Read: Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27; Luke 12:8-24; Psalm 78:32-55; Proverbs 12:21-23
Moses gathered the people together and told them he was about to die and would not go over the Jordan with them; Joshua would lead them. He encouraged Joshua to be strong and courageous because it was God who would go before them. Then Moses wrote the law and gave the priest the copy so they could teach it to the people.
God showed Moses what would happen when he died. The people would turn from Him and forget God. They would go after false gods and all the cursed would fall on them. God gave Moses a song to teach the people so they would have the Word in their minds if not in their hearts. The song declared the goodness and the greatness of God. It reminded them of who they were and what God had done for them.
The way Moses led the children of Israel is our example of how to raise our children. We might not be able to make them do what is right when they grow up, but it is our responsibility to put the knowledge of God and the good news of Christ in their minds and their memories so that when they find themselves at the bottom of the barrel, those words can come to them and bring them deliverance.. Only the Holy Spirit can put it in their hearts but he is really good at doing that. He has had a lot of experience!
In Luke, Jesus was speaking before tens of thousands of people. Once he had outed the religious leaders he moved on to include the wealthy. The scribes and Pharisees taught that those that were rich were rich because of God’s favor on them. To appear righteous, they would do anything to become rich even if it meant not caring for their own parents, stealing from the offerings or cheating the people with dishonest weights. Jesus told them that greed would not get them closer to God. They had to be rich toward God. There is nothing wrong about being rich; as long as you are rich toward God also. It always goes back to the heart.
Lord, help us to remember all the Words and memories about you that you have given us. Help us to grow from them and not forget the goodness and greatness of your hand. Be with our children and bring them to the truth in their hearts.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Sat.’s Devo - The Choice is Ours
Read: Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20; Luke 11:37-12:7; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:1-20
God warned his children over and over about the consequences of being deceived by the worship of other gods of the people they would encounter. To be turned away by the splendor and spirit of other gods would cause all the curses to fall on them. Their sin will eventually eat away all the good in the land and their children will inherit a land full of diseases and waste.
But… when they woke up and realized how they got where they were and remembered the Lord, he will have mercy on them and heal their land and all the blessings will return. God will change their hearts and give them new hearts and return their curses to their enemies where they belong. They would become a delight to the Lord and vice versa.
He told them that obeying his law is not impossible or beyond their reach but it is in their mouth and in their heart. It is out of our heart that our mouth speaks (Luke 6:45), so if we want to know how we are doing spiritually, we need to listen to the things we are saying.
God has always been about free choice and he gave them the choice of following him and receiving the blessings or following dead, fake gods and receiving the curses.
In Luke, Jesus started his “woes”. If the religious leaders were going to attribute his works to Satan, then he was going to expose their lies. He started with the Pharisees and told them they looked good on the outside but inside they were full of robbery and wickedness. He called them “Fools” because they loved the praise of men and looking righteous when they were really spreading their unclean doctrine.
The experts in the Torah told Jesus that what he said to the Pharisees offended them so Jesus turned to them and gave them their “woe”. Jesus told them that they made up laws that were ridiculously calculated and impossible to keep. Their man-made laws made it so hard to get to God that they couldn’t even jump through their own hoops. They were total hypocrites who built monuments to the very prophets that their fathers killed. The blood of all the prophets from Abel to Zachariah would be on their heads in judgment. They would also be responsible for the fall of their own generation.
Needless to say, this did not make Jesus popular with the reigning religious regime. They made it their mission to twist his words and find some kind of fault in him.
Lord, help us to have mercy on those who are ignorant but to stand up for what is true.
God warned his children over and over about the consequences of being deceived by the worship of other gods of the people they would encounter. To be turned away by the splendor and spirit of other gods would cause all the curses to fall on them. Their sin will eventually eat away all the good in the land and their children will inherit a land full of diseases and waste.
But… when they woke up and realized how they got where they were and remembered the Lord, he will have mercy on them and heal their land and all the blessings will return. God will change their hearts and give them new hearts and return their curses to their enemies where they belong. They would become a delight to the Lord and vice versa.
He told them that obeying his law is not impossible or beyond their reach but it is in their mouth and in their heart. It is out of our heart that our mouth speaks (Luke 6:45), so if we want to know how we are doing spiritually, we need to listen to the things we are saying.
God has always been about free choice and he gave them the choice of following him and receiving the blessings or following dead, fake gods and receiving the curses.
In Luke, Jesus started his “woes”. If the religious leaders were going to attribute his works to Satan, then he was going to expose their lies. He started with the Pharisees and told them they looked good on the outside but inside they were full of robbery and wickedness. He called them “Fools” because they loved the praise of men and looking righteous when they were really spreading their unclean doctrine.
The experts in the Torah told Jesus that what he said to the Pharisees offended them so Jesus turned to them and gave them their “woe”. Jesus told them that they made up laws that were ridiculously calculated and impossible to keep. Their man-made laws made it so hard to get to God that they couldn’t even jump through their own hoops. They were total hypocrites who built monuments to the very prophets that their fathers killed. The blood of all the prophets from Abel to Zachariah would be on their heads in judgment. They would also be responsible for the fall of their own generation.
Needless to say, this did not make Jesus popular with the reigning religious regime. They made it their mission to twist his words and find some kind of fault in him.
Lord, help us to have mercy on those who are ignorant but to stand up for what is true.
Friday, April 5, 2019
Fri.’s Devo - The Blessings and the Curses
Read: Deuteronomy 28:1-68; Luke 11:14-36; Psalm 77:1-20; Proverbs 12:18
Reading the blessings makes you wonder why anyone would choose to disobey God. During Solomon’s reign was the closest the nation got to living in the blessings. But, it didn’t take long for them to stray and move back to the curses. Proverbs 25:2 says that a curse will not come without a cause. We can read the blessings and the curses and examine our lives to see which we are living in. Most people blame God for everything bad that happens to them and never consider that it may be their fault. Bad things do happen to good people who are obedient and love the Lord. A trial is not a curse. Trials come to promote us; curses come to destroy us. Ask the Holy Spirit when you are in doubt.
In Luke, Jesus healed a mute man and he spoke. This was one of the Messianic miracles that the priests had deemed only the Messiah, when he came, would be able to do. When Jesus did this Messianic miracle, they had to respond. They decided that Jesus had to do it under Satan’s power and not God’s. This was the deciding moment for them and Jesus pronounced judgment on them from this time on. We will read about those woes tomorrow. Jesus ministry took a turn and he no longer did his miracles in the open, but in secret. He had been rejected from his own and now he would be less public and more discrete. He also would require that they had faith to be healed.
The crowds wanted to see signs that he was the Messiah and he had shown them every sign that the Torah gave and the still didn’t believe. So, Jesus told them the last sign they would see is him die and raise to life just like Jonah did. Of course, they didn’t understand… but what was new!
Our Psalms says that God walked through the Red Sea before them but his footprints were hidden. How cool!
Lord, help us to live in your blessings and grow through your trials.
Reading the blessings makes you wonder why anyone would choose to disobey God. During Solomon’s reign was the closest the nation got to living in the blessings. But, it didn’t take long for them to stray and move back to the curses. Proverbs 25:2 says that a curse will not come without a cause. We can read the blessings and the curses and examine our lives to see which we are living in. Most people blame God for everything bad that happens to them and never consider that it may be their fault. Bad things do happen to good people who are obedient and love the Lord. A trial is not a curse. Trials come to promote us; curses come to destroy us. Ask the Holy Spirit when you are in doubt.
In Luke, Jesus healed a mute man and he spoke. This was one of the Messianic miracles that the priests had deemed only the Messiah, when he came, would be able to do. When Jesus did this Messianic miracle, they had to respond. They decided that Jesus had to do it under Satan’s power and not God’s. This was the deciding moment for them and Jesus pronounced judgment on them from this time on. We will read about those woes tomorrow. Jesus ministry took a turn and he no longer did his miracles in the open, but in secret. He had been rejected from his own and now he would be less public and more discrete. He also would require that they had faith to be healed.
The crowds wanted to see signs that he was the Messiah and he had shown them every sign that the Torah gave and the still didn’t believe. So, Jesus told them the last sign they would see is him die and raise to life just like Jonah did. Of course, they didn’t understand… but what was new!
Our Psalms says that God walked through the Red Sea before them but his footprints were hidden. How cool!
Lord, help us to live in your blessings and grow through your trials.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Thurs.’s Devo - God's Covenant of Love
Read: Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26; Luke 10:38-11:13; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 12:15-17
Once the children of Israel had lived in the land for three years and had their own harvest, they were to bring their first fruits to the Lord. They were to put them in a basket and bring them to the priests who would put them at the foot of the altar. Then the people would declare their story of how their great God delivered them out of bondage and gave them this land. This was to remind them of where they had come from and who it was that had blessed them. Everything belonged to the Lord, but he was only asking for their first fruits and a tenth of the harvest. The rest of the harvest was theirs to enjoy. The tenth of the harvest went to feed the priests, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. That was God’s plan for the welfare of his people. Next, they were to proclaim their obedience in following God’s laws.
When they crossed over the Jordan, they were to write the law on uncut stones and set them up as a memorial that this was the law of their land. Anyone who came into the land could see the laws of the land and know what they were entering.
We are to put the Word in our hearts and it is to be the standard of all that we do. In Deuteronomy 11:18, God told them to lay up God’s word in their hearts and in their soul, and to bind them for a sign upon their hand, that they might be frontlets between their eyes. David said, “thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” God’s Word is our instruction manual to life.
God told them to send half of the tribal leader to Mt. Gerizim to read the blessings and half of the leaders to Mt. Ebal to read the curses. These mountains are very close to one another. The people were to stand in the valley between the two and the acoustics were so perfect that they could clearly hear everything that was read without a microphone. The first curse had to do with man’s relationship to God and the others had to do with their relationship to each other. If we get the first one right then it will be easier to do the rest. At the end of every curse, the people were to agree verbally.
Tomorrow we get to read the good stuff - the blessings.
In Luke, we read the famous story of Mary and Martha. Mary stood for the new wineskin. She was a woman who was being taught the Torah by the very Word that became flesh. For a woman to be taught the Torah in her day was very unconventional. She should have been up working, but she chose to sit in a position of rest and receive. That was another break from tradition. Jesus said that she was choosing the most important over the natural. Martha stood for tradition. She was doing what was conventional for her to do. She was working to feed everyone and serve. It is easier to be busy about God’s business than to sit and receive and walk in the Spirit. But Jesus was bringing a new covenant and a new way of living. Mary just found it first.
Jesus taught them to pray and his prayer is still our standard. We worship God for who he is first because worship and praise is the way into the presence of the Lord. Then we pray his heart which is to bring his kingdom down to earth. This gives us a heavenly perspective about life. Then we forgive and pray for mercy.
Jesus demonstrated how to pray for one another. We approach him as a friend helping a friend. We keep praying till we see it happen. When we need our needs met we pray to our father who cares about our needs. When we are fighting our adversary, we approach God as the just judge who is the only one who can atone for out sins and judge the devil.
Lord, help us to keep praying for those who need our prayers. Thank you for all you have done for us and for your kingdom. Help us to bring that kingdom in heaven down to earth so that the world can see your goodness and chose you as their Lord.
Once the children of Israel had lived in the land for three years and had their own harvest, they were to bring their first fruits to the Lord. They were to put them in a basket and bring them to the priests who would put them at the foot of the altar. Then the people would declare their story of how their great God delivered them out of bondage and gave them this land. This was to remind them of where they had come from and who it was that had blessed them. Everything belonged to the Lord, but he was only asking for their first fruits and a tenth of the harvest. The rest of the harvest was theirs to enjoy. The tenth of the harvest went to feed the priests, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. That was God’s plan for the welfare of his people. Next, they were to proclaim their obedience in following God’s laws.
When they crossed over the Jordan, they were to write the law on uncut stones and set them up as a memorial that this was the law of their land. Anyone who came into the land could see the laws of the land and know what they were entering.
We are to put the Word in our hearts and it is to be the standard of all that we do. In Deuteronomy 11:18, God told them to lay up God’s word in their hearts and in their soul, and to bind them for a sign upon their hand, that they might be frontlets between their eyes. David said, “thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” God’s Word is our instruction manual to life.
God told them to send half of the tribal leader to Mt. Gerizim to read the blessings and half of the leaders to Mt. Ebal to read the curses. These mountains are very close to one another. The people were to stand in the valley between the two and the acoustics were so perfect that they could clearly hear everything that was read without a microphone. The first curse had to do with man’s relationship to God and the others had to do with their relationship to each other. If we get the first one right then it will be easier to do the rest. At the end of every curse, the people were to agree verbally.
Tomorrow we get to read the good stuff - the blessings.
In Luke, we read the famous story of Mary and Martha. Mary stood for the new wineskin. She was a woman who was being taught the Torah by the very Word that became flesh. For a woman to be taught the Torah in her day was very unconventional. She should have been up working, but she chose to sit in a position of rest and receive. That was another break from tradition. Jesus said that she was choosing the most important over the natural. Martha stood for tradition. She was doing what was conventional for her to do. She was working to feed everyone and serve. It is easier to be busy about God’s business than to sit and receive and walk in the Spirit. But Jesus was bringing a new covenant and a new way of living. Mary just found it first.
Jesus taught them to pray and his prayer is still our standard. We worship God for who he is first because worship and praise is the way into the presence of the Lord. Then we pray his heart which is to bring his kingdom down to earth. This gives us a heavenly perspective about life. Then we forgive and pray for mercy.
Jesus demonstrated how to pray for one another. We approach him as a friend helping a friend. We keep praying till we see it happen. When we need our needs met we pray to our father who cares about our needs. When we are fighting our adversary, we approach God as the just judge who is the only one who can atone for out sins and judge the devil.
Lord, help us to keep praying for those who need our prayers. Thank you for all you have done for us and for your kingdom. Help us to bring that kingdom in heaven down to earth so that the world can see your goodness and chose you as their Lord.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Wed.’s Devo - God is Holy
Read: Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19; Luke 10:13-37; Psalm 73:1-10; Proverbs 12:12-14
Every law in the Old Testament is a pictures to teach us godly doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16). In their camp was to be the dwelling place of God. It is like our body that is the temple of the Holy Spirit. All uncleanness and sin had to be put outside the camp just as sin cannot remain in us. They were not to allow the Ammonites or Moabites inside their assembly because they actively tried to bring a curse down on them and refused to help them. These stand for principalities in the demonic realm to us. We fight those that are warring against us but we leave at peace those that aren’t. We don’t go looking for a fight. God told them not to hate the Edomite or the Egyptian because the Edomites were their brothers and they had been neighbors with the Egyptians.
If there is one thing we can glean from God’s laws it is that he is a holy God and he wants us to be holy people, not like their neighbors. God held them accountable for how they acted and how they treated one another because they were to be an example of Him. He cared about the alien also. God is a just god who wants us to be just and not cheat or show favoritism.
God ended by telling them to blot out the memory of Amelek from under heaven. Amelek means “perversion”. It just means “the wrong version” of everything. God has a version and Satan has a version and we have to have discernment or we will be sucked into thinking Satan’s ways are the right ones because they seem right. “There is a way that seems right unto man but its end are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25.
In Luke, Jesus was talking to his seventy disciples. He condemned cities in which he taught and did great miracles, yet they still didn’t believe he was the Messiah. He reminded the 70 that they were going out as Him and if the people accepted them then they were accepting Jesus.
When they returned they were excited that the demons were subject to Jesus’ name. Jesus told them that more importantly than that was that their names were written in heaven. He had seen Satan fall from heaven so he was not the powerful one. Satan is way overrated. God is the one who is King and we are to love him with all our hearts and our fellow man as we love ourselves. Jesus told the parable about the good Samaritan to show that a neighbor is not just someone who agrees with you or but one who shows mercy. We must be kind to those who aren’t like us or believe like us the same way we are kind to those who do. It is the kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance.
Lord, help us to walk in mercy and authority. Help us not to tolerate evil but bring your righteousness to the earth.
Every law in the Old Testament is a pictures to teach us godly doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16). In their camp was to be the dwelling place of God. It is like our body that is the temple of the Holy Spirit. All uncleanness and sin had to be put outside the camp just as sin cannot remain in us. They were not to allow the Ammonites or Moabites inside their assembly because they actively tried to bring a curse down on them and refused to help them. These stand for principalities in the demonic realm to us. We fight those that are warring against us but we leave at peace those that aren’t. We don’t go looking for a fight. God told them not to hate the Edomite or the Egyptian because the Edomites were their brothers and they had been neighbors with the Egyptians.
If there is one thing we can glean from God’s laws it is that he is a holy God and he wants us to be holy people, not like their neighbors. God held them accountable for how they acted and how they treated one another because they were to be an example of Him. He cared about the alien also. God is a just god who wants us to be just and not cheat or show favoritism.
God ended by telling them to blot out the memory of Amelek from under heaven. Amelek means “perversion”. It just means “the wrong version” of everything. God has a version and Satan has a version and we have to have discernment or we will be sucked into thinking Satan’s ways are the right ones because they seem right. “There is a way that seems right unto man but its end are the ways of death.” Proverbs 16:25.
In Luke, Jesus was talking to his seventy disciples. He condemned cities in which he taught and did great miracles, yet they still didn’t believe he was the Messiah. He reminded the 70 that they were going out as Him and if the people accepted them then they were accepting Jesus.
When they returned they were excited that the demons were subject to Jesus’ name. Jesus told them that more importantly than that was that their names were written in heaven. He had seen Satan fall from heaven so he was not the powerful one. Satan is way overrated. God is the one who is King and we are to love him with all our hearts and our fellow man as we love ourselves. Jesus told the parable about the good Samaritan to show that a neighbor is not just someone who agrees with you or but one who shows mercy. We must be kind to those who aren’t like us or believe like us the same way we are kind to those who do. It is the kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance.
Lord, help us to walk in mercy and authority. Help us not to tolerate evil but bring your righteousness to the earth.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Tues.’s Devo - Kingdom Perspective
Read: Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30; Luke 9:51-10:12; Psalm 74:1-23; Proverbs 12:11
Today we read a lot of laws about murder and marriage…not that they are related, lol. When it came to murder, all blood had to be accounted for and atoned. If a person was found murdered and no one knew who did it, the nearest town had to remove the guilt by atoning for the blood or the people would be held responsible. God wanted to instill in his people the importance of a life. Every person was important to him.
God also wanted man to know that he was responsible for his actions especially towards another human being. We are to take care of one another.
A woman is not to take on the authority that God gave to the man and the man is not to shirk his responsibility as the head of his household, that would be exchanging clothes. God hates mixture because that is what muddies our conscience and leads to deception.
God also gave many laws protecting women. Women throughout history have been the most abused people group and God wanted them protected. Jesus reached out to women in his day and gave them dignity and love. The woman stands for the church and God wants to restore her dignity and honor.
In Luke, Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him into a town in Samaria where they were going to spend the night. The people of the town refused to let them stay. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven and destroy them, but Jesus just continued walking. They were on their way to Jerusalem and Jesus knew what was awaiting him there. The disciples were clueless.
On their way two men approached Jesus. One was zealous and said that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. Jesus reminded him that he had no home on this earth. Jesus asked another man to follow him but he asked to go and bury his father first. Jesus saw through his excuse and told him to let the dead bury the dead; he needed to go and spread the kingdom of God. He was trying to tell both of these men that the kingdom of God was not on this earth and was so much higher and worth living for than anything on this earth.
Jesus appointed 70 men to go work in his harvest. They were to walk by faith just as he had. God would provide their needs.
Jesus invitation to follow him and work in his harvest is still open to all who will heed the call. Nothing on this earth is going to last, but the things we do for the kingdom are eternal and will never die.
Lord, help us to have a kingdom perspective and spend our energy on what is eternal.
Today we read a lot of laws about murder and marriage…not that they are related, lol. When it came to murder, all blood had to be accounted for and atoned. If a person was found murdered and no one knew who did it, the nearest town had to remove the guilt by atoning for the blood or the people would be held responsible. God wanted to instill in his people the importance of a life. Every person was important to him.
God also wanted man to know that he was responsible for his actions especially towards another human being. We are to take care of one another.
A woman is not to take on the authority that God gave to the man and the man is not to shirk his responsibility as the head of his household, that would be exchanging clothes. God hates mixture because that is what muddies our conscience and leads to deception.
God also gave many laws protecting women. Women throughout history have been the most abused people group and God wanted them protected. Jesus reached out to women in his day and gave them dignity and love. The woman stands for the church and God wants to restore her dignity and honor.
In Luke, Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him into a town in Samaria where they were going to spend the night. The people of the town refused to let them stay. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven and destroy them, but Jesus just continued walking. They were on their way to Jerusalem and Jesus knew what was awaiting him there. The disciples were clueless.
On their way two men approached Jesus. One was zealous and said that he would follow Jesus wherever he went. Jesus reminded him that he had no home on this earth. Jesus asked another man to follow him but he asked to go and bury his father first. Jesus saw through his excuse and told him to let the dead bury the dead; he needed to go and spread the kingdom of God. He was trying to tell both of these men that the kingdom of God was not on this earth and was so much higher and worth living for than anything on this earth.
Jesus appointed 70 men to go work in his harvest. They were to walk by faith just as he had. God would provide their needs.
Jesus invitation to follow him and work in his harvest is still open to all who will heed the call. Nothing on this earth is going to last, but the things we do for the kingdom are eternal and will never die.
Lord, help us to have a kingdom perspective and spend our energy on what is eternal.
Monday, April 1, 2019
Mon.’s Devo - The Fulfillment
Read: Deuteronomy 18:1-20:20; Luke 9:28-50; Psalm 73:1-28; Proverbs 12:10
The priests were not to get their inheritance in the world but their inheritance was the Lord himself. That is our inheritance as priests to the Lord. The priests were to get the meat from the burnt offerings and the first fruits of grain, wine oil and wool. The things given to the Lord were theirs also. If a Levite received an inheritance from his family and moved to a Levite town he was not to be penalized by having an inheritance but was to be paid the same as the other priests. God is not a socialistic god. Everything that Jesus received from his father is now ours also.
When they entered their land, they were not to use the spiritual methods of the people living in the land. They sacrificed their sons and daughters for favor, practiced divination and sorcery, interpreted omens, engaged in witchcraft, cast spells and used mediums and spiritualists who talked to the dead. In our nation they do all these things under the umbrella of energy, raki, shamins, etc. and “new age” techniques. Don’t be fooled by the new language, it is the same thing.
God would not use any of their techniques but he would speak through prophets. They would know if he was a true prophet because of the fruit his prophecy would bear.
When they got settled in the new land they were to set up cities of refuge close to where the people lived and make clear roads with signs to the closest city of refuge. If someone witnessed a fatal accident and there was no witness to exonerate him, he had to be able to get to the city fast, before the avenger of blood caught him and killed him. As they enlarged their land, they had more cities of refuge built. They started with six and ended up with 48 cities of refuge (Joshua 21:41).
God gave them instructions about who should go to war and who shouldn’t. We go to war when we fight spiritual enemies. We should not engage in spiritual warfare if we are walking in disobedience, or we have just finished a work and not rested, or we have not completed a vow we made to the Lord. We can not win if either of these things are not completed. We have to have all our armor on to be an effective warrior.
When faced with an adversary, they were first to ask them to surrender. If they did, then they became their slaves. If they didn’t then they attacked and completely destroyed their town and its people. If they were laying a siege to the city, they could not cut down any tree that was bearing fruit. Trees are people (Psalms 1). If people outside the city are actually bearing fruit, they were not to destroy them. These trees stand for people that have a heart to repent. They are not truly wicked just in the wrong camp. We witness to these people and cause them to bear fruit in the right camp - the kingdom of God.
In Luke, Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the mountain with him to pray. This is the first time Jesus invited his disciples into his prayer time. They fell asleep, but awoke to see Jesus’ body glorified. Then they witnessed Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah about his own exodus from this earth. Both Moses and Elijah had been taken by God to heaven just as Jesus was about to be taken. They didn’t kill Jesus: he gave his spirit up to God (Luke 23:45). He was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.
When Peter wanted to make three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, God spell from the cloud and told them to listen to his Son. Jesus was bringing a new covenant, not of a written law, but a law written on the heart of every believer.
Lord, thank you for your new covenant of grace and spirit. Help us to listen with our spiritual ears and obey.
The priests were not to get their inheritance in the world but their inheritance was the Lord himself. That is our inheritance as priests to the Lord. The priests were to get the meat from the burnt offerings and the first fruits of grain, wine oil and wool. The things given to the Lord were theirs also. If a Levite received an inheritance from his family and moved to a Levite town he was not to be penalized by having an inheritance but was to be paid the same as the other priests. God is not a socialistic god. Everything that Jesus received from his father is now ours also.
When they entered their land, they were not to use the spiritual methods of the people living in the land. They sacrificed their sons and daughters for favor, practiced divination and sorcery, interpreted omens, engaged in witchcraft, cast spells and used mediums and spiritualists who talked to the dead. In our nation they do all these things under the umbrella of energy, raki, shamins, etc. and “new age” techniques. Don’t be fooled by the new language, it is the same thing.
God would not use any of their techniques but he would speak through prophets. They would know if he was a true prophet because of the fruit his prophecy would bear.
When they got settled in the new land they were to set up cities of refuge close to where the people lived and make clear roads with signs to the closest city of refuge. If someone witnessed a fatal accident and there was no witness to exonerate him, he had to be able to get to the city fast, before the avenger of blood caught him and killed him. As they enlarged their land, they had more cities of refuge built. They started with six and ended up with 48 cities of refuge (Joshua 21:41).
God gave them instructions about who should go to war and who shouldn’t. We go to war when we fight spiritual enemies. We should not engage in spiritual warfare if we are walking in disobedience, or we have just finished a work and not rested, or we have not completed a vow we made to the Lord. We can not win if either of these things are not completed. We have to have all our armor on to be an effective warrior.
When faced with an adversary, they were first to ask them to surrender. If they did, then they became their slaves. If they didn’t then they attacked and completely destroyed their town and its people. If they were laying a siege to the city, they could not cut down any tree that was bearing fruit. Trees are people (Psalms 1). If people outside the city are actually bearing fruit, they were not to destroy them. These trees stand for people that have a heart to repent. They are not truly wicked just in the wrong camp. We witness to these people and cause them to bear fruit in the right camp - the kingdom of God.
In Luke, Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the mountain with him to pray. This is the first time Jesus invited his disciples into his prayer time. They fell asleep, but awoke to see Jesus’ body glorified. Then they witnessed Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah about his own exodus from this earth. Both Moses and Elijah had been taken by God to heaven just as Jesus was about to be taken. They didn’t kill Jesus: he gave his spirit up to God (Luke 23:45). He was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.
When Peter wanted to make three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, God spell from the cloud and told them to listen to his Son. Jesus was bringing a new covenant, not of a written law, but a law written on the heart of every believer.
Lord, thank you for your new covenant of grace and spirit. Help us to listen with our spiritual ears and obey.
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