Tag: Deuteronomy 17-20

A Just God. A Merciful God.

Deuteronomy 17-20

Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. – Deut 19:21

We serve a just God. Since the very beginning, He has worked to keep His justice system in place, while still pouring out His love and upholding His commitment to bring humanity back to Him. In Genesis, it was impossible for Adam and Eve to remain in the good and perfect world that God created for them, for they were no longer good and perfect. They were tainted with sin and death. But it broke His heart to lose His children, so He made a way for them to live out full and meaningful lives, and to someday be eternally reunited with Him in a renewed good and perfect world. 

When Abraham’s descendants were established into the nation of Israel, they found themselves tugged toward sin and disorder, godlessness and false-god worship. And so God gave them a nice set of very thorough, very just laws, such as the ones we read about today. Israel served a God of order and righteousness, and was to be a nation of order and righteousness—a beacon among the lawlessness that surrounded them. Some of the laws found within these chapters seem harsh to us today, but this was before Jesus was sent to justify us freely. There had to be a system in place to bring God’s people back to Him when chaos ensued, and to discourage such chaos from coming about in the first place.

The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He. – Deut 32:4

Fortunately, our God of justice and order is also a God of love and mercy. By making His Son Jesus our sacrificial lamb, we are saved. We need not impose justice upon our neighbor by repaying an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, or a foot for a foot. We, the guilty, have been justified—our debt paid. Jesus, the innocent, took our full punishment. He is our city of refuge, where even the most stained by sin can find rest and grace. 

In Jesus, justice and mercy collide. The weight of the law, which once demanded life for life, was satisfied on the cross. Because of his sacrifice, we no longer stand condemned, but redeemed. Let us walk in the freedom he purchased for us, extending to others the same mercy we have received, and living as a reflection of God’s righteousness in a chaotic world.

-Isabella Osborn

Reflection Questions:

  1. God’s justice required that sin be dealt with, yet His love moved Him to make a way for redemption. How does understanding both His justice and mercy deepen your relationship with Him?
  2. In what ways can you extend the same grace and forgiveness to others that God has given to you?
  3. Israel was called to be a nation of righteousness and order, standing apart from the lawlessness around them. How can you live as a reflection of God’s righteousness in a world that often rejects His order and truth?
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God’s Promises are Not Empty Words

Deuteronomy 17-20

Deut 20 3 4 NIV

We’re going to continue our study of Deuteronomy today by looking at a principle that, although given specifically to the Israelites, also has application today.

Let’s look in chapter 20.

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.  When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army.  He shall say: “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies.  Do not be faint-hearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.  For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Promises in Action

First, it’s kind of cool to see examples of God’s people claiming this promise and God doing exactly what he promised. (Because frankly, more often than not, we see disobedience, don’t we?)  In 2 Chronicles 32, Assyria invades Judah and Hezekiah does all the typical stuff to prepare for war.  He consults his military advisors, makes some strategic moves, has weapons and shields made.  Then he addresses the soldiers with these words;

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.  With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.”

Want to know what God did?

“And the LORD sent an angel who annihilated all the fighting men and the leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace.”

Moses’ successor, Joshua, also reminded God’s people of this very promise before his death in Joshua 23.

“…the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised.”

God will fight for you

Wondering how this principle applies to us today?  After all, I don’t know about you, but our church doesn’t have its own military battalion.  Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that our battles are against the “powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  He further encourages us to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

Whatever you are battling today, God will fight for you.

Even if you are out-manned, out gunned, or have every reason to run….don’t.

Be like Hezekiah—consult advisors, make a plan, do what you can do.  And then remember,

“The LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

 

Susan Landry

 

Today’s Bible reading can be read or listened to at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+17-20&version=NIV

Tomorrow’s reading will be Deuteronomy  21-23 as we continue the 2020 Chronological Bible Reading Plan

 

 

Susan lives in balmy Minnesota with her favorite person, Greg, and (except for this year) their two sons.  She teaches, tutors and writes.  You can find her blog, The Sparrow’s Home, online at thesparrowshome.com  Some of Susan’s favorite words include grace, kindness, and authenticity.  Also snuggling.