earth – Praying Pint

51.b. Wilderness – 15.h. “No longer be children, tossed to and fro”

Deu 13:6-11  “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

Micah 7:5-7    Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms;  for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.  But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Ephesians 4:14     so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Colossians 2:4    I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

2 Peter 2:1   But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies

1 John 2:26-27    I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

Revelation 12:9     And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

This demonstrates that God never puts highest priority on family relationships; if a family member forsakes the LORD, we are never to follow them away from the LORD. Jesus always comes first, as He said in Matthew 10:37: He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. This is how seriously God regards leading someone else into idolatry. Even if a sympathetic person entices you, and even if they do it in private, enticement to idolatry is not to be tolerated. Matthew 18:6: But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Anyone who leads one of God’s people astray is greatly offending the heart of God.

Many modern researchers and pundits say that capital punishment is no deterrent to crime. God says it is a deterrent (properly practiced, of course). (Guzik)

It is the policy of Satan to try to lead us to evil by those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design, and whom we are desirous to please, and apt to conform to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child, who are near by nature; from a wife or friend, who are near by choice, and are to us as our souls. But it is our duty to prefer God and religion, before the nearest and dearest friends we have in the world. We must not, to please our friends, break God’s law. Thou shalt not consent to him, nor go with him, not for company, or curiosity, not to gain his affections. (Henry)

It seems harsh to us that “put to death” penalty be commanded for a little idolatry of other gods. We live in a time and culture that exalts “tolerance” over commitment to God. We tolerate sin to the point that it is not even called out as sin, but rather a right, personal preference, or another way to the same God. God wanted the Israelites to know it was very serious and worthy of capital punishment. It was not to be tolerated or marginalized no matter who the person was.

Neglect, complacency, and lack of commitment and reverence to God’s Word and things of God cultivate a fertile ground in our hearts and minds for seeds of this world to bud and grow. The Israelites were to go into the promised land and dispose of all the idols and people. They were to be the hands of Go’d judgment on them. They were not to be enticed by what these people worshipped or what they proclaimed as a deity. What in this world has been adopted, tolerated, or followed after that is not right in the eyes of God or in any way honor and glorify Jesus Christ? If you are seeking and desiring God’s Word for the purpose of following, obeying, trusting, and relying on God so that in all things you are honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ, then the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart and mind giving you discernment to see the follies of this world. The problem is that much of what is being preached is baby food and feel good about your self dribble. The sinfulness of sin and the holiness of God are not preeminent. It is more about saving souls, baptisms, and butts in the pews. Saving souls and baptisms are critical and we are commissioned to do as such. We are also told to make disciples. That very act means we are to study, teach, encourage, and grow them in the whole every-expanding knowledge and understanding of the Word of God and things of God. We are to move on from the elementary teachings. How is this possible when the same baby food is being preached week after week. Line by line, precept by precept, here a little and there a little the Word of God is being fed over and over again. The elementary teaching that is essential to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to lost souls is not the same teaching required to grow disciples. And yet, this is what is happening and the result is baby understanding, baby commitment, baby understanding, and baby application. Over and over again Scripture tells us to study, work, meditate, so that we are firmly grounded and able to recognize the lies of Satan, enticements of this world, and things that are not right or good for the soul. If the teaching and preaching is baby food then the commitment and growth will be stunted and little sanctification will follow in the lives of those who are to be disciples.

Oh that God’s Word was hungered and thirsted for with a desire to grow in understanding and knowledge of Him so that in all things we think, say, and do Jesus Christ is both honored and glorified.

50.z. Wilderness – 15.e. “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today”

Deu 12:1-3  “These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way.

Deu 12:8-9  “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.

Deu 12:12  And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your towns.

Deu 12:19  Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.

Deu 12:28  Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

The practice in the ancient world, which was always short on buildings, was to take a nice building such as a temple previously used to worship a prior god, and simply make it a place to worship one’s own god. The LORD God wanted none of that in His own worship. He commanded that the places of pagan worship be completely destroyed, and that they shall not worship the LORD your God with such things. This is where the worship of many is corrupted. It isn’t that they worship too little; they worship too much. They worship the LORD, and the things of the world. God doesn’t want such worship. It is an abomination to Him. Many could really begin to worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24), if they would only “destroy” in their hearts their pagan places of worship. Because they give their hearts to so many other things, there is little to give to the LORD.

It may not be easy to find the place where God wants you to worship, but it is out there. There is a place where He wants you to worship. He has not called you to follow Him in isolation. The place of worship was to be a place of giving. Of course, there were other places where an Israelite could give and be generous but giving had to begin at the place of worship God has appointed. The place of worship is to be a place of joyful fellowship with God and others. Much of what is called worship in today’s church really isn’t worship. It is self-focused, man-focused, and personal-experience-focused instead of being God focused. Much of today’s worship is measured by how I feel instead of being measured by how God was honored and worshipped. Worship at God’s appointed place must be marked with joy. It is a good thing to come and honor our God and should be done with pleasure and joy. (Guzik)

Worship – honoring, glorifying, adoration, praising, exalting, devotion, treasured, cherished, love, high regard, and reverence all fit the act of worship. Things are being worshipped without even giving a thought that they are. Smash or break a TV and you would think the world is falling apart. A sports team, sports figure, a singer, an actor, house, car, boat, motorcycle, job, position, works of art, wife, husband, children, relative, pastor, teacher, politician, etc…….. all are or can become something that is worshipped. Listen to people talk and you will know what they worship or are worshipping at that moment. Are there any words of worship of God? We choose what we worship. We allow things of this world to become objects of worship. We do this and don’t even give it a thought because we give God little to no thought.

Let your heart rejoice in God. Grow in your worship of Him. Seek to be shown by the Holy Spirit things of this world that have become objects of worship in your life. Worshipping things that are created rather than the Creator is bad for your heart, soul, and mind.

50.t. Wilderness – 14.z. ” For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.”

Deu 11:1-7 “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.

God commanded Israel to love Him. Love is not a matter left entirely up to our impulse or our feelings. We choose to love the LORD or not. Additionally, this reminds us of what the LORD really wants from us – our love. We could give Him a hundred other things, but none of it really matters unless we give Him our love. As Jesus said to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:4: Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. If we lose love, we lose all. Love for God never goes against His word. Some people think their so-called love for Jesus allows them to disregard His commands, but this isn’t real love at all. Real love for Jesus always translates into obedience. Moses addressed the generation which saw the works of God among Israel, both in blessing and chastening. He spoke to the generation that should know and remember. Moses called Israel to remember what God did in their history. Most of history – both official and personal – is simply concerned with what man has done. But God wants us to look at history and see what He did. We learn far more, and are far more benefited, by looking at what God has done, rather than looking at what man has done. (Guzik)

Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge—The reason for the frequent repetition of the same or similar counsels is to be traced to the infantine character and state of the church, which required line upon line and precept upon precept. Besides, the Israelites were a headstrong and perverse people, impatient of control, prone to rebellion, and, from their long stay in Egypt, so violently addicted to idolatry, that they ran imminent risk of being seduced by the religion of the country to which they were going, which, in its characteristic features, bore a strong resemblance to that of the country they had left.Moses exhorts them to obedience by rehearsing God’s works, Deu 11:1-9, and by the excellency of the land they were to possess, Deu 11:10-12. A promise of blessings to their obedience. (Brown)

What is it that allows us to forget? How do we go from sincere obedience, trust, and reliance to floundering like a fish out of water? How does this happen without our ability to recognize it? The answer can be hundreds of reasons but it boils down to our want and desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Not wanting to forget the greatness of God. Wanting to please God. Intentionally choosing to always be close to God. Not living a single moment without praise and worship of God in your heart and mind being filled with the Holy Spirit and spending time in His Word so that you can discern right from wrong, good from bad, and holiness from sinfulness. It is an intentional life set apart from this world and sins of the flesh in reverent service to God.

There are many things that draw us away from this. Basing our life style on that which we see in other christians. Normally we pick out the weakest and shallowest example. Would anyone be drawn to the God you proclaim to serve by the life you life and what you say? Think about this and ask God to reveal your heart and mind to you so that you can honor and glorify Him in all you think, say, and do.

50.f. Wilderness – 14.l. “And they provoked the LORD to anger.”

Deu 7:16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

Judges 2:3  So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.”

Judges 2:12    And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger.

Psalms 106:36    They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

1 Corinthians 15:33    Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Joshua 23:13-16   know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.  “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.  But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you,  if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.

God’s Word is full of reminders and examples for us. Reminders of His awesome power, might, presence, holiness, goodness, grace, mercy, and love. Examples of His warnings, anger, wrath, judgment, and purpose for pure lives in service to Him. How many times do we read it as history and not allow ourselves to think about it and make our minds and souls sensitive to it? How many times do we just read over it until we grasp only promises of God’s blessing, mercy, steadfast love, and grace? How many times do we pass over warnings and examples of how easily the world and our fleshly thoughts can pull us away from seeing God’s Word in its fullness? Far too many I’m sure.

We may think not me, but in reality, we have deafened our ears, closed our eyes, and stiffened our necks against giving deep thought to the Word of God and things of God. We easily claim promises that are given to those who follow, obey, cling to, rely upon, and trust God. However, we don’t dig into His Word in depth or give it meaningful thought. We just limp along thinking life is a basket of roses, when in fact it is a battle for eternal life. A battle of good and evil. If we do not give this thought we are bound to be easily drawn away into worldly temptations and give no thought to our sinfulness, let alone how we might grow in how we honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions.

Read God’s Word with a hunger and thirst for knowing His holiness and our sinful tendencies. Read it for how to better discern right from wrong and good from evil. Read it for in it is truth. Read it and meditate upon it for the single purpose of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

50.c. Wilderness – 14.i. ” Know therefore that the LORD your God is God”

Deu 7:6-10  “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Malachi 3:17    “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Israel was holy in their standing before God before they were holy in their conduct. They were set apart unto God by His choosing (God has chosen you to be a people for Himself) and were then called to live as chosen people. As much as anything, their election meant the LORD set His love on them. Their motivation for such a total obedience was to be that they knew God loved them. (Guzik)

A proper understanding of the evil of sin, and of the mystery of a crucified Saviour, will enable us to perceive the justice of God in all his punishments, temporal and eternal. We must deal decidedly with our lusts that war against our souls; let us not show them any mercy, but mortify, and crucify, and utterly destroy them. Thousands in the world that now is, have been undone by ungodly marriages; for there is more likelihood that the good will be perverted, than that the bad will be converted. Those who, in choosing yoke-fellows, keep not within the bounds of a profession of religion, cannot promise themselves helps meet for them. (Henry)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God—that is, set apart to the service of God, or chosen to execute the important purposes of His providence. Their selection to this high destiny was neither on account of their numerical amount (for, till after the death of Joseph, they were but a handful of people); nor because of their extraordinary merits (for they had often pursued a most perverse and unworthy conduct); but it was in consequence of the covenant or promise made with their pious forefathers; and the motives that led to that special act were such as tended not only to vindicate God’s wisdom, but to illustrate His glory in diffusing the best and most precious blessings to all mankind. (Brown)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,…. Not sanctified in a spiritual sense, or having principles of grace and holiness in them, from whence holy actions sprang, at least not all of them; but they were separated from all other people in the world to the pure worship and service of God in an external manner, and therefore were to avoid all idolatry, and every appearance of it: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth; for special service and worship, and to enjoy special privileges and benefits, civil and religious; though they were not chosen to special grace here, and eternal glory hereafter; at least not all of them, only a remnant, according to the election of grace; yet they were typical of the chosen people of God in a special sense; who are chosen out of the world to be a peculiar people, to be holy here and happy hereafter; to enjoy communion with God in this life and that to come, as well as to serve and glorify him now and for evermore. (Gill)

50.a. Wilderness – 14.g. “Oh that they had such a heart as this always”

Deu 6:13-16  It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Deuteronomy 5:29    Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Deuteronomy 10:12     “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deuteronomy 13:4    You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.

When we do this, the idea is not of a shrinking fear from an angry God. Instead, the idea of fear is more in the concept of an awe-filled respect, an inner repulsion at the idea of offending such a great, loving God who has done so much for us. (Guzik)

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him,…. Serve him through fear; not through slavish fear, a fear of hell and damnation; but through filial fear, a reverential affection for that God that had brought them out of a state of bondage into great and glorious liberty, out of Egypt into Canaan’s land, out of a place of misery into a land of plenty; and therefore should fear the Lord and his goodness, and from such a fear of him serve him, in every part of worship, public and private, enjoined. (Henry)

Do you ever wonder what it is that keeps you from a walk with God like this? Imagine if we would wake every morning with a single thought of how we might worship, praise, thank, honor, and glorify Him through every thought, word spoken, and action. Wouldn’t our lives find joy in all of the turmoil and chaos so prevalent today?

Matt 24:12 And because of the abundance of evil, the love of many will grow cold.

You can see it at every level of society; hate, anger, fear, lawlessness, calling good bad and bad good, denying and rejecting the Word of God and things of God, pride, self-worth, self-reliance, greed, jealousy, etc……

Let your heart be fixed and your stance firm in your service and devotion to God. For most, it will not look like what you are doing right now.

49.r. Wilderness – 13.x. “Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart”

Deu 4:32-40 “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Moses asked Israel to carefully consider the days that are past, and if God had ever dealt with any other nation the way He had dealt with Israel. Israel needed to know they had a special place in the plan of God. Israel could know that the LORD was God, because of all the amazing things God did in the life of their nation. In the same way, when we consider how God has touched our lives – how we have experienced the power to free us from sin, to give us hope when we are discouraged, to heal our bodies, to free our bitter hearts, to answer our prayers, to overcome the most difficult obstacles – when we consider these things, we can know that the LORD Himself is God. Israel heard God’s audible voice from heaven; they saw His holy fire and benefited from His divine choice. They could know this from all God had done for them. In light of who God is, and all He did for Israel, obedience to His commands made perfect sense. It was simply what should be done. We are fools to disobey such a God of love and power. (Guzik)

Note this is from the Old Testament while Israel was in the wilderness being encouraged by Moses before going into the Promised Land. The reasoning is pure, right, and true. Fast forward to today. We live with the knowledge of so much more knowledge of God and what He has done over the course of time up to and through the death of the writers of the New Testament. We know of God’s power and love. We have been given precious promises. He sent His one and only Son to redeem us, forgive our sins, and give us eternal life, and we have been given the Holy Spirit to indwell in us to teach, convict, encourage, lead, and guide our thoughts, words, and actions so that we would honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

What punishment awaits those who deny, reject, neglect, and turn their backs on such a great gift of salvation? Romans rings true; “Man is without excuse”.

49.o. Wilderness – 13.u. “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things”

Deu 4:9  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Proverbs 3:1    My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

Proverbs 3:3   Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 7:1   My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;

Proverbs 4:20-23  My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Hebrews 2:3    how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

Psalms 119:11    I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Their only danger was, lest they should grow careless and unmindful of all the wonderful things that God had done for them and thereby not teach them to their children. The possession of the oracles of God by Israel was a benefit to them only as these were kept in mind and reverently obeyed. Therefore they were to take heed and diligently beware of forgetting the circumstances under which the Law had been received at Horeb. God had then commanded the people to be gathered together, so that they stood before the Lord, were in his manifested presence, and were made to hear his voice speaking to them from amidst the fire and the clouds that covered the mount. They had thus actual evidence and guarantee that the Law they had received was Divine; and this they were to keep in mind as long as they lived, and to communicate to their children in all coming time, that so they might fear the Lord; for on this rested that covenant which God had made with Israel, and which they were to keep as the condition of their continuing to enjoy privilege and life. (Unkown)

When we are passive towards God’s Word and the things of God we will become complacent and neglectful. The quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading will be drowned out by the busyness of whatever we have turned to or allowed to consume our desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. The Bible was inspired and authored by and through the Holy Spirit. His Word was given to us so that we might know God and His plans, purposes, and promises. How many days go by when we are just going through the motions of being a faithful servant? How many times do we leave our house and give no thought to how we might continually honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions? How many trials and problems do we seek to rely on self-reliance rather than reliance on God our heavenly Father?

God is ever-present and worthy of all praise, honor, glory, and worship. Becoming careless and unmindful of God’s purpose for each of us is to believe, trust, follow, obey, and rely upon Him, and grow in our understanding of His great power, might, grace, mercy, and love, and be in a continual desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions, we drift away, think unholy things, speak worldly thoughts, and seek the pleasure of fleshly and worldly desires.

How is it possible to know what honors and glorifies Jesus Christ if the Word of God is neglected?

How is it possible to grow in our understanding of God’s grace, mercy, and love if there is no desire to do so?

How is it possible to determine what is holy and what is worldly when all that fills your mind is what comes from that which is worldly?

How is it possible to be a light shining in the darkness when the light of God’s Word is dim in your life?

How is it possible to know God’s will when there is no desire to know it?

How many years have we been walking in the wilderness because we allow worldly values and culture to consume us and we walk on paths away from God?

When there is no heart, mind, and soul desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions – all of the time – then there will be no fueled desire to read His Word and know God.

See what David said; Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting

49.k. Wilderness – 13.q. So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Deu 2:30  But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day.

Isaiah 48:4    Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,

Numbers 21:23    But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.

Joshua 11:19-20    There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle.  For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

Romans 9:17-23   For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Hardened hearts equate to walking around with both our eyes and ears closed. This calloused condition can keep a person from believing in Christ. That’s huge because eternity in heaven rests on that belief. God speaks to all of us, but how we respond depends on the condition of our heart. Upon hearing the Lord’s voice, some believers are motivated to pursue a deeper and more obedient relationship with their Father. Others, however, resist or refuse Him because their heart has become less responsive.

A change in receptiveness may be difficult to recognize because it happens slowly and is often rationalized or excused. How do you respond when the Holy Spirit speaks to you through Scripture or some other means? Carefully consider the following characteristics of a developing callousness:

Insensitivity to what God says
Resistance to His authority
Disobedience to what the Lord is instructing you to do
Justification of sinful conduct
Rejection of reproof by others
Preoccupation with worldly things
Little interest in spiritual matters
Absence of private devotion (Bible reading and prayer)
Avoidance of gathering to worship with other believers

A hardened heart can dull a person’s ability to perceive and understand. Anyone’s heart can harden, even faithful Christians’. Sin causes hearts to grow hard, especially continual and unrepentant sin. Pride will also cause our hearts to harden. The “pride of your heart has deceived you . . . you who say to yourself, ‘who can bring me down to the ground’ . . . I will bring you down declares the LORD” (Obadiah verses 3-4). Also, the root of Pharaoh’s hard-heartedness was his pride and arrogance. Even in the face of tremendous proofs and witnessing God’s powerful hand at work, Pharaoh’s hardened heart caused him to deny the sovereignty of the one, true God. And when King Nebuchadnezzar’s “heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory . . . until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone He wishes” (Daniel 5:20–21). Accordingly, when we’re inclined to do it our way, thinking we can “go it on our own,” it would be wise to recall what King Solomon taught us in Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

So, what then is the antidote for a heart condition such as this? First and foremost, we have to recognize the effect that this spiritual disease has on us. And God will help us to see our heart’s condition when we ask Him: “Search me O God, and know my heart…see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24). God can heal any heart once we recognize our disobedience and repent of our sins. But true repentance is more than simply a resolute feeling of steadfast determination. Repentance manifests itself in a changed life.

Hearts can also become hardened when we suffer setbacks and disappointments in life. No one is immune to trials here on earth. Yet, just as steel is forged by a blacksmith’s hammer, so, too, can our faith be strengthened by the trials we encounter in the valleys of life.

A hardened heart begins is a manifestation of the mind. It is here where thoughts become rooted and how our lives are lived out. Certainly pride and disappointment can plant seeds but these seeds are cultivated in our own minds. When the Word of God and things of God are neglected and things of this world become more consuming there will be watering of seeds that harden the heart, and dull the eyes and ears.

It is important to continually be transformed in our minds by growing in our understanding and knowledge of God, God’s Word, and things of God. Without desire for this continual growth our minds are consumed with what the world has to offer and its offer of satisfaction.

Start your day with God’s Word and commitment to living in such a way that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions.

48.m. “Wilderness” – 12.s. Men – Vows

Num 30:1-2  Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Psalms 56:12     I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.

Psalms 76:11   Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared,

Psalms 119:106    I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.

Job 22:27     You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows.

Psalms 22:25     From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5   When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.  It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

Psalms 66:13-14    I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,  that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

Psalms 50:14    Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High,

Matthew 5:33-37 Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.

A vow made to God is no small thing. God commanded that His people should be careful to keep their vows and to fulfill every oath they made. Psalm 15:4 describes the godly man as the one who swears to his own hurt and does not change. “Vows either took the form of a promise to give something to God, usually a sacrifice, or a pledge to abstain from something.” Wenham also notes the common tendency: “But when the crisis passes and the prayer is answered, there is a temptation to forget the vow.”

A commonly overlooked and unappreciated sin among God’s people is the sin of broken vows – promising things to God and failing to live up to the vow. Under the old covenant, it was commanded to make an offering to atone for the breaking of vows (Leviticus 5:4). Therefore, those who honor God:

· Will not be quick to make vows to God, especially unwise vows.

· Will be serious about fulfilling vows that they do make.

· Will regard broken vows as sins to be confessed and to be repented of. (Guzik)

The “vow” was positive; the “bond” negative or restrictive. By a vow a man engaged to dedicate something to God, or to accomplish some work for Him: by a bond he debarred himself from some privilege or enjoyment. A vow involved an obligation to do: a bond. (Barnes)

If a man vow a vow unto the Lord—A mere secret purpose of the mind was not enough to constitute a vow; it had to be actually expressed in words; and though a purely voluntary act, yet when once the vow was made, the performance of it, like that of every other promise, became an indispensable duty—all the more because, referring to a sacred thing, it could not be neglected without the guilt of prevarication and unfaithfulness to God. (Brown)

If a man vow a vow unto the Lord,…. Which must be in a thing that is lawful to be done, which is not contrary to the revealed will and mind of God, and which may tend to the glory of God, the honour of religion, the service of the sanctuary, the good of a man’s self or of his neighbour; or in things purely indifferent, which may, or may not be done, without offence to God or man; as that he will not eat such a thing for such a time, or he will do this or the other thing, as Jarchi observes; who moreover says, that he may forbid himself what is forbidden, and forbid what is free and lawful; but he may not make free or lawful what is forbidden, that is, he may not vow to do a thing which is contrary to the law of God, such a vow will not stand. (Gill)

I think we sometimes think of vows to God like New Year’s resolutions. In the moment of having a date of starting we make a resolution to do something or to stop doing something with full intent upon completion. The first week may be squarely focused and set in our mind, but then something alters the normality of our life and the resolution is not easily maintained. Soon the resolution is nothing more than words written or spoken and the commitment to continue with unwavering focus is no longer there.

Vows to God were not resolutions. They were solemn acts of devotion and commitment without a hint of not performing. The thought of not fulfilling a vow to God or to another person was not an option or thought. Vow or not to vow – Jesus Said – “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no”