Whoever Listens To You Listens to Me!
Reflections: In the readings today, we see the power of the covenant and God’s faithfulness to it, as the Israelites trust in God and obey its terms. Our psalmist is King David, and though not perfect, we see his heart cry is to trust in God’s unfailing love and mercy to deliver him from his enemies. He has seen God’s deliverance before and knows God will never let him down.
As Moses continues to share the terms of the covenant with the Israelites as they get ready to enter into the Promised Land, we see that God has set forth blessings and curses. If they obey the terms of the covenant they will have everything they need, land, protection, food and blessings upon their offspring. But if they choose to worship and follow other gods they will get what they desire. God wants them to ruthless in protecting the community from corruption through worship of other gods. It will be like a cancer that will spread in the community and cause harm to those who follow its ways.
Finally, as we see the ministry of Jesus unfolding; we see this time he sends out 72 to do the work that He had been doing. In short, Jesus was teaching and then “doing” the kingdom. Jesus was living out what it looked like to be surrendered to God’s plan and offering His life as a living sacrifice. As He sent the 72 out, He told them that if they come to a town or a people and they are not welcomed to shake the dust off their feet as a sign/warning to those people that God’s kingdom had come near.
Notice there is no cajoling or manipulation, but a simple proclamation of God’s kingdom coming near in Jesus accompanied by works in His name. And then He says, “Whoever listens to you, listens to me, and whoever rejects you, rejects me!” Those are some pretty powerful words with some pretty amazing ramifications. As we are called into the covenant with God by His grace we are also given authority to act on his behalf as an ambassador of the kingdom. This is an area that many believers need to own and rejoice in. We are the 72 God has sent out! Notice sent out! We are not called to just gather and be fed, as important as that is. We are sent out to proclaim the Good News in word and deed and be examples of God’s kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven!
Psalm 86:11-17
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
just as my mother did.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Deuteronomy 28:58-29:21
Renewal of the Covenant
29 These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. 2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 5 Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”7 When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.9 Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. 10 All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11 together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13 to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you 15 who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven. 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
Luke 10:1-16
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
God looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. Job 28:24
God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:20
Jesus, we are overwhelmed at your concerns and resources to minister to the great needs of so many about us. Thank you for vision and grace to meet these needs. Amen.
As Moses continues to share the terms of the covenant with the Israelites as they get ready to enter into the Promised Land, we see that God has set forth blessings and curses. If they obey the terms of the covenant they will have everything they need, land, protection, food and blessings upon their offspring. But if they choose to worship and follow other gods they will get what they desire. God wants them to ruthless in protecting the community from corruption through worship of other gods. It will be like a cancer that will spread in the community and cause harm to those who follow its ways.
Finally, as we see the ministry of Jesus unfolding; we see this time he sends out 72 to do the work that He had been doing. In short, Jesus was teaching and then “doing” the kingdom. Jesus was living out what it looked like to be surrendered to God’s plan and offering His life as a living sacrifice. As He sent the 72 out, He told them that if they come to a town or a people and they are not welcomed to shake the dust off their feet as a sign/warning to those people that God’s kingdom had come near.
Notice there is no cajoling or manipulation, but a simple proclamation of God’s kingdom coming near in Jesus accompanied by works in His name. And then He says, “Whoever listens to you, listens to me, and whoever rejects you, rejects me!” Those are some pretty powerful words with some pretty amazing ramifications. As we are called into the covenant with God by His grace we are also given authority to act on his behalf as an ambassador of the kingdom. This is an area that many believers need to own and rejoice in. We are the 72 God has sent out! Notice sent out! We are not called to just gather and be fed, as important as that is. We are sent out to proclaim the Good News in word and deed and be examples of God’s kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven!
Psalm 86:11-17
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me;
show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
just as my mother did.
17 Give me a sign of your goodness,
that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Deuteronomy 28:58-29:21
Renewal of the Covenant
29 These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb. 2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 5 Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”7 When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.9 Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. 10 All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11 together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. 12 You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13 to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 14 I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you 15 who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.16 You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. 17 You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. 18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 20 The Lord will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven. 21 The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
Luke 10:1-16
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
God looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. Job 28:24
God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:20
Jesus, we are overwhelmed at your concerns and resources to minister to the great needs of so many about us. Thank you for vision and grace to meet these needs. Amen.
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