Sat.’s Devo - God’s Law -

Read: Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30; Luke 9:51-10:12; Psalm 74:1-23; Proverbs 12:11 When a person was found murdered in a field and the murderer was unknown, the nearest city was to atone for the murder. The elders of that town were to lead a heifer down to a valley that had a stream running through it. There they were to break its neck. The Levitical priest would then step forward and pronounce a blessing. Next, the elders would wash their hands over the heifer and confess that they did not shed this person’s blood or see it happen. Then the people would be absolved of the guilt of this person’s blood. Murder had to be atoned for so the elders acted as the murderer as they broke the heifer’s neck. The Levitical priest acted as Jesus who stepped forward and took the guilt himself before God, pronouncing a blessing and becoming the curse. The elders then washed their hands and were guiltless. Verses 15-17 remind me of the story of Rachel and Leah. Leah had the first son, Rueben, so he was entitled to the birthright even though Jacob loved Rachel the most and favored Joseph. It also reminds me of the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob stole Esau’s birthright which was to be given by the father. He had to steal the blessing to make it official because the father gives the birthright through the blessing. Even God did not give Esau his blessing. He said later that Esau he hated and Jacob he loved. It makes me wonder what went on in the womb and who was suppose to come out first. I don’t know. In verses 22:1-4 God reminds us not to ignore our responsibilities to our neighbors. There are too many commandments to comment on them all but here are some summaries. God hates mixture: mixing crops, mixing animals, mixing materials, etc. Everything must remain pure and honest. Marriage must be pure and honest with no deception or it will not stand. In Luke it was getting close to Jesus time to die so he set his mind toward Jerusalem. He sent his messengers ahead of him to a Samaritan village but they wouldn’t welcome him because he was on his way to Jerusalem. The disciples wanted to call down fire to destroy their town but Jesus rebuked them for this and they went to the next village. Many confessed that they wanted to follow Jesus but had excuses when it came down to actually doing it. He did chose 72 others and sent them to all the towns and places he planned to visit. They were to see if the town was open to hearing the good news that the Kingdom of God was near them now. If they were receptive they were to accept their hospitality, if they weren’t they were to wipe the dust from their feet to show that they were abandoning them to their fate. Lord, please step forward for the sins of our nation. We repent of all the murdering and sin that has gone untoned for. We pray that your blood would atone for our sins. Thank you for your loving kindness.