I know it's looking bleak on the economic scene, but Jesus reminds us "let not your heart be troubled."Now, to today's bible study!
Immediately upon reading these three chapters today, you start seeing some allusion to New Testament events. For example:
1) Jesus was flogged more than 40 lashes, in spite of the Jewish law we read in 25:3! Here's why Moses said that 40 lashes were plenty - in verse 3, it says, "more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor." In other words, it would be a demonstration of public humiliation to be flogged more than 40 times! To be safe, the Jewish leaders in Jesus' day would only flog someone 39 times in order to be safe from miscounting and thus violating the law of Moses! But, how many times was Jesus flogged? Remember, he was under Roman jurisdiction, not Jewish jurisdiction. The Jews had appealed to Pilate, a Roman governor. And, under Roman law, they did NOT have a limit. According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, it was uncommon for the Romans to flog a man to death! But, we can safely assume that Jesus was whipped more than 40 times due to the fact that the bible teaches in Isaiah 52:14, "But many were amazed when they saw him (Jesus). His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man." Jesus was whipped cruelly and inhumanely!
And, Jesus underwent public humiliation while being lashed MORE than 40 times! In spite of the fact that every Jewish leader knew of this Old Testament law, they blatantly disregarded it as it was being committed upon Jesus. How shameful it was of those "religious" leaders to disregard their own law they pretended to love and defend so much!
In today's perspective, however, I think Jesus is still getting flogged today! How, you ask? I think we do it with our disobedience! I'm sure His heart aches each and every time we decide to turn our backs on Him and willfully sin against Him. It was for our sin that he was flogged and publicly humiliated.
2) Paul quoted Deuteronomy 25:4 to defend PREACHERS so that they could be PAID WELL for their ministry services! As you read verse 4 in its text in Deuteronomy, you might not of thought of its application as Paul did in 1 Timothy 5:18 when he was encouraging the people to pay the elders of the church WELL! He said, "Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well...for the Scripture says, 'You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain." In other words, Paul was reminding the church people that if God was concerned that an animal (an ox) should be well rewarded for working hard, then shouldn't our preachers be rewarded more so!
3) The Sadduccees of Jesus' day use Deuteronomy 25:5 to tempt Jesus with a question! Read verse 5 and then jump over to Mark 12:19-23. Can you see how these religious leftists tried to challenge Jesus by using the law you just read in today's readings?
4) Cheaters are "detestable" in God's sight! Wow! Did you catch that verse in 25:13-16? God must really hate cheating! Notice what he does! In verse 15 offers people a "long life" who don't cheat in life, and in verse 16 He confesses that those who do cheat are "detestable" in His sight! Cheating is a real serious thing with God! Whether cheating on a test or cheating on business expenses, God doesn't like cheating at all.
5) Tithing obligates God to bless you! That's one lesson you can get out of Chapter 26. Moses commands the nation of Israel to do 3 things:
- Offer up the first fruits of your harvest when you enter the Promised Land.
- Then, tithe on your crops in a "special tithe" every 3 years!
- Then, ask God to look down from Heaven and bless you!
In other words, it's almost like Moses is saying, "If you honor God with your substance and obey Him, then ask Him to bless you and He will!"
6) The Mountains of Blessing & Cursings! We often see Jesus in the New Testament speaking in simple stories or preaching with visual aids. Now, here in Deuteronomy 27, Moses is doing the same thing! He tells the 1.2 million person crowd that once they cross the Jordan River to enter into the Promised Land, their first act of responsibility is to split up. He instructs half of them to go up and stand on the side of one mountain (Mount Ebal) and the other half to go up and stand on the other mountain just across from Ebal (Mount Gerazim). While each half is on the side of their respective mountain facing each other, the Levites are to offer up a Recital of Cursings and Blessings! As the Levites shout the curse, the entire nation shouts back, "AMEN!" - which literally means "so shall it be!" This was Moses' way of providing a "visual" demonstration for the purpose of reminding the nation of Israel that they have a choice to either follow God's instructions and be blessed, OR go their own way and receive a curse. It must have been a powerful moment to have seen 1.2 million people do this! I've been in Arrowhead Stadium with more than 80,000 people in attendance shouting for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was deafening! I couldn't even hear the person sitting next to me asking me a question! Wow! I can only imagine the deafening noise that must have rumbled the ground beneath them as they shouted "Amen!" What a powerful visual it was!
That's all for now! God bless!
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