Bible Through the Year: Episode 18

Week 18 Devotion

Last week I gave a brief introduction to the book of Psalms and this week I want to dig a little deeper into its structure and organization. I also want to talk a little bit about the book of Chronicles.

Let’s start once again with the book of Psalms, which is a book that contains 150 Hebrew poems, songs, and prayers. 73 of these are attributed to David, 28 are attributed to other specific authors and there are 49 Psalms that remain anonymous. Now many of these Psalms were originally sung by choirs made up of Priests, “whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord (I Chron 6:31).” These men were Levites and they were appointed to sing the praises of Yahweh as their primary ministry service.

But the book of Psalms was organized and arranged as we have it today after the time of David, in fact, it was put together some-time after Israel’s exile in Babylon. Last week I mentioned how this book is broken up into 5 smaller parts/books and this is easy to see in our Bible translations, just take a look at the heading above the 1st Psalm. Each of these sections has a very similar benediction and by the time you get to the end of the Psalter you will see that the last 5 Psalms all start with the same phrase, “Praise the Lord!” Those last five Psalms serves as the conclusion to the book as a whole.

Psalms 1 and 2 form the introduction to the Psalter. Psalm 1 talks about the blessings that will come to those who meditate on the Law of God, which is a reference to the Torah or the first 5 books of the Bible. Psalm 2 is a poem about the Messianic promise given to King David in 2 Samuel 7 and this Psalm ends by saying, “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him,” meaning in the future messianic king.

This introduction lets us know that when we read from the book of Psalms we are reading the prayer book of God’s people. It encourages us to be faithful to God’s Word and to put our hope in the messianic king that is to come. If you want to learn more about this book I would encourage you to head over to thebibleproject.com and check out their video on Psalms. While you’re there check out all their resources, they’re fantastic visual overviews and lessons on the Bible that are wonderfully done. So check them out.

The other book that we are going to be reading this week is the book of Chronicles and this book is more than just a repeat of the history we read in 1 and 2 Samuel. Chronicles actually serves as a chronicle of the whole of Biblical history. The book begins by giving the genealogy of humanity starting with Adam and moving all the way to David, who serves as the key figure for this book.

The theme of the book is the significance of the covenant God made with David and the hope that it brings to God’s people. This theme would have been especially helpful given that the book was written during or after the point in time when the Davidic kingdom had fallen and the nation of Israel had been taken into exile in Babylon. This book was written to remind Israel that God still had a plan for them that was connected to the line/family lineage of King David. We will be reading more about this specific promise next week.

Here is something to discuss…

In the book of Chronicles, we get the impression that the author wants to put us on the fast track when it comes to seeing David established as King over all Israel. We don’t read the stories from David’s youth but instead, we pick up in chapter 11 with David being crowned as King over all Israel. Now by this point, he had already been crowned as king of Judah but now the entire nation is united under David’s kingship and his first act as king was to establish his capital city.

Jebus was the city on the hill that David had his eye on but there was a problem; the city was controlled by a group of people known as the Jebusites. David brought his forces to the city and they captured it making it the stronghold of David. He renamed it Jerusalem. His next act as king was to have the Ark brought to the city and set up in a new tabernacle. Then as the Ark was coming into the city David danced before the Lord. He was celebrating that God’s presence was once again coming to dwell in the midst of the people.

David is a much different king than Saul. Over and over again we read that David would stop what he was doing and put his plans on hold until he had consulted with the Lord. Over and over we read these simple phrases like, “And David inquired of God.” In chapter 15 when preparations were being made for the Ark to be brought into the city it was David who gave instruction for how the Ark was to be carried because he read about it in the Word of the Lord.

The Chronicler wants us to see the differences between Saul who did not keep the command of the Lord (1 Chronicles 10:13-14) and David who consistently consulted the Word of the Lord. David was doing what God had commanded the King of Israel to do. The king was to copy down the word of God and meditate on it day and night so that he might lead God’s people according to God’s commands.

Now, we know that David wasn’t able to do this perfectly. In fact, he sins big time later on in this book and it causes a whole host of problems for God’s people. But something is going to happen in chapter 17 that will make all the difference. As David seeks to build a house for God (a temple) God refuses to let him do so. And instead, God promises to build a house for David. This house will be established by God and it will last forever. One of David’s own descendants will sit upon the throne and His kingdom will never fail.

This promise is about Jesus who comes from the line of David and brings Salvation to all God’s people. Jesus is the better David who laid down His life for our freedom and who never fails to lead us according to the pure Word of God.

Take some time to discuss the early life of David paying special attention to the differences between David and Saul. Also take some time to discuss the similarities to David’s first acts as king and the first acts of Jesus as King of Kings. David claimed a city as his own, when Jesus comes He will claim the world as His own…

Here is something to meditate on…

Next let’s turn our attention to Psalms 1 and 2 which serve as the introduction to the book of Psalms. I’ve already mentioned that these two psalms hold out the hope of blessing that comes to those who meditate on the Word of God and the blessing that comes to those who put their trust in God’s coming Messianic King. What I would like for us to meditate on this week is the fact that these two Psalms lay ground-work for the gospel in our lives.

Psalm 1 talks about the man who is blessed and contrast that with the sinner who will face God’s judgment. The blessed man reads God’s Word, stays rooted in it and bears fruit from it. The blessed man will endure the seasons of hardship and even the judgment of God. The blessed man or woman need only delight in the law of God and turn to it day and night; if he does this blessing will come and that’s where Psalm 1 poses a challenge for us.

The truth is that none of us can maintain this level of devotion to the Word of God. We might sincerely try to be faithful and to devote ourselves to this life but our sin is greater than our devotion. So while we should strive to live this blessed life the reality is that we will fail, time and time again.

But the next Psalm opens the door to our greater hope in the messianic king in whom we can take refuge. The blessings of God will come to us not through our obedience but through our Savior and as we come to take refuge in Him we will learn obedience to Psalm 1 in a whole new light. It is not by our obedience that salvation will come but through the Messiah we will take refuge in the true Passover Lamb and in our joy at His grace we will be transformed by the renewing power of God’s Word.

Take some time to meditate on these two Psalms and how they point us to Christ in specific and unique ways.

Here is something to pray about…

Psalm 106 is a Psalm of praise to God for all that He has done throughout the history of Israel. This Psalm starts by looking at the work of God during the Exodus account and then it follows the history of Israel all the way to the point of exile. It shows two things the faithlessness of the people and the faithfulness of God.

I want you to take the time to read through this Psalm, think about the pattern that you see and consider how this pattern shows up in your own life. Consider the incredible mercy and grace of God. Consider the steadfast love that He shows us every day. Consider the promises that He has made that haven’t yet come to pass and think about the fact that these will be ours despite our repeated disobedience.

Think about the fact that our God loves us enough to discipline us, to teach us obedience through discipline, but at the end of the day He still:

44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. 45 For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Take the time to pray through this Psalm paying special attention to praising God for His amazing love for His people.

 

 
 

Bible Through the Year: Episode 17

Bible Through The Year.jpg

Week 17 Devotion

So last week we finished up 1 Samuel and began 2 Samuel, but this week we are going to shift over and read the opening chapters of Chronicles which coincides with the life of David. I Chronicles parallels the books of Samuel but in some ways it goes even deeper into the life of David as he rules over the nation of Israel. Now, I really enjoy reading these books (Samuel, Kings and Chronicles) because they are rich with details that allow these old stories to come to life.

These books may seem boring to those who don’t care for history and genealogies, but if you are willing to read slowly and carefully you will be rewarded. For instance, as you read about the mighty men of David you will notice that one of the names is a familiar one, Urriah the Hittite. Urriah was one of David’s personal bodyguards. He had been with him ever since the days in the cave when David was on the run from King Saul.

Urriah had fought with David, bled with David and had celebrated military successes with David. The fact that he was part of David’s personal guard meant that he was probably part of laying out the battle plans and he would have taken a leading role in every battle. But this same Urriah was also the one married to Bathsheba.

David’s notorious fall into adultery and murder comes at the expense of one of his most trusted friends. Facts like this help the story to come to life and they remind us that we are dealing with real people, who have real problems, and who need God’s grace and forgiveness just like us. So read these historical books carefully and I trust that you will be rewarded.

Also this week we will continue to read in the Psalms, particularly the Psalms of David. One thing I haven’t discussed over the past few weeks is that the book of Psalms is really 5 books. If you go back and look at Psalm 1 you will notice that there is a title above the text that says, “Book One.” The Psalter, book of Psalms, is broken down into 5 parts/books and they are as follows:

Book One: Psalm 1-41

Book Two: Psalm 42-72

Book Three: Psalm 73-89

Book Four: Psalm 90-106

Book Five: Psalm 107-150

The Psalm at the end of each book serves as a benediction and Psalm 150 serves as the benediction for the entire Psalter. As you read through the various Psalms make sure that you don’t skip over the introduction or the superscription that comes before verse 1. These help us to understand the historical setting of when and why this Psalm was written.

Here is something to meditate on…

Let’s look more closely at Psalm 8 which starts off by saying:

O Lord our Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Now, this is a psalm of David and it is a song about the dignity and purity and power of God. It highlights that His name is more majestic than all of the creation. All that there is to see from the vantage point of living on this planet is limited in majesty compared to our God. God’s glory is above the heavens meaning that the sun, moon, stars and planets in the sky are nothing compared to the majesty and beauty and glory of God.

You get the picture as you read this of David laying on the ground in the evening after a long day of tending sheep and he is looking up at the starry night sky marveling at all that he can see. But then his heart begins to soar, not at the thought of the stars themselves, but at the thought of the One who made the stars, to begin with.

In verse 3 we read this:

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

David’s marveling at the night sky has just turned into worship. He can’t help but marvel at the wonder of God who made all things like it was child’s play. God fashioned the heavens with his fingers, like a child forming creatures from his imagination out of clay. But then as David meditates on the power and glory of God, he is pierced in his heart to think that this same God also cares about you and me.

David is meditating on the space between God’s transcendence and His immanence. He is trying to reconcile the fact that God holds the universe in the palm of His hand and at the same time has the hairs on our head numbered.

Take some time to meditate on this Psalm and wonder along with David at the majesty of our God.

Here is something to discuss…

Next, let’s turn our attention to Psalms 42 and 43. Many scholars think these two should be combined to form one Psalm that opens up book 2 of the Psalter. If you read them both

through you can see why. This is a psalm of desperation where the psalmist is crying out for God but also seeking to encourage his own soul.

The psalms start out by drawing attention to the deer who pants for water and this is not a comforting image. This deer is parched and dying of thirst, longing for the cool flowing streams that will revive him and keep him alive. The psalmist is desperate in the same way for God himself. He is thirsty for God and he needs God to answer him but the problem is that God seems far away.

There are times in our Christian life when we feel that our prayers go unheard. There are times in our lives when we don’t experience the joy of God’s presence, when temptation seems always to get the better of us, and our souls are cast down. Be comforted that you are not the only believer to go through such times.

But also follow the instruction of this brother who would not allow his heart to abandon the pursuit of God. Notice in Psalm 42:5, 11, and 43:5 that he rebukes his own heart when he says:

Why are you cast down, O my soul and why are you in turmoil with me? Hope in God…

This might seem like a subtle twist in a work of poetry but in reality, this brother is preaching the gospel to his own heart while he is in the midst of spiritual depression. He is honest about the struggle that he is going through but he is also honest about what he needs to do. His soul is cast down but he needs to remind his soul that his hope is in God.

Take some time to read through these two psalms and take note how the author battles his fear by renewing his hope in God. Take some time to talk with others about how to preach the good news to your own heart as a way to let truth strengthen us in times of trial.

Here is something to pray about…

I am tempted to draw your attention to 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 and have you read through and pray the prayer of Jabez, but I think I’ll go in a different direction. Let me encourage you to choose one of the Psalms for this week and simply let that psalm guide you in a time of prayer. Put yourself in the author's frame of mind and cry out to God following the same pattern of thinking that he is using.

Pray with your eyes open on the Bible and your heart focused on God and as you read each verse let your prayer flow from the page through your mouth and into the throne room of God.

 

Bible Through the Year: Episode 16

Week 16 Devotion

You might remember from last week that the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel were originally written as one book but it was broken into two because of the length and these two books tell the stories of 3 men: Samuel, Saul, and David. These books show us the beginning of Israel as a Kingdom and right off the bat, we realize that Israel having a king is not going to solve all of their problems.

The prophet Samuel even told the people of Israel that if they want a king then they need to prepare themselves for all that goes along with having a king. Samuel told them that having a king means that there will be a man reigning over the people. This king would take the sons of Israel and make them his servants and his soldiers. This king would take their daughters as well and put them to work. The king would take their land, their goods, their taxes and in the end the people would feel like slaves to this king…but they wanted one anyway.

So the first man up was Saul and he was a bit of a disaster. He became king because he was taller and more handsome than anyone else, not the best criteria for choosing a king. He rose to power quickly and almost as quickly he disqualifies himself from the office. In short, he keeps disobeying God and so, God takes His anointing away from Saul and places it on a young shepherd by named David.

But the transition from Saul to David didn’t go very smoothly. The old king gets jealous and tries on numerous occasions to kill David. David on the other hand, is fighting battles and winning, he is earning the respect and praise of his fellow Israelites, and through it all, he remains faithful to God. David builds a close friendship with Saul’s son Jonathon who helps David escape from his father’s plot to murder David.

The drama of Saul and David is threatening to tear the nation apart and just when you think things couldn’t get worse, we read chapter 25 and learn that Samuel has died.

Here is something to discuss…

As a prophet of God, Samuel holds the unique position of being the one to anoint the first two kings of Israel. He was reluctant to do so at first because as a judge for the nation the people were rejecting his own family from ruling over them. But there was an even greater reason and it had to do with what the people actually wanted.

Here is what they said to Samuel,

“Behold you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

Israel did not want a righteous king to come in and lead them in covenant faithfulness, they wanted a champion king, a despot lord to rule the land and strike fear into their enemies. Once again they did not want to be faithful to God’s covenant; they wanted to be like the other pagan nations around them. In response, God tells Samuel to go ahead and appoint a king adding, “They have not rejected you, they have once again rejected me.”

Like Joshua and Moses, Samuel was allowed to see the promises of God become a reality but he also saw the sinfulness of Israel bring about their rejection of God. And yet, Samuel died in the hope that David, the anointed king of Israel, would be a better king than the one that came before him.

This is our hope as well. The failure of the judges and the kings is a sign of something. It is a sign that the king we need and the king we want is better than what has come before.

Our Redeemer will be a man of faith, like Abraham, but better. He will be a prophet of just commands and mighty deeds, like Moses, but better. He will be a king to rule us and defend us, like David, but better. There is a lot to Jesus, and the OT paints his portrait with one brush stroke after another as the story continues. (Ray Ortlund)

Do you remember the theme of this book that we talked about last week? “God humbles the proud but gives grace to the humble.” The drama unfolding between Saul and David is one where God is bringing down the proud but exalting the humble. But in our Genesis 3 world even humble men are broken by sin. David is not perfect and he will prove his imperfection on more than one occasion.

But Jesus is not like the leaders who came before Him. He lives in the Genesis 3 world but His heart isn’t corrupted by the world. He experienced the pain of this world, the brokenness of this world, the hatred that this world has for God, but through it all Jesus’ heart remained pure and His devotion to the Father did not waiver or fail. Jesus is the true and better King who remained faithful to God and led His people out of their sin.

Perhaps it would be a good exercise to discuss how Jesus is better than the men we see in 1 Samuel. Discuss how we see the theme playing out that “God humbles the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Discuss how ungodly power proves to be weakness and how godly weakness proves to be powerful.

Here is something to meditate upon…

Once again we will be reading from the Psalms this week and these psalms coincide with what is going on in David’s life. Now David’s life can be broken up into four sections: First, his early days as the unknown but anointed future king, Second, his being in and out of favor with king Saul, Third, His reign as King with the favor of God upon him, and finally, he faces the trouble that his sins have caused.

David’s story is fascinating to read from the historical narrative, but it is made even richer when you put the Psalms of David in their proper place. This week I want us to meditate upon Psalm 63 as we read the story of David. Psalm 63 was written while David was in the Wilderness of Judah and like much of David’s life this point was filled with trouble.

As a man of war, David was always surrounded by enemies. As a king he was always looking over his shoulder. His life was filled with trouble but the one constant was his love for God and we see that coming out in this Psalm.

David is in trouble but he is still seeking God, he is thirsty for God, fainting even. But he takes comfort by thinking on the Lord in His temple. He is reminding himself that God is still on His throne. Whatever trouble he may be going through, God is still with him and His steadfast love is still upon David.

Take some time to meditate on this Psalm and try to put yourself in David’s story. What are the troubles you’re facing? What are the trials of your life? What are the big decisions that you have in front of you? What are the worries that keep you up at night?

Think on these things and let David’s confidence in God’s steadfast love comfort you. Let the reality of God’s covenant-keeping love bring you peace in the midst of life’s trouble

Here is something to pray about…

As we continue to read the book of Samuel we enter into the 2nd part. Saul and Jonathon have died. David is anointed as king over the tribe of Judah and the story continues. But before it does, David teaches a song of lament to his people. In 2 Samuel 1 we read the song that David wrote to honor and remember King Saul and his son Jonathon.

In the song, there is this refrain, “How the mighty have fallen…” In our post-Genesis 3 world all men die but the sting is felt by an entire nation when one of their leaders falls. Death is the great enemy of us all. It is the unwelcome visitor who comes to take away our loved ones before we are ready to see them go. Unless the Lord returns in our lifetime we will all fall victim to its tyranny.

But, death will not have the final say. There was no one mightier than Jesus and He was taken by death, but death couldn’t hold Him. Death is a form of God’s judgment on our sin but Jesus didn’t die under judgment for His own crimes, He was sinless. Jesus died under the judgment of our crimes, for the sinful crimes against God of all those who believe.

By the sovereign plan of God, Jesus death was credited to our account, as was His righteousness. And the glorious result of this divine transaction is that Jesus was not required to remain under death’s dominion. God raised Him from death and He lives today. By grace, we too will one day live forever. We may pass through death but it will not have the final word. Christ’s victory will be our own.

Take some time to pray to God and thank Him for the cross and the empty tomb. Pray that you will be able to face death, whenever it comes, with the confidence that Christ will have the final word.

 

 
 

Bible Through the Year: Episode 15

Week 15 Devotion

As we came to the end of the book of Judges it was clear that in the absence of wise and faithful leaders, like Moses and Joshua, the people of Israel fell into chaos and intense moral corruption. As a nation, Israel made a covenant to trust in the Lord and love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. But in reality, they abandoned Yahweh, began to worship false gods and in the end, they simply did what was right in their own eyes. This downward and sinful spiral into chaos and moral corruption is the theme of the book of Judges.

But as we enter into the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel we have hope that this trend is going to change…and to some degree, it will. The books of 1st and 2nd Samuel were originally written as one book that was broken into two because of the length and these two books tell the stories of 3 men: Samuel, Saul, and David. And these books serve as character studies contrasting wickedness and faithfulness, pride and humility.

Now, the major part of these books focuses on the first two kings over Israel but before we meet these kings we are introduced to a God-fearing family. The book opens with a focus on the family of a man named Elkanah who had two wives. One of his wives was named Hannah and up to this point, she had no children. So she prayed for God to bless her with a child and God answers her prayer. Then when the child is born she is so thankful to God that He gave her a son that she turns around and gives her son back to God.

She takes her son whose name is Samuel and she gives him to Eli the priest so that Samuel can be trained as a servant of God. While all of this is taking place there is still a great deal of trouble in the nation. Eli has two sons and they are both wicked men who have no regard for the people and even less regard for God. Eli himself was a pretty lousy priest and father. So as this book gets underway we see that God is moving to bring an end to the wicked leadership that has led Israel into sin and He is going to raise up new leaders who will lead the people to follow the Lord.

Here is something to discuss…

There is a theme that runs through this book and we see it begin to unfold in chapter 2 as the focus of Hannah’s prayer. “God humbles the proud but gives grace to the humble.” We see this theme play out in chapter 4 when a battle breaks out between the army of Israel and the army of the Philistines. The opening skirmish results in Israel being defeated and this causes the Elders of Israel to come up with a plan to send for the ark of the covenant. Literally they “fetch” the ark and bring it to the battle-field with the hopes that it will help them win the battle.

Rather than humbling themselves, repenting of their sins and crying out to God for deliverance like they have done before; these men expect to win the battle simply because they brought the ark out and placed it before their army. They are treating the ark like it is some kind of magic trophy that will grant them the victory they desire. But God opposes them for their arrogance, Israel loses the battle and the ark is captured by the Philistines.

Then the two sons of Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas, are killed in battle and when their father learns of their death he too falls over, breaks his neck and dies. In one day the army of Israel is defeated, the ark of the covenant is captured, and the priest and his sons all die. Next, we learn that Phinehas, the dead priest, had a wife who was pregnant. At the end of chapter 4 she gives birth to a son and right before she dies she named the child, “Ichabod,” which means no glory.

Because of their pride and arrogance, God has removed the presence of His glory from the people of Israel. “God humbles the proud” and at the same time, God proves that He doesn’t need Israel to fight His battles. The Philistines place the ark in one of their temples next to the statue of their patron god Dagon. And while the people slept Yahweh destroys the statue of Dagon and then He brings judgment on the Philistines.

But in the next chapter, God once again extends grace to Israel. Through God’s providence the ark is restored to the people and with it comes a renewed sense of awe and humility.

There are two things that the Lord is concerned with in this whole exchange: His own glory and His covenant with Israel. God will not allow His glory to be treated like a toy nor will He allow His glory to be diminished by the wickedness of His people. He loves His people for sure, but He loves His glory more.

At the same time, the glory of God is linked with His love for the people and we see this in 1 Sam 12:22:

And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.

Discuss how the unfolding of events on chapters 1-6 reveals God’s concern for His glory. Discuss how the unfolding of events from chapters 1-6 reveals God’s love for His people. Then as you continue to read throughout the week, talk about how these two (God’s glory and God’s love) are linked together in the stories of Saul and David.

Here is something to meditate upon…

The next section of the book opens up with Israel’s pursuit of a king. They want to have a king like all the other nations and Samuel doesn’t like this new direction. By this time Samuel is serving as the judge over Israel as well as their prophet and he knows that appointing a king will give the opportunity for Israel to fall away from trusting in the Lord. He knows that the nation as a whole might be led astray by the corruption of prideful men. But God comforts Samuel and tells him to give the people what they want.

The thing they want is a tall, handsome king who can lead their army in battle. They want a man who looks the part on the outside and that is what God gives them. Saul is taller than the other men and more handsome than them as well, but just because he looks the part does not mean he will be a good king. As we get to know Saul it becomes clear that he is a man with some serious issues.

Saul was reluctant to be singled out as king and hid himself from the people. Next we see that he treats the commands of God with a certain lack of respect when he offered a sacrifice that only the priest, Samuel, was appointed to offer. Then Saul makes a rash vow that endangers the army of Israel and ends up bringing shame onto his son Jonathon. Finally, we see Saul completely disregard the command of God to utterly destroy the Amalekites and this proves to be the last straw.

When Samuel shows up at the end of the battle in chapter 15 he hears the noise of animals and he sees that Saul has failed to carry out the Lord’s command. Samuel rebukes Saul and announces to him that God has rejected him from being king. The kingdom has been stripped away from Saul and in time it will be given to another man.

Saul was a complete failure as a king. He was prideful, dishonest, and was more concerned with pleasing the people than God. He had rejected the word of the Lord and as a result, God rejected him from being king. God humbled this proud man and removed him from the throne and in his place, God will exalt a better and more humble king.

God opposes the proud but exalts the humble and you would be hard pressed to find a humbler young man than David. He was the youngest son of a shepherd named Jesse but David was the man God had chosen to unite the nation of Israel and lead them in the defeat of their enemies. David’s strength was the acknowledgment of his weakness. He wasn’t confident in his own strength but was absolutely confident in the strength of the Lord.

The story of David’s defeat of Goliath is one of the clearest examples of the young anointed king’s humility. As David and Goliath approach the field of battle there is an exchange of words. Goliath mocks David, Israel’s army, and God as well. But David responds in this way:

1 Sam 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

David’s confidence as he faces down the champion of Gath is in God alone. Unlike Saul, David is humble and puts all of his trust in the Lord. David defeated the giant Goliath not by his own skill but by the strength of the Lord.

Take some time to meditate on the stories of these two kings: Saul and David. Think about the way these men became king in the first place; Saul was chosen for his outward appearance while David was chosen for the humility in his heart. From the world’s perspective Saul was the clear choice for Israel’s king but from God’s perspective, David was the best candidate for the position.

What does this tell us about our God? What does this tell us about the type of people He wants us to be? What does this tell us about how God wants us to lead the church today? The character of God hasn’t changed so let us take time this week to meditate on the comparison and contrast that we see in the stories of these two kings of Israel.

Here is something to pray about…

This week we will be reading several of the Psalms that coincide with David’s experience of being hunted down by Saul and as we read these Psalms we grow to understand why it is that God calls David a man after His own heart. Saul was David’s king, His father-in-law, his military general and fellow Israelite, but Saul is doing his best to either kill David himself or have him killed in battle.

None of us can identify with David’s situation but we can imagine some of the feelings that David must have felt. Surely there was fear in David’s heart at the thought of Saul’s desire to kill him. There was hurt as well to know that your own father-in-law would rather see you die then produce grandchildren. At some points there was probably a desire to take matters into his own hands, I mean, after all, David defeated Goliath, surely Saul wouldn’t be too much trouble.

But through it all David kept his heart focused not on his will but on the will of God. In Psalm 11 David reminded himself that, “The Lord was in His holy temple” and he would pour out justice according to what was right. David wasn’t a perfect man nor was he a perfect king, but he learned to put the battle in the Lord’s hands. He learned that no matter what he was going through in life he could trust that the Lord would be his refuge and strength.

Let’s join David in this prayer that we would find our ultimate hope in God. Let’s pray that we would trust our lives to His cause and His Word. Let’s pray that we would put our hope in the justice of God, in the salvation of God and in the love of God.

 

 
 
 

Bible Through the Year: Episode 14

Week 14 Devotion

This is going to be a very full week when it comes to the scope of what we are reading. We aren’t reading more than we normally do but there is quite a bit packed into this week. Finishing up the book of Judges is straightforward enough and I am glad to move on from it. This book is depressing in that it shows us the constant nature of sin that humanity must battle. It shows us that even when God’s promises are fulfilled in our lives our heart's tendency is to do what is right in our own eyes.

Thankfully, God is faithful even when we are faithless. But there is something about the book of Judges that serves to give us a greater understanding of the Bible as a whole. The relationship between God and His people follows this cyclical pattern. God initiates the relationship and blesses His people. His people joyfully accept His good gifts but then quickly fall back into selfishness, idolatry, and sin. Then when things get really bad the people remember God and cry out to Him for help and in mercy, He comes to our rescue. Then the process starts all over again.

And what this cycle shows us is that our need for God’s grace and salvation goes deep into our hearts. It also reveals that the only way we will ever be free from the sin that lies deep in our hearts is if God Himself does something about it because we are powerless to fix our own problem.

Here are some things to discuss…

This week let’s discuss a couple of the things we see in this book of judges starting with the significant role that women play in the book. We all know about the women in Samson’s life and the part they played in his downfall. But we also need to recognize the role that Deborah played in the life of Israel during the period of the Judges.

Chapter 4 starts out by letting us know that the people of Israel were doing evil in the sight of God but then Deborah is introduced as a prophetess and judge of the people. The term Judge refers to the leaders that God raised up to rule over the people in civil and military matters. The fact that Deborah is a Judge is significant. But even more significant is the manner of her leadership.

She showed courage even when Barak, a military commander, was fearful and unwilling to do what God had commanded him (Judges 4:6). She was a prophet and the people would seek her out at a known location (the palm of Deborah) to gain wisdom and guidance from her. She was the most consistent of all the judges and her faithfulness rises far above that of Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson. Deborah should be remembered for her faithful leadership of God’s people in a very unfaithful time.

Deborah, being a female leader in Israel, fell into some very unique company. But by the time we get through the book of Judges and into the book of Ruth we see another woman who deserves to be commended for her faith. The ugliness of the book of Judges leads us to appreciate the beauty that we see in Ruth. 

The days are still filled with evil because the people are still doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord. But in the midst of the rebellion and sin, we see this story of faithfulness, love, and redemption. This story is true and beautiful in itself, but it also points to something, or more specifically to someone, who will bring beauty and salvation out of the sin of the world. This story of redemption points to Jesus as the true kinsmen redeemer who paid the price to cover us with His steadfast love.

Here is something to meditate upon…

The book of judges is difficult to read because of the sin that lurks around every corner. It is difficult also because even the leaders of God’s people were deeply flawed. Yes, God used them to deliver the people from their enemies but God used them despite their flaws not on account of the absence of their flaws. These were broken and sinful men but God used them to do great things for His people.

Gideon was faithless. He struggled to trust the Word of God. He needed to be reassured over and over but God still used Him to bring a mighty victory over the Midianites. Jephthah came from a broken situation and even though He would become a great man in his day, he would also make a rash vow that cost him his only daughter.

Samson was a train wreck from start to finish. He showed his selfishness when he chose a Philistine woman instead of a woman of Israel. He showed his arrogance when he boasted and made a huge bet with the men at his wedding. He showed his weakness when he allowed himself to be seduced not by one woman but by two. Then his life comes to an end at the bottom of a collapsed banquet hall where his blood mingles with that of 3,000 Philistine men and women.

But the thing that should stand out to us as we read these stories is that God would still accomplish His purpose through such broken and sinful people. The book of Judges should humble us and it should also lead us to praise and glorify God. This book should warn us about the potential we all have to do evil but it should cause us to rejoice that we serve a God of grace and power.

Here is something to pray about…

As the book of Samuel gets underway we are about to see another one of God’s promises fulfilled. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation ruled over by kings that came from his family line. Under the leadership of Samuel, the prophet of God, Israel will finally get her king only to lose that king and gain another.

This book is where the story of Israel’s king begins and it too points beyond itself to the true king, the better king, the final king who will come to rule over God’s people forever.

 As we read the book of Samuel let’s remember that where these kings fail, King Jesus succeeds. Let’s pray that our hearts would grow more and more thankful for the King that God has given us.

Let’s pray that we would not be like Israel who would rather have had a man rule over them than God. Let’s pray that our love for our king, our devotion to our king, and our longing to see our king would grow. Let’s pray together, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

 

 
 
 
 

Bible Through the Year: Episode 13

Week 13 Devotion

This week we are finishing the book of Joshua and will get started reading the book of Judges. Last week we began by looking at the way God sought to encourage Joshua as he prepared to take Moses’ place as the leader of God’s people and we focused in on his need to be strong and full of courage. His strength and courage would serve him well because he was in the position to carry out God’s battle plan to remove the Canaanites from the Promised Land.

We also need to remember that these battle plans are the means of God’s justice on the evil of the Canaanites, who were known for their sinful sexual practices (Lev 18) as well as the practice of child sacrifice (Deut 12:29-31). Israel was the human instrument that God used to bring divine judgment on these idolatrous and sinful nations but God’s justice toward them was not without mercy.

In chapter 12 we read the list of all the Canaanite nations that were defeated by the Israelites, but we also know that there were some who remained. The Gibeonites from chapter 9 actually became servants in Israel and began to worship the God of Israel.

But by the time our reading takes us to chapter 12 all the battles are over. Chapters 6-12 give us a snapshot of all the fighting that took place between the army of Israel and the Canaanites. These battles would have taken place over a period of many years but they are condensed and summarized for us in the first 12 chapters. This means that the higher profile and detailed battles are meant to stand out in order to teach us a lesson.

The battles that stand out are the first two that took place against Jericho and AI. These two battles help us to understand that the real issue at stake here is not whether or not Israel’s army can win, but whether or not that will be faithful to God. In Jericho, they did exactly what God told them to do and they were victorious. In AI, Achan didn’t do what God told them to do and they were defeated. The point is that Israel’s faithfulness to God is key to their success in the land and as a nation.

Here is something to discuss…

As we read on from chapter 12 we see a whole section where the land is being divided up and while this is quite difficult to read it is a clear display that God has fulfilled His promise to Abraham. In fact, by the time we reach the end of Joshua chapter 21 we read this:

43 Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.[1]

Now, these verses are important for us to read today because they let us know of the faithfulness of God. God made these promises to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12, 15 and 17 which would have been sometime around 2100 BC. These promises were fulfilled when Israel settled in the land sometime around 1200 BC. It took nearly 1000 years but God kept His promise and He did so despite the constant sin and rebellion of the people.

If God was faithful to Israel and fulfilled His promise to them how much more can we trust Him to fulfill His promise to us who believe in Jesus and hope for eternal life? Think about the fact that God hasn’t changed. He is still the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still known for His steadfast love. He is still known for keeping His promises. But the stakes are even higher for those who believe the gospel.

The price for our redemption required the blood of Jesus and His blood is precious. His blood is more valuable than the blood of any sacrifice for sin that has ever been made (Heb 9:14, I Pet 1:19). The value of His sacrifice will not be wasted, it will be paid out in full and He will receive the reward for His suffering.

So spend some time discussing the enduring faithfulness of God and the eternal worth of Christ. Take some time to discuss your answers to these questions: How many stories of God’s faithfulness can you remember? How is Jesus’ sacrifice more valuable than any other sacrifice?

Here is something to meditate upon…

In Joshua chapter 22 we see an interesting story develop. You will remember from our reading that just before the people entered into the Promised Land there were a few tribes who fell in love with the land West of the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh wanted to claim this land as their inheritance from the Lord and so Moses agreed that they could. But he required that the able-bodied men from these tribes take part in the conquest of Canaan. In other words, he wanted them to still fight in the battles, which they agreed to do.

Now that the fighting is over these men want to go back to their homes on the other side of the Jordan and that is exactly what they did. But when they go back across the river they decided to build an altar on their side and this altar was massive. The text tells us that it was an altar of imposing size and when the rest of the tribes of Israel saw it they were really concerned.

They were concerned enough that they were willing to go to war against Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. But why? Well, it’s actually a good reason. The tribes who were in the Promised Land were afraid that their brothers had built this as an altar to a false god. They were afraid that their brothers had decided to stop following God and this was enough to make them willing to fight. They even bring up the sin of Achan and they remember that God punished the whole nation for the sin of one man and these tribes don’t want any trouble to come against them because of the sin of these few tribes.

Now this shows us something really important about this generation of Israelites. They take sin in the camp more seriously than those before them. When they suspect idolatry they are willing to stand up against it. They don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. In short, they are trying to heed the warnings of Moses that blessing comes to those who are faithful and curses will come to those who are unfaithful.

But as it turns out the altar that Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had built was actually a memorial altar intended to remind the other tribes that they too follow the Lord. This wasn’t an altar for sacrifice or worship but an altar of witness to remind the Israelites on one side of the Jordan that they worship the same God as the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan.

But here is the thing I want us to meditate on. Think about how sensitive both sides were to sin. One side didn’t want to forget what they had learned in the past and the other didn’t want to be forgotten as the people of God. Both sets of tribes were sensitive to not making the same mistakes as the previous generations. One set of tribes was willing to go to war to ensure that idolatry didn’t creep into the land while the other set of tribes was willing to build a massive altar to ensure that they were known as the people who worship God alone.

How sensitive are we to sin in our midst? In our families? In our lives? How far are we willing to go in order to make it known that we worship Christ alone and not the gods of this world? How sensitive are we to the possibility that idolatry and sin have crept into our lives? There is a lesson here for us to learn and I hope we don’t miss it.

Here is something to pray about…

The book of Joshua ends much like as the book of Deuteronomy ends. Joshua stands before the people, he reads the law of God over them and he charges them to be faithful to their covenant with God. He holds out the promise of blessing for obedience and the promise of curses for disobedience. And then Joshua dies but there is no one to take his place, which brings us to the book of Judges.

Before we finish out this week’s reading we will begin the book of Judges and this is a sad book to read. It is sad because there isn’t a leader like Joshua or Moses who steps up to govern the people and what happens is the people begin to do what is right in their own eyes. They disobey the covenant and begin to do what is evil in the eyes of the Lord.

There are many things that this book of Judges should lead us to pray about so let’s read these first few chapters and pray that God would keep our hearts faithful to Him and His Word. Let’s pray that we would not be those who simply do what is right in our own eyes but who seek the Lord’s guidance from His Word, from godly counselors and through prayer. Pray that God would help us to be men and women, families and a church who does what is right in the eyes of the Lord no matter what the culture around us is doing.

 

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jos 21:43–45). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

 

 

 
 

Bible Through the Year: Episode 12

Bible Through the Year

Week 12 Devotion

This week we will come to the end of the Pentateuch or Torah and we talked a little bit about this section last week. These first five books form the foundation of the Hebrew Bible and they form the worldview for God’s people. These books (Gen – Deut) tell us the story of creation, how the world came into being and by Whom it came into being. It tells us the story of man, His origin, purpose and fall into sin. These five books also tell us of God’s covenant with Abraham and His promise to bless Abraham’s family and all the world through them. The Pentateuch also gives us a spectacular picture of God’s judgment toward sin.

In these first five books we’ve seen God’s plan of redemption take shape as He established a relationship with one family of people and we have seen Him save this family from slavery, lead them into freedom, speak to them, and even come down to earth to dwell among them. But there is something else that God wants to do for these people and that is to bring them into the land that He promised to give them. And that is where we are as we come to the end of the book of Deuteronomy.

The people of Israel (Abraham’s descendants) are poised to cross the Jordan River and enter into the land but before they do this Moses has some final words for them. Moses spends the last days of his life pronouncing a blessing over the people and also singing a song of warning over them. Then he climbs up onto the mountain side to spend his final days talking to God and looking at the land that Israel is about to inherit. Then Moses dies. He dies with the love of God to comfort him and the promise of God in view.

Now that Moses is dead it is time for a new leader to guide the people of Israel and that is where Joshua comes into the story. We already met Joshua in the book of Numbers as one of the spies that Moses sent into the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb were the only two spies who came back with a good report and who encouraged the people to follow God into the land because they trusted that God would deliver them from the hands of their enemies.

But being a faithful spy is quite a bit different than leading the entire nation.  Following in Moses’s footsteps is also huge task and So Moses takes Joshua aside anoints him to be the next leader of the nation and then he commissions him in the eyes of the people. Then God spoke to Joshua and said,

Deut 31:23 “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”

Here is something to discuss…

One of the things that we see as Joshua takes over leadership of the nation of Israel is that Joshua is a lot like Moses. In fact, many scholars point out that Joshua is presented to us as a new Moses and they say this because there are so many similarities between the two. Like Moses, Joshua was commissioned by God himself. Like Moses, Joshua calls the people to obey the covenant commands of God. Like Moses, Joshua sends spies into the land and into the city of Jericho. Like Moses, Joshua leads the people to cross over a body of water on dry ground.

Then in chapter 5, Joshua leads the sons of Israel to be circumcised and then to observe the Passover. Now when you put all of these elements together it seems quite obvious, even if you’ve never seen these similarities before. In Joshua, God has raised up a new leader for His people and this man is starting off on the right foot. But there is something in Joshua chapter 1 that I want us to look at more directly.

In the opening chapter of the book we see that Moses has died and that Joshua is the next man up, but if this chapter is any indication of how Joshua felt about this new role then it appears that he is somewhat afraid. At the very least he is in need of encouragement. Three times in this opening chapter we see God tell Joshua, “Be strong and courageous…and do not be frightened.”

Why would Joshua have reason to fear? Why would Joshua have reason to be discouraged? Well for one, he is now the leader of a group of people that he knows all too well to be fickle in their obedience to God and to their leaders. Granted, this is a new generation of Israelites but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and the last generation was a stiff necked people who tried to overthrow Moses more than once, they worshipped a golden calf, they grumbled against God and they were sentenced to die in the wilderness.

I can see why Joshua would be a little discouraged about the possibility of history repeating itself under his leadership. But there is another reason that he needs a good shot of courage and it’s that he has been into the land once before and he knows the strength of the people living there. He knows what he and his army are up against as they cross over the Jordan river. So God tells him and then tells him again to, “Be strong and courageous.”

God wants Joshua to be strong and courageous because the task in front of him is enormous, but the basis for Joshua’s courage is not his own strength. God wants him to be full of courage because of God’s strength. The basis for Joshua’s courage is the fact that the Lord is with him wherever he goes.

Joshua 1:5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua is like Moses in many ways, but the most important similarity is the fact that as God was with Moses so God will be with Joshua.

As Christians we stand in a very similar place. We have a God-sized task in front of us to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations (Matt 28:18-20).” But like Joshua we have a promise from Jesus that He will “never leave us nor forsake us.”

Take some time to read Matthew 28:18-20 as well as Acts 1:1-11 and discuss the similarities between the Conquest of Canaan and the Conquest of the Gospel. What are some similarities and what are some of the differences between Joshua’s calling and our own?

Here is something to meditate upon…

There are so many things that stand out in these first few chapters of Joshua. Chapter 5 is really important and there are many things we could think about as we read it. We could meditate on the significance of the new generation being circumcised or we could slow down and meditate on what it was like for them to celebrate the Passover 40 years after it actually happened.

We could think about Joshua’s encounter with the Angel of the Lord who was standing on the path with his sword drawn. This messenger from God was the commander of the Lord’s army and when Joshua asked him, “Are you on our side or on the side of our enemies?” he simply replied, “Neither!” This Angelic warrior is on the Lord’s side and he fights in whatever way the Lord commands. There are plenty of questions we could ask and plenty of things we could think about when it comes to this encounter.

But let’s spend some time thinking about the battle of Jericho and the battle of Ai. One thing is abundantly clear as we look at these two battles. In the first one, the people followed the Lord’s command to the letter. They did exactly what the Lord commanded them to do and they were able to carry out the Lord’s will upon the city. But the thing that is clear as we read this story is that this was the Lord’s victory.

The army of Israel didn’t do anything but march. God defeated this city and gave it over to Joshua. But the battle at Ai was quite different. In that situation they didn’t follow the Lord’s command. In fact, the sin of one man caused the defeat of the army and men died on that day because one man failed to follow God’s Word.

The first thing we can meditate on is the fact that God sees everything, even the things that we can hide from other people. The book of Hebrews 4:13 tells us, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

The second thing we should consider is the fact that one man’s sin brought pain and loss to the whole group of people. God wants his people to be faithful and when there is sin in the camp it will have an effect upon everyone.

The third thing we should consider about this episode is how the sin of Achan was dealt with. In that case, God called for Achan’s life in response to not only his sin but also the fact that his sin resulted in the death of others. There were families throughout the camp who were mourning the loss of their husbands, fathers and sons because Achan had rejected the command of God. Joshua was in the position to address the sin in the camp in a way that brought justice to the guilty party but also to those who had lost loved ones because of his rebellious act.

Take some time to think on all three of these truths: That God sees all things and nothing is hidden from His sight. That one man’s sin can bring pain and suffering to an entire church or group of God’s people. That sin must be addressed one way or another.

Our God is a just judge and no sin is hidden from His sight, this means that there is not one single sin that will go unpunished. There are only two options: either we will each face the wrath of God that we deserve or the wrath of God will be poured out on a substitute in our place.

As Christians this second option is our great hope. Jesus Christ took our punishment upon Himself. He died in our place receiving in His flesh the due penalty for our sin. So that we can have forgiveness of sin and receive His righteousness by faith.

Here is something to pray about…

It’s easy for us to make decisions without consulting God and His Word. We do it every day. But as God’s people He wants our hearts, minds and lives to be guided by every word that comes from His mouth.

In chapter 9, Joshua meets a group of men from Gibeon. These men heard about what had taken place in Jericho and Ai. Somehow they heard that God had commanded Moses to drive out all the people in the land and they were afraid of the God of Israel. So they approached Joshua and deceived him into making a covenant with them.

Now Joshua was supposed to drive out all the inhabitants of the land. He was to devote all of the people to destruction. This was the command of God and it was the judgement of God upon the sins of the people. But in this case the text tells us that Joshua and the men of Israel listened to the Gabionades story but they, “Did not ask counsel from the Lord (Josh 9:14).”

This might seem like a small thing but I want us to let this guide us in prayer. Every day we make decisions about how we are going to live, how we are going to spend our time and our money. We make decisions that impact our family and the people around us and as the people of God we should be allowing His Word and counsel to guide us in these decisions. So as you go through the week pray for God to allow His Word to be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. Pray that God would guide us in our daily decisions by His gospel and His Word.

 

 
 

Bible Through the Year: Episode 11

Week 11 Devotion

The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Bible and it is the last book of Moses. The title of the book, Deuteronomy, means “second law” and this title was given because in this book Moses is basically restates the laws that God gave His people at Mt. Sinai. So there is a lot of repetition in Deuteronomy but also we see Moses expounding on the laws, explaining them and applying them to day to day life.

But Deuteronomy is more than simply a book of laws. This is also the last book of the Hebrew Torah and this word Torah doesn’t mean law necessarily; it refers to instruction or doctrine. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible are understood to lay the foundation that forms the worldview for the people of God. The Torah reveals to us the truth about God and how He relates to creation, to mankind and especially to His Chosen People.

Torah is about more than just God’s law, it is also about theology and humanity, it is about God’s holiness and man’s sin, it’s about what went wrong in our world and how God is working to make things right. So, the Torah is history and theology and culture and law and religion all wrapped up in five books.

And this last book of the Torah, Deuteronomy, brings all of these elements together in the form of a sermon where Moses recounts the History of Israel from the Exodus all the way up until that present day. He reminds Israel of the things that God did for them and how they responded with rebellion in the Wilderness. He reminds them of the Covenant that God made with them, He reminds them of the Covenant laws, the blessings and the curses.

The book ends with Moses installing Joshua as the new leader of Israel. He sings a song over them that tells them about what awaits the nation as they enter the Promised Land. Then finally, Moses climbs up into the mountains overlooking the land and Moses dies. That’s how the book ends but there are some really important things for us to talk about, think about and pray about before we get to that point.

Here is something to discuss…

As we read the book of Deuteronomy it become even more clear than before that God wants His people to live a certain way. God wants them to be set apart from all the other nations of the world. Now, when we read the laws of Moses in this book we might think of many of them as woefully out of date, but in that day this system of law was groundbreaking. These laws deal with how to worship God, how to organize the leadership of the nation, and there are laws about social justice; but this system of law was far more advanced than any system in practice at that time.

One of the things we see in this middle section (Deut 12-26) is that God wants the people of Israel to be very generous to one another. In chapter 23 we read that Israelites weren’t allowed to charge interest when they loan money to each other. We also read that the vineyard owners were to allow their neighbors to go through their vineyard and eat their fill of grapes.

God wants His people to be generous to one another and to support one another. The people are supposed to be honest with one another and not try to cheat their fellow Israelite out of money, or property. They are also supposed to keep their neighbors from straying away from God into idolatry or other evil practices. If one man is involved in an accident that takes another man’s life, the first man is protected by the law and has the right to defend himself in a type of early jury trial.

All of these laws establish the nation of Israel as unique among the nations of the world. And at the center of their way of life is the corporate worship of God. They are to worship God together celebrating His mercy and goodness to them and their families. The nation of Israel was called to be a city on a hill, a people who were set apart from the rest of the world because of their relationship to God.

The church is not a nation state but we have a very similar calling. We are to be salt and light within our culture. Jesus even says that our identity as His disciples will be evident to the unbelieving world based on the way we love one another. Jesus wants our lives and witness to be a testimony to the world of our relationship with God.

So take some time to discuss how the church is and can continue to be salt and light in the world. Take some time to discuss how your family or your community group can display our love for Christ and one other to those around us. Talk about how we as individuals can be a witness for Christ in our daily lives.

Here is something to meditate upon…

One of the things that we see in this book is that rebellion for the people of God is a pattern that mankind simply cannot break. The rebellion that started in the Garden just keeps happening with every new generation. Think about the pattern of sin that we have seen thus far. Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s Word and the next generation, Cain and Abel, is highlighted by one brother murdering the other. After God rains down judgment against sin in the flood destroying all of humanity, except for Noah, the next generation rebels against God when Noah’s sons do evil things.

When the story shifts to focus on Abraham’s family we see the same pattern. Jacob rebels against God and is known for being a deceiver. Jacob’s sons rebel against God and sell their brother into slavery. After the Exodus, the people grumble against God, they try to overthrow Moses as their leader, and they refuse to go into the Promised Land because they do not trust God. Every generation is marked by some form of rebellion against God and one of the things that Moses wants to do in this book/sermon is to remind the people of this pattern of rebellion.

He’s not just trying to rub it in their faces though, he is really hopeful that they will learn from the mistakes of previous generations. He wants this new generation to be faithful to God, to trust God, to follow God alone and so he gives them a challenge to be different and to respond to God’s grace with love and obedience rather than rebellion and grumbling.

So he gives them what is known as the Shema, which is the Hebrew word for “Hear.” In Deuteronomy 6:4 Moses says: Hear, of Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength.

Now this Shema became a very important prayer in Judaism and it was to be repeated twice each day. It also became known as the Greatest Commandment because it forms the basis for why and how we are to obey all of the other commands. God wants our obedience to flow out of our covenant relationship to Him and out of our Love for Him.

There are two commands in this verse and they are listen and love. The first command to listen means more than just hearing words come out of God’s mouth, it also conveys the need for us to obey those words. Israel’s previous rebellion came when they heard the commands of God but didn’t obey them. So Moses wants this new generation to listen with obedience.

But the second command helps us understand the proper motivation for obedience, which is love. God wants us to love Him for who He is and for what He has done. He wants love to be the real reason we worship Him, trust Him and serve Him.

Now, the truth that I want us to think deeply about here is the fact that our Love for God and obedience to Him is not the starting point for our relationship. The only thing we bring to the relationship is our sin and rebellion. God is the One who reaches out to us, He redeems us, He covenants with Us, He blesses us; the foundation of our relationship to God is not our loving obedience, it’s His grace.

He doesn’t love us because we obey, rather we are called to obey Him because of the love He has shown us. This also applies to the Christian life as well. We aren’t saved from our sin because of our obedience, we are saved from sin by our faith in the obedience of Jesus. And in response to Jesus saving us we are called to the same standard as Israel to, “Love the Lord our God.”

In Matthew 22 Jesus is asked the question, “What is the greatest commandment?” and Jesus responds by quoting the Shema. He answered by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and will all your mind.” So like Israel, we are called to love God with the understanding that He first loved us.

Here is something to pray about…

There are two things I want us to think about as we pray this week. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses recalls the time when God spoke to the people out of the midst of the fire when He revealed Himself on Mt. Sinai. Moses asks this question:

“Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? ...Out of heaven He let your hear His voice.”

God spoke to them and they heard His voice. The words God spoke were written down and became the foundation for their lives together. Israel was a people of the Word and as Christians so are we. We have God’s Word in our hands and we need to read it, study it, think deeply about it and let it shape our lives. Let’s pray that God’s Word would be the foundation that we build our faith, our lives, our families, our churches, and our future upon.

The second thing I want us to remember as we pray this week has to do with what Moses says in chapter 7:6-8.

6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

What reason can we give for the fact that we are God’s chosen people? What have we done to deserve the blessings of God? What do we offer to God that would make Him want to select us as His treasured possession? Nothing! God’s love for us is not based on anything but the fact that He has chosen to love us. We offer nothing to God but He gives everything to us.

As you pray, keep this in mind and let your prayer be filled with gratitude and praise. Let your prayer be filled with thanksgiving for the pure grace and mercy that we have been shown.