“You MUST NOT pass
along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying
on the witness stand. 2 “You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When
you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to
twist justice. 3 And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person
just because that person is poor. 4 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey
that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. 5 If you see that
the donkey of someone who hates you has
collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.
6 “In a lawsuit, you
MUST NOT deny justice to the poor.
7 “Be sure NEVER to charge anyone falsely
with evil. NEVER sentence an
innocent or blameless person to death, for I NEVER declare a guilty person to be innocent. 8 “Take no bribes,
for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes
even a righteous person twist the truth. 9 “You MUST NOT oppress foreigners. You
know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners
in the land of Egypt… 12 “You have six days
each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox
and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners
living among you to be refreshed. 13 “Pay close attention
to ALL MY Instructions. You must not call on the name of any other gods. Do
not even speak their names.….
A Promise of the Lord’s Presence
20 “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and
lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay
close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my
representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. 22 But if you are careful to obey him,
following all my instructions, then I
will be an enemy to your enemies,
and I will oppose those who
oppose you…. 24 You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in
any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy
them and smash their sacred pillars.25 “YOU MUST SERVE ONLY THE LORD YOUR GOD. If you
do, I will bless you with
food and water, and I will protect you from illness. 26 There will be no miscarriages or
infertility in your land, and I will
give you long, full lives. 27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and
create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all
your enemies turn and run. 28 I
will send terror[e] ahead
of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites….. 32 “Make no treaties with them or their
gods. 33 They
must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will
be caught in the trap of idolatry.”
The New Living Translation of The
Bible mentions the word, justice, 171 times[1]. But when we hear about justice, we think
about a validation in the law, it speaks of fairness especially in the way
people are treated or decisions are made.
The Blue Letter Bible says: “Justice is
rendering to everyone that which is his due. It has been distinguished from
equity in this respect, that while justice means merely the doing what positive
law demands, equity means the doing of what is fair and right in every separate
case.”[2] Normally
people calls for it, whether it is when a crimes happens and the criminal has
not been capture, or even when you buy a product and it’s broken or does not
operate properly. Even non Christians,
call for justice, not really knowing where does it comes from or who had set
the standards for it. This is an
important standpoint because, if you’re expecting justice from other than God, you
really will not be receiving exactly what you’re entitled to. On the other hand, because God is a just God,
and because HIS love for us, in HIS mercy HE will not give us exactly what we deserved
in terms of punishment. When the case is in regards to those who hurt or taken
advance on us He will vindicate us by allowing them to pay for what they’ve
done. Because HE IS GOD, and we ARE HIS
children, He IS for us! Also in HIS mercy, He had given us the standards for
what to go by, here are some of those in regards to justice.
There are some so basic but so commonly
target at that we frequently miss them, like not passing a long false rumors or
follow the wrong crowd. Others are a
bit more “delicately” covered, like accepting a bribe, but we have to flee from
temptation because accepting a bribe will make even a righteous person twist
the truth. Also working six days and
resting and refreshing yourself on the seventh, because we need to not only
give this body a chance to rest BUT GOD, deserves our worship (remember to keep
the Sabbath[3]
for the Lord?). I’ve known people that
boast about 10-15 days of work, with no a day in between to rest… sad, sad, sad
existence! At the end of all these instruction an important statement is made: “Pay
attention…. To ALL MY instructions” that’s so simple yet profound!
Then because God knows our
humanity, HE is alerting us about an angel that HE has given to each of us, to
protect us on our journey, and lead us to safety to the place GOD had prepared
for us. It makes me think that for ages when I heard people say that they
carried a white angel in one shoulder and a red-evil angel on the other
shoulder, and both battled for a personal decision, I thought they were crazy.
But really as the years had passed I’ve realized that it’s the spiritual battle
we all go thru, good vs. bad. God’s angel lead us God’s way, the way of doing
good not evil, and reading this passage is a confirmation that of it, and if we
keep this in mind, next time, He lead us in the way we ought to go, we will
obey God by not doing the opposite. In fact is convenient for us to keep this
in mind, because if we follow GOD, His instruction, and His way, the promise
that’s coming will be greater the outcome of going against Him. Some of the
blessings mention here are really cool, because He will be an enemy to my
enemies, and oppose those who oppose me… whoop whoop!!! In addition to these
blessings, speak also about a provision blessing, food, water and health, even
with no miscarriages or infertility, also long full lives… what else could
someone asked for??? But there is a clause, we must be faithful to God; WE MUST SERVE ONLY THE LORD OUR GOD.
I don’t know you, but
I’m for it! I’m going to try my best, to stay focus on HIM, aren’t you???
I pray you determine today, to
place your life on GOD’s hand, for there’s no better way to live. Call upon HIS name, ask HIM to forgive you, believe
that JESUS paid in the cross for our sins, and accept the gift of salvation.
Find a church closed by which motivates you to study The Bible in church and at
home, and you’ll be able to claim these and many other promises that had been
set only for those who live for God.
I’m praying you have a great day
in the Lord.
Let me know if you need help finding a church closed by your area. Be blessed in Jesus name, AMEN!
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