Lessons from Deuteronomy
Deut. 24:1-4 God here commands a woman, once divorced and remarried, never to return to her first husband: "then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord..."
---God uses marriage to describe His relationship with His people. Because of our waywardness we are often described as adulterous and full of lust. But God is faithful, and as he pictured through Hosea's marriage to Gomer, His love pursues us to bring us back. Why then is it such an abomination for a man to take back his former wife? Because he sent her away. From this I learn that once the gates of heaven shut against us, we are lost. During the present age God's hand is extended toward us, calling us back to Him, healing our wounds, dispensing mercy and grace. But there will come a day when His face will darken and He shuts the door. No one can enter then, no matter how plaintive his cries.
Deut. 24:15 "Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it..."
---From this I learn that when a Marine has a problem with pay, it is never too minor to merit my full attention.
Deut. 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers..."
---God is just, as each man is punished for his own sin, but this reminds me of another place where God promises to remember a righteous man by blessing his children to the thousandth generation. From this I learn that Aristotle was right to include a man's legacy in the definition of a happy life. A man cannot truly be said to have led a good life if his works die with him.
Deut. 26 This one got too long. I might post it separately at a later time
Deut. 27:5 "And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them..."
---From this I learn that salvation is God's work, not man's. The building of this altar was for the giving of thanks and was an occasion for worship and rejoicing in the grace God had bestowed. The whole work was a holy project of God's. Neither is there any workmanship of ours in those livings stones with which God is building an eternal temple.
Hermeneutics is a touchy subject. It was not my intent in the above passages to pass absolute conclusions about the "true meanings" of the verses; rather, I hoped to discover something about who God is through what he commanded the Israelites. Several times in the Old Testament men of God stood up and asked the Israelites what other nation had such a God as the Lord, who gave such wise and just laws. It was in this spirit that I sought to uncover the wisdom of these OT passages. Just as Solomon astonished men with his wisdom, I hoped to marvel and be moved to worship as I discerned God's attributes more clearly. In beholding Him more clearly I hope that I may come to love Him more.
---God uses marriage to describe His relationship with His people. Because of our waywardness we are often described as adulterous and full of lust. But God is faithful, and as he pictured through Hosea's marriage to Gomer, His love pursues us to bring us back. Why then is it such an abomination for a man to take back his former wife? Because he sent her away. From this I learn that once the gates of heaven shut against us, we are lost. During the present age God's hand is extended toward us, calling us back to Him, healing our wounds, dispensing mercy and grace. But there will come a day when His face will darken and He shuts the door. No one can enter then, no matter how plaintive his cries.
Deut. 24:15 "Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it..."
---From this I learn that when a Marine has a problem with pay, it is never too minor to merit my full attention.
Deut. 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers..."
---God is just, as each man is punished for his own sin, but this reminds me of another place where God promises to remember a righteous man by blessing his children to the thousandth generation. From this I learn that Aristotle was right to include a man's legacy in the definition of a happy life. A man cannot truly be said to have led a good life if his works die with him.
Deut. 26 This one got too long. I might post it separately at a later time
Deut. 27:5 "And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them..."
---From this I learn that salvation is God's work, not man's. The building of this altar was for the giving of thanks and was an occasion for worship and rejoicing in the grace God had bestowed. The whole work was a holy project of God's. Neither is there any workmanship of ours in those livings stones with which God is building an eternal temple.
Hermeneutics is a touchy subject. It was not my intent in the above passages to pass absolute conclusions about the "true meanings" of the verses; rather, I hoped to discover something about who God is through what he commanded the Israelites. Several times in the Old Testament men of God stood up and asked the Israelites what other nation had such a God as the Lord, who gave such wise and just laws. It was in this spirit that I sought to uncover the wisdom of these OT passages. Just as Solomon astonished men with his wisdom, I hoped to marvel and be moved to worship as I discerned God's attributes more clearly. In beholding Him more clearly I hope that I may come to love Him more.
posted by Motokeb at 3:48 PM
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