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daily devotional
Evening...
Psalm 101:1 I will sing of mercy and judgment.
Faith triumphs in trial. When reason is thrust into the inner prison, with
her feet made fast in the stocks, faith makes the dungeon walls ring with her
merry notes as she I cries, "I will sing of mercy and of judgment. Unto thee, O
Lord, will I sing." Faith pulls the black mask from the face of trouble, and
discovers the angel beneath. Faith looks up at the cloud, and sees that
'Tis big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on her head."
There is a subject for song even in the judgments of God towards us. For,
first, the trial is not so heavy as it might have been; next, the trouble is
not so severe as we deserved to have borne; and our affliction is not so
crushing as the burden which others have to carry. Faith sees that in her worst
sorrow there is nothing penal; there is not a drop of God's wrath in it; it is
all sent in love. Faith discerns love gleaming like a jewel on the breast of an
angry God. Faith says of her grief, "This is a badge of honour, for the child
must feel the rod"; and then she sings of the sweet result of her sorrows,
because they work her spiritual good. Nay, more, says Faith, "These light
afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out for me a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory." So Faith rides forth on the black horse,
conquering and to conquer, trampling down carnal reason and fleshly sense, and
chanting notes of victory amid the thickest of the fray.
"All I meet I find assists me
In my path to heavenly joy:
Where, though trials now attend me,
Trials never more annoy.
"Blest there with a weight of glory,
Still the path I'll ne'er forget,
But, exulting, cry, it led me
To my blessed Saviour's seat."
Morning...
Psalm 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well, the rain also
filleth the pools.
This teaches us that the comfort obtained by a one may often prove
serviceable to another; just as wells would be used by the company who came
after. We read some book full of consolation, which is like Jonathan's rod,
dropping with honey. Ah! we think our brother has been here before us, and
digged this well for us as well as for himself. Many a "Night of Weeping,"
"Midnight Harmonies," an "Eternal Day," "A Crook in the Lot," a "Comfort for
Mourners," has been a well digged by a pilgrim for himself, but has proved
quite as useful to others. Specially we notice this in the Psalms, such as that
beginning, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" Travellers have been delighted
to see the footprint of man on a barren shore, and we love to see the waymarks
of pilgrims while passing through the vale of tears. The pilgrims dig the well,
but, strange enough, it fills from the top instead of the bottom. We use the
means, but the blessing does not spring from the means. We dig a well, but
heaven fills it with rain. The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but
safety is of the Lord. The means are connected with the end, but they do not of
themselves produce it. See here the rain fills the pools, so that the wells
become useful as reservoirs for the water; labour is not lost, but yet it does
not supersede divine help. Grace may well be compared to rain for its purity,
for its refreshing and vivifying influence, for its coming alone from above,
and for the sovereignty with which it is given or withheld. May our readers
have showers of blessing, and may the wells they have digged be filled with
water! Oh, what are means and ordinances without the smile of heaven! They are
as clouds without rain, and pools without water. O God of love, open the
windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing!
Exodus 20:4-6
(4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any
thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth. (5) Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me; (6) And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.
Many do not perceive the difference between the first and second
commandments. The first stresses the uniqueness of the Creator God, who is the
Source of truth, right values, and standards that will produce right
relationships. It deals with what we worship. An idol is something we make and
assign value to here on earth, but God comes into our life from beyond this
physical realm.
The second commandment covers a specific area of idolatry, God's
spirituality. Jesus says we must worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
God wants us to worship, be devoted, and respond to what He is and what He is
doing, not what we think He looks like. He wants us to emulate His character
and the way He lives. The second commandment deals with the way we worship.
The second commandment's most obvious aspect governs the use of physical
"helps" or "aids" in worshipping the invisible, spiritual God. It prohibits the
use of anything that represents God or could become an object of veneration. It
forbids any kind of likeness of Christ such as crucifixes, pictures, and
statues.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Second Commandment (1997)
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daily devotional
Evening...
Luke 15:2 This man receiveth sinners.
Observe the condescension of this fact. This Man, who towers above all other
men, holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners-this Man receiveth
sinners. This Man, who is no other than the eternal God, before whom angels
veil their faces-this Man receiveth sinners. It needs an angel's tongue to
describe such a mighty stoop of love. That any of us should be willing to seek
after the lost is nothing wonderful-they are of our own race; but that He, the
offended God, against whom the transgression has been committed, should take
upon Himself the form of a servant, and bear the sin of many, and should then
be willing to receive the vilest of the vile, this is marvellous. "This Man
receiveth sinners"; not, however, that they may remain sinners, but He receives
them that He may pardon their sins, justify their persons, cleanse their hearts
by His purifying word, preserve their souls by the indwelling of the Holy
Ghost, and enable them to serve Him, to show forth His praise, and to have
communion with Him. Into His heart's love He receives sinners, takes them from
the dunghill, and wears them as jewels in His crown; plucks them as brands from
the burning, and preserves them as costly monuments of His mercy. None are so
precious in Jesus' sight as the sinners for whom He died. When Jesus receives
sinners, He has not some out-of-doors reception place, no casual ward where He
charitably entertains them as men do passing beggars, but He opens the golden
gates of His royal heart, and receives the sinner right into Himself-yea, He
admits the humble penitent into personal union and makes Him a member of His
body, of His flesh, and of His bones. There was never such a reception as this!
This fact is still most sure this evening, He is still receiving sinners: would
to God sinners would receive Him.
Morning...
Mark 4:36 There were also with Him other little ships.
Jesus was the Lord High Admiral of the sea that night, and His presence
preserved the whole convoy. It is well to sail with Jesus, even though it be in
a little ship. When we sail in Christ's company, we may not make sure of fair
weather, for great storms may toss the vessel which carries the Lord Himself,
and we must not expect to find the sea less boisterous around our little boat.
If we go with Jesus we must be content to fare as He fares; and when the waves
are rough to Him, they will be rough to us. It is by tempest and tossing that
we shall come to land, as He did before us. When the storm swept over Galilee's
dark lake all faces gathered blackness, and all hearts dreaded shipwreck. When
all creature help was useless, the slumbering Saviour arose, and with a word,
transformed the riot of the tempest into the deep quiet of a calm; then were
the little vessels at rest as well as that which carried the Lord. Jesus is the
star of the sea; and though there be sorrow upon the sea, when Jesus is on it
there is joy too. May our hearts make Jesus their anchor, their rudder, their
lighthouse, their life-boat, and their harbour. His Church is the Admiral's
flagship, let us attend her movements, and cheer her officers with our
presence. He Himself is the great attraction; let us follow ever in His wake,
mark His signals, steer by His chart, and never fear while He is within hail.
Not one ship in the convoy shall suffer wreck; the great Commodore will steer
every barque in safety to the desired haven. By faith we will slip our cable
for another day's cruise, and sail forth with Jesus into a sea of tribulation.
Winds and waves will not spare us, but they all obey Him; and, therefore,
whatever squalls may occur without, faith shall feel a blessed calm within. He
is ever in the centre of the weather-beaten company: let us rejoice in Him. His
vessel has reached the haven, and so shall ours.
Leviticus 27:30-34
(30) And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the
land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD.
(31) And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto
the fifth part thereof. (32) And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the
flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto
the LORD. (33) He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he
change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof
shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. (34) These are the commandments, which
the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Go to this verse on Bible Tools
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
(22) Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the
field bringeth forth year by year. (23) And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy
God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of
thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of
thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. (24) And if
the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the
place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name
there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: (25) Then shalt thou turn it
into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place
which the LORD thy God shall choose: (26) And thou shalt bestow that money for
whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for
strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there
before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
(27) And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for
he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. (28) At the end of three years thou
shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay
it up within thy gates: (29) And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor
inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow,
which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that
the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (vol. 4, p. 863)
lists three tithes. It is amazing to see how many commentaries and dictionaries
list the same three tithes with regard to Leviticus 27:30-34 and Deuteronomy
14:22-29:
Jewish tradition and some more recent studies (e.g., Landrell,
p. 36) have identified two or three different tithes in these passages. (1) A
first tithe consisted of the tithe to the Levites. . .; of this, one tenth was
passed on to the priest or to the house of God. (2) A second tithe (from the
remaining nine tenths) was set apart and eaten by the household, presumably in
Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 14:22-26 . . .). Those living far from Jerusalem could
change the tithe of the land into money . . . [for] food, drink, or oil. . . .
Landsell refers to this tithe as the tithe for the sacred celebration. [This is
exactly what it is—the tithe for the sacred celebration!] (3) The third tithe,
according to Jewish tradition (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews iv.8.22
[240-243]; cf. also Landsell) was the tithe for the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28f),
which occurred only in the third year. According to some of these possible
scenarios, the tithing rate could run as high as thirty percent! (Emphasis
added.)
Eerdmans Family Encyclopedia of the Bible (p. 147), under
"Tithing":
Each year a tithe (a tenth of one's produce) was given to God
for the upkeep of the priests. A second [tithe] was used for a sacrificial
meal, in which the worshipper and his family shared at one of the festivals. A
third [tithe] was used to help the poor.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ibid.), under
"Tithing: Theological Implications":
No institution in Israel, including tithing, existed merely to
carry out a political, economic, or humanitarian function. By giving the tithe,
the Israelites were declaring solemnly that they were giving a portion back to
the Lord who had prospered them (Deuteronomy 26:10-15). By giving the tithe
they also recognized the validity of the priests' and Levites' role as God's
representatives and acknowledged their right to receive support for the
spiritual service they performed on the people's behalf. The tithe ritual
afforded the Israelites an opportunity to remember Yahweh's blessings as He had
remembered them, and to imitate their God's care for slaves, the poor, orphans,
and widows. The tithe demanded that the Israelites serve their God at a
significant cost to themselves. In this amazing system of tithing, Israel's
economics became a channel for expressing love to God and love to neighbors the
heart of the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Leviticus 19:18).
What are the greatest commandments of the law in Matthew
22:36-40? They are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and to love
your neighbor as yourself. Jesus says that on these two commandments hang all
the law and the prophets. This is what God's tithing law is to do.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia adds: "[T]ithing
helped to set Israel apart as Yahweh's people and His alone, a people holy to
Him." This is because of their obedience to God. Of course, we know that other
signs identifying God's people are keeping God's Sabbath, obeying the laws of
clean and unclean meats, keeping the holy days—these are, along with simply
obeying God in all He tells us to do, true signs of God's people.
John O. Reid
From Tithing
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