The long-term global impact of closing down schools.

 Check out my take in this two-minute video.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Would you give God your first-born?

 

Deuteronomy Chapter 15, part 3: Law of the First-born

Deuteronomy 15:19-23 – Gems and Thoughts from the Passage

Imagine being a rancher and having to give to God, or to consecrate to him, every first-born male offspring that any animal of your herd or flock has. And you are to let them be. You don’t work with them so they can be of use to work otherwise. You don’t shear them to get their wool, if they were sheep.

Instead, you are to eat them (or part of them) once a year where the Lord God tells you to eat them, after you have turned them over to the priests as a sacrifice to God. (If you are a successful rancher, that’s a lot of eating once a year.)

But wait, there’s a caveat. If there is any blemish whatsoever on or with respect to the animal, then it is not to be sacrificed to God, but it is still to be eaten. Just don’t “eat its blood”.

David Guzik has three interesting takes on why this was the case for the Israelites:
1. Israel was God’s First-born (Exodus 4:22), and this honored the fact.
2. The firstborn was thought to be the best, and the best was always given to God.
3. As a reminder to all generations of when God redeemed Israel, His first-born.

Wrap-up

Short, sweet, and to the point. Don’t forget who gives you your blessings.  Don’t forget He comes first in everything. Including your first-born.

On a personal note, some of you know that I have two daughters and one son. By God’s mercy, my son and his wife and family are well.  I did not have to give him up in any way, but God knew that I would have.  However, my dear son and his wife did lose their first-born and a male.  God only let us have him for a few hours.  At that time, they gave God their very best.  But God did not abandon them.  Yesterday my wife and I enjoyed a full day of taking their two children which God blessed them with soon after (a girl now aged six and a boy aged 3) to two parks, out for lunch, and then back to our place, and then home where we all had supper together. What a blessing, what a day. Our son told us today that his little guy put on his knapsack and got ready because he wanted to have another day with “Nanna and Pappou”.  God is good. Make Him first in your life.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Moses Talked about Slaves, but the Message Here is for Us

 

Deuteronomy Chapter 15, part 2: Law about Slaves

Deuteronomy 15:12-18 – Gems and Thoughts from the Passage

The topic of ‘slavery’ is very big these days as some Americans are calling for reparations on behalf of the slavery that took place in the United States decades ago. So, this passage was of particular interest to me. Verses 12-18 tell the Israelites how they are to treat their slaves. The first thing I noted was that Moses is talking about slaves that are “kinsmen” that is “a Hebrew man or woman”.  Their own people. Also, of interest is that the rules are the same for both male and female slaves. The issue of gender is a common theme throughout the Bible. Having studied it somewhat, I am convinced that God in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament pushed the needle towards the equality of women as far as the culture could stand and beyond. Our God is not a sexist in any way, shape, or form.

So, what were the rules? It appears that a ‘bought’ slave is to be kept for six years (likely from the time of purchase) and then released ‘in’ the seventh year. So, yes, there are some questions to be asked. Were all slaves bought? And if not, did these rules apply to slaves that were just acquired because someone else didn’t need them any longer or couldn’t afford to keep them? What about an Israelite that owned a slave that wasn’t a Hebrew? Were they to be released in the seventh year? And speaking of the seventh year, could the release date be anytime during that year, up to and including the last day?  All good questions, for which I have not found the answers yet.

[But this is what I like about studying the Bible for myself. You get to ask questions. You don’t always get answers. But you never despair or doubt – eventually Scripture does answer Scripture. And if all else fails, there is always I Corinthians 13:12 – “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”]

David Guzik suggests that “the slaves though of here are those who have had to sell themselves into slavery because of their debt” which ties in nicely with the earlier portion of this chapter on debt. 

Verse 13 tells the sons of Israel that when they release their slaves, they are not to be sent free “empty-handed”. The original ‘retirement’ or ‘leaving the company’ gifts were to be given to these people that served one for six years. This included some of the owner’s flocks, grains, wines. How much? Well, the text says, verse 14, you do so in accordance to how “the Lord your God has blessed you.” Two things to point out here. First, the actual decision is about you. But more importantly, it involves your relationship with God. Those are two things for us to keep in mind as Christians today with respect to our view of charity – the decision is ours as to how much (note, not as to whether or not to do so), and it does depend on how we view God’s blessings on our lives.

Verse 15 points out that how one treats a slave should be related to how one felt about themselves or their ancestors being treated as slaves (in this case, when the Israelites were in Egypt as slaves). They should not be like the Egyptians who ill-treated their slaves but should treat them with unparalleled kindness.

Verse 16 raises the possibility of a servant who refuses to leave – either because he/she loves you so much (as the text suggests) or because he/she is wise enough to know there is no better life for him/her. In that case, you accept, and to make that arrangement permanent, the Israelites were to put a hole in the ear of the slave or maidservant. Sometimes our employees become a very close part of our families and they are with us until death. But clearly the spiritual lesson here is that the owner (God) is dealing with a loving and dedicated servant (a believer and Christ-follower), who once committed to the master (Jesus), is in it for life.

The last verse (verse 18) of this section now addresses the feelings of the owner who will lose his slave after six years.  Moses is saying don’t regret doing so. The slave has given you six great years of service. And he points out that because he/she was a slave, they worked harder (gave you double the service) than what a hired person did. Let him go cheerfully. And if you do, God will keep on blessing you in your dealings.

Wrap-up

What does all this say to us today? For me, it boils down to three things: First, the relationship you and I as Christians have with anyone who works for us – be it full-time or part-time employees in our business, or the lady that cleans our house (if you have one) – is very important to God. And I would venture to say that it goes beyond those people – it includes those who provide services for us – auto services, public transport, mail services, the server when we eat out or the one who gives us our coffee at a coffee shop. I could go on for hours.

Second, we are to be generous with these people. We are to consider what God has saved us from and the circumstances we were in before our current ones. (Even if we were born rich, we still need to be thankful God didn’t allow us to fall into financial ruin and poverty after that.)

Finally, we are to consider with love the circumstances those that do work for us in any of the above ways are in.  What caused them to be doing what they are doing? Why are they the workers rather than the bosses? Was it their own poverty? Was it because they sacrificed to put a child through school? Are they working well beyond a normal retirement age just to survive? Do they have a sibling or other family member, sometimes older and sometimes younger with an illness, they need to take care of? Be generous. God loves a cheerful giver and He will bless you accordingly.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

God Has a Lot to Say about When to Lend Your Money

 

Deuteronomy Chapter 15, part 1: Law about Debts

Deuteronomy 15:1-11 – Gems and Thoughts from the Passage

Can you believe what God was expecting of the Israelites? Every seven years there was to be a forgiveness (a remission) of debts (verse 1). But this only applied to fellow Israelites, not foreigners (verse 3). The seven year period was not based on when you loaned, but it was a standardized time – that is, every seventh year in the history of the Israelites.

Proverbs 19:17 also says, “He who lends to the poor lends to the Lord.”

Interestingly enough, in verses 4-5, Moses goes on to say that the good news is that if you obey God’s commands, “there shall be no poor people amongst you”. Ever ventured downtown in your city or large town lately? If your neighborhood is like mine, it won’t be long before you see people begging on the streets. It won’t be long before you saw the multitude of homeless people. Moses is saying, if you follow God’s commands as a community, you won’t have that. Yes, I know that in the New Testament Jesus says the “poor you will always have with you”(John 12:8 and elsewhere), but that does not discredit the message from Moses here – follow God’s commands and you won’t any poor among you.

Then comes verse 6. The Israelites shall be blessed; they will ‘lend’ to many nations, but not ‘borrow’; they will rule over many nations, but nations will not rule over them.  There is much that may be said about this verse, but I like to think of lending as helping. And clearly Israel has always helped others, and even today the whole world benefits from Israeli technology, medical and pharmaceutical advancement, education, art, and so on. And while the Jewish people suffered greatly under the likes of Hitler, and right on through to today where antisemitism is rampant, as a ‘nation’ they have not been ruled over.  Israel is still Israel today and thriving, although it constantly has to be on the alert. As far as I’m concerned, the verse has come true.

Verses 7 and 8 talk about lending to those in need from among their brethren. Moses says it is a matter of not hardening your heart, not closing your hand, but lending sufficiently and generously to the person in need. I think that word “generously” causes a lot of problems for many Christians. The idea that a person in need should be treated with “generosity” strikes many as a bit much. But yet, the word of God says that we are to lend generously.  Now, it does say “lend” not “give”.  But in verse one, it also says that such lending is forgiven every seven years.

Verse 9 has an interesting warning. Moses was saying if you have any idea that because the seventh year of remission is near, you decide that you don’t want to lend to your brother – that is a sin.

Verse 10 here says basically what we are told in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 9:7 where we are told that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. So, don’t let your heart grieve about giving money to help your poor.

And then verse 11 repeats the idea that the Israelites will always have the poor in their land.

So, let’s think about the issues that arise here: On the one hand, if you obey God’s commands, you won’t have any poverty. On the other, the poor you will always have with you. Can it both?  Of course, it can.  You, personally, can obey God’s commands and you personally won’t be poor. [Anybody that learned to tithe with the first dime or dollar that they ever earned and is still doing so with a cheerful heart, knows that this is true. That’s a blessing indeed.] But, hey, others may not be as wise and don’t follow God’s commands, and you’ll need to help them – not so much for them, as it is good for you to do so. It’s a matter between you and God.

David Guzik puts says this about any apparent confusion here: “Is God contradicting Himself? Not at all. He knows that He has established a system where no one must be chronically poor, yet He knew that because of disobedience, some would, and there would always be the poor in Israel.”

Again, David Guzik on the command to be generous towards those of the faith: “This reminds us of Galatians 6:10 - Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Our charitable giving is to begin with those brothers and sisters closest to us, though it certainly can extend outward from there.”

 

Wrap-up

God has a lot to say about money in the Bible. Some have it.  Some don’t. There are reasons of course.  But the bottom line is that those who have it, are not to forget those that don’t – especially in one’s family and in one’s church, or faith. This section of chapter 15 of book of Deuteronomy may raise more questions for us than we expected.  But, that’s okay.  Let’s ask them and discuss them.

For me personally, there are two lessons – first, don’t lend to a brother or family member unless you’re prepared to lose it. And that’s not because they’re poor money handlers. It’s because God allows for that possibility.  And second, I had to let go of a grudge I held for three decades (if I were to be compliant with the teachings here).  [So if you’re the person I had this grudge against, and you’re reding this, please note that your loan has now been forgiven.]

And what did you learn?  Leave me a comment.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Watch what you eat and don't forget to give God what is His. Period.

 

Deuteronomy Chapter 14: The Laws of Food and Tithes

Deuteronomy 14:1-29 – Gems and Thoughts from the Passage

In the first 21 verses of this chapter, Moses repeats the Law about not ‘cutting’ our bodies or ‘shaving’ our foreheads “for the sake of the dead” and also what they cannot eat and what they can eat.

In verses 22 to 29, Moses reviews for the sons of Israel the Law of the Tithes. They are reminded how they are to tithe and not to forget the Levites or the priests and their needs. But of special interest to me was in verses 24 to 26. These talk about the situation where it was too far to take the “tithes of the field” to bring before the Lord, then they could sell the harvests or animals that were supposed to be a tithe, and then carry the money to where God wants them to give it to the Lord, then locally buy animals, etc., and then present their tithes.  Wow. That’s a God that wants to make it easy for us to follow His commands. It reminds me of how churches these days are encouraging many of their congregants to send in their tithes and offerings, by email, by direct deposit, etc.

Wrap-up

This is very much a repeat chapter of things already told to the Israelites by Moses. That very fact – that it is a repeat – just highlights how important these Laws are.  What we eat may no longer matter in terms of Jewish laws of cleanliness, but they certainly matter in terms of staying healthy today given all the processed foods and all the junk foods around.

Similarly, tithing is still very important to the carrying on of the church and the sharing of the Gospel.

Bottom line – watch what you eat and don’t forget to give God what is His rightful share, keeping in mind that all of what you and I have are only gifts from Him in the first place.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Moses Warns About Being Lured into Idolatry and How to Deal with Apostasy in our Faith

Deuteronomy Chapter 13: More on the Law of Idolatry

Deuteronomy 13:1-18 – Gems and Thoughts from the Passage

In verses 1-5 the children of Israel were cautioned most strongly against false prophets or dreamers or seers who would lead them against what they know God has already said. It is a warning to us about modern-day prophets. I am not saying there are none that are from God, but I am saying it is our responsibility to do our due diligence with respect to what they are saying. If it in any way contradicts what God has said in His Word, then we are to stay away from them in every respect. In fact, the Israelites were told to put such people who would lead them astray to death. We can’t do that today, but I certainly don’t believe in going easy on them in every other way and to use the full extent of the civil law against them. [I am thinking about false prophets who dabble with people’s finances or health in particular.]

Church Smith says the following on this passage:

“Because someone is able to bring to pass some kind of a phenomenon for which there is no scientific explanation, does not necessarily follow that that phenomena come from God. Satan is a deceiver and he is able also to create all kinds of spectacular phenomena. Thus, we are not to be drawn to phenomena and use phenomena as a criterion for truth.

The person who is seeking after miracles is on a dangerous territory for when the anti-Christ comes he is going to come with lying signs and miracles that he's able to work before the people. There is an unhealthy absorption in miracles in many people's lives.”

So, even if they are able to do what appear like miracles, if their words do not match God’s, they are false.

I note that in the margin of my Bible besides these verses, I had once written, “This explains why the Jews arrested Peter and John” when they first heard them. They were saying things that were so beyond what the Old Testament scrolls were saying. Thankfully, today, we have the entire sixty-six books of the Bible from which to glean what God is saying to us.

In verse 6 and following, Moses warns the sons of Israel what to do if a close family member (or close friend) entices them to worship other gods. They were not to yield to them or follow them. But more than that, they weren’t to protect them, but rather to expose them -- lest they cause others to fall away. This was and is a serious business. In fact, the one being enticed was to play a key role in stoning the person doing the enticing. Okay, we can’t do that today.  Fair enough but we can have nothing to do with this person and we can expose the dangers of listening to them to save others. Unfortunately, the Enemy works in the hearts of many to stay close to such a person telling us the lie, “how else will you be able to set that person back on the straight and narrow?”  Sorry, friends, in this case, the Bible is clear – have nothing to do with them.

Now verse 12 takes a further turn and one that is a little more difficult to understand. As I understand it, Moses is warning the Israelites that if some of them (in their cities that God had given them) go to another city and start worshipping their gods, the sons of Israel were to investigate and if true, they were to destroy all the inhabitants of that other city, and burn every aspect of it to the ground so that it will never be rebuilt. God has no tolerance for idolatry from His own people. And in verse 17, they were to “take no souvenirs”. Not so sure that we can do that today – we just have to leave these people who go from among us to God to take care of.

This last scenario also speaks to the idea that the Church has a responsibility to protect the community, the city, and in fact, the nation, from such false prophets and idolatry. I must admit that’s one responsibility we have not taken up very well lately.

I like what Matthew Henry says on this passage:

“Though idolaters may escape punishment from men (nor is this law in the letter of it binding now, under the gospel), yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgments. The New Testament speaks of communion with idolaters as a sin which, above any other, provokes the Lord to jealousy, and dares him as if we were stronger than he, 1 Co. 10:21, 22.” Some good advice we must not ignore.

Wrap-up

So, what are the lessons from Deuteronomy chapter 13?

First, do your due diligence with modern-day prophets. Check their words out against God’s Word in Scripture.

Second, stay away from and expose false prophets.

Third, that includes loved ones and friends who encourage you to follow other gods.

Finally, let go of, and stop associating with, those who were among the Church Body but have become an apostate to the faith.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.