do not yield, do not shield

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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do not yield, do not shield

Deuteronomy 13:4-10

Deuteronomy 13:4 You must follow Yahveh your God and fear him. You must watch his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful to him.
Deuteronomy 13:5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against Yahveh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way Yahveh your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.
Deuteronomy 13:6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your friend like your own person secretly entices you, and this is what he says: ‘Let us go and worship other gods’ – which neither you nor your fathers have known,
Deuteronomy 13:7 any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the land to the other –
Deuteronomy 13:8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
Deuteronomy 13:9 Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
Deuteronomy 13:10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from Yahveh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

do not yield, do not shield

Moses warned the Israelites that enemies would emerge from their own group. Whether it is false prophets with deceitful evidence of their authenticity, or family and friends, his counsel is plain: do not yield to their requests,and do not shield them from the death penalty they deserve. Israel was a covenant community, and seeking other gods was the highest treason against the God with whom they were covenanting.

Jesus warned his followers that their own families could turn against them for seeking to follow him. Ironically, this very instruction was used to justify that animosity. The Jews who rejected Jesus understood that there was no middle ground with him. To accept Jesus as the Son of God, and give him the honor due that title, was a fundamental change that they were not willing to make.

What about you? Are you willing to accept Jesus as not just one of the possible ways to God, but the only Way?

Lord, we confess that you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through you.

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deceiving evidence

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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deceiving evidence

Deuteronomy 12:32-13:3 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 12:32 Be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.
Deuteronomy 13:1 “If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
Deuteronomy 13:2 and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he speaks to you, and this is what he says: ‘Let us follow other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us worship them,’
Deuteronomy 13:3 do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. You see, Yahveh your God is testing you to know whether you care about Yahveh your God with all your heart and all your throat.

deceiving evidence

There are people in this generation who are fed up with the supernatural, and would not believe anything, even if they see proof. But there are others who are seeking for something more, and are liable to lock on to any new thing, with the slightest hint of evidence.

Apparently the Israelites in Moses’ time were more like the latter group. So Moses warns them that if they are looking for proof of the veracity of idol worship, they will find it. God will allow false prophets to appear and deceive them with evidence.

What God wants is a people who care enough about him to stay loyal to him in spite of what anyone else says or does. Can we be people like that? If others find perfect happiness in their religion, does that mean we should seek plurality?

What I am getting at today is that there seems to be two major reactions to the religious mix in many current cultures. Either it leads to agnosticism/apathy and the lack of any strong religious beliefs or it leads to championing all religious experiences as equally valid and somehow a good thing in pluralistic societies. Either nothing is real or everything is equally real.

Both of these reactions miss the point of today’s text. All religious experiences are not equal. But God allows them to test us. He wants us to choose him because of who he is.

Lord, help us to love those who have not yet found you, but not to ever forget that they are lost until they do.

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what God has to hate

Posted on January 26, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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what God has to hate

Deuteronomy 12:28-31 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 12:28 Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that you and your children after you may permanently prosper, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of Yahveh your God.
Deuteronomy 12:29 “When Yahveh your God eliminates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you take possession from them and stay in their land,
Deuteronomy 12:30 be careful or else you will be ensnared by their ways after they have been exterminated before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’
Deuteronomy 12:31 You must not do the same to Yahveh your God, because they practice every repulsive act, which Yahveh hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

what God has to hate

If you were doing something which God hates, wouldn’t you want to know? God didn’t just on a whim decide to drive out the Canaanites and give the Israelites their land. The inhabitants of the land were committed disgusting, repulsive acts and doing so as part of their religious experience. Child sacrifice was one of those behaviors. God could not stand that. After generations of such iniquity, he decided to eliminate them.

God’s instructions were designed to keep the Israelites from making the same mistakes, and incurring the same judgment. He loves us just the way we are, but warns us not to become what he has to hate. He wants us to live and prosper.

Lord, thank you for teaching us to avoid what you have to hate.

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foreshadowing the death of Christ

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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foreshadowing the death of Christ

Deuteronomy 12:23 Only be strong enough not to eat the blood, since the blood is the personal existence, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
Deuteronomy 12:24 Do not eat blood; pour it on the land like water.
Deuteronomy 12:25 Do not eat it, so that you and your children after you will prosper, because you will be doing what is right in Yahveh’s sight.
Deuteronomy 12:26 “But you are to take the holy offerings you have and your solemn pledge offerings and go to the place Yahveh chooses.
Deuteronomy 12:27 Present the meat and blood of your ascending offerings on the altar of Yahveh your God. The blood of your other sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of Yahveh your God, but you may eat the meat.

foreshadowing the death of Christ

Animals could be hunted or raised for food by the Israelites in the promised land, or to be sacrificed at the tabernacle, but in neither case would they be allowed to consume the blood of the animals. The blood must be extracted from the animals and poured out. The only exception was the ascending offering, but even there the blood was not allowed to be consumed by the worshipers.

The blood symbolizes the life of the animal, paid as a ransom to purchase life for the Israelites. It had to be completely poured out to foreshadow the complete sacrifice of the Messiah’s life for his people.

Every time the Israelites would kill an animal for a meal or for an offering, they would face this prohibition, which was designed to foreshadow the death of Christ.

Lord, thank you for our redemption by the blood of Christ.

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enjoying a good steak

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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enjoying a good steak

Deuteronomy 12:20 “When Yahveh your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat’ because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.
Deuteronomy 12:21 If the place where Yahveh your God chooses to place his name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock he has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your city gates whenever you want.
Deuteronomy 12:22 You may certainly eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the pure and the contaminated may eat it.

enjoying a good steak

With the possession of the promised land will come more land for more flocks and herds. The Israelites will not have to reserve their animals for only religious offerings. They will have plenty to satisfy their own appetites as well.

The the New Testament corollary to the promised land — the mind of Christ— is also related to this allowance. Satan wants us to avoid holiness because he tells us that we will be missing out on so much. The fact is, once we are disciplined to live holy lives before God, we will find that we have an abundance to enjoy.

Lord, lead us to your holiness, and help us to stop trusting the lies of the enemy.

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enjoy, but be considerate

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Jefferson Vann

 

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enjoy, but be considerate

Deuteronomy 12:15 “But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your city gates, according to the empowerment Yahveh your God has given you. Those who are pure or contaminated may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,
Deuteronomy 12:16 but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the land like water.
Deuteronomy 12:17 Within your city gates you may not eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, or fresh oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your solemn pledge offerings that you pledge; your spontaneous voluntary offerings; or your personal contributions.
Deuteronomy 12:18 You are to eat them in the presence of Yahveh your God at the place Yahveh your God chooses – you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your city gates. Enjoy the face of Yahveh your God in everything you do,
Deuteronomy 12:19 and be careful or else you will neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land.

enjoy, but be considerate

The gist of these instructions seems to be that the Israelites are free to eat whatever they want as long as they are considerate of others, even the animals they kill to eat.

  • Any clean animal is okay, as long as they do not eat its blood.
  • They can eat their tithe meals, as long as it’s done together at the tabernacle.
  • Whenever they eat, they should be careful that Levites are also provided for.

God wants us to enjoy our lives, and his restrictions on us are not intended to stifle that enjoyment, but to ensure that everyone shares it.

Thank you Lord for commanding your people to be considerate.

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his one way

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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his one way

Deuteronomy 12:12 You will enjoy the face of Yahveh your God – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
Deuteronomy 12:13 Be careful or else you will offer your ascending offerings in all the sacred places you see.
Deuteronomy 12:14 You must offer your ascending offerings only in the place Yahveh chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.

his one way

Only one place was to be the central point of worship for the Israelites. Only one tribe was to host them all for that worship. The multitude could experience all kinds of diversity and cultural differences, but in their connection to God, they had to be one nation with one God.

They could also do things differently as individuals or as members of a particular tribe, but the tabernacle was not the place to celebrate their individuality. Every aspect of the tabernacle worship was prescribed. The principal that follows us into the new covenant with Christ is this: we can all enjoy the presence of God but we have to be careful to do it his way. His way is Jesus.

Lord, thank you for the way you have provided for us all to come to you.

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his promised rest

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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his promised rest

Deuteronomy 12:8-11 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 12:8 “You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own sight.
Deuteronomy 12:9 You see, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance Yahveh your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 12:10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land Yahveh your God is giving you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security,
Deuteronomy 12:11 then Yahveh your God will choose the place to have his name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your ascending offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your best offerings you solemnly pledge to Yahveh.

his promised rest

Moses describes the nature of the rest that the Israelites were to experience once they set foot on the promised land. It was not a lack of work. There would be plenty of working the land for crops, etc. It was not a rest of leisure. The rest God had in store for them is that of knowing who they inherited from. That is why Moses mentioned the various offerings and the tabernacle worship.

So, Christian, the same goes for you and me. We have a lot of work to do to possess the mind of Christ— something crucial to our mission. But we can also rest from our labor in trying to do it all according to our understanding of what needs to be done. Instead, we only need to take his yoke upon is, and learn from him.

Lord, thank you for your promised rest.

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what worship should be

Posted on January 20, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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what worship should be

Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, turn to the place Yahveh your God chooses from all your tribes to place his name for his dwelling and go there.
Deuteronomy 12:6 You are to bring there your ascending offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your solemn pledge offerings and spontaneous voluntary offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
Deuteronomy 12:7 You will eat there in the presence of Yahveh your God and enjoy everything you do with your household, because Yahveh your God has empowered you.

what worship should be

The tabernacle was designed to be everything that idolatrous worship places were not. It was a place that God chose. The pagans chose their own places. It was structured for various kinds of offerings. Pagans usually followed one ritual. It was a place for the whole household to enjoy and experience. Pagans usually had a designated head to perform the ritual alone.

New covenant worship is also designed to be very different from what the world can produce. We come into his presence, seek his face, and enjoy fellowship with Christ. We share this joyful experience with our family. We leave refreshed and prepared for our mission to the world around us. This is what worship should be.

Lord, lead us to worship you with vital and honest worship.

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places we revere

Posted on January 19, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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places we revere

Deuteronomy 12:2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are taking possession of worship their gods — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Deuteronomy 12:3 Tear down their altars, smash their standing stones, burn their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and destroy their names from every place.
Deuteronomy 12:4 Don’t worship Yahveh your God this way.

places we revere

It was not simply the fact that there were false gods behind the religious trappings of Canaan. No, God’s instructions were to demolish the places where worship happened. He did not want the Israelites worshiping him in the same way the Canaanites worshiped their idols. The Israelites were to care for Yahveh, not manipulate him for their own wealth and advantage over others. So, it was not just the idols, but the whole religious system that had to change.

Christian, is God only your means of getting what you want, or correcting what you don’t like? Is church where you go to meet people you like — to be someone you are not? Do you think of your church building as a magical place that can change the people in your community if they would only visit it once a week? Then God’s command for you is to tear that structure down. The place itself has become an idol, and you have adapted the religion of the Canaanites.

Lord, give us the wisdom to destroy all the trappings of idolatry from our lives — even the places we revere.

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