Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
Deuteronomy 23-26
Saturday: Deuteronomy 27-28
Sunday: Deuteronomy 29-31
Key Thought:
God intended Israel’s influence in the world to be enhanced by his nation’s commitment to holiness. Although the term “holiness” has been twisted nearly out of recognition by its associations in the modern world, at its heart holiness means “distinctiveness.” If Israel was not different from those nations around her, she would have little influence in attracting them to serve the Lord, the source of her distinctiveness. Lines would have to be drawn between those who could and could not participate in Israel’s “congregation” and negotiation. Among the excluded were those who had been physically handicapped by crushing or cutting. They could not enter the “congregation.”
The term “congregation” must be carefully defined. It is not the same word as “the community of Israel,” nor is it the equivalent of “those who could worship the Lord.” The “congregation” referred to those formal gatherings of Israel for festivals or times of national crisis. Outside of such events, the “congregation” did not exist, although the nation certainly did. People who were physically deformed were always accepted as full members of the Israelite family under normal conditions. The lone exception was their ineligibility for service in the priesthood (Lev. 21:21).
We live in a day where equality has risen to amazing heights, and people have bought the lie that life needs to be perfectly fair. Unfortunately, that is just not real life. Life, unfortunately, just is not fair, and it never will be fair. Sin ruined that and brought death, disease, disappointment, and destruction. Not everyone gets the opportunities that everyone else gets, and some endure hardship and heartbreaks that others never face. In our text today, God gave the clear expectations and qualifications for those who would participate in the congregation, and not everyone qualified. It did not make them lesser people, it simply disqualified them from specific responsibilities and opportunities. We must learn to trust God, even in those times.
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to be distinctly different from the world.
- Lord, please help me to be content to serve you where you give me opportunities.
- Lord, please help me to be faithful in every responsibility you have entrusted to me.
Political
- US Representative Tim Walberg
- Representative Rebekah Warren
- Representative Michael Webber
Pertinent
- Pray for one another
- Pray for Protection
- Pray for Peace
- Pray for Peace
- PRAY FOR WISDOM AS WE NAVIGATE THE COVID-19 CRISIS.