Good morning you guys! Deuteronomy chapter 21.
When I first read this chapter I concluded that there seems to be laws for everything. And at first it seems most of them don't make sense or the reasoning for them is not always clear. For example:
1. They went through a lot of work to find out who makes the atonement for an unsolved murder.
2. If you're going to marry a captive woman make sure you shave her head don't let her cut her nails and let her mourn 30 days over the death of her parents, then decide if you want to marry her.
3. Don't let a man hang over night on a pole who is convicted of a crime.
Then after meditating over the chapter I began to see some clarity but I don't always make sense of what God is trying to say in the passage. I don't really understand the full implications of what God is trying to say. Sometimes I don't understand out of ignorance. I don't know their culture or don't know God's thinking. If I knew more than I feel I would understand more.
That to me is life. We go through life and sometimes things happen and it happens all of a sudden:
A loved one dies. Your wife has a miscarriage. You don't get the job you REALLY thought you would get. Your house burns down. You have a heart attack. You lose a limb. The person you thought you would marry and spend the rest of your life with breaks up with you.
When we experience such things, they don't make sense. We ask the questions why. We can only see a little bit of the picture. If we could see the bigger picture, that God sees, then we could better understand. It's okay to question God and try and gain wisdom and learn more. But the danger is when we come to the conclusion that because I DON'T UNDERSTAND we therefore conclude that apparently God is not fair nor real nor loving nor caring. Our lack of knowledge has nothing to do on whether or not God is real, loving, caring or Fair. Just as the laws we read today, the more you study them and seek wisdom of them the more they make sense. But even if I don't gain all the wisdom needed to understand the passage, I will still conclude God had a reason for it. Because God is real, he is loving, and caring and fair. Don't let the unknowns about God and about life circumstances destroy our faith or warp our interpretation of what kind of God he really is.
I end with Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts declares the Lord, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
There’s lots of great stuff to chew on today! We may not understand everything about God and what He tells us in His Word, but He can help us to learn and understand more everyday. We are blessed when we find wisdom as we see in Proverbs 3:13-15. “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”
I’m also sharing a few verses from Psalms today about how God helps us with His Word and how His understanding can’t be measured.
Psalm 119:130
The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:160
The sum of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous rules endures forever.
Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.
One part of this chapter that was difficult for me was the rebellious son section. I could not imagine bringing my son to his own death by stoning. Thinking about it I feel like my heart would be ripped out of my chest. But how often does God feel that way when He sees His precious children rebelling and sinning and becoming atheist? I can only imagine His love for us means He wants us to live eternal life with Him in Heaven. So when we make choices that are the opposite of what will lead us to Heaven, it may feel like we are walking the path to our own stoning.
I know I personally feel a certain responsibility to raise my son right and build his life on a foundation of faith, but ultimately as he grows up, he will have free will. He will have to make decisions that lead him to Heaven or lead him to the hell. Sometimes I struggle with all the people I know and love who have lost Jesus. I worry if they were to die, they would not go to Heaven. I need to continue to pray for them and live my life as an example.