Deut 16:1-22
The Passover: the symbolism of the Passover was extremely important for the people to remember. It was to remind them of the time when, while slaves in Egypt, the Angel of Death flew over the houses. Those that had the blood of the sacrificial splashed on the doorposts were safe from death; those that did not, suffered the death of the eldest son. This prefigured the shedding of the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, on Calvary. Those washed in the blood of the Lamb (as in Rev 7:14) will be safe from the spiritual death (separation from God in eternity) that will be the lot of those who reject Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
Also mentioned are two other feasts that were required to be kept:
- Feast of Weeks - celebrating the harvest the Lord has blessed them with
- Feast of Booths - remembering the time when the nation dwelt in tents in their wanderings in the desert. (Leviticus 23 has the complete list).
At these feasts, gifts were given according as the giver was able to. Just and impartial judges and officers were to be appointed, and, once again, the people are reminded to avoid idol worship.
Deut 17:1-20
God does not want second rate sacrifices or service; and He alone is to be worshipped. Those who broke this law were to be put to death. Whilst, in our day, we are not likely to be stoned to death if we do not honour God, it is certain that at the Judgment the same assessment as to whether or not we have honoured or dishonoured God will kick in. The criterion will be: did we honour Jesus by appreciating that His death on the cross was for us, and accept Him as our Sinbearer and Saviour? Or did we not believe in what He did for us and so have dishonoured Him? (Obeying or disobeying the Ten Commandments will also indicate whether or not our lives have honoured God). Rules were also made for a king in the event that the people chose to have one.
This reminds me of the saying, 'There is nothing new under the sun' (see Ecclesiastes 1:9). Basically, God's laws have not changed since Creation. To every generation has come the warning to honour God or pay the price. Those who disobeyed under the Old Testament dispensation died immediately (usually stoning), undoubtedly followed by eternal spiritual death. In the Christian era those who have disobeyed (rejected) God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ will be sentenced to eternal spiritual death at the Judgment.
Luke 9:7-27
Many, including King Herod, wondered who Jesus was. The preaching of the twelve would have attracted a lot of attention. At Bethsaida Jesus was healing and teaching when night was falling. When the disciples came with a logical request - that Jesus send the crowds away so that they can get food for themselves - He challenged them to take the task upon themselves. I believe that Jesus often challenges us to undertake a seemingly impossible task and, like the disciples, we choose to think logically and decide it can't be done. What this means is that we never learn the power of God to help His obedient children through impossible situations successfully and so never learn to rejoice in the power of God at work in our lives. As the saying goes: 'Nothing ventured; nothing gained'.
Moses was told to lead over two million people into the desert, an illogical task if ever there was one. Logistically, even for just one month, there would never be enough food and water for such a large group. But he had learned to obey God and to expect miracles from Him, so he led the people out of Egypt, and God saw to their needs, not just for a few days or weeks, but for forty years! Only by walking with God can we discover what He is able to do; it is a learning experience that develops with commitment to His leading.
Luke mentions the incident where, in answer to Jesus' question, Peter answers that He is 'The Christ of God'. There is no space here to discuss this description except to say that it was never intended that Peter be recognised as the 'rock' on which the church was to be built. All I want to say is that 'Jesus the Christ, the Son of God', is the One on Whom the church will be built.
As for the 'keys to the kingdom', it does not violate the sense of the verse (Matthew 16:18-19) to accept that it was all of the disciples (and their spiritual descendants) who would hold the keys. No New Testament writer credits Peter with having special jurisdiction over them. We must take care to not build our beliefs on isolated verses that are interpreted in a way that does not find support in the light of the rest of scripture.
I once heard this saying: 'To follow Jesus does not take much of a man; but it does take all there is of him'. Very true!
Psalm 72:1-20
'Justice' for the king? 'Righteousness' to the royal son? Have you ever wondered why Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, went off the rails? David possibly prayed this prayer because he could see looming problems for Solomon and his son, Rehoboam, once they ascended the throne. Why should that have been?
Let us look at some of the verses we read earlier in Deuteronomy 17:16-20. Obviously Solomon did not bother with his copy of the law (v.18-20), for he had many horses and wives (1 Kings 11:3), as well as huge amounts of gold and silver (1 Kings 10:21-22). With such blatant disobedience towards God's word by the father, Solomon, we could expect the same from the son, Rehoboam.
As always, after praying for his son and nation, the aging David ends with grateful praise to the God he had worshipped from when he was still a young shepherd boy.
Prov 12:8-9
There are two lessons here:
- A community will readily detect a man with sense and reject one who is warped in his thinking.
- A community will also know who is well-to-do and who is not, in spite of the appearance of each individual.
The lesson for us is: 'Don't pretend to be what you are not'.
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