Day 103
Deuteronomy 19:1-20:20, Luke 15:1-32, Psalm 45:1-9
I'm getting a little conscious of the repetition that we are encountering at the moment. Cities of refuge, witnesses and most of the last few days are all things that we have seen before so let's take a bit of time out and look at the wider book of Deuteronomy.
We said early on in the book that Moses was restating things but there is a bit more to it than that. The people are on the doorstep of the promised land but Moses can't go in so he is making a bit of a speech. "Deuteronomy" can be translated as 'the second law' and is a bit like restating a covenant. Moses may have been renewing the covenant for the people just before he leaves them, trying to get his house in order. Anyone who has looked at a legal document will know that it "recites" a lot of things, to the point of extreme boredom. Moses is reciting the details of the covenant before the renewal part comes in.
We also find that Deuteronomy is one of the most quoted books in the New Testament, so despite the hard going nature of it, this is clearly a very important book. It speaks about many things that are timeless, such as a great deal about the nature of God and even grace (considering what God has already done for them and the fact that the land is his but he gives to them.) So it is a book that was written just before the people crossed over into the promised land, and one that Jesus and the early Christians chose to recite. As we struggle through the repetition, it may be important for us to remember the nature of the book.
The Gospel also contains some timeless truths and today we revisit the prodigal son and the lost sheep. With the prodigal son, there is a message that we sometimes forget, in fact the whole gospel contains a message that we sometimes forget. We sometimes consign these passages to the "new Christian" section of our reading. "If you haven't come to Christ, then this is the stuff for you!!!". But sometimes this is the stuff that we need to read, wherever we are on the Christian journey. The son was in the family but chose to go off on a jolly, distancing himself from his father. Some of us may have "given our lives to Christ" but actually at the moment we feel quite far from God, possibly for a number of reasons. Well these are the words that we need to hear, that our father in heaven will get out the fatted calf, the best robe, and the best ring. No matter how we feel, God is there for us, loving us to the very end. What was the first thing that the father did? "Threw his arms round him and kissed him". God desires to embrace us so much, so no matter where you are, keep walking in his direction until you feel that embrace.
I'm getting a little conscious of the repetition that we are encountering at the moment. Cities of refuge, witnesses and most of the last few days are all things that we have seen before so let's take a bit of time out and look at the wider book of Deuteronomy.
We said early on in the book that Moses was restating things but there is a bit more to it than that. The people are on the doorstep of the promised land but Moses can't go in so he is making a bit of a speech. "Deuteronomy" can be translated as 'the second law' and is a bit like restating a covenant. Moses may have been renewing the covenant for the people just before he leaves them, trying to get his house in order. Anyone who has looked at a legal document will know that it "recites" a lot of things, to the point of extreme boredom. Moses is reciting the details of the covenant before the renewal part comes in.
We also find that Deuteronomy is one of the most quoted books in the New Testament, so despite the hard going nature of it, this is clearly a very important book. It speaks about many things that are timeless, such as a great deal about the nature of God and even grace (considering what God has already done for them and the fact that the land is his but he gives to them.) So it is a book that was written just before the people crossed over into the promised land, and one that Jesus and the early Christians chose to recite. As we struggle through the repetition, it may be important for us to remember the nature of the book.
The Gospel also contains some timeless truths and today we revisit the prodigal son and the lost sheep. With the prodigal son, there is a message that we sometimes forget, in fact the whole gospel contains a message that we sometimes forget. We sometimes consign these passages to the "new Christian" section of our reading. "If you haven't come to Christ, then this is the stuff for you!!!". But sometimes this is the stuff that we need to read, wherever we are on the Christian journey. The son was in the family but chose to go off on a jolly, distancing himself from his father. Some of us may have "given our lives to Christ" but actually at the moment we feel quite far from God, possibly for a number of reasons. Well these are the words that we need to hear, that our father in heaven will get out the fatted calf, the best robe, and the best ring. No matter how we feel, God is there for us, loving us to the very end. What was the first thing that the father did? "Threw his arms round him and kissed him". God desires to embrace us so much, so no matter where you are, keep walking in his direction until you feel that embrace.
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