Fri.’s Devo - Good Seed

Read: Deuteronomy 4:1-49; Luke 6:39-7:10; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 11:28 The Lord told them not to add or subtract from the laws he had given them but to obey them. When Jesus arrived on the earth they had so added to the law that they had lost the real meaning of the commandments. Jesus kept referring to the original law which most of them didn’t even know. God told them that if they obeyed his laws they would look wise and intelligent to the surrounding nations who would be jealous of their laws because they were so just and fair. He told them not to forget what God did to the people who worshipped Baal at Peor or the voice they heard as God proclaimed his commandments at Mt. Sinai. They didn’t see the Lord so they were not to try to make an image of what they thought he might look like. God would send down his exact image in the face of Jesus Christ, his son. (Hebrews 1:3) Moses would not cross over with them into the land but he called heaven and earth to be a witness against them. If they broke God’s covenant they would quickly disappear from the land and be destroyed and only a remnant would survive to be scattered among the nations. In those nations they would be forced to worship dead gods of stone and wood. They would eventually cry out to the living God to rescue them. No other nation in all of time had heard the voice of God as a nation and seen all the miraculous signs and wonders they had seen. God chose them to be his own people and he had never done that before to any people. The laws God gave them were good and would insure them a long prosperous life. For the three tribes that had their land east of the Jordan, Moses set apart three cities of refuge. They were Bezer in Reuben’s land, Ramoth in Gilead for Gad and Golan in Bashan for Manasseh. In Luke, Jesus addressed their blindness. They were spiritually blind and needed someone who could see to lead them. If they wanted to see they had to first get the blinders out of their own eyes instead of trying to judge others. Jesus explained that people are like trees and the seed they came from was either good or bad. If it was good then it would produce good fruit but if it was evil it would not be able to produce good fruit - only bad. Those who listened to Jesus and believed were like builders digging deep into the ground and pouring a firm foundation and then building on it. That house would not be able to fall. The next thing that happened was an example of this very teaching. A Roman officer had a slave that he highly valued who was fatally sick. He came to Jesus to beg him to come and heal his servant. The people told Jesus how good this Roman officer was. He loved the Jewish people and even built them a synagogue. He was a tree from a good seed. Jesus perceived this and went to his house. On the way he was stopped by a friend who had a message from the officer for Jesus. It said that he was unworthy for Jesus to come to his house but he could send his word and it would heal the servant. Jesus was amazed at his faith and healed his servant right then and there. Lord, may we trust in your unfailing love for us. Thank you that your Word is good and your commandments are just and fair.