Thur.’s Devo - Take Responsibility

Read: Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30; Luke 9:51-10:12; Psalm 74:1-23; Proverbs 12:11
There is so much in this reading that I’m just going to touch on a few of the laws.
If someone has been murdered in a field and the murderer is unknown, then the elders were to measure the distance from the crime scene to the nearest town. Once the town is determined, the elders of the town were to take an innocent, untrained heifer and lead it to a valley that had not been plowed that had a stream flowing through it. They were to break the heifer’s neck and wash their hands over the heifer and proclaim that they did not shed this person’s blood nor see it happen. Then they would pray for the people a prayer of mercy and ask God to cleanse the guilt of murder from the community.
This is all a picture of atonement. One day, an innocent man would be taken through a valley to Golgotha and his blood would atone for all the murder and sin of the world. Pilate washed his hands and proclaimed Jesus innocent (Matthew 27:24). The people said that his blood would be on their hands and on their children. Barabbas was released and Jesus died.
A rebellious son is to be taken to the elders and they are to stone him to death to purge the evil from among you. That means that when we have a rebellious son, we bring him to the foot of the cross and get the intercessors to speak prayers of faith that will kill his flesh and raise the son to walk in righteousness.
Verse 22 talks about a person who has been hung on a tree. He is to be buried that same day to prevent the spread of sin. That is a person who has come to Christ (he died with Christ on the cross) and needs to be buried right away. Buried is to be baptized and have his sins buried with Christ. Baptism is very important to be able to live a sin free life. It washes the past sins away so we can start new.
Chapter 22 is all about taking responsibility for the unsaved. Donkeys that are lost are stubborn people who are unsaved. We are to help them even if they don’t belong in our family or in our church. We need to pray for them and help them find their way to Jesus.
Marriage is all about covenant. We are not to break covenants we have made with God. I think verse 22 is interesting because if a man and woman are caught in the act of adultery, both of them are to be stoned. In the case of Jesus’ time only the woman was brought out to be stoned. That was the injustice that Jesus addressed and set her free.
In Luke, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified or as Luke put it “to ascend to heaven.” That was much more positive! Some of the towns welcomed him and some didn’t. Lines were being drawn. The hearts of men were being exposed. Some said they wanted to follow but when it came down to actually following through, they came up with excuses. This was their day of accountability and many were choosing not to follow Christ. This is a picture of how people will be when he comes again. They will have great intentions but no follow through. To follow Jesus will cost us everything.
Lord, may we take responsibility for our own souls and the souls of those around us. May our prayers be as incense to you and may you pour out abundant mercy and grace on our nation.