Old Testament for January 28, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Deuteronomy — which in Greek means “the second law” — is a kind of valediction speech from Moses as he addresses Israel for the last time.  He has led the nation through the wilderness of Sinai for forty years, and they now stand poised just east of the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land.

Moses, however, will not enter the Promised Land with them as a consequence of his own impertinence toward God many years before.  So this is his last opportunity to impress upon his people the details of God’s commandments and the importance of obeying them to the letter.

He had delivered God’s law to them for the first time some forty years before at Mount Horeb, and here he reiterates and expounds upon it.

In this passage, though, he is giving guidance about how Israel is to discern the legitimacy of the prophetic office.  Unlike the priesthood, which is inherited, prophets are raised up by God, just as Moses was.

Moses reminds the people that the role of the prophet is as an intermediary between God and the people — that God would speak through the prophet.  He also reminds them that this was their idea. God originally had appeared to all of them in the pillar of the fire, but because they were terrified they requested an intermediary.

But the reality is that not everyone claiming to be a prophet is a prophet.  So Moses is sharing the criteria that they may use to discern the prophet’s authenticity.

First, the prophet only shares what God has commanded him to share.

Second, the people are to be completely obedient to the words of the prophet, for they are the words of God himself.  They will be held accountable by God for their disobedience.

Third, and very importantly, the prophet is not to be “original,” and certainly not to speak on behalf of any other gods.

The biblical prophet is constrained to speak only what the Lord has revealed to him; and if the prophet becomes “pluralistic” and acknowledges or speaks for other gods he is obviously a fraud.

This exclusivism is grounded in the words that appear earlier in Deuteronomy 6:4, known as the Shema, for the Hebrew word “Hear”:

Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.

Diversity in worship or creed is totally incompatible with a prophet of the Lord.

If we continue to read this passage, and read verses 21-22, we discover another clarifying criterion:

When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.

Validation by fulfillment of the prophecy is the ultimate criterion.

APPLY:  

There have been many persons over the course of history who have purported to be prophets, or at the very least proclaimers of God’s truth.  God’s people must have sound criteria whereby they can test the validity of someone’s preaching and teaching.

Even today there are many who speak in the name of God who are charlatans or false prophets.

The criteria that we may use to determine a true man or woman of God are still the same.  Do they speak only what God speaks? Do we feel a conviction from the Holy Spirit when they speak? Are we held accountable by God’s Word?  Are they speaking for God’s sake alone, or is there some other hidden (or not so hidden) agenda?

The Apostle John tells the church:

Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

This may often be a discernment that is carried out in the community of faith, not merely by individuals.  We are reminded that Moses wasn’t speaking to individuals but to a community of faith.

RESPOND: 

This is not only a convicting word for those who hear from God through other people; it is also very convicting to me as a preacher of the Word of God.

How can I be sure that everything that I say is true, and consistent with what God has spoken to me? Only through prayer and study of Scripture, with humility and repentance when I speak amiss.

I’m reminded of the preacher whose little girl was watching him write a sermon one day, and she said to him “Daddy, how do you know what to say?”  And the preacher smiled and said “God tells me what to say.”  And then the little girl said, “Then why do you cross out so much of what he tells you?”

Our Lord, those who speak in your name bear a heavy responsibility; but so do those who hear their words.  May we discern your Word by cleaving closely to your Spirit in prayer, and your truth in Scripture, as we seek your way in the community of faith.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Deuteronomy 18 verse 15” uses the following background:
“A Piece of Parchment” by IgniX is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Old Testament for October 29, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is a kind of summation and valediction on the life and ministry of Moses.  What’s interesting about this is that this passage is quite honest about his tragic flaw and his incredible virtues.

After 40 years of leading the Israelites (first, out of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness of Sinai, then along the eastern borders of Edom and Moab, and after fighting the Ammonites), at last the Israelites are on the very edge of the “Promised Land” of Canaan.

But because Moses literally took matters into his own hands many years before, trying to cause water to gush from the rock by striking it (contrary to Yahweh’s command), Moses will not enter the new land.  In Numbers 20:12, Yahweh says to Moses and Aaron:

Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.

Nevertheless, Moses is granted a vision of the new land; and he is honored with the title servant of Yahweh, and described as a prophet without any peer in all of Israel’s history.  Perhaps the most distinctive description concerns his intimate relationship with God, even despite his punishment.  He was a man:

 whom Yahweh knew face to face.

The mighty deeds that he performed were certainly extraordinary, but even more extraordinary was his relationship with God!

And now the same spirit of wisdom that had filled Moses has now come upon Joshua.  This has occurred because of the imposition of hands by Moses upon Joshua, in order that the leadership of Israel might remain intact.  God provides for continuity in the guidance of his people.

This is a key transitional passage, reminding us that the story of God’s people will continue with the story of Joshua in the next book.

APPLY:  

It is important to remember in our spiritual lives that none of us are purely sinful or purely saintly.  Like Moses, we may fail spectacularly at times, yet still be loved by God.  And God may still give us a glimpse of the land of promise as a sign of his grace.

But we can also be known as people who know God “face to face” like Moses, through our faith.  We may not be able to perform the same mighty deeds, but we can do other mighty deeds in the name of Christ.

Jesus promises his disciples:

Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father (John 14:12).

RESPOND: 

I find it very easy to be intimidated by Moses’ example.  But I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the Jewish Talmud: “At the last judgment God will not ask you why you were not Moses; he will ask you why you were not you.”

My prayer is to seek God’s face, as Moses did, and do what God has called me to do.  Nothing more, and nothing less.

Our Lord, I may never deliver a nation from slavery, part the sea, or feed the multitudes with manna.  All I ask is that I may know you face to face by faith; and that you will empower me to do your work as long as you desire me to do so.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Mount Nebo (2007-05-821)” by Vyacheslav Argenberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for February 12, 2023

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Moses addresses the people of Israel with the “Second Law” (the literal meaning of Deuteronomy). This law is a copy of the original law delivered decades earlier at Sinai, with some augmentations.

We are reminded that the people of Israel have been a nomadic nation for forty years in the Wilderness of Sinai after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt.  Now, they have fought their way through hostile nations to the east bank of the Jordan River, in the shadow of Mount Pisgah.  They are on the eve of entering into the promised land of Canaan.

The term “Deuteronomic Theology” is relevant to our lectionary passage.  Part of this theological understanding is that Israel has been chosen by Yahweh as his covenant people.  This covenant means that Yahweh will be their God, and they will be his people, and will keep his law and commandments.  Another aspect of this Deuteronomic Theology is the notion that if Israel faithfully obeys the law, they will be blessed; if they don’t, they will be cursed.

There is a polarizing, binary set of alternatives that are presented to Israel:

Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil.

The choice for life and prosperity requires this:

to love Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it.

There are a series of interconnecting steps in this process toward blessing:

• Love Yahweh.
• How are they to love Yahweh? Walk in his ways.
• How are they to walk in his ways? Obey his law.
• What will result? Life, fertility, land and blessing.

On the other hand, if their heart turns away from loving Yahweh and walking in his ways, it seems presupposed that they will be worshiping something — and that something will be other gods.  The result will be the reverse of all the blessings that are promised — they will perish and their days will be short.

Moses is invoking heaven and earth as witnesses to this solemn covenant.  Heaven and earth signifies the complete realm of creation, visible and invisible, spiritual and material.  Moses implores his people:

Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants; to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

This covenant, and the possession of the land of Canaan, is the fulfillment of the ancient promises that Yahweh had originally made to Abraham some 600 years earlier (Genesis 12:7).

APPLY:  

God’s covenant with his people is peculiar.  God is almighty, and holds all the cards.  Human beings, and our very existence, are contingent upon God’s favor and mercy.

God owes us nothing; we owe God everything.  And yet, God condescends to make covenants with human beings, and makes promises that if we are faithful and obedient to him, we will be blessed.

And if we are disobedient to God, we will suffer the consequences.  Again, I think that this is not because God is a capricious, punitive dictator.  Rather, we are blessed — or cursed — because God knows what is best for us.

If we love God, and we choose to walk in his ways, our lifestyle conforms to what we might call God’s “best practices” for our lives.  Chances are very good that if our lifestyle is “Biblical,” we will be faithful in our relationships, honest, healthy, and good stewards of our resources.

Conversely, a life that resists God’s laws and commandments is far more likely to experience unfaithfulness in relationships, the fruits of dishonesty, and other serious consequences.

A life that is devoted to loving God, walking with God, and obeying his commandments is more likely to be more fulfilled and at peace, internally and externally.

RESPOND: 

One of the prayers from my own tradition is known as John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer.  This prayer is especially precious to me, and I repeat it often.

It is a reminder to me that God is holy, transcendent, and has absolute power; and that I am a sinner saved by grace, and that my very existence is contingent upon him.  So, in this prayer, I surrender completely to God, with the confidence that God loves me and cares for me.

This relationship between God and ourselves is at the heart of the concept of covenant.  I can think of no more appropriate closing prayer than Wesley’s prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

PHOTOS:
“John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer”

Old Testament for January 31, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Deuteronomy — which in Greek means “the second law” — is a kind of valediction speech from Moses as he addresses Israel for the last time.  He has led the nation through the wilderness of Sinai for forty years, and they now stand poised just east of the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land.

Moses, however, will not enter the Promised Land with them as a consequence of his own impertinence toward God many years before.  So this is his last opportunity to impress upon his people the details of God’s commandments and the importance of obeying them to the letter.

He had delivered God’s law to them for the first time some forty years before at Mount Horeb, and here he reiterates and expounds upon it.

In this passage, though, he is giving guidance about how Israel is to discern the legitimacy of the prophetic office.  Unlike the priesthood, which is inherited, prophets are raised up by God, just as Moses was.

Moses reminds the people that the role of the prophet is as an intermediary between God and the people — that God would speak through the prophet.  He also reminds them that this was their idea. God originally had appeared to all of them in the pillar of the fire, but because they were terrified they requested an intermediary.

But the reality is that not everyone claiming to be a prophet is a prophet.  So Moses is sharing the criteria that they may use to discern the prophet’s authenticity.

First, the prophet only shares what God has commanded him to share.

Second, the people are to be completely obedient to the words of the prophet, for they are the words of God himself.  They will be held accountable by God for their disobedience.

Third, and very importantly, the prophet is not to be “original,” and certainly not to speak on behalf of any other gods.

The biblical prophet is constrained to speak only what the Lord has revealed to him; and if the prophet becomes “pluralistic” and acknowledges or speaks for other gods he is obviously a fraud.

This exclusivism is grounded in the words that appear earlier in Deuteronomy 6:4, known as the Shema, for the Hebrew word “Hear”:

Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.

Diversity in worship or creed is totally incompatible with a prophet of the Lord.

If we continue to read this passage, and read verses 21-22, we discover another clarifying criterion:

When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.

Validation by fulfillment of the prophecy is the ultimate criterion.

APPLY:  

There have been many persons over the course of history who have purported to be prophets, or at the very least proclaimers of God’s truth.  God’s people must have sound criteria whereby they can test the validity of someone’s preaching and teaching.

Even today there are many who speak in the name of God who are charlatans or false prophets.

The criteria that we may use to determine a true man or woman of God are still the same.  Do they speak only what God speaks? Do we feel a conviction from the Holy Spirit when they speak? Are we held accountable by God’s Word?  Are they speaking for God’s sake alone, or is there some other hidden (or not so hidden) agenda?

The Apostle John tells the church:

Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

This may often be a discernment that is carried out in the community of faith, not merely by individuals.  We are reminded that Moses wasn’t speaking to individuals but to a community of faith.

RESPOND: 

This is not only a convicting word for those who hear from God through other people; it is also very convicting to me as a preacher of the Word of God.

How can I be sure that everything that I say is true, and consistent with what God has spoken to me? Only through prayer and study of Scripture, with humility and repentance when I speak amiss.

I’m reminded of the preacher whose little girl was watching him write a sermon one day, and she said to him “Daddy, how do you know what to say?”  And the preacher smiled and said “God tells me what to say.”  And then the little girl said, “Then why do you cross out so much of what he tells you?”

Our Lord, those who speak in your name bear a heavy responsibility; but so do those who hear their words.  May we discern your Word by cleaving closely to your Spirit in prayer, and your truth in Scripture, as we seek your way in the community of faith.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Deuteronomy 18 verse 15” uses the following background:
“A Piece of Parchment” by IgniX is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Old Testament for October 25, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is a kind of summation and valediction on the life and ministry of Moses.  What’s interesting about this is that this passage is quite honest about his tragic flaw and his incredible virtues.

After 40 years of leading the Israelites (first, out of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness of Sinai, then along the eastern borders of Edom and Moab, and after fighting the Ammonites), at last the Israelites are on the very edge of the “Promised Land” of Canaan.

But because Moses literally took matters into his own hands many years before, trying to cause water to gush from the rock by striking it (contrary to Yahweh’s command), Moses will not enter the new land.  In Numbers 20:12, Yahweh says to Moses and Aaron:

Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.

Nevertheless, Moses is granted a vision of the new land; and he is honored with the title servant of Yahweh,  and described as a prophet without any peer in all of Israel’s history.  Perhaps the most distinctive description concerns his intimate relationship with God, even despite his punishment.  He was a man:

 whom Yahweh knew face to face.

The mighty deeds that he performed were certainly extraordinary, but even more extraordinary was his relationship with God!

And now the same spirit of wisdom that had filled Moses has now come upon Joshua.  This has occurred because of the imposition of hands by Moses upon Joshua, in order that the leadership of Israel might remain intact.  God provides for continuity in the guidance of his people.

This is a key transitional passage, reminding us that the story of God’s people will continue with the story of Joshua in the next book.

APPLY:  

It is important to remember in our spiritual lives that none of us are purely sinful or purely saintly.  Like Moses, we may fail spectacularly at times, yet still be loved by God.  And God may still give us a glimpse of the land of promise as a sign of his grace.

But we can also be known as people who know God “face to face” like Moses, through our faith.  We may not be able to perform the same mighty deeds, but we can do other mighty deeds in the name of Christ.

Jesus promises his disciples:

Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father (John 14:12).

RESPOND: 

I find it very easy to be intimidated by Moses’ example.  But I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the Jewish Talmud: “At the last judgment God will not ask you why you were not Moses; he will ask you why you were not you.”

My prayer is to seek God’s face, as Moses did, and do what God has called me to do.  Nothing more, and nothing less.

Our Lord, I may never deliver a nation from slavery, part the sea, or feed the multitudes with manna.  All I ask is that I may know you face to face by faith; and that you will empower me to do your work as long as you desire me to do so.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Mount Nebo (2007-05-821)” by Vyacheslav Argenberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for February 16, 2020

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Moses addresses the people of Israel with the “Second Law” (the literal meaning of Deuteronomy).  This law is a copy of the original law delivered decades earlier at Sinai, with some augmentations.

We are reminded that the people of Israel have been a nomadic nation for forty years in the Wilderness of Sinai after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt.  Now, they have fought their way through hostile nations to the east bank of the Jordan River, in the shadow of Mount Pisgah.  They are on the eve of entering into the promised land of Canaan.

The term “Deuteronomic Theology” is relevant to our lectionary passage.  Part of this theological understanding is that Israel has been chosen by Yahweh as his covenant people.  This covenant means that Yahweh will be their God, and they will be his people, and will keep his law and commandments.  Another aspect of this Deuteronomic Theology is the notion that if Israel faithfully obeys the law, they will be blessed; if they don’t, they will be cursed.

There is a polarizing, binary set of alternatives that are presented to Israel:

Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil.

The choice for life and prosperity requires this:

to love Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it.

There are a series of interconnecting steps in this process toward blessing:

• Love Yahweh.
• How are they to love Yahweh? walk in his ways.
• How are they to walk in his ways? Obey his law.
• What will result? Life, fertility, land and blessing.

On the other hand, if their heart turns away from loving Yahweh and walking in his ways, it seems presupposed that they will be worshiping something — and that something will be other gods.  The result will be the reverse of all the blessings that are promised — they will perish and their days will be short.

Moses is invoking heaven and earth as witnesses to this solemn covenant.  Heaven and earth signifies the complete realm of creation, visible and invisible, spiritual and material.  Moses implores his people:

Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants; to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

This covenant, and the possession of the land of Canaan, is the fulfillment of the ancient promises that Yahweh had originally made to Abraham some 600 years earlier (Genesis 12:7).

APPLY:  

God’s covenant with his people is peculiar.  God is almighty, and holds all the cards.  Human beings, and our very existence, are contingent upon God’s favor and mercy.

God owes us nothing; we owe God everything.  And yet, God condescends to make covenants with human beings, and makes promises that if we are faithful and obedient to him, we will be blessed.

And if we are disobedient to God, we will suffer the consequences.  Again, I think that this is not because God is a capricious, punitive dictator.  Rather, we are blessed — or cursed — because God knows what is best for us.

If we love God, and we choose to walk in his ways, our lifestyle conforms to what we might call God’s “best practices” for our lives.  Chances are very good that if our lifestyle is “Biblical,” we will be faithful in our relationships, honest, healthy, and good stewards of our resources.

Conversely, a life that resists God’s laws and commandments is far more likely to experience unfaithfulness in relationships, the fruits of dishonesty, and other serious consequences.

A life that is devoted to loving God, walking with God, and obeying his commandments is more likely be more fulfilled and at peace, internally and externally.

RESPOND: 

One of the prayers from my own tradition is known as John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer.  This prayer is especially precious to me, and I repeat it often.

It is a reminder to me that God is holy, transcendent and has absolute power, and that I am a sinner saved by grace, and that my very existence is contingent upon him.  So, in this prayer, I surrender completely to God, with the confidence that God loves me and cares for me.

This relationship between God and ourselves is at the heart of the concept of covenant.  I can think of no more appropriate closing prayer than Wesley’s prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

PHOTOS:
“John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer”

Old Testament for January 28, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Deuteronomy – which in Greek means “the second law” – is a kind of valediction speech from Moses as he addresses Israel for the last time.  He has led the nation through the wilderness of Sinai for forty years, and they now stand poised just east of the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land.

Moses, however, will not enter the Promised Land with them as a consequence of his own impertinence toward God many years before.  So this is his last opportunity to impress upon his people the details of God’s commandments and the importance of obeying them to the letter.

He had delivered God’s law to them for the first time some forty years before at Mount Horeb, and here he reiterates and expounds upon it.

In this passage, though, he is giving guidance about how Israel is to discern the legitimacy of the prophetic office.  Unlike the priesthood, which is inherited, prophets are raised up by God, just as Moses was.

Moses reminds the people that the role of the prophet is as intermediary between God and the people – that God would speak through the prophet.  He also reminds them that this was their idea. God originally had appeared to all of them in the pillar of the fire, but because they were terrified they requested an intermediary.

But the reality is that not everyone claiming to be a prophet is a prophet.  So Moses is sharing the criteria that they may use to discern the prophet’s authenticity.

First, the prophet only shares what God has commanded him to share.

Second, the people are to be completely obedient to the words of the prophet, for they are the words of God himself.  They will be held accountable by God for their disobedience.

Third,  and very importantly, the prophet is not to be “original,” and certainly not to speak on behalf of any other gods.

The biblical prophet is constrained to speak only what the Lord has revealed to him; and if the prophet becomes “pluralistic” and acknowledges or speaks for other gods he is obviously a fraud.

This exclusivism is grounded in the words that appear earlier in Deuteronomy 6:4, known as the Shema, for the Hebrew word “Hear”:

Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.

Diversity in worship or creed is totally incompatible with a prophet of the Lord.

If we continue to read this passage, and read verses 21-22, we discover another clarifying criterion:

When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.

Validation by fulfillment of the prophecy is the ultimate criterion.

APPLY:  

There have been many persons over the course of history who have purported to be prophets, or at the very least proclaimers of God’s truth.  God’s people must have sound criteria whereby they can test the validity of someone’s preaching and teaching.

Even today there are many who speak in the name of God who are charlatans or false prophets.

The criteria that we may use to determine a true man or woman of God are still the same.  Do they speak only what God speaks? Do we feel a conviction from the Holy Spirit when they speak? Are we held accountable by God’s Word?  Are they speaking for God’s sake alone, or is there some other hidden (or not so hidden) agenda?

The Apostle John tells the church:

Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

This may often be a discernment that is carried out in the community of faith, not merely by individuals.  We are reminded that Moses wasn’t speaking to individuals but to a community of faith.

RESPOND: 

This is not only a convicting word for those who hear from God through other people; it is also very convicting to me as a preacher of the Word of God.  How can I be sure that everything that I say is true, and consistent with what God has spoken to me?

Only through prayer and study of scripture, with humility and repentance when I speak amiss.

I’m reminded of the preacher whose little girl was watching him write a sermon one day, and she said to him “Daddy, how do you know what to say?”  And the preacher smiled and said “God tells me what to say.”  And then the little girl said, “Then why do you cross out so much of what he tells you?”

Our Lord, those who speak in your name bear a heavy responsibility; but so do those who hear their words.  May we discern your Word by cleaving closely to your Spirit in prayer, and your truth in Scripture, as we seek your way in the community of faith.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Deuteronomy 18 verse 15” uses the following background:
“A Piece of Parchment” by IgniX is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Old Testament for October 29, 2017

Start with Scripture:

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This passage is a kind of summation and valediction on the life and ministry of Moses.  What’s interesting about this is that this passage is quite honest about his tragic flaw and his incredible virtues.

After 40 years of leading the Israelites — first, out of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness of Sinai, then along the eastern borders of Edom and Moab, and after fighting the Ammonites, at last the Israelites are on the very edge of the “Promised Land” of Canaan.

But because Moses literally took matters into his own hands many years before, trying to cause water to gush from the rock by striking it (contrary to Yahweh’s command), Moses will not enter the new land.  In Numbers 20:12, Yahweh says to Moses and Aaron:

Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.

Nevertheless, Moses is granted a vision of the new land; and he is honored with the title servant of Yahweh,  and described as a prophet without any peer in all of Israel’s history.  Perhaps the most distinctive description concerns his intimate relationship with God, even despite his punishment.  He was a man:

 whom Yahweh knew face to face.

The mighty deeds that he performed were certainly extraordinary, but even more extraordinary was his relationship with God!

And now the same spirit of wisdom that had filled Moses has now come upon Joshua.  This has occurred because of the imposition of hands by Moses upon Joshua, in order that the leadership of Israel might remain intact.  God provides for continuity in the guidance of his people.

This is a key transitional passage, reminding us that the story of God’s people will continue with the story of Joshua in the next book.

APPLY:  

It is important to remember in our spiritual lives that none of us are purely sinful or purely saintly.  Like Moses, we may fail spectacularly at times, yet still be loved by God.  And God may still give us a glimpse of the land of promise as a sign of his grace.

But we can also be known as people who know God “face to face” like Moses, through our faith.  We may not be able to perform the same mighty deeds, but we can do other mighty deeds in the name of Christ.

Jesus promises his disciples:

Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father (John 14:12).

RESPOND: 

I find it very easy to be intimidated by Moses’ example.  But I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the Jewish Talmud: “At the last judgment God will not ask you why you were not Moses; he will ask you why you were not you.”

My prayer is to seek God’s face, as Moses did, and do what God has called me to do.  Nothing more, and nothing less.

Our Lord, I may never deliver a nation from slavery, part the sea, or feed the multitudes with manna.  All I ask is that I may know you face to face by faith; and that you will empower me to do your work as long as you desire me to do so.  Amen.

PHOTOS:
“Mount Nebo (2007-05-821)” by Vyacheslav Argenberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Old Testament for February 12, 2017

Start with Scripture:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

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OBSERVE:

Moses addresses the people of Israel with the “Second Law” (the literal meaning of Deuteronomy).  This law is a copy of the original law delivered decades earlier at Sinai, with some augmentations.

We are reminded that the people of Israel have been a nomadic nation for forty years in the Wilderness of Sinai after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt.  Now, they have fought their way through hostile nations to the east bank of the Jordan River, in the shadow of Mount Pisgah.  They are on the eve of entering into the promised land of Canaan.

The term “Deuteronomic Theology” is relevant to our lectionary passage.  Part of this theological understanding is that Israel has been chosen by Yahweh as his covenant people.  This covenant means that Yahweh will be their God, and they will be his people, and will keep his law and commandments.  Another aspect of this Deuteronomic Theology is the notion that if Israel faithfully obeys the law, they will be blessed; if they don’t, they will be cursed.

There is a polarizing, binary set of alternatives that are presented to Israel:

Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil.

The choice for life and prosperity requires this:

to love Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it.

There are a series of interconnecting steps in this process toward blessing:

• Love Yahweh.
• How are they to love Yahweh? walk in his ways.
• How are they to walk in his ways? Obey his law.
• What will result? Life, fertility, land and blessing.

On the other hand, if their heart turns away from loving Yahweh and walking in his ways, it seems presupposed that they will be worshiping something — and that something will be other gods.  The result will be the reverse of all the blessings that are promised — they will perish and their days will be short.

Moses is invoking heaven and earth as witnesses to this solemn covenant.  Heaven and earth signifies the complete realm of creation, visible and invisible, spiritual and material.  Moses implores his people:

Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants; to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

This covenant, and the possession of the land of Canaan, is the fulfillment of the ancient promises that Yahweh had originally made to Abraham some 600 years earlier (Genesis 12:7).

APPLY:  

God’s covenant with his people is peculiar.  God is almighty, and holds all the cards.  Human beings, and our very existence, are contingent upon God’s favor and mercy.

God owes us nothing; we owe God everything.  And yet, God condescends to make covenants with human beings, and makes promises that if we are faithful and obedient to him, we will be blessed.

And if we are disobedient to God, we will suffer the consequences.  Again, I think that this is not because God is a capricious, punitive dictator.  Rather, we are blessed — or cursed — because God knows what is best for us.

If we love God, and we choose to walk in his ways, our lifestyle conforms to what we might call God’s “best practices” for our lives.  Chances are very good that if our lifestyle is “Biblical,” we will be faithful in our relationships, honest, healthy, and good stewards of our resources.

Conversely, a life that resists God’s laws and commandments is far more likely to experience unfaithfulness in relationships, the fruits of dishonesty, and other serious consequences.

A life that is devoted to loving God, walking with God, and obeying his commandments is more likely be more fulfilled and at peace, internally and externally.

RESPOND: 

One of the prayers from my own tradition is known as John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer.  This prayer is especially precious to me, and I repeat it often.

It is a reminder to me that God is holy, transcendent and has absolute power, and that I am a sinner saved by grace, and that my very existence is contingent upon him.  So, in this prayer, I surrender completely to God, with the confidence that God loves me and cares for me.

This relationship between God and ourselves is at the heart of the concept of covenant.  I can think of no more appropriate closing prayer than Wesley’s prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

PHOTOS:
“John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer”