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All Scripture Is Inspired By YHWH

Deuteronomy 23 has a collection of instructions. Let’s review after you read the chapter. Read through, you may be surprised by how much is relevant today to our lives.

Deuteronomy 23

Persons Excluded from the Assembly

     1“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, 4because 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, 13and 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.

Doubtless, this is another passage which seems strange to us in our culture and time today. It may stir up some questions for those who wish to dig below the surface meaning. If we at first do not understand, remember who YHWH is and that He is holy and just. Start with that and we realize that if parts of this are troubling, we should study more to fully understand the context of the times when it was written. I am not an expert in these matters to be sure. My surface thoughts are as follows:

  • First, I ask myself what it means to be excluded from the assembly of the Lord. There are different views and I am not sure which is right. Does it mean excluded from the worship gathering? excluded from marriage? excluded from temple service? excluded from leadership? I am not sure which is right. Worthy of study for those who want to find out more.
  • Other nations would at times make eunuchs to serve in a palace or temple. Such a disfigurement is not pleasing to the Lord. I do not believe this was intended to punish victims but rather to prevent doing this to God’s people.
  •  It may seem harsh to exclude illegitimate children. However, this puts more emphasis on families following YHWH’s instructions and being holy. I believe the intent is to deter people from having illegitimate children, rather than intending to punish the children. It was not something to be normalized and accepted. Depending on the meaning of forbidden from the assembly of the Lord, this could also simply mean that they were not to be working in the temple, which is set apart and holy.
  • Amonites and Moabites were held accountable in memory of the sins of their people against Israel. We as a nation may face similar consequences for rebellion against the Lord. Though not all of us may rebel or reject Him, we may all face certain consequences together as one people.
  •  The people were then specifically told not to hate the Edomites and Egyptians. Interesting to note that YHWH never makes an equivalence of all people groups as equally righteous and valued. Those who rebel and fight against YHWH and His people are not to be accepted. Others, are specifically called out to not be hated. Our culture today must surely think this odd as many try to say that “all cultures and all nations” are to be respected and accepted as they are equally, with none better than the rest. YHWH seems to indicate differently.
  • There are certain behaviors that make us unclean. Rather than trying to excuse it and reject it, try to understand what and why and try to avoid them. If we become unclean, take time to seek to be cleansed. Spend that time with the Lord in prayer. Seek forgiveness.
  • YHWH takes the term “walking among us” seriously. He intends for us to keep our “camp” (or our home) clean with no indecent thing among us. Think about your home today. Are there indecent things among you? It may be idols. It may be pornography. It may be inappropriate clothing. It may simply even be television programs and music that is indecent. Cleanse your home and let nothing indecent be among you so that the Lord may walk among you.
  • Be kind to an escaped slave. Do not return them to their owner. Let them live among you. This is very gracious, in particular in a time when it was written when slavery was more common. I could also derive perhaps that we are to help those escaping difficult circumstances and not treat them badly. Rather help them to get free, even if it is from abuse or addiction. Note it does not say let entire nations and tribes of foreigners come into your midst (e.g. open borders). Rather it is focused on helping individuals, which could be assimilated and helped more effectively in smaller numbers.
  • Prostitution is wrong. YHWH does not even want money from such objectionable and offensive behavior. He wants no part of it. I hypothesize also that He does not want any part of many other objectionable behaviors even if they bring profit… perhaps drugs, human slavery, abortion, and many more.
  • As a follower of YHWH, we are not to loan to other believers for interest. If we loan it is to help them, not make money off them by increasing the cost burden to them by adding interest.
  • You are not required to make vows to YHWH, but if you do… take it seriously and do not delay in fulfilling it. Better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. Further, you can ask YHWH to help you without making a vow.
  • We also see more guidance in reference to grain and grapes. We can share from our neighbors hospitality, but do not become greedy and become a burden by taking more than you should.

I for one am always surprised when I try to reflect on passages like this one. My first reaction is that none of it applies and I can “skip” it or read quickly. After prayer and a serious attempt to understand, even without lengthy, detailed study, I am amazed how relevant this guidance still remains for our lives.

May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Resisting Evil People And Evil Deeds Is Crucial For A Righteous Society To Survive

There is right and wrong and it applies to everyone. YHWH sets the standard, not people who change their opinions over time and with the turn of generations. YHWH is eternal and He is just and holy as much as He is loving. Refusing to accept evil and those who commit it can help prevent generations of people from moving farther and farther away from YHWH and how He tells us to live. The more we accept sin and the more we normalize behavior that is wrong in the Lord’s eyes… the farther we get from living as He intended. It is obvious in watching our culture deteriorate over the generations… more and more schools and government and media try to ignore or reject YHWH and His ways and embrace worldly sin not only as acceptable, but honorable or preferable.  His people must humble themselves and pray and mourn for our nation and call our nation to repent and turn back to YHWH.  We must try to influence our culture to stop accepting or praising what is evil in the Lord’s sight. Do not be passive in accepting evil. Vote, encourage others, pray. Let the voice of YHWH’s people be heard.

Deuteronomy 17

Administration of Justice

      1“You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the LORD your God.

      2“If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by transgressing His covenant, 3and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded, 4and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death. 6“On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7“The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

      8“If any case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the LORD your God chooses. 9“So you shall come to the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the verdict in the case. 10“You shall do according to the terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the LORD chooses; and you shall be careful to observe according to all that they teach you. 11“According to the terms of the law which they teach you, and according to the verdict which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12“The man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13“Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again.

      14“When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. 16“Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17“He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

      18“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19“It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

I encourage each of you to read through today’s scripture again. The specific examples which are highlighted have significance. Dwell on each one. Do not think, “we have no kings, so that is irrelevant”, for we have many who make a living and career out of political office and ruling over the people without ever living amongst them. They do so for their own wealth and power, not for some charitable act of service.  These examples are meaningful and they challenge us to ask… “Do I accept what the world says is right or what YHWH says is right?”

Resisting evil people and evil deeds is crucial for a righteous society to survive.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Blessed, Holy, Loving / Kind, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Protector / Deliverer, Thankfulness

Praise YHWH For Who He Is And Ask Earnestly For His Help

Praise YHWH not just for what He has done, which is amazing, but also for who He is… holy, just, loving, kind, creator of all but still interested in each of us. So too we are invited to ask Him earnestly for help where we need it, as we might a loving Father.  That said, he likely will not answer selfish materialistic prayers, but rather prayers consistent with His character, desires, and will for us.

Psalm 108

God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.

A Song, a Psalm of David.

      1My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.

      2Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!

      3I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

      4For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.

      5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.

      6That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

      7God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.

      8“Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;
Judah is My scepter.

      9“Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”

      10Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who will lead me to Edom?

      11Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

      12Oh give us help against the adversary,
For deliverance by man is in vain.

      13Through God we will do valiantly,
And it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Our Rebelliousness And The Lord’s Deliverances

It is easy for us to read Psalm 106 and think something like… “How could the Israelites be so foolish?”, but if we are honest with ourselves we will recognize that to some extent most of us live our lives the same way. We praise the Lord and draw near to Him at times, only to fade awhile later, distracted by what the world says it right. It is very hard to remain focused on YHWH constantly. I believe it is impossible without His Spirit helping us.

Fortunately, YHWH has much grace. Though He holds us accountable for our sin and rebellion, so too He forgives as we repent wholeheartedly because of His lovingkindness.  What a wonderful Father. Ask Him to lead you in your life and seek Him. Seek to know Him and obey Him, rather than living according to the world’s ways.

Psalm 106

Israel’s Rebelliousness and the LORD’S Deliverances.

1Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

      2Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the LORD,
Or can show forth all His praise?

      3How blessed are those who keep justice,
Who practice righteousness at all times!

      4Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor toward Your people;
Visit me with Your salvation,

      5That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.

      6We have sinned like our fathers,
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.

      7Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,
But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

      8Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,
That He might make His power known.

      9Thus He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up,
And He led them through the deeps, as through the wilderness.

      10So He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

      11The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.

      12Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise.

      13They quickly forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel,

      14But craved intensely in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the desert.

      15So He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them.

      16When they became envious of Moses in the camp,
And of Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,

      17The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And engulfed the company of Abiram.

      18And a fire blazed up in their company;
The flame consumed the wicked.

      19They made a calf in Horeb
And worshiped a molten image.

      20Thus they exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.

      21They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt,

      22Wonders in the land of Ham
And awesome things by the Red Sea.

      23Therefore He said that He would destroy them,
Had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

      24Then they despised the pleasant land;
They did not believe in His word,

      25But grumbled in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

      26Therefore He swore to them
That He would cast them down in the wilderness,

      27And that He would cast their seed among the nations
And scatter them in the lands.

      28They joined themselves also to Baal-peor,
And ate sacrifices offered to the dead.

      29Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.

      30Then Phinehas stood up and interposed,
And so the plague was stayed.

      31And it was reckoned to him for righteousness,
To all generations forever.

      32They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah,
So that it went hard with Moses on their account;

      33Because they were rebellious against His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.

      34They did not destroy the peoples,
As the LORD commanded them,

      35But they mingled with the nations
And learned their practices,

      36And served their idols,
Which became a snare to them.

      37They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,

      38And shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and their daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was polluted with the blood.

      39Thus they became unclean in their practices,
And played the harlot in their deeds.

      40Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people
And He abhorred His inheritance.

      41Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.

      42Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their power.

      43Many times He would deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,
And so sank down in their iniquity.

      44Nevertheless He looked upon their distress
When He heard their cry;

      45And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented according to the greatness of His lovingkindness.

      46He also made them objects of compassion
In the presence of all their captors.

      47Save us, O LORD our God,
And gather us from among the nations,
To give thanks to Your holy name
And glory in Your praise.

      48Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen.”
Praise the LORD!

Reflect on the lovingkindness of the Lord. Even in discipline He shows love, just as a parent does for their children.  I discipline my children whom I love. Barring something unusual, I do not discipline someone else’s children, whom I don’t know.

Ask YHWH to lead you in your life and seek Him. Do not be afraid to call out humbly in desperation for mercy and help… even if you have sinned and fallen away more than once. He is a merciful God, filled with lovingkindness. Seek to know Him and obey Him, rather than living according to the world’s ways. Do this and you will find peace and joy in this life and the life to come.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Tolerance of Sin Is Not A Virtue

YHWH does not consider tolerance of worship of false gods to be a virtue. This may come as quite a hard message for many who are desensitized by worldly influences which constantly preach tolerance of all types of sin as if it is a virtue.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6

     1“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3“Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4“For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5“But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. 6“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

YHWH inherently recognizes and warns His people not to intermarry and not to accept their false gods and worship practices. He instructs His people to tear down even their altars and pillars and idols.

Why?

Because these things are dedicated to sinful worship of false gods. Their continued existence, certainly with intermarriage, will draw some of YHWH’s people away from Him into false worship of worthless things. It separates YHWH from His people.

The same is still true today. Tolerating sin generally, and tolerating the worship of false religions or gods specifically, is not a virtue, but rather a trap. It separates YHWH from His people and leads to destruction for those individuals. We do not help them by tolerating and accepting their false beliefs and idols. We certainly don’t help those that are to come later by leaving all the pagan temples and idols around for them to consider in the future.

YHWH instructed His people rather directly and boldly to be set apart from these things and maintain a very important separation from those things which would in turn separate YHWH from His people. He did so for their benefit, not His. We should apply this principle still today with vigilance.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.
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The Day of Judgment and Victory Will Come

Eventually all of us as sinners will face the judgment of YHWH. Most will face it when we die, but many will face His judgment when Yeshua returns. In either case, we know not the hour or the day, so make ready today. Do not delay. Remember that repentance and submission to the Lord is not a one time thing… it is a lifetime of making that choice over and over.

Who thinks a successful marriage relationship is made by a wedding and never investing in your spouse again after that point, but rather ignoring them and doing what you want to do? No one. The same is true for our relationship with the Father. Let us seek to know Him through the Son. It is a lifelong commitment to build relationship and to follow. In this way we find an abundance of joy and peace in this life as well as hope for what comes after.

Luke 17:22-37

Second Coming Foretold

     22And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23“They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. 24“For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. 25“But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30“It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31“On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. 32“Remember Lot’s wife. 33“Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 35“There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. 36[“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”] 37And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”

I do find the last verse quite intriguing. I believe Yeshua is saying that as vultures gather where the body is (carcass), so too My judgment will come wherever it is needed. Needless to say… none of us wants to be a carcass to be cleansed by judgment. Instead, let us repent and turn to the Lord. He is waiting for each of us to turn toward Him and draw near to Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Righteous, Seeking God, Study the Word

Take Full Vengeance On The Midianites

Some passages are difficult for many to accept and digest fully. Truly these scriptures become more a test of how much we trust the Lord to determine what is right vs. our own opinion and perception of what is right. When we trust the Lord, we seek to increase our understanding of Him and draw nearer to Him as we study scripture. When we trust our own opinions more than Him, we may start to question whether YHWH has made a mistake or question His goodness and righteousness… His perfection.

We should always start our evaluation of scripture based on understanding YHWH is righteous and good and loving, but also holy and just. We should not question these core characteristics of our Creator. Let us question our own understanding  of the difficult scripture and its significance instead of questioning our God.

Numbers 31:1-24

The Slaughter of Midian

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” 3Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD’S vengeance on Midian. 4“A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7So they made war against Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. 10Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. 11They took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast. 12They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

      13Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women? 16“Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD. 17“Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. 18“But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves. 19“And you, camp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20“You shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of leather and all the work of goats’ hair, and all articles of wood.”

      21Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses: 22only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead, 23everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. 24“And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.”

Will you question YHWH because of this difficult scripture and others like this one? or will you question instead your understanding of YHWH and His instruction instead?

I have included some commentary from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary for consideration.

31:1-6 All who, without commission from God, dare to execute private revenge, and who, from ambition, covetousness, or resentment, wage war and desolate kingdoms, must one day answer for it. But if God, instead of sending an earthquake, a pestilence, or a famine, be pleased to authorize and command any people to avenge his cause, such a commission surely is just and right. The Israelites could show such a commission, though no persons now can do so. Their wars were begun and carried on expressly by Divine direction, and they were enabled to conquer by miracles. Unless it can be proved that the wicked Canaanites did not deserve their doom, objectors only prove their dislike to God, and their love to his enemies. Man makes light of the evil of sin, but God abhors it. This explains the terrible executions of the nations which had filled the measure of their sins.

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The Majesty of the Lord

Pause from your busy life and reflect prayerfully on the majesty of the Lord.

Psalm 93

The Majesty of the LORD.

1The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

      2Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.

      3The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves.

      4More than the sounds of many waters,
Than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The LORD on high is mighty.

      5Your testimonies are fully confirmed;
Holiness befits Your house,
O LORD, forevermore.

As we remember that the Lord reigns now and forevermore, let us lift up our praises to Him and find true peace in our relationship with Him.

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Approaching the Lord With Respect and Humility

David was a man after God’s own heart. God raised him up and sustained him. David also made mistakes at times and created separation between himself and the Lord. Psalm 89 focuses on the Lord’s lovingkindness, faithfulness, eternal nature, righteousness, justice, power, etc. and recognizes Him as the source of salvation. It focuses on uplifting and praising the Lord first. This is a great way to start every prayer and consistent with how Jesus taught His disciples how to pray the “Lord’s Prayer” in which we first start with focus on the Lord… hallowed by Thy name, Thy will be done, Thy kingdom come… before it turns to ask anything. It goes on to call out how blessed are those who serve the Lord.

Then it highlights in verse 30 a pivotal and important topic. If we refuse to obey His law, His statutes, then He will punish us. He will discipline us like a good father disciplines children. However, He will not break His promises or His covenant.

Thus the psalmist continues to transition into a call for help from the Lord to deliver Israel from its afflictions. One would presume from the tone of the psalm, there is a repentant heart on behalf of Israel seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with the Lord and once again renewing submission to Him.

Then it ends with a very positive tone lifting up once again the Lord, “Blessed be the Lord forever!”.

It is quite a good example of how we should approach the Lord. Let us focus on Him and appreciate and praise Him. Let us recognize it is our sin that separates us from Him. Then let us seek reconciliation through submission and obedience, seeking Him once again. Let us recognize that His promises endure through even our disobedience and He will always be willing to receive us back again as the father did in the parable of the prodigal son. However, we also realize that there are consequences to our disobedience and sin.

Read slowly and thoughtfully. Seek for the Spirit to help you apply in your life.

Psalm 89

The LORD’S Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever;
To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.

      2For I have said, “Lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”

      3“I have made a covenant with My chosen;
I have sworn to David My servant,

      4I will establish your seed forever
And build up your throne to all generations.”

Selah.

      5The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.

      6For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD,

      7A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?

      8O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

      9You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.

      10You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain;
You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

      11The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all it contains, You have founded them.

      12The north and the south, You have created them;
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

      13You have a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted.

      14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

      15How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance.

      16In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.

      17For You are the glory of their strength,
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.

      18For our shield belongs to the LORD,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

      19Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

      20“I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,

      21With whom My hand will be established;
My arm also will strengthen him.

      22“The enemy will not deceive him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

      23“But I shall crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.

      24“My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his horn will be exalted.

      25“I shall also set his hand on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.

      26“He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’

      27“I also shall make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.

      28“My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.

      29“So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.

      30“If his sons forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,

      31If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,

      32Then I will punish their transgression with the rod
And their iniquity with stripes.

      33“But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.

      34“My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.

      35“Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.

      36“His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne as the sun before Me.

      37“It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the sky is faithful.”

Selah.

      38But You have cast off and rejected,
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.

      39You have spurned the covenant of Your servant;
You have profaned his crown in the dust.

      40You have broken down all his walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.

      41All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a reproach to his neighbors.

      42You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.

      43You also turn back the edge of his sword
And have not made him stand in battle.

      44You have made his splendor to cease
And cast his throne to the ground.

      45You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame.

Selah.

      46How long, O LORD?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?

      47Remember what my span of life is;
For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!

      48What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?

Selah.

      49Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?

      50Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants;
How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,

      51With which Your enemies have reproached, O LORD,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your anointed.

      52Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.

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Be Imitators Of God

Be imitators of God, walking in love and righteousness. Be apart from the world and its ways. Try to learn and live according to what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:1-21

Be Imitators of God

     1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

      3But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

      6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

14For this reason it says,
“Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.”

      15Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.