God Speaks
Clarification of the LORD’s Judgment in Various Situations
Verse of the Day: [Although this verse applies specifically to properly disposing of human excrement, it challenges God’s people to maintain physical, moral and spiritual purity.] “For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that He will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.” (Deuteronomy 23:14 NIV 2011)
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Watch TBR Day 077
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Deuteronomy 21-23:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Deuteronomy 21
1. God cares about the people He created even after their death, either alone in a field or through execution (hung on a tree, impaled on a stake, or crucified). He laid out a plan for women to be treated compassionately by their captors during war.
2. A man was not to let his feelings overrule his duty toward his firstborn son even if the man hated the boy’s mother. Parents were not allowed to kill a stubborn and rebellious son. They were instructed to take him to court which was to decide whether or not he should be stoned by the whole community.
Deuteronomy 22
1. God cares about how people respond to the everyday things of life–lost animals, mother birds, clothing or farming choices, safety of homes, as well as personal safety and the sanctity of marriage.
2. People tend to “not want to get involved” or to focus on their own self-centered interests.
Deuteronomy 23
1. All that God is and what He does is too much for mere human beings to understand.
2. People often get involved in practices that have long-lasting consequences for themselves and future generations.
[My understanding of God’s purpose for these laws was greatly enhanced by reading Dennis Prager’s The Rational Bible: Deuteronomy, pages 357-373.]
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Deuteronomy 21-23?
Dear LORD God, thank You for being a God who shows compassion even for those who die a violent death. Please help those in our society who are tasked with carrying out justice to investigate thoroughly and fairly and to carry out their duties competently. Please keep public officials from being complicit in crime of any kind. Please be with the hearts of women who are captured by violent men. Please work in the hearts and circumstances of the captors so that they turn from their wicked ways and either marry these women or let them go free according to the instructions You gave here. Today, in this country [USA], polygamy is not allowed, but please help the men who are divorced to treat the children of their ex-wives fairly. Father God, guide the parents, and any counselors they seek, to deal properly with stubborn, rebellious, and disobedient children. Only You know the hearts of those involved, the plans You have for each one, and how they will respond. Help us to purge evil from our hearts and our nation and bring glory to Your name.
Dear Great Creator God, thank You for caring about the details of life. Please correct my tendency to want to hide from taking responsib toility or to ignore other people’s difficulties. Help me to appreciate the body, mind, and life You have given me. Thank You that You take note when we are kind to people and animals. You often reward our kind actions with longer life. Please give me wisdom, common sense, and concern for the safety and well-being of other people or animals. Although the prescribed punishment for sexual misconduct seems extreme to me, I realize how serious it is and that You, Father God, know best how to protect individuals and society from harm. May You be glorified in both the big and little actions in my life. I love and trust You, LORD.
Dear LORD God, I know and declare that You are a good, kind, and loving God. Whenever I doubt this and think that I know better than You, please be patient with me and help me to understand that You have good and loving reasons for the restrictions You put in place (like in Deuteronomy 23). Help me never to think that I know better than You how things should be. May I trust and obey You so that You, O LORD, will turn any curses against me to blessings for me because You love me. Teach me the tremendous importance of forgiveness. Help me to learn and apply empathy. I need the power of the Holy Spirit to follow Your instructions regarding enemies, foreigners, travelers, loans, taking vows, and respecting the property rights of others. I affirm that all Your laws are meant for our ultimate good and Your glory, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Deuteronomy 21-23?
- I will research to see what God says in scripture about dealing with homicide and capital punishment and/or bodies of the dead.
- I will pray for and support (financially or by physical service) ministries to women or girls who have been raped or molested and/or counsel victims of divorce (men, women, or children).
- I will (at least try to) return any lost item I come across.
- I will look for specific ways to be kind to people and animals this week.
- I will be kind to (but not cater to) people from outside my community even though I may strongly disagree with their ideology or disapprove of their behavior.
- I will try to understand the basis for the beliefs of people involved in secularism, other religions, cults, the occult, or satanism without being pulled away from worshiping YHWH, the true and living Triune God and Jesus Christ His Son.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.