Devotional thoughts tagged as: 'Deuteronomy'
The Reason for the Sabbath
The Bible states two reasons to keep the Sabbath. The first reason is taken from Creation. Exodus 28 states that God rested from his labors on the Sabbath. Therefore, humans, should also rest from their labor. The second reason stems from redemption. God redeemed the Israelite's from their bondage in Egypt. Therefore based on Deuteronomy 5 God's people should worship God for his acts of redemption. Historically the majority of Christians do not observe the Sabbath, which is the seventh day of the week, Saturday. Instead they tend to observe Sunday the day of Christ's resurrection, as a time of worship and rest. Enjoy your Sabbath.
A Safety Net For Society
In the Books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus the Hebrews put a safety net under the entire society so all could survive. The first line of defence was the family. Their laws created an unbending stricture on family life. This was because the family was the glue which held the community together.
I would encourage you to skim through Deuteronomy and Leviticus and think about some of the safety nets we have in our own society today. Is the family really the glue which holds the community together?
Come to our Party
Protestant evangelist Tony Campolo gave a talk called "The Kingdom of God is a Party", which was later published as a book by the same title. Here are a few excerpts.
In Chapter 14 of Deuteronomy, we read every year all Jewish families came to Jerusalem and brought with them 1/10 of all the money they earned that past year. And it was blown on a party.
Everybody was invited. The lame, the blind, people who did not have any means of income, the widows and orphans. There was singing, dancing, and a lot of food. Who wouldn't want to go to church if church was meant to be a party?
According to Deuteronomy, church was meant to be a party.
God is a God who loves parties. He is a God who loves celebration. To all of us who are down, beaten, tired, and sad, He says, Come with me, we're going to have a party.
Jesus says the same thing. When asked what the Kingdom of God was like, he said The kingdom of God is like a wedding reception. A party.
Christians should be people who create fun and joy wherever they are placed.