Devotionary

One man’s sin had contaminated the entire body. And it was up to them to rectify the situation by doing what was right in God’s eyes by purging the sin from their midst.

Mercy has been meted out. Underserved grace has been extended. Eternal life has been granted. And the unfailing love of God has been expressed to all men through the unwavering faithfulness and unquestionable sinlessness of Jesus Christ.

In those areas that God had deemed as their inheritance, the people of Judah were to completely wipe out the inhabitants. No one was to be left alive. But as harsh as it all sounds, God had a method to His seeming madness.

God had Moses inform the people of Israel about a series of exemptions from battle designed to protect the family unit. While everyone would be expected to do their part in the conquering of the land, God was gracious to His people.

In Deuteronomy 19:14-21, Moses provides the people of Israel with some last-minute reminders about God’s law and His expectation that they hear and fear them. In other words, obey them.

God knew the land of promise was going to be filled with people who could and would hurt one another – even kill one another. So, He had Moses provide them with His plan for the inevitable so that they would not do the unthinkable.

When reading the Bible in its entirety, one is able to see the divine authorship of God as he weaves a narrative that points to His plan of redemption for mankind. And there are few places where this is made more clear than in Deuteronomy 18:15:22.

The Israelites were to live distinctively and differently. There was no room for compromise and complacency. And as God’s people, they were to resist the temptation to blend in with the world around them.

The Levites were under a curse. But it was well-deserved. Yet, God would redeem this unlikely and undeserving tribe, setting them apart for His service and honoring them with the responsibility of caring for His tabernacle and the spiritual needs of His people.

God provides a glimpse of the future. In time, the Israelites would decide they wanted a king. But God wanted them to know that He was going to be very particular about the kind of man who would rule over His chosen people.   

There was no room for compromise or complacency. God was not going to allow His people to live according to their own set of standards. He had rules and He expected them to be followed.

The people of Israel were not free to worship false gods. But they were also not free to worship the true God in a false or inappropriate manner. Anyone who did so would be deemed disgusting and unacceptable by God

God wanted them to appoint judges and officers who would render righteous judgment and prevent perverted justice. They would act as His agents, dispensing His divine will at the local level and in relevant, easy-to-relate-to ways.  

These festivals were to be times of joy, celebration, and thanksgiving, providing God’s people with the opportunity to rejoice in all that God had done for them, over the previous year and the many generations since He had made them His own

While God had great things in store for the people of Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, He also wanted them to never let all His past deeds on their behalf fade from their memories.