January 26, 2014 - Sunday

Start time: 3:18 P.M.

End time: 3:50 P.M.

Title: Respect for the Sanctity of Others

Scripture: Deuteronomy 25:1 – 19

God’s Message / God’s Promise / God’s Commands:

→When people have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty. If the guilty person deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make them lie down and have them flogged in his presence with the number of lashes the crime deserves, but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes. If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes.

NOTES:

Ø God is a God who wants to settle disputes by acquitting the innocent and punishing the guilty!  However even in the punishment, God shows mercy and sets a limit to the number of flogged the guilty gets.  God knows how much is enough punishment must be given to avoid dishonoring even the guilty person.  This is who are God is!  He has respect to everyone even to the guilty and ensures that the punishment issued for the guilty will not be beyond he deserves!  Thank you Lord!

→ Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.  If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.  However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,”  his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

NOTES:

Ø God is a God who does His duties and responsibilities and completes it!  God clearly is saying that we do not stop doing our duties and responsibilities.  In the passage above, God is saying that when an ox is working the field, then you must not muzzle (stop) it.  The same way with the duties of a brother in law who needs to marry his sister in law when his brother dies as it is his duty.  So we need to do our obligation as the children of God for God does His as our Lord and Savior.  He never fails and whatever He started, He finishes!  Amen!

→ If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.

NOTES:

Ø God is a respecter of everyone!  Even in heated arguments or in a fight, God wants us to fight with honor and respect to others.  In the passage above, the woman is not punished because she fought and defended her husband; she was punished because of how she did it.  She disrespected the other man, which results to punishment.  So even in our fights with others, we must fight with the truth and with respect to our enemies (especially when we’re fighting with our fellow brothers and sisters).

→ Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.

NOTES:

Ø God is a God of honesty!  He does not want any dishonest dealings or transactions.  We are to set everything in truth especially when we are doing business.  Accurate and honest measurements or data and not doctor the data to get the results we want.  God, Himself, uses accurate measurements, His measurements, when dealing with us so we should be like Him for He is our God and we are His children!

→ Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

NOTES:

Ø God is a God who wants to blot out anything that may cause us to fear or insecure!  God commanded the Israelites to blot out the name of Amalek, who attacked them by surprise while they were on their journey.  Those men who did not fear God and does not care about Him so they do anything they want to His people, causing many to feel fear.  God wants to remove them out of our memory so we can peacefully and securely live in Him!  Thank You Lord!

Application/Realization

Ø All of God’s laws that were passed on to Moses, every one of them is for His people.  It shows His character as God but also as our Lord who loves and cares for us deeply.  God wants all disputes settled and that justice is given to those who deserve it but even in the execution of judgment, His mercy and love shows and protects the guilty.   He takes duties and responsibilities seriously and we should too.  For He has never failed once to fulfill His duties as our God and Lord even in times that we fail to do our part as His people.  We should always follow His examples at all times.  God continues to respect His creations and even in times of arguments or disputes, God wants to us to show respect and never dishonor the people we are in argument with.  God is a God of truth and honesty, He does not deal shadily with any transactions or business.  But the most valuable and important lesson for today is that God is a God who wants us to be secured and living in full faith in Him always.  For that reason He wants us to forget anything or anyone that may cause us to fear or feel insecure.  Praise God!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Amazing Lord; wonderful God, Gracious Father and Loving King!  I am so honored to serve and be called as Your child Lord.  Your words are law that are made with the full intention of giving us the best love and benefits always.  Thank You Lord for You want us to live in faith and security in You.  You even want us to forget anything that may cause us to feel fear or insecure and right now Holy Spirit, I ask You to remove anything that will create these feelings or negative emotions in me and instead, help me to focus on Your goodness and in following Your words that everything may go well with me as I live in You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen!