One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Friday, April 1st "The Person of Peace"
Click Here to Listen to the Readings
The Levites were the tribes who managed the temple. Their tribe did not receive an inheritance of land. As Moses says, "The Lord is their special possession." But these priests would receive all of part of all of the sacrificial gifts the Israelites brought to the Lord. Therefore, they were receiving the very best of everything.
Once again we see the familiar theme that God had chosen Israel to be the His special possession. He had set them apart for a special purpose. Since God was holy, God wanted His people to be like him. Most importantly they were never to imitate the sinful ways of the people they were driving out of the land. I.e. Child sacrifice, consulting witches and sorcerers, and all kind of other spiritual mediums rather than God.
In similar way Paul says to the Romans, "Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Many of the places where the first church was started were filled with pagan idolatry and immorality. I.e. Corinth
In the same way there were both true and false prophets. Every word a true prophet spoke was from the Lord. If not, they were a false prophet, because God doesn't lie. Moses was one such prophet and a very faithful one at that. False prophets were to be killed, and true prophets were to be obeyed as if they were speaking for the Lord.
God was always protecting innocent people from being wrongly judged. Refuge cities were set up for those who accidentally killed someone. This would prevent the death of innocent people. In the same way when someone had supposedly wronged someone, judges would decide if they were indeed guilty or not. If someone falsely accused someone and it was found out, the accuser would receive the same sentence the wrongly accused would have received. This was a strong deterrent from bearing false witness.
Here were the rules for war has they went into conquer the land.
1. If they were fearful, they needed tp remember the Lord was with them in the fight, so they need not be afraid.
2. Right before they were to go to war, if any one of them had any of these reservations, they were not to go into battle. These situations included: a man had built a house and not dedicated it. 2.a man had planted a vineyard and not eaten any of its fruit. 3. a man was engaged to a woman and not yet married. 4. Anyone is afraid or worried.
I think the main reason for the exceptions were God only wanted those to go into battle whose hearts were totally committed to the fight. Their minds could not be elsewhere, or they could be a liability to their fellow troops.
3. When they approached a town, they would give them an offer of peace. If they accepted they would become their slaves.
4.If they resisted there were two different scenarios. In a town on the edge of the Promised Land, they would kill all of the men, but not the women and chiildren, who they could take as their own. But if the people were within the Promised Land, the whole family was to be killed. The evil in these Canaanite nations was so heinous the Lord wanted to completely destroy it so it would not infect His people. God knew they were weak and vulnterable and could not take that chance at this historic time.
These are sometimes harsh passages to read, but it reminds us that God dealt with people differently in the Old Testament than the New Testament. God was merciful to some and judged others. He even judged his own people when they sinned. Fortunately for us in the New Testament, Jesus has taken our sin upon himself on the cross.
When you read these passages you see the seriousness of sin. Though we are under grace and not the law, it does not give us a right to sin freely and not think there will be consequences. We are to use our freedom to serve God and others not return to sin. One day we will be accountable for how we used the grace we have been given!
The Transfiguation
We have all heard of mountaintop experiences, but this one for Peter, James and John takes the cake. Why? Because they literally saw Jesus in his glorified state. I.e. What he would look like in heaven. Not only did they see what he would look like in heaven, but they saw him talking with two men from heaven, Moses and Elijah. They were the two greatest prophets and both pointed to Jesus as the Messiah through their prophecies.
Peter didn't know what to say so he asked if they could build tabernacles for each of them to stay in so they could preserve this moment in time. But a cloud overshadowed them so the time of glorification was over. A voice from heaven (God) said, "This is my son listen to him." If the disciples had any doubt who Jesus was, they sure got a boost from this experience.
But as all mountaintop experiences go, it was time for them to go back down the mountain to face territory with Jesus they had never faced before. They would need more faith than anytime before in their journey with Jesus.
Jesus Heals a Demon Possessed Boy
Apparently the disciples who were left behind when Jesus went with Peter, James and John up on the mountain could not heal this demon possessed boy. So the father begged Jesus to do it. Jesus seemed frustrated at the lack of faith not only in the disciples but also generally with the world around him. Regardless, he healed the boy of the demon who sent him into seizures and gave him back to his father in his right mind.
Jesus Predicts His Death
Jesus once again told his disciples he would be betrayed and handed over to his enemies. But again the disciples did not get it. Luke says, "It's significance was hidden from them." It was either deliberately hidden from them at this time, or they didn't have the spiritual resources to understand it.
"Jesus had just revealed His glory in two spectacular ways – the transfiguration and the casting out of a difficult demon. Yet, He reminded His disciples that His mission had not changed; He still had come to die on the cross for our sins, and the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men." (Guzik)
The Greatest in the Kingdom'
With Jesus talking about how his enemies would be taking him soon, the disciples starting wondering about where this would leave them. Who would be the greatest? What place would they be elevated to when Jesus was glorified? Would they get to hang out with Moses and Elijah? They couldn't wait. They were about to become the greatest!
But Jesus said, "Hold on a minute! I am not sure you are getting it!" So took a little child in his hand and said, "To such a little one like this belongs the kingdom. " Jesus used this little child to show greatness looked like in his eyes. To become great, the disciples needed to give up their visions of grandeur and become like this little child.
Where do you need childlike faith? Have you made following Jesus more complicated than it needs to be? As you humble yourself and become like the least, you will be the greatest in the kingdom, when Jesus returns to set up his kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven!
Comments
Post a Comment