Confession of Honesty & Generosity (Deut. 26:12-15)

5/28/2009 9:20 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                    Focus:  Confession of honesty and generosity 

 

Bible Reading & Mediation                Reference:  Deuteronomy 26:12-15

 

            Message of the verses:  “12 ¶  "When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13  "You shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14  ‘I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15  ‘Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.’”

            The commandment that is referred here is found in Deuteronomy 14:28-29:  “28  "At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. 29  "The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”

            I must say that I am confused a bit about a couple of things here in that this only happens once every three years how were the Levites, orphans and widows surviving the rest of the time, or was this suppose to last them for two more years?  Were these people able to work in order to help support themselves?  I realize that the Levites were to be the spiritual leaders in these towns and would go to serve at the tabernacle from time to time so that was their job for the Lord.

            Getting back to this command it states that the children of Israel were to set this tithe aside and no defile it by touching it when they were unclean, like touch a dead body, and that they were to take this very seriously and at the end were to praise the Lord and the Lord to bless His people, thanking the Lord for His provision of this wonderful land flowing with milk and honey.

            In his commentary on this section Warren Wiersbe brings up that the phrase of a land flowing with milk and honey is mentioned in these first two confessions and then goes on to say that it is a good thing when God’s people appreciate all that the Lord has done for them and given to them.  (This is one thing that seems to be lacking in the Church in the USA today).  He goes on to comment again on how the older generation of the children of Israel kept asking to go back to Egypt, which got them in a lot of trouble and then makes this statement:  “When it comes to the circumstances of life, we all need to follow Paul’s example:  ‘I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content’ (Phil. 4:11).  One of the best ways to learn contentment is to share with others the blessings God gives us.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I truly do enjoy reading these confessions that the Lord has given to Moses for the children of Israel to repeat to the Lord, as they come from the very heart of God.  I do realize that while doing these commands and confessions that the children of Israel had to have the right heart and not do them just our of duty, but out of love for the Lord thanking Him for His goodness that He has given to them. 

            While reading a book, “The Bumps are What You Climb On,” which was written by Warren Wiersbe, I first read of contentment, and how a person had to learn contentment, and in this section he says that one of the ways to learn contentment is to give to others, like the widows, orphans and such, and I learned in yesterdays SD that by giving to the Lord what I give Him that I am saying that all that I have is His so this fits into this SD as well.

            I believe with all of my heart that learning contentment is one of the best if not the best way of living one’s life for the Lord, for if one is content then he can live in any circumstance without worry or fear.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Continue to learn contentment.
2. Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.
3. Trust the Lord to guide my path today.
4. Keep a short list with the Lord.

 

Memory verses for the week:                                              1 John 2:15-17

 

15.    Do not love the world nor the things in the world.  If anyone love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

17.  The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but he who does the will of God lives forever.

 

5/28/2009 10:02 AM