Deuteronomy 17:1 says, Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. Moses said that they were not to sacrifice any animal with a blemish to God. Of course, this was God's law conveyed to them through Moses, and not just something Moses decided on His own. God's word to us today is still that we need to bring our best to Him, and not just the things that are of less value. Verse two states, If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, Moses begins to tell them God's law concerning those, either a man or a woman, within Israel who committed wickedness in the sight of the LORD. What we need to understand is that everything we do is in the sight of God. Verse three adds, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; Moses then began to specify what some of this wickedness was, and that was serving and worshipping other false gods, like the sun, moon and stars, which God had not commanded them to do. We as followers of Christ can never believe that the heavenly bodies determine anything about our life, but must acknowledge that only God does. Verse four continues, And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Moses said that they were to diligently seek the truth if they heard someone was doing this, as we should if we hear that a fellow Christian is doing something wrong today. Verse five concludes, Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. Moses said that once it was determined a man or woman had committed an abomination in Israel, they were to be brought forth and stoned. We today are called on to call them forth and try to correct them, and if they won't be corrected, then we are to not fellowship with them. Verse six says, At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. Moses said that it would take the word of two or three witnesses to put the accused to death, and not just one witness. One person today can start a rumor about another concerning their relationship with God, but we should never take the word of just one person. Verse seven adds, The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. Moses said that the witnesses were to cast the first stones, and then the others were to join in. Verse eight states, If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; Moses then spoke of disputes that arose in Israel, and said if they did arise, that the people involved were to go the the place of worship that God had designated. We as followers of Christ, if we have a dispute with another Christian, that we cannot resolve ourselves, need to bring the matter before the church, then accept their ruling. If we don't believe God's people can resolve our disputes, then we should not look to the world to do so. Verse nine adds, And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: Moses said that when they brought their disputes to the priests, the Levites, and to God's judges that would be appointed later, that they would determine the judgment in the matter. If we bring a matter before the church today, we need to have faith in their decision. Verse ten continues, And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: Moses said that they were to obey the decision of those who judged in the place He appointed, according to all that they said. If we bring a matter of dispute between a fellow believer and us before the church today, we must accept their decision and abide by it. Verse eleven concludes, According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. Moses said that they were to obey the ruling of the priests and judges. We need to obey the ruling of the church when we bring our disputes before them.
No comments:
Post a Comment