, I don't appear to have time for anything else.
John 11:1-3 and John 12:1-11 claims this is the same Mary who anointed Jesus with the costly perfume. Her reputation of devotion to the master was well known.
Act of Worship (Workmanship) Luke 11:1-13 (Matthew 6:5-15)
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
James 2:14-17 "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
The Lord's prayer of Luke 11:2-4 and Matthew 6:9-13 is one of the most well known prayers today, although the words may have been changed to confuse its recitation. How many of us are working to put the prayer into action instead of just reciting the words and expecting God to do all the rest? This prayer is all about action and changing the Child of God from within. Let's look at the prayer and see if we mean what we pray.
(vs. 2) "Father, hallowed be your name," Webster uses words such as "sacred" and "revered". I think of fear - meaning "profound reverence and awe." Given what we have been studying in Deuteronomy regarding the law of Love, are we willing to honor our use of God's name as children of various religious groups in loving our fellow man, thereby bringing glory and honor unto Him as He calls all man to Himself? Are we willing to become less as we give Him more? Will we choose to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength? Or are we just hoping He will make the other people do all that religious stuff?
(vs 2) "your kingdom come" Are we praying for a rapture? Are we expecting Jesus to come and discipline all those bad boys who are not allowing peace to reign in our world? Do we really believe His words on the cross "It is finished" in that He has done His part and He needs us to bring on His Kingdom of Peace? If even the "Children of God" refuse to honor a God of Love and Love and Peace, what do we expect God can do about it? I expect He's going to wipe away more than just our tears if we keep condemning our neighbors just because we're too busy to get to know them. Life in our cliques claiming we're #1 and praying "thy Kingdom come" is a hypocritical test of God's patience.
(vs. 3) "Give us each day our daily bread" Will you work hard in faith so that you can supply both your own needs and be an answer to this prayer for someone not as lucky as you to have health and home? Will you reach out and be this answer to prayer for the widow or single mother, the orphan, the alien, or the Levite?
(vs. 4) "Forgive us our sins," Perhaps one of the most confusing words as it has been rendered debts or sins or trespasses. How have we wronged someone else? How can we make it right with them? Perhaps we need to control our finances better so that we don't get into debt in the first place! If we truly act in such a way as to limit our sinful nature we will find there is so much more time to get about doing all that loving, peaceful, and joyful stuff with family and friends and fellowmen.
(vs. 4) "for we also forgive everyone who sins against us." Do we? again, common words inserted here are sins, debts, or trespasses. Are you waiting for the other person to make the first move? "I'll forgive that so and so as soon as they get down on their knees before me, saying the words I expect in repentance! Forgive their debts - beyond the interest? You've got to be kidding! How could this world function if people just all forgave each other's debt! How could I survive? Oh yeah, I was worried about that already. (PS, if you need a biblical model for forgiving debt, perhaps you can use the seven year rule of Deuteronomy 15:1. Of course, you can still take advantage of the alien according to verse 3, right? Do we have the faith to miss a meal through spreading His righteousness lifting up His Glory?
(vs 4) "And lead us not into temptation" I'm pretty sure we can believe James 1:13-15 "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
But if its true that God does not lead us into temptation, why did Jesus tell us to pray like this? If we are to act as we pray, then we should avoid our evil desires. We should act like Mary above and sit at the feet of Our Father, spending time in His word, just as we witnessed Jesus had done when He faced temptation head on in Luke 4 and banished the adversary from His presence. Got God?
There is certainly nothing wrong with praying the prayer Jesus taught us in this scripture. The more we pray and the more these desires are on our hearts, the more apt we will be to act within accordance with the words we are praying and the more chance God will bless our efforts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7LJEUcmtw8&feature=related
Reflections on Psalm 76:1-12
It is pretty tough to get around this constant theme that the power of God is the same as the fruit of the Spirit.
The Law of Love: James 2:8 "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," (Leviticus 19:18) you are doing right."
The Joy of the Lord is our strength: Nehemiah 8:10 ""Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
King of Peace: Hebrews 7:2-3; "Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever."
(vs. 1-3) As King of peace, He has destroyed the weopons of war, the strength of men.
(vs. 4-6) Glorious and majestic! the men of war lay in peaceful sleep, stripped of their pride and nightmares.
(vs. 7-9) If wrath were to be judged by wrath, what would be the point. Man has been allowed to destroy man for thousands of years. 2 world wars and rumors too often of the third! What if man would focus on Peace and pursue it? What if they would do so in the name of God instead of imagining He would bring about the very thing he hates? The destruction of mankind. As the King of Peace, He shall destroy our wrath through he strength of His Joy when we truly understand His law of Love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9P1y7SMpps
(vs. 10-12) When wrath is nothing more than a fading mist, we shall join to sing "Our God is an awesome God!" Wage Peace on the earth in the name of your Father, our creator. Make your vows to the one who destroys the powers of men who refuse to serve the King of Peace.
Reflections on Proverbs 12:15-17
James 1:19 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,"
(vs. 15) How many of us show our foolishness by offering our advice? Perhaps wisdom comes best through the understanding gained through a listening ear.
(vs. 16) As verse 15 depicted "quick to listen, slow to speak" of James 1:19, so verse 16 adds "slow to become angry." Before responding in anger, act through compassion and understanding discerned through patient observation.
(vs. 17) We end with a reminder from our "Law of Love!" Be a good friend and brother. Do not bear false witness to cause troubles for others; Use your words to heal and provide blessings.
Until Tomorrow
Rick
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