Category Archives: Rebuke Wrong Behavior

Consequences of Sin, Healer, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Protector / Deliverer, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Study the Word, Wickedness / Evil

Don’t Completely Dismiss The Law Because It Seems Strange

Some of the details of the law as documented in Deuteronomy 25 seem strange and foreign, because they are from a long ago time and a very different culture. While we could debate some of the specifics and if/how they apply today, let us not miss the bigger picture. Don’t completely dismiss the law because it seems strange in our eyes. Seek to understand what YHWH intended and what may still apply.

YHWH established laws to govern the people. The law is established to direct behavior away from wickedness and to protect the weak. It is a way of showing love to YHWH and to one another.  Note, however, that even the guilty are protected in some cases from excessive punishment (e.g. beat him no more than 40 times). There are other times, however where there is no such protection for the wicked (e.g. blot out the memory of Amelek). It depends on the severity of the wrong behavior.

If there are some punishments that seem outrageous in our eyes (e.g. cut off woman’s hand if she grabs man’s genitals to defend her husband), then simply take that as strong guidance not to do those thing. I will clearly state that I do not claim to fully understand the context or why a law like that one was established, but it is clear that YHWH does not want that action to be normalized or accepted. I presume it made more sense in the context of the culture at the time, or perhaps would still make more sense if I studied and better understood the context. Maybe it is in regards to the struggle is not life threatening and thus to crush a man’s genitals is overkill as it stops his ability to procreate? Maybe YHWH just does not want a woman to touch another man there, but would be ok if she kicked him or hit him in self defense. Honestly, I don’t know, but the failing is in my ignorance and lack of understanding and not with YHWH who established the law.

Deuteronomy 25

Sundry Laws

     1“If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, 2then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt. 3“He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes.

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

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

      11“If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, 12then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.

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

      17“Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, 18how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. 19“Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.

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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.

Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Drunkenness, Gluttony, Grace / Patience, Justice / Judgment, Kindness / Gentleness, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Study the Word, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

When Scripture Is Difficult To Understand, Start By Assuming YHWH Is Right

I certainly have to admit that the laws on domestic relations seem as if from a faraway time and place… because they are. They are not only far away in location but also in time.  The culture was very different. It is easy for us to jump to the conclusion that they are somehow wrong and barbaric. I think that is so easy or simple a view and is not correct. To truly understand we need to study to understand the cultural norms and lifestyle of the time. We must think about it in context. We do well to start with the faith that YHWH is correct and His instruction is righteous and then seek to understand how it applied then and how it may apply still today. In this way we gain wisdom and understanding.

Deuteronomy 21:10-23

Domestic Relations

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

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

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

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

We can certainly have a robust and interesting discussion regarding taking a captive as a wife. I am not sure how to practically apply this to be frank. However, one can easily understand that other cultures of the time would not be so gracious to a captive as to give them time to grieve and treat them well. There is explicit instruction to avoid abusing them. There is protection for those who are vulnerable.

We can ponder again about the instruction regarding two wives, one loved and one unloved. I do not believe YHWH wants a man to have two wives. He intended one man to one woman as with Adam and Eve. We could have an interesting discussion on why He did not outright ban it. Perhaps like divorce, He allowed it because of the hardness of their hearts. Similarly, I don’t believe He intends for any wife to be unloved by her husband. However, we can see that He provides protection for those who may be unloved and may be vulnerable to abuse or neglect.

In the third example, we can see that YHWH expects even perhaps adult children to still respect their parents. How many of us assume the scripture is calling young children gluttons and drunkards? It sounds like older children who are being rebellious. In this case it refers to rebellion to both YHWH and parents. YHWH is not tolerant of evil and rebellion. He instructs that there should be accountability and a stop should be put to the sin before it spreads to others.

The last example probably seems to most of us abhorrent. Why would we hang those who were executed in public. This was likely not a pretty site. Again, though we could have a very interesting discussion on this case, ultimately I think we could agree YHWH wants to discourage sin and rebellion. He wants to discourage  seriously bad behavior from becoming accepted and normalized. We can perhaps prefer not to take this approach, but in reality looking at the sin rampant in our culture today, perhaps we would benefit from a bit more punishment and accountability a few generations ago and we would not have normalized so much sin in our culture which is now praised as acceptable or good.

I would simply encourage you to not disregard any scripture and not assume that YHWH was wrong because we live differently than He instructed His people to live. Pray, study and reflect on what we can learn about Him from His word. Then seek to apply it to your life.

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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.

Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Fear / Reverence for God, Guide, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy / Set Apart, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

YHWH Does Not Want Us To Blend With The Detestable Practices Of Others

Parts of scripture are hard for us to get our minds around. We think they are too harsh. We should always take care not to start with an assumption that we or our current culture have things right and YHWH has things wrong. If we read something difficult, we should start with the assumption that YHWH is right and we don’t understand why or how to apply it today. Then we can pray and study and seek His guidance.

When YHWH was giving His people the promised land, He was also punishing other nations for their wickedness. These were not righteous God honoring peoples that were displaced. In some cases, they were doing such detestable things for their false gods that YHWH wanted to ensure that His people would not learn these behaviors.

While it may seem harsh to “utterly destroy” someone, we should consider how passionately that shows us that YHWH wants us to remain holy and set apart for Him and not blend with the detestable practices of others who worship false gods. He does not want us to accept detestable practices and make them part of our lives as it will lead generations into sin and away from Him.

Deuteronomy 20:10-18

      10“When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. 11“If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. 12“However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13“When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword.14“Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you. 15“Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby. 16“Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. 17“But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORDyour God has commanded you, 18so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God.

We can see this even today. If we accept detestable practices it becomes normalized into a culture and separates many generations of people from YHWH as they embrace more and more sin. Divorce and premarital sex used to be reasons for shame. Now they are plentiful. Abortion and homosexuality used to be properly identified as wrong behaviors in need of help. Now they are defended as righteous. Generations continue to push appropriate dress codes further and further from a model of humility to showing as much nakedness as they can get away with. Now instead of being shamed for such bad choices, people decry “do not shame me” as if that is a wrong thing to do. Many would do well to feel shamed for their behaviors and choices, and let that shame drive them to YHWH and repentance. Instead we see more and more people who identify as Christian accepting more and more of the detestable practices of the ungodly and without rebuke in many churches.

Let us humble ourselves and pray for our nation to return to YHWH and reject the wickedness we have embraced and normalized. Pray for righteous people to rise up and vote and vote with a clear focus and understanding of who will bring us back as a nation closer to you. Rise up pastors and elders who will lead churches in your word with authority. Reject the wicked and the false teachers who only teach part of your gospel or teach false gospel all together. Let people see through the deception and seek righteousness.

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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.

Church / Body of Christ, Guide, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin

Love One Another

We are indeed called to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and to behave properly toward outsiders.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

     9Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, 11and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, 12so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

The mistake that many make in this regard is that this does not mean accept everyone as they are without calling them to repent of their sinful actions and attitudes. We are to repent and turn away from sin. To love others does not mean to accept their sin and let them remain in it. To love someone is to help them out of illness and suffering… and like it is to help them out of sin. YHWH has elaborated throughout the Bible in the law and the prophets as well as the teaching of Christ to show us how to love one another. It all points to repenting, to turning away from sin, and calling others to do likewise.

Even in 1 Thessalonians 4, before Paul addresses loving one another he addresses some areas of sin in which they need to avoid certain behavior.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

      1Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. 2For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. 7For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. 8So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

Paul first speaks to sanctification, being made holy and set apart for the purposes of YHWH.

Loving one another is the guidance, but we are called to do so YHWH’s way, not our own way. Just like with our own children, loving them sometimes means we tell them what to do and what not to do. YHWH does the same for us. We should share what He has taught us with others. This will help them far more than simply being kind to them and leaving them suffering in their own sin and separation from the Father, even if it is hard for them to hear. And yes… some will reject the message… but that is no reason to avoid our delivering the truth just as Yeshua did and the prophets before 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.

Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Holy, Just, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Prayer, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Righteous

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.

Church / Body of Christ, Encouragement, Grace / Patience, Prayer, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Thankfulness

Grace To You And Peace From God Our Father

What a wonderful way to greet brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul opens his letter to the Colossians with welcoming words in which he tells them he is thankful to God for them and is actively praying for them. Even if we disagree with a fellow brother or sister in Christ on some issues, what a wonderful approach to take. Begin with prayer for them, then engage them with encouragement for what they are doing well, then perhaps later challenge them on areas of obedience in their walk with Christ. This is much more effective than the approach many take today… not praying for them, skipping over what is good, and focusing immediately on what we think they may be doing wrong.

 Colossians 1:1-12

Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments

     1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

      2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

      3We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

      9For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

It is good for us to pray for one another in this way. Pray that those who follow Christ would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father.

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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.

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Seeking God, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Intercessory Prayer of the Righteous Is Powerful

The intercessory prayer of the righteous is powerful. Let us remember to pray for one another not just in sickness and hard times but also when we sin. The people of Israel sinned against God multiple times through disobedience.  God was ready to destroy them. Moses interceded on their behalf. He was not part of this sin, but prayed to God for the people anyway. God had mercy on them, not because they deserved it, but because in part of the intercessory prayer of Moses.

Deuteronomy 9:7-29

7“Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8“Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9“When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10“The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11“It came about at the end of forty days and nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13“The LORD spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

      15“So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17“I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18“I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 19“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. 20“The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21“I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

      22“Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. 23“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you neither believed Him nor listened to His voice. 24“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day I knew you.

      25“So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26“I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. 28‘Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.” 29‘Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’

Pray for one another… for mercy, forgiveness, a spirit of repentance when we sin. Notice that Moses did not excuse the sin or accept the sin of the people in order to rationalize asking for mercy. He strongly acknowledged the sin was wrong and without excuse and in need of repentance. However, he prayed for mercy anyway. Also note, the people were rebuked for their sin by Moses and he demanded a change in behavior. Intercessory prayer is not an excuse to keep sinning and assume we will receive mercy anyway. The sin must stop.

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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.

Compassionate, Discerning / Judging, Discipline / Correction, Government, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Rebuke Wrong Behavior

The Lord Provides Justice

For those who cry out “separation of church and state” for the USA, I simply call out the lie inherent in the claim. Those words never show up in the Constitution or Bill of Rights. They only show up in letters of a founding Father not incorporated into our governing documents. The context was reassuring a Baptist congregation they would not be forced by the government to accept a certain set of Christian beliefs. The founding fathers integrates their faith in the one Christian God throughout the launching of our great nation.

The great freedom and protections we get are directly related to Christian beliefs and understanding of God. Our legal system is an example. Reading Numbers 35 we see some key aspects of what has now been incorporated into our legal code… differentiation for unintentional manslaughter vs. murder, a right to a trial, validation of witness testimony, rules and limitations put on even those who committed manslaughter, and the Levites at the center of it all to dispense unbiased execution of the law.

Numbers 35:9-34

      9Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there. 12‘The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation for trial. 13‘The cities which you are to give shall be your six cities of refuge. 14‘You shall give three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge. 15‘These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel, and for the alien and for the sojourner among them; that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

      16‘But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17‘If he struck him down with a stone in the hand, by which he will die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18‘Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he might die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19‘The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him. 20‘If he pushed him of hatred, or threw something at him lying in wait and as a result he died, 21or if he struck him down with his hand in enmity, and as a result he died, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death, he is a murderer; the blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

      22‘But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or threw something at him without lying in wait, 23or with any deadly object of stone, and without seeing it dropped on him so that he died, while he was not his enemy nor seeking his injury, 24then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the blood avenger according to these ordinances. 25‘The congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he fled; and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. 26‘But if the manslayer at any time goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he may flee, 27and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger kills the manslayer, he will not be guilty of blood 28because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer shall return to the land of his possession.

      29‘These things shall be for a statutory ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

      30‘If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death at the evidence of witnesses, but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 31‘Moreover, you shall not take ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. 32‘You shall not take ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to live in the land before the death of the priest. 33‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. 34‘You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.’”

Careful comparison and study of the laws of YHWH compared to other civilizations at the same time often amazes me to see how He provided for His people a way of living together beyond simply giving them land. He was constantly involved in their culture and structure of society. He was, and remains, a loving Father who is interested and engaged with the lives of His children.

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Who Makes The Rules?

Imagine for a moment you are competing in a sport you enjoy. For sake of example, I will choose track and field, in this case, pole vault. The object of the sport is to run and vault over a pole, which continues to be increased in height each round. Whomever jumps over the pole at the highest height wins.

There are a set of rules. They are established by the creator of the game. One must follow the rules or be disqualified. For example, in our pole vault event, a competitor can not simply say that they are going to lower the bar to make it easier or that the rules should be different and not require them to jump over the bar. Thus they can simply walk under it and still win the event. Most of us immediately recognize this would be ridiculous. But how many people take this exact approach with God when it comes to His instructions in the Bible?

Our society does this all the time. It redefines morality with regards to abortion, homosexuality, adultery, lusting, coveting, gluttony, drunkenness, accepting and glorifying false gods and so much more. Then it tries to hold people accountable to the new and incorrect standards and often use them to attack Christians who are still using God’s correct standard. It is not enough that they choose another set of rules (eg. to walk under instead of jump over the bar in pole vault), but they must force everyone else to accept these new and wrong rules as well. They will viciously attack those who jump over the bar, in particular if they are successful at it.

We have, as a nation, removed the Bible from schools and from our government and our public areas at great peril and moral decay to our society. There are groups which constantly fight to reject God and “separate church and state”. For the record, “separation of church and state” is a myth… it is not in our founding government documents. The founders insisted the government should not dictate which form of Christianity someone participates in (e.g. Baptist, Catholic, etc. ) They founded our government and nation knowing that it would be most enduring and prosperous on the basis of a “nation under God”… the Christian God.

Psalm 81:8-16

      8“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, if you would listen to Me!

      9“Let there be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

      10“I, the LORD, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

      11“But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.

      12“So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.

      13“Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!

      14“I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.

      15“Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.

      16“But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Those that change the rules so they can live by a different standard than the one God created (as in our pole vault example above)  do not change God’s standard, they simply ignore it and feel better about themselves because they focus on their own standard. They will not win, in fact they are disqualified from the event. They will not stand in victory when the event is over, no matter what delusion they created and accepted.

The Lord wants to bless those who live in obedience to Him. But those who reject Him and His instructions… He will give “them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices”.

YHWH offers us a choice. It is simple. He does not ask our opinion of morality and what is right and wrong. We either have a choice to follow and submit to Him or to reject Him. We have a choice of a blessing or a curse.

Romans 1:18-32

      18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

      24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

      26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

      28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

     26“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today; 28and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

I encourage you to click the link above and go read the full text in Deuteronomy 11. There is much more emphasis than what is captured in the summary in verses 26-28.

We must make a choice. Our choice is not to decide how to change God’s standard and still be close to God. Our choice is simply to choose God and His moral standard or reject Him and make up our own. If we reject Him and live by our own standard, we fool ourselves only for a little while in this world and then we ultimately spend eternity in hell as a result. If we choose Him, we change our ways to His ways and live differently. Joy and peace and hope await us in this life, though the struggles do not go away. Eternity in the presence of God await us when we die.

Choose wisely.

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Choose YHWH Instead of The World

When YHWH brought the people of Israel to the promised land, He did not instruct them to make friends with the wicked people there and accept them and all their sin in hopes that everyone would just get along together. YHWH was punishing these evil people and taking the land from them, while also delivering it to His chosen people.

Numbers 33:50-56

Law of Possessing the Land

     50Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, 51“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; 53and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. 54‘You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger you shall give more inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live. 56‘And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.’”

YHWH instructed Moses to drive out the inhabitants and destroy all their worship places and idols for their pagan gods. He gave also a clear warning that if this was not done, there would be consequences…  including ultimately His taking the land away from Israel because they would be corrupted by blending with pagan beliefs and practices instead of following His ways.

While we are not faced with a situation where YHWH has instructed us to go take a specific land and drive out pagans, we can certainly take heed from the warning He provides in this situation.

If we choose to accept and blend with, or even normalize pagan and ungodly practices within our society, then we as His people will be corrupted and become more and more separated from Him. Ultimately, He will remove His hand of blessing and punish us as a nation, even using pagans to do so. This is what happened to Israel. Why do we not take heed it may happen to us as well if we, as a nation, reject our Father and Creator. He gave us the United States of America as a unique and powerful nation founded on freedom and founded firmly in the Christian faith.

We can already see the moral decay in our society. In particular, we can see the grossly out of control federal government taking away more and more freedom from the people and the states. Many people choose to rely on the government rather than YHWH. We see adultery and fornication abounding and normalized. The murder of the unborn is not just accepted but celebrated and funded by the government on a grand scale. Education systems and news media have been corrupted and are propaganda tools for rejecting God and all He tells us to do.

Pray for revival. Do not accept the world’s ways.  Pray for your church family around the world and for the Father to raise up community, state, and national leaders who will lead us boldly toward YHWH rather than away from Him. Then ask Him to show you what your role will be and help you to accomplish it.

If you want revival, pray for it and then act as if you are part of bringing it forward by how you live your life. Revival only comes when we actively challenge the accepted pagan practices. It comes with conflict from those who do not want to change. It requires courage and faith.

We can not create revival by our own efforts without YHWH. The battle is not one of flesh but spiritual and it is YHWH who must move in the hearts of those who do not yet know Him to bring about change.

Ephesians 6:12-13

12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

John 6:44

44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

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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.