March 17, 2012

Rules for Kings (3/17)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Deuteronomy 17-20.

God knew the nation of Israel would one day be ruled by kings. Even though God saw this as a rejection of His sovereignty over the people (1 Samuel 8:7), He gave instructions here in the law for these future kings.

“Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:16-20).

Notice briefly some of the rules God established for one in this position of civil authority:
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: , , , ,
March 13, 2012

When Your Son Asks You (3/13)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Deuteronomy 5-7.

Knowledge of God’s word and obedience to it are not just for one generation, but they are to be passed down to the next. The Israelites were to remember this when they entered into the land of Canaan.

“That you might do [the commandments] in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged” (Deuteronomy 6:1-2).

But the people were not just to teach their children to obey the Law. They were to teach their children why they should obey the Law.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: , , ,
March 12, 2012

Do Not Add to or Take Away from His Word (3/12)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Deuteronomy 3-4.

“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

“Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed them from among you. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you” (Deuteronomy 4:2-4).

The Israelites were given a simple instruction: keep God’s commandments. They were not to add to His commandments. They were not to omit any of His commandments. They were simply to do those things which He had instructed them to do.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: , ,
March 9, 2012

"Drive Out All the Inhabitants of the Land" (3/9)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 33-34.

Before crossing over into Canaan, the Lord gave instructions to the Israelites regarding what they were to do with the current inhabitants of the promised land.

“When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it” (Numbers 33:51-53).

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live. And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you” (Numbers 33:55-56).

The instructions were very simple: drive out the inhabitants of the land. While this would certainly require much effort and sacrifice, the actual command was simple and easy to understand.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: ,
March 8, 2012

Freedom and Slavery

Man, in his natural state as created by God, is free – free in speech, thought, action, association, and religion (though this does not mean that we are unaccountable for how we use our freedom – Ecclesiastes 11:9). But Satan, from the beginning, has worked diligently to bring man into bondage.

Why would Satan be concerned about and hostile toward man’s freedom? It is because the lack of freedom – which is the state of bondage or tyranny – hinders one from serving God and having a relationship with Him. Let us notice some ways in which man may become enslaved.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , , , ,
March 4, 2012

The Bronze Serpent and the Pattern of Salvation (3/4)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 21-22.

“The people spoke against God and Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.’ The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.’ And Moses interceded for the people.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.’ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived” (Numbers 21:5-9).

This account reminds us of the regular pattern of sin and salvation found in the Bible.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: , , ,
March 3, 2012

Moses Struck the Rock (3/3)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Numbers 18-20.

On this particular occasion when the Israelites complained as they usually did, God provided for them, but punished Moses.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.’

“So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, ‘Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?’ Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons is Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them’” (Numbers 20:7-12).

God gave Moses a simple instruction: speak to the rock. Yet Moses struck the rock instead. The end result was the same – the people received water – but Moses’ actions were still condemned.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: , , ,