Laws of Festivals, Judges, Trials, and Appointed Kings in Deuteronomy

Today's Reading:

• Deuteronomy 16:1 - 17:20
• Proverbs 12:8 - 9

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Deuteronomy 16:1 - 17:20
 Moses told the people which festivals they were to celebrate each year.  These festivals were to be celebrated at the single place God chose for his sanctuary -- the people would have to travel there.  These festivals were: Passover, Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters.

Moses also informed the people of God's instructions for dealing with idol worship, disagreements, lawsuits and more.  The people were to appoint local judges and officials to hear cases.  Should these people be unable to decide, the case was to be brought to the Levitical priests to decide.  Should a person be found guilty, their punishment must be carried out exactly as stated by the judge's sentence. 

People who worship idols or natural elements (sun, moon, etc) were to be put to death, but only if at least two witnesses saw them.  Those witnesses had to throw the first stones before the rest of the community could join in.

The people were also told requirements for a king, if they were to appoint one.  First of all, the people must make sure that the Lord has chosen the king.  The king must be an Israelite and must live humbly as a king.  He shouldn't build himself a fortune, and he should keep the instructions written on a scroll to read daily so that he would stay true and humble to both the citizens and to the Lord.

It's interesting to see the parallels between our democratic society today and the society the Israelites were to be a part of.  It's always reassuring that the Lord insists on fairness out of the leaders and the judges, and that there must be multiple witnesses if someone was going to be convicted of a crime with a death penalty.  No one said that the Lord our creator had to attempt to be fair to us.  Yes, I know life isn't fair -- but the Lord lays basic rules in attempt so that people be treated fairly.  The Lord created us all -- what if He wasn't concerned with our treatment, with how we treat others?  I am truly thankful that we have a Lord who is concerned with our fair treatment.

Proverbs 12:8 - 9

8  A sensible person wins admiration, but a warped mind is despised.

9  Better to be an ordinary person with a servant than to be a self-important but have no food.

 It is better to be a sensible, ordinary person than a pompous, poor person with a warped mind!  Whenever you might think you're too ordinary, just remember the things that make you beautiful to God -- because those are the only things that truly matter.

Fair Practices for God's People

Today's Reading:

• Exodus 21:22 - 23:13
• Proverbs 7:6 - 23

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Exodus 21:22 - 23:13
Today's reading consisted of a list of laws and fair practices for God's people to follow.  I'd say that these laws and practices are pretty much what we would think of as fair practices.  I like verses 21:23-25:

The punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.

I don't know what I liked so much about that verse except how it narrows the retribution down even to bruises.  There are many passages about how to handle disputes about property, both borrowed and stolen. 

One thing that really stuck out to me was verse 22:19, where it says that anyone who takes part in bestiality must be put to death.  I know it's a really sick thing to do but I guess it really is an abomination to the Lord.  I don't know why that stuck out, I guess just because it obviously needed to be accounted for in the laws. 

Everyone always says how bad the world is getting -- it's not the same place it used to be and the people are worse than they used to be -- but with all my reading so far I'm not sure that's really the truth of the matter. 

The world has suffered the same problems and the same types of crimes since the fall of Adam and Eve.  The Lord has already destroyed the world once and has destroyed towns and populations on numerous occasions.  I think there's just more people to go around than there used to be and that we have more of a global awareness then we ever have before.  The world is a harsh place, but the Lord is just and fair.  Thank God I have God on my side!

Proverbs 7:6 - 23
Here there are more strong warnings about immorality.  This one tells the story of a man who was seduced by a woman and it led to his death.  We can steal and live (as long as we pay retribution), we can hurt another and live (as long as we don't purposely kill them) but there are really strong warnings on the sexual sins. 

From what I have read so far, nothing else will destroy and shame your entire life the way an affair would.  And that's the truth, right?  Some of the biggest scandals are sexual in nature, from public affairs to molestation cases to prostitution.  Don't fall victim to pleasure that is only temporary.