Deuteronomy 24

DAILY DEVOTION

FOR

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21

SCRIPTURE:  Deuteronomy 24

By: Josh Boles

Before we start today’s devotional, I just wanted to make sure you are aware that this will be the last devotional until Monday, November 26th. We hope that you have an incredible Thanksgiving weekend with your family.

Jeremy and I were talking just a few days ago at the BGCO annual meeting as to why we chose to cover the book of Deuteronomy. Joe pitched in on the conversation and asked us why we would do that? We were “mostly” joking, but there is also some truth in that. I’m sure, like us, you might be tired of reading about the Law. It can be daunting, and confusing to read sometimes. Plain and simple, it is hard work. There is a large cultural gap in the way we do things, and the way the Israelites had to do things. And obviously, the big difference between the two is Jesus. There are some other factors as well, but they all make interpreting Law difficult.

Although we are not under this Law anymore, rather the Law of righteousness under Christ, it still is applicable to our lives. The purpose of God’s Law for the Israelites is to ultimately show them how to obey, and they needed a lot of help. For them, living in such a way was a requirement, and as you have read in our journey through Deuteronomy, this was no easy task.

Today, we have Jesus interceding for us. He has fulfilled the Law in our place, but don’t we still need to know how to obey God? Should we not live our lives every day with the hopes of deeper devotion to God? Hopefully your answer is yes, and if so, then the Law can be a great guide. Let’s take our chapter today for an example. Primarily speaking, all the Laws in our chapter today concern our attitude and actions toward other people.

One of the first things we see is in regards to marriage. Take a look at verse 5. This is actually pretty common advice for anybody who is doing premarital counseling. We should always take time to be happy with our spouse. You simply cannot do this if you don’t treat each other with kindness and respect.

Verse 7 deals with steeling a fellow Israelite and either keeping him as a slave, or selling him. This is obviously not nice, you shouldn't do that. Verse 9 tells us that we should care for the sick and diseased. Verses 10-15 give us direction on how to treat our neighbors and the poor. I’m sure you could think of a few verses in the New Testament on how to treat your neighbor and the poor. The rest of the chapter deals primarily with the way we treat sojourners, basically people who don’t belong or wonderers, and then, widows.

The Law was meant to give the Israelites a way to live righteously. Deuteronomy is repetition of the Law, and it certainly is far from the only place in the Bible that these Laws are repeated. What we can gather from this is that the Israelites needed constant reminders on how to live a Godly life. I would ask you to consider these reminders as well. Some of these seem obvious. We should take care of the widows, the orphans, and the poor right? Well what are you doing to fulfill that? Are you actively trying to help those around you? If we want to deepen our devotion to God, we must always be evaluating how we treat other people. Why? Because the Bible tells us so! As we get into this holiday season, remember those around you who desperately need the love of Jesus. 

Deuteronomy 23

DAILY DEVOTION

FOR

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20

SCRIPTURE:  Deuteronomy 23

By: Jeremy Witt

As we begin this chapter, let me remind you that God desired for Israel to be pure and set apart.  Sacrifices were to be without defect and not mixed breeds.  The blood was to be pure.  Worship was center in Israel, and not only were the animals used in sacrifices, but the people of God were to be as well.  Chapter 23 is a combination of very “odd” stipulations that you would not expect to be in the Bible.  I remember reading this chapter as a old elementary school/young middle school student and giggling and gasping at some of these “odd” verses.  Verses 1-8 deal with worship and who could be in the assembly of the LORD and who could not.  Notice that some were not permitted for some time.  Some of these lengths seem extreme to us today, however if we keep in mind the purity component, the length of such discipline would allow for defects to be purified genetically. 

This chapter shows us (or least to me) that God truly knows us and our weaknesses by covering such a wide variety of things.  God is providing ways to keep the people clean and pure, and when such examples arise, there is a way to purify the camp afterwards.  This teaches us that God is sovereign and aware of the things that are hidden or unspoken.  I will let you determine which verses I am referring to here.  (Insert smiley/laughing face emoji here)

Verses 15-16 refer to slaves and God providing for them when they escape to Israel.  God is watching over these refugees just as He did when they were in Egypt.  What we can see here is that God provides for people, even the forgotten, neglected, abused, or weak people.  Just as in the New Testament, we are called to take care of the widows and orphans. 

Verses 17-18 refer to temple prostitution, which is common in every other religion around Israel. God forbid it for an Israelite to do this knowing that they would be tempted by this.  Again God is protecting the family and marriage in His original design. 

We see examples of loaning money (verses 19-20), being honest with your words and promises (verses 21-23), and walking through your neighbor’s property (verses 24-25). 

This chapter covers a wide variety of things as our next two chapters will continue to do, as God is covering and providing instructions to keep people pure and set apart before Him.