today's meditation (Dt.27) Appreciating What God Has Done

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 27:1-26)  Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I am commanding you today. 2 So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime 3 and write on them all the words of this Law, when you cross over, so that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. 4 So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime. 5 Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God; 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 You shall write on the stones all the words of this Law very clearly.”

9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, Israel! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God. 10 So you shall obey the Lord your God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today.”

11 Moses also commanded the people on that day, saying, 12 “When you cross the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 For the curse, these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 The Levites shall then respond and say to all the people of Israel with a loud voice,

15 ‘Cursed is the person who makes a carved image or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall reply and say, ‘Amen.’

16 ‘Cursed is one who treats his father or mother contemptuously.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

17 ‘Cursed is one who displaces his neighbor’s boundary marker.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

18 ‘Cursed is one who misleads a person who is blind on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

19 ‘Cursed is one who distorts the justice due a stranger, an orphan, or a widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

20 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s garment.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

21 ‘Cursed is one who has sexual intercourse with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

22 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

23 ‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

24 ‘Cursed is he who attacks his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

25 ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to attack an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

26 ‘Cursed is anyone who does not fulfill the words of this Law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The Israelites entering the promised land is a lot like how a couple should enter their household and marriage.  If a spouse provides a home, and responsibly establishes fair and just ground rules as to how to maintain a healthy and loving relationship which is sacrificial and unconditional, wouldn't the other spouse willingly honor and respect that?  Wouldn't that already be the basis for one's love going into the marriage?  Don't people get married so that they can spend as much time together as possible?

When we become Christians (followers of Jesus Christ), He not only provides eternal life and a home of perfection in heaven, but a life of peace and joy while here on earth.  Because He loves us and wants the best for us, He also gives us guidance and direction towards maintaining a healthy, loving relationship with Himself and others.  

If we truly trust in God, we would trust that His guidance and direction is the best course for our lives, in every aspect.  We would desire to "be" with Him as much as possible, reading His word daily, and communicating with Him throughout the day, and eating every meal with Him!!!  And we would willingly and most definitely want to listen and obey and strive to live in His will!  

today's meditation (Dt.26) It is the Lord Who Saves

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 26:1-19) “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall respond and say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and resided there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. 6 And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our wretched condition, our trouble, and our oppression; 8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs and wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, Lord have given me.’ Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God; 11 and you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.

12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, in accordance with all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not violated or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have acted in accordance with everything that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy dwelling place, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey just as You swore to our fathers.’

16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to perform these statutes and ordinances. Therefore you shall be careful to perform them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. 18 And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, His personal possession, just as He promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments; 19 and that He will put you high above all the nations which He has made, for glory, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

When we believe in Jesus and declare that He is our Lord God and Savior, it is He Who raises us high, and it is He Who consecrates us.  Nothing else that we do can save us - except that we place the Lord God first in our lives.  God not only saves us and provides us with eternal life, but everything we have here on earth is from Him.  It is then, with all our heart and with all our soul, that we will desire to worship, rejoice, give, serve, listen, and obey in an outpouring response of thankfulness to His great love.  

today's meditation (Dt.25) Consider Life as Precious

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 25:1-19)  “If there is a dispute between people and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they declare the righteous innocent and pronounce the wicked guilty, 2 then it shall be if the wicked person deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and have him beaten in his presence with the number of lashes according to his wrongful act. 3 He may have him beaten forty times, but not more, so that he does not have him beaten with many more lashes than these, and that your brother does not become contemptible in your eyes.

4 “You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.

5 “When brothers live together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall have relations with her and take her to himself as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 It shall then be that the firstborn to whom she gives birth shall assume the name of his father’s deceased brother, so that his name will not be wiped out from Israel. 7 But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s widow shall come up to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, ‘This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house!’ 10 And in Israel his family shall be called by the name, ‘The house of him whose sandal was removed.’

11 “If two men, a man and his countryman, have a fight with each other, and the wife of one comes up to save her husband from the hand of the one who is hitting him, and she reaches out with her hand and grasps that man’s genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.

13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a correct and honest weight; you shall have a correct and honest measure, so that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God.

17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you came out of Egypt, 18 how he confronted you on the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 So it shall come about, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall wipe out the mention of the name Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Life is precious and it is to be justly protected!  God even gave instructions to protect the animals so they would not be worked to death.  We are to be fair in relationships, and in business dealings, and even in handing out consequences for criminal actions.  God specified the limit of lashes a person could tolerate before dying in order to protect the guilty who did not deserve death.  

God is very consistent!  Even with the fact that He never endorses polygamy.  So in verses 5-10, "when brothers live together" is another way of saying that the brothers living at home were young and not yet married.   God gave directions to protect a person's ability of having children - who were to look after them in their old age and carry on the family's name and responsibilities.  

It behooves us to remember that respecting and protecting life and justice is pleasing to the Lord!

today's meditation (Dt.24:6-22) Be Careful

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 24:6-22)  “No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge.

7 “If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he deals with him violently or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.

8 “Be careful against an infection of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.

10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. 11 You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. 13 When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you.

16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 “You shall not pervert the justice due an alien or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge. 18 But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

I'm seeing that verse 8 is VERY applicable to our current situation with the pandemic!  There are some Christians who have a very cavalier, and disrespectful attitude about wearing masks or keeping a social distance, thinking, "It's God's will that we meet together once a week and sing praises - so let's not worry about getting sick!  We should be able to do whatever we want, and God will protect us!"  

I know we should not fear anyone or anything except God, but God also asks us to use wisdom and be practical and obedient to laws.  Like leprosy, many diseases can spread, and even the Israelites were told to be careful and diligently strive to stay healthy!  This included social distancing.  None of us are above getting sick.  Even Moses' own sister got sick.  We live in a fallen, broken world, so getting sick can be a consequence of unrepented sin, but not necessarily so.  Getting sick can also be a test (consider Job).

The point is, we should not live in fear, but keep in mind that there are consequences to our actions, then with the motive of God's love, and in God's strength and guidance, we should do our best to live in God's will.

today's meditation (Dt.24:1-5) Working on Marriage

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 24:1-22)  “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, 2 and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.

5 “When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

From other scriptures, we know that divorce is never God's will.  He desires that we go into marriage with the right person.  Both husband and wife should desire to work on the marriage to make it work.  And it is - even in the best scenarios - a lot of work!!!  And it takes BOTH working on the marriage.

And let me just say, working on the marriage is not about trying to get your own way.  It is not about what you get out of marriage, but what you put into it.  It is not about seeking your own happiness, but as verse 5 says, we are to give happiness.  We are to serve one other.  

When both people are giving 100%, then both will be receiving 100%.  And as both grow closer to God, both will grow closer to each other in God's unconditional, sacrificial love and strength... with a continued desire to work on the marriage.  Marriage isn't a fairy tale which ends happily ever after.  I can't say it enough - marriage is work - and it is until one dies.  But when it works, it is so worth it!

today's meditation (Dt.23) Emotional, Physical and Spiritual Health

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 23:1-25)  “No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 3 No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord, 4 because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. 6 You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.

7 “You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. 8 The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

9 “When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

10 “If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not reenter the camp. 11 But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may reenter the camp.

12 “You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, 13 and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement. 14 Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.

15 “You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.

17 “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

19 “You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. 20 You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the Lord your God will surely require it of you. 22 However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. 23 You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised.

24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket.

25 “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

God always deserves our very best.  And God wants the best for us, emotionally, physically and spiritually;  and so He gives us guidelines as to how to achieve that.  Part of this involves developing a healthy community of believers.  It is so important to have spiritual leaders who have a solid foundation in God's word and are always striving to live in God's will, because for anyone going into any of these ministries, there is a higher standard expected.  

I have seen it happen where someone felt called to be a pastor or missionary, but they really were not equipped for that ministry.  The outcome was never good.  So it is not fair to others or to yourself if you take on something that you shouldn't.  Great intentions might be there, but understand that God does love us and gives each one of us purpose.  

God desires that we all serve in the areas where He directs us with how He has gifted us.  As we all work together in unity, and remain focused on God, while doing everything in the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit, this is when and how we produce fruit of the Spirit.

today's meditation (Dt.22) Actions Have Consequences

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 22:1-30)  “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. 2 If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. 3 Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them. 4 You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.

5 “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

6 “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.

8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it.

9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled.

10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

11 “You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together.

12 “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.

13 “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then turns against her, 14 and charges her with shameful deeds and publicly defames her, and says, ‘I took this woman, but when I came near her, I did not find her a virgin,’ 15 then the girl’s father and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of the girl’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 The girl’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man for a wife, but he turned against her; 17 and behold, he has charged her with shameful deeds, saying, “I did not find your daughter a virgin.” But this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. 18 So the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give it to the girl’s father, because he publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. And she shall remain his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days.

20 “But if this charge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, 21 then they shall bring out the girl to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed an act of folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her father’s house; thus you shall purge the evil from among you.

22 “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 “If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.

25 “But if in the field the man finds the girl who is engaged, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lies with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the girl; there is no sin in the girl worthy of death, for just as a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, so is this case. 27 When he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.

28 “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.

30 “A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Again, God gives directions as to how to protect the vulnerable and innocent, while making sure to punish the ones who are committing the crimes/sins.  If the Israelites were all living in God's will, and doing the things that God commanded, then there would be no need for these laws, because these situations would not happen.  But no one is perfect, and so these things do happen.

When I read verses 28 and 29, I struggle a bit.  But I see the reasoning behind this law, which puts the onus on the man - to think - before acting!!!  If a man rapes a woman who is engaged or married to someone else, he deserves death (verses 23 and 24).  But if he rapes a woman who is not engaged or married, he must marry her and be responsible for her all of her days.  That should make a man think!!!

Our actions have consequences.  And sometimes we suffer the consequences of someone else's actions.  So male or female - one should pray that God protects us from evil!!!  We should also try to be careful where we go, what we say, and what we wear...  I know in today's society, women claim that we should be free to wear whatever we want, say whatever we want, do whatever we want... and men should not even look at us in a derogatory way.  Very true.  BUT we live in a fallen world. 

We should be studying God's word and praying, so that whatever we say and do is all to God's glory.

today's meditation (Dt.21:10-23) Applying God's Love

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 21:10-23)  “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take them away captive, 11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house, and mourn her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 It shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money, you shall not mistreat her, because you have humbled her.

15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn. 17 But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.

18 “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, 19 then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. 20 They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.

22 “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

To apply these principles today, realize these verses are NOT saying that having an unbelieving wife is okay, or that having more than one wife is okay, or even that divorce is okay.  God is giving laws and directives in order to protect the vulnerable.  

The scripture above tells me more about how God looks after people, to make sure that society treats everyone fairly.  We should never facilitate or overlook bad behavior, while at the same time, we should never take advantage or abuse the "innocent".

It's amazing how quickly our "love" can become self-centered, selfish, manipulative and/or oblivious.  That is not love, it is the opposite of agape love, and it is sin.  We have to consciously learn what God's love is and apply that to our lives, actions and words.

today's meditation (Dt.21:1-9) Confessing Sins Corporately

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)

(Deuteronomy 21:1-23)  “If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. 3 It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. 6 All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. 9 So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Digging up history that is bitter, and putting it into the hands of an antagonist is very dangerous.  What I see in society right now is an unrest that is spurred on by social media, with a lot of angry accusations and finger pointing.  But where are the attempts to bring about reconciliation, resolution, unity and peace.  "Both sides" are feeling bullied, yet as they fight for "justice" and their "rights" they only make the situation worse by expressing bitterness.  

We cannot fight for MORE equality when the laws and the constitution already proport equal justice for all.  How it is often managed, can be questionable, and even criminal.  And there may be some community laws that need updating.  So each case and situation is unique, with different people involved, and those are the things which should be examined and those are the people who should be held accountable.  But society has taken certain incidences and made them into a national issue which has created the monster of disunity.  

Who is to blame?  Because so many years have past, and so many things have changed, we cannot point to any specific person or group of people.  "We" are all to blame.  The nation, the communities, the "sides", each individual - we all need to look at our part - our role - and confess our sins.  

I've never thought of this before, but I see the value of corporate confession.  And this certainly is applicable to church congregations!!!  If we as a whole recognize the issue and realize the need for confession and forgiveness, we could heal as a nation or a church. and begin to strive together towards peace and unity.