Deuteronomy 12:9 says, For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you. As Moses told the people of Israel then, we as followers of Christ have not yet come into the rest and inheritance that God has promised us. Of course, Moses was referring to the earthly Promised Land to them, and we look toward our heavenly home for this promise to be fulfilled today. Verse ten adds, But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; Moses said when they went in, not if, that God would give them rest from all their enemies. This will be true for us when, not if, we go home to heaven. Verse eleven continues, Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: Moses said when they were in the Promised Land that God would designate a place for them to worship Him, and that was where they were to bring all their sacrifices, tithes and offerings to God. When we get to Heaven, everywhere will be a place to worship God, and we will bring to Him all that we have to offer Him, which is ourself. Verse twelve states, And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. All the people of the nation of Israel were to rejoice, even the Levites who had no earthly inheritance. In this lifetime, we are all like the Levites, having no earthly inheritance, but we are to always worship God. Verse thirteen adds, Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: Moses told the people of Israel to take care to not offer their offerings to God anywhere except where He designated, but I believe that we today are free to worship God anywhere we are. Verse fourteen continues, But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. The people of Israel were to all worship in the place where God designated, and when we gather together today to worship God, it needs to be in a place where He designates, unlike individually where we should worship Him wherever we are. Verse fifteen declares, Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. God told them they were free to kill and eat the flesh of animals that they found in the land. Though some people today tell us that as Christians we should not eat meat because it goes against what God would want us to do, this has never been the case. Though they were limited in what animals were considered clean and that they could eat, in the New Testament these limitations were removed. Verse sixteen adds, Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. Moses said that they were not to eat the blood of the animals, but were to pour it on the ground as water. Verse seventeen says, Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: They were not to eat of the tithes, offerings, and sacrifices that were given to God. Anything that we willingly set aside for God today is no longer ours to do with as we please, as individual Christians or collectively as a body of believers. Verse eighteen adds, But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto. The exception was when they were gathered in the place that God designated for them to worship. There they could eat of the sacrifices as they rejoiced in the Lord. Verse nineteen continues, Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth. The people of Israel were warned to not neglect providing for the Levites, those set aside to do God's work, and I believe that we today are to provide for those that God calls into the ministry and never neglect their needs..
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