“2 When you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you,
a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the Lord your God and
violate the covenant. 3 For instance, they might serve other gods or worship
the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have
strictly forbidden. 4 When you hear about it, investigate the matter
thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5
then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the
gates of the town and stoned to death….. 8 “Suppose a case arises in a local
court that is too hard for you to decide—for instance, whether someone is
guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a difficult lawsuit, or a case
involving different kinds of assault. Take such legal cases to the place the
Lord your God will choose, 9 and present them to the Levitical priests or the
judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict. 10
You must carry out the verdict they announce and the sentence they prescribe at
the place the Lord chooses. You must do exactly what they say. 11 After they
have interpreted the law and declared their verdict, the sentence they impose
must be fully executed; do not modify it in any way. 12 Anyone arrogant enough
to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the Lord
your God must die. In this way you will purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then
everyone else will hear about it and be afraid to act so arrogantly. 14 “You
are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it
over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us
like the other nations around us.’ 15 If this happens, be sure to select as
king the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he
may not be a foreigner.16 “The king must not build up a large stable of horses
for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told
you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ 17 The king must not take many wives for
himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not
accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself. 18 “When he
sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction
on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 He must always keep
that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will
learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions
and decrees. 20 This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and
acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from
turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that
he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.”
God’s people
were about to settle down in a new place, God had decided to place them. In this new place they would be facing people
with different cultural practices and ethical backgrounds; therefore it was
necessary for God’s people to be given some guidelines in regards to what they
would be facing.
The first thing mentioned is
something He had “strictly forbidden” from the beginning of times. Serving other gods, worship the sun, moon,
the stars, the forces of heaven, in other words idol worshiping, was forbidden,
and if after further investigation the person was found guilty, back then was punishable
with death. Hard cases of assault, manslaughter,
or difficult lawsuit, were to be taken to God in which case the priest would
hear the case and declare the verdict. I’m sure you might be thinking “wait a
minute, you say take it to God, and then you come and give it to the priest”,
but the thing is that GOD IS above the priest, therefore, thru the priest GOD
would let us know His will. If your
thinking “but the priest is a man”, and yes that’s true, but is a man that is
consecrated to God, so GOD rule this man’s thoughts, therefore God would
incline this man’s thoughts towards God’s decision. This is why, it’s so
plainly explained in verse ten, “you must carry out the sentence they prescribe
at the place THE LORD chooses”, because it’s GOD who is giving the direction.
Other random guidelines included
the same principle of direction, thru God.
When selecting a leader it was to be the man THE LORD would choose, one
of them, NOT an outsider. Taking many wives would turn the leader’s heart away
from the Lord, so it was not supported; same with the accumulation of wealth in
silver and gold. A personal copy of the law was to be carried at all times and
read daily, following several good reasons would come out of the daily carrying
and reading The Word:
1.
In order for
the person to fear and obey the Lord,
2.
To prevent personal pride
3.
To prevent from acting as if the person is above
the fellow citizens.
4.
From turning away from the commands in the
smallest way
5.
To ensure the coming descendants would reign for
many generations, and
6. To ensure they be afraid to act self-sufficient or
arrogant
If we, as Christian men and women
of God, would apply these principles to our life today, not only life would be
easier but less stressful for everyone.
Being consecrated to God is a great thing; having the certainty that you’ll
make the right choice its awesome, but knowing that you are following The Lord’s
command by leading the nation in seeking His face to better the land and the
generations to come and seeing that they are wholeheartedly following HIM, that
my friends, that’s it’s priceless!
I pray you will understand that
where you are in life, you can call upon God for His direction. If HE wants you to move, HE will impress that
in your heart, and I pray you follow Him.
If He wants you to stay, HE will impress that desire to remain where you’re
at. This principle does not need to be
applied only to a physical location; it can be a spiritual location too.
Maybe you’re going to church but
the hunger of being in His presence has increased and you want to be in church
(His presence) more than just Sundays, then look within your own church for additional
opportunities to study the Word, maybe a men’s, women’s or couple’s classes. Or
check ours, if you’re around the Clarksville, TN area check the footnotes for
its website[1] link
for address and additional info about us.
One thing I would love for you visit is a resource we offer that not too
many churches have, our own totally free of charge Biblical Study Center to
expand your Biblical knowledge. All Nations Biblical Study Center,
offers weekly classes including a Sunday school class; they also offer free of
charge a wide curriculum classes online, and several TV segments. I invite you to check this resource, for if
perhaps you attend a different church you can come to the classes outside of
your church schedule, or if you are not in the area, the online classes are
available anytime, just check the footnotes for their website link[2]
and their YouTube channel[3].
For now, I pray the Lord continue
to develop a greater hunger for HIS WORD and HIS WAYS on a daily basis; for you
to follow HIS lead for HE has great plans to prosper you and give you a bright
future. I pray that you’ll realize that
life is worth of living when you choose to live for that ONE who is giving you
the breath of life you’re taking right now.
Also I pray you understand that although our body has a limited life-time;
after the body is gone our soul will remain alive forever, and if you lived for
GOD then your soul will stay in heaven with Him, forever. On the other hand I pray
you also understand that if you have not committed your life to God and aren’t living
for HIM, when your body die your soul will remain alive but not in heaven with
God, but in the lake of fire prepared for the devil. This is why I pray right
now you choose to commit or recommit your life to The Lord. Just say, “Lord I
know I’m a sinner, and You are the only One who can save me, for you sent Jesus
to die in the cross for my sins, I accept You as my Savior, so help me to live
for You!”
If you prayed this prayer write
me a short note; I will pray and rejoice with you, for the glory of God, in
Jesus name, AMEN!
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