Devotions

shut up and listen up

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

Photo by Ivandrei Pretorius on Pexels.com

shut up and listen up

Deuteronomy 27:9-10 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 27:9 Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, and this is what they said: “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of Yahveh your God.
Deuteronomy 27:10 Obey Yahveh your God and follow his commands and prescriptions I am giving you today.”

shut up and listen up

Every now and then, someone close to me has something to say to me. I may not want to, but on those days I need to shut up and listen up. I don’t need to respond, to converse, to give excuses, or reason out and explain everything. I need to hear what my friend or spouse or child is saying. I need to understand their point of view. Because even though I spend lots of time studying the Bible, sometimes God speaks to me loudest through them. I may not like what they say. It usually makes me feel uncomfortable to hear it. But it is what I need to hear.

This passage records a day like that for the nation of Israel. Moses and the priests had to get the attention of their nation that day and point them in the right direction. The fact that Yahveh was their God implied that they had a responsibility to obey him and follow his commands.

Lord, make us people who know when to shut up and listen up.

Posted in discernment, humility, listening, revelation | Tagged Deuteronomy 27 | 1 Comment

an altar of stones

Posted on April 21, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

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an altar of stones

Deuteronomy 27:4-8 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 27:4 When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster.
Deuteronomy 27:5 Build an altar of stones there to Yahveh your God – do not use any iron tool on them.
Deuteronomy 27:6 Use uncut stones to build the altar of Yahveh your God and offer ascending offerings to Yahveh your God on it.
Deuteronomy 27:7 There you are to sacrifice offerings for healthy relationships, eat, and enjoy the face of Yahveh your God.
Deuteronomy 27:8 Write clearly all the words of this instruction on the plastered stones.”

an altar of stones

The altar was to be the place to feast and celebrate the presence of God among the Israelites, and the sacrifice was to ensure that the Israelites would have healthy relationships (shalom) among themselves, and between them and their God.

Later, an Israelite prophet would see a vision of a stone coming out of a mountain without human hands, which would topple the image representing human kingdoms.

The whole Mosaic sacrificial system was itself prophetic of the coming king and his kingdom — a new relationship with God made possible by his sacrifice of his Son.

As part of that system, the altar the Israelites were to build could not be fashioned by iron tools. There could be no indication that this coming kingdom would be man-made.

Lord, we surrender to your kingdom today. We don’t want to make you into our image; we want you to make us into yours.

Posted in idolatry, prophecy, worship | Tagged Deuteronomy 27 | 2 Comments

our end of the contract

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

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our end of the contract

Deuteronomy 27:1-3 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 27:1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, and this is what he said: “Watch every command I am giving you today.
Deuteronomy 27:2 When you cross the Jordan into the land Yahveh your God is giving you, set up large stones and cover them with plaster.
Deuteronomy 27:3 Write all the words of this instruction on the stones after you cross to enter the land Yahveh your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahveh, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

our end of the contract

The words of the covenant were so important to God that he commanded the Israelites to put them on large stones so that they would be visible reminders. These stones were not to be worshiped. They were to stand as reminders of the contract the Israelites had with the Lord. The land itself — with its abundant agriculture — would be a reminder that God was keeping his part of the agreement. The words would remind the people to keep up their end.

God is blessing us every day with his abundance and life to enjoy it. We need our Bibles to remind us that our God expects us to keep covenant with him. The Bibles themselves can become idols, so we should always be careful to value the relationship with God the books help build, rather than the physical books themselves.

Also, bibles are not “basic instructions before leaving earth.” Like the stones at the Jordon crossing, the Bible is designed to help us live on this side of eternity.

Lord, show us how to use our bibles to keep up our end of your covenant with Christ.

Posted in Bible, discipleship, guidance, new covenant | Tagged Deuteronomy 27 | 1 Comment

a sacred people

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

Photo by Anas Hinde on Pexels.com

a sacred people

Deuteronomy 26:16-19 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 26:16 “Yahveh your God is commanding you this day to do these prescriptions and rules. Do them carefully with all your heart and all your throat.
Deuteronomy 26:17 Today you have affirmed that Yahveh is your God and that you will walk in his ways, watch his prescriptions, commands, and rules, and obey him.
Deuteronomy 26:18 And today Yahveh has affirmed that you are his own possession as he promised you, that you are to watch all his commands,
Deuteronomy 26:19 that he will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations he has made, and that you will be a sacred people to Yahveh your God as he promised.”

a sacred people

The Israelites were called to be a sacred people. What did that entail? It required that they commit themselves to being God’s possession by paying close attention to all that God commanded, and obeying those commands. It was not legalism, because there was a purpose beyond the laws. The plan of God was that he would elevate his sacred nation above all other nations, so that all those other nations would be drawn to him. Their purity and passion for truth and fairness was to be a beacon of light to the dark world around them.

That is God’s plan for his church today. The believers in Christ are to be a city on a hill, shining with God’s perfection, unity and glory.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 NET).

Lord, we are your possession. Use us to draw a dark world to your light!

Posted in commitment, discipleship, missions, obedience, witness | Tagged Deuteronomy 26 | 1 Comment

declaration of obedience

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

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declaration of obedience

Deuteronomy 26:11-15 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 26:11 You, the Levites, and the guests among you will enjoy all the good things Yahveh your God has given you and your household.
Deuteronomy 26:12 “When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year, the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levites, guests, fatherless children and widows, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.
Deuteronomy 26:13 Then you will say in the presence of Yahveh your God: I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levites, guests, fatherless children, and widows, according to all the commands you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten your commands.
Deuteronomy 26:14 I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while contaminated, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed Yahveh my God; I have done all you commanded me.
Deuteronomy 26:15 Look down from your holy dwelling, from the sky, and empower your people Israel and the land you have given us as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

declaration of obedience

Notice that the Israelite worship involved a declaration of obedience to the covenant commands.

Neither of God’s covenants with his people were merely about worship and faith. Those are essential elements of both the Mosaic covenant and the new covenant under Christ. But this passage demonstrates that without obedience to the covenant commands, covenant worship would not be accepted. Likewise, Jesus condemned those who merely called him Lord without doing what he said to do.

I have been in many worship services that pretended that God does not care how disobedient we are, as long as we believe in him. That is not true. There is still a vital link between our obedience to Christ and our ability to properly worship him. We are saved by grace, and that salvation makes obedience possible. We will all struggle to obey Christ, but we cannot afford to jettison our responsibility to obey. It is part of our witness, and witness is also a vital element of both covenants.

Lord, open our hearts to accept the whole gospel, and to seek living in your kingdom today — which means obeying our king.

Posted in discipleship, faithfulness, obedience, worship | Tagged Deuteronomy 26 | 1 Comment

generational gratitude

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

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generational gratitude

Deuteronomy 26:1-10 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 26:1 “When you enter the land Yahveh your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and stay in it,
Deuteronomy 26:2 take some of the first of all the land’s produce that you harvest from the land Yahveh your God is giving you and place it in a basket. Then go to the place where Yahveh your God chooses to have his name dwell.
Deuteronomy 26:3 When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, say to him, ‘Today I declare to Yahveh your God that I have entered the land Yahveh swore to our fathers to give us.’
Deuteronomy 26:4 “Then the priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of Yahveh your God.
Deuteronomy 26:5 You are to answer by saying in the presence of Yahveh your God: My father was a lost Aramean. He went down to Egypt with a few people and was there as a guest. There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation.
Deuteronomy 26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated and humiliated us, and forced us to do hard labor.
Deuteronomy 26:7 So we called out to Yahveh, the God of our fathers, and Yahveh heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression.
Deuteronomy 26:8 Then Yahveh brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying power, and with signs and wonders.
Deuteronomy 26:9 He led us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Deuteronomy 26:10 Notice I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that you, Lord, have given me. You will then place the container before Yahveh your God and bow down to him.

generational gratitude

The first harvest offering was a way of showing gratitude for God’s presence and power, and for thanking him for keeping his promise to past generations. Likewise, our worship today should be long-sighted, not short-sighted. We come together not just to thank God for providing our daily bread, or taking care of our immediate family. Worship is about that and so much more. It is a recognition of the link that we have with the faithful of all past generations,and that link is a relationship with the same God.

Lord, when we come together to worship you, remind us of all your blessings — including the ones we were not around to see.

Posted in Abraham, appreciation, thanksgiving, worship | Tagged Deuteronomy 26 | 1 Comment

strongholds among us

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

Photo by Juliano Ferreira on Pexels.com

strongholds among us

Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 25:17 “Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the journey after you left Egypt.
Deuteronomy 25:18 They met you along the way and attacked all your stragglers from behind when you were tired and weary. They did not fear God.
Deuteronomy 25:19 When Yahveh your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land Yahveh your God is giving you to take possession of as an inheritance, blot out the memory of Amalek under the sky. Do not forget.

strongholds among us

It’s possible to read this passage as an exception to the previous instruction — like, “treat everyone fairly, except for the Amalekites!”

No, what Moses is saying is that the Amalekites chose to take advantage of Israel’s weakness and fatigue when they attacked. So Moses calls on Israel to remember that fact and do not allow that to happen again by tolerating a future Amalekite presence among them. The Amalekites did not fear God. They only saw the Israelites as easy prey.

Under the new covenant with Christ, we are not called to destroy Amalekites. But note what the apostle says about our current warfare:

2 Corinthians 10:3 You see, though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh
2 Corinthians 10:4 because the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…

Our enemies today are belief systems that are “raised against the knowledge of God.” Like the Amalekites, the proponents of these belief systems will take every advantage they can take against Christians and Christian beliefs. They target and prey on those who dare to obey Christ.

God’s message for us in our battle today is “Remember… Do not Forget.”

Lord, give us wisdom and strength to overcome those who attack our obedience to Christ.

Posted in enemies, faithfulness, kingdom of God, prayer, truth | Tagged Deuteronomy 25 | 1 Comment

fair is faithful

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

Photo by Ian Turnell on Pexels.com

fair is faithful

Deuteronomy 25:13-16 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 25:13 “Do not have differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light.
Deuteronomy 25:14 Do not have differing dry measures in your house, a larger and a smaller.
Deuteronomy 25:15 You must have a full and ethical weight, a full and ethical dry measure, so that you may live long in the land Yahveh your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 25:16 For everyone who does such things and acts unfairly is repulsive to Yahveh your God.

fair is faithful

When I first went overseas as a missionary, I learned that some vendors in the market would automatically charge me or my wife more because of the color of our skin. The assumption was that we were white, therefore rich, so we could afford to pay extra. A fellow missionary who was a native to that country was angry when he found that his wife was experiencing the same treatment because she also was white skinned.

The Israelites were to have the same standards for doing business with everyone. They were not to cheat a foreigner, or someone from a different tribe — with different standards. To do so would be repulsive to God. It would reflect upon his character. He wanted his people to be fair with others. To be fair was to be faithful.

Lord, make us people who reflect your fairness.

Posted in faithfulness, justice | Tagged Deuteronomy 25 | 1 Comment

protecting the right to reproduce

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

protecting the right to reproduce

Deuteronomy 25:11-12 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 25:11 “If two men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she puts out her hand and holds his genitals strongly,
Deuteronomy 25:12 you are to cut off her hand. Do not show pity.

protecting the right to reproduce

I don’t recall ever getting a lesson about this when I was a child in Sunday School. It’s one of those “mature audiences” texts. It seems rather extreme, but it is perfectly understandable from its Mosaic covenant context. In trying to protect her husband, this wife is actually doing something that might prevent her husband’s opponent from having children. Raising families was an essential part of the covenant under Moses.

The covenant under Christ is all about making disciples for him. We should be very serious about making choices that prevent our fellow believers from evangelizing. Those choices include our passive acceptance of cultural norms that discourage discussion of religion. It is a shame that in so many nations where we claim to have religious freedom, we tiptoe around other people, and stay away from sharing the riches of the gospel with those who need it.

Lord, make us people who courageously defend everyone’s right to lead others to Christ.

Posted in discipleship, evangelism, witness | Tagged Deuteronomy 25 | 1 Comment

sandal and spit

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

Photo by Pedro Sandrini on Pexels.com

sandal and spit

Deuteronomy 25:7-10 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 25:7 But if the man doesn’t want to marry his sister-in-law, she is to go to the elders at the city gate and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He isn’t willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.’
Deuteronomy 25:8 The elders of his city will summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’
Deuteronomy 25:9 then his sister-in-law will go up to him in the sight of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she will answer, ‘This is what is done to a man who will not build up his brother’s house.’
Deuteronomy 25:10 And his family name in Israel will be ‘The house of the man whose sandal was removed.’

sandal and spit

It is difficult to imagine this situation playing out in one of our modern societies. But in Moses’ day, preserving a family line was essential to passing on the covenant through that family. Shame was the deterrent. Even if a man did not feel like doing this duty toward his brother, he would think twice because he would not want the shame associated with this sandal and spit ritual.

I have been thinking about these texts as to how they might apply in a modern context. Our covenant is different, so certain aspects of the application will also be different. The covenant mission under Christ involves making disciples of all nations. So, under this covenant, it will be more important that we bring people to faith than it is to raise families.

We should consider it a shameful thing if we have an opportunity to make disciples, but we do not. It brands a person with shame — the shame of leaving barren what should have been fruitful.

Lord, make us people who honor you and ourselves by being committed to making disciples.

Posted in children, evangelism, new covenant, witness | Tagged Deuteronomy 25 | 1 Comment

Devotions

shut up and listen up

an altar of stones

our end of the contract

a sacred people

declaration of obedience

generational gratitude

strongholds among us

fair is faithful

protecting the right to reproduce

sandal and spit

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