Cutting Down Idols and False Prophets

  • June 9, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 13:3-5
3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow.

Reflection: Cutting Down Idols and False Prophets
By Robert Hillier

Often we read the Old Testament and think, “Thank God Jesus has fulfilled these laws.” This is often the case with Leviticus and Deuteronomy. An example is here, in Deuteronomy 13, where Israel is commanded to go to great lengths to protect God’s most important commandments. False prophets and others are condemned to death. It’s violent, unsettling, and appears extreme. Why? 

One reason is false prophets are not ordinary sinners, tempting people with ordinary sins. They are performing miraculous signs in order to lead people to follow their gods. This means they are connected to spiritual powers that are opposed to God’s rule. This is something unique and uniquely dangerous. This command to purge evil is for the people’s protection.

The Bible doesn’t condone killing sinners, however, taking extreme measures to prevent falling into sin are a common biblical theme. Today’s passage says Israel is being tested to see if they will follow the Shema from Deuteronomy 6.4-9. Jesus called the Shema the greatest commandment in Mark 12.39-40 and tested his followers saying they should “hate” their own families, and even their life, and follow him instead. Paul commanded the Corinthian church to expel unrepentant sinners.

Even the harsh discipline described by Paul is intended to lead sinners to repentance. But the New Testament does mesh with Old Testament commands to rid our lives of any person or thing that hinders us from following God. Therefore, Deuteronomy’s command is not exclusive to the Old Testament. Idols are anything that keeps us from loving God with all our hearts. They surround us and appear as social status, money, entertainment, technology, sports, work, or even our own families. 

Jesus says to cut off your hand and gouge out your eye if they cause you to sin. Jesus fulfilled this law. He became sin and died in the place of sinners. However, Jesus still calls us to be holy, to rid ourselves of anything that prevents us from loving and following him with our whole heart. What in our lives is a temptation or an idol that needs to be done away with?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Cry of the Church
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 13-14 (Listen 6:35)
2 Corinthians 7 (Listen 2:58)

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 15 (Listen 3:20) 2 Corinthians 8 (Listen 3:25)
Deuteronomy 16 (Listen 3:25) 2 Corinthians 9 (Listen 2:26)

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Giving Blood

  • June 8, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 12.15-16
15 Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. 16 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.

Reflection: Giving Blood
By Vienna Scott

In Deuteronomy’s ceremonial laws, God lists rules for his people on how to worship. He tells the Israelites to create a unique dwelling place for their God, to bring God sacrifices from their herds and flocks, and to rejoice in his blessings. These rules carefully disentangle the Israelites from pagan practices. They must not worship at the pagan temples. They should destroy idols and any symbols of idolatry. God is teaching the people how to uphold the first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20.3). 

Among many ceremonial rules, God warns the people not to eat the blood of any meat. Instead, in town they should pour it on the ground like water. Some pagan tribes consumed blood of animals, enemies, and human sacrifices because they believed it was a source of might or power. They used death to get at the source of life for themselves; taking advantage of the weak to advance their own strength. God set the Israelites against these practices.

Blood was for God alone (Genesis 9.4, Job 33.4). The source of life belonged to the giver of life. When sacrifices were offered, blood was drained and given to God on the altar as a means of atonement (Leviticus 17.10-14). God allowed the blood of guiltless animals to stand as a payment for sin. Each time an animal was sacrificed and its blood poured out, the Israelites were reminded that they were weak. They had sinned and needed to make themselves right with their mighty and powerful God. Every time an animal was killed for meat or sacrifice, it communicated a glimpse of the Savior.

How striking must it have been for Christ to say, “This is my blood. Take this, and drink.” to people who had reserved blood only for God. Blood was a gift of God to the Israelites so that they could make themselves right with him by always giving it back to him. Through Jesus, God gave the blood of life back. 

By teaching the people how to worship him, how to obey his commandments, and how to set themselves apart, he carved a path to teach them about redemption. Let us rejoice in the true God above all other gods. Let us rejoice in the God who made himself weak so that we could be saved. Let us rejoice in the blood sacrificed for us.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. — Psalm 86.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 12 (Listen 5:11)
2 Corinthians 6 (Listen 2:31)

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Defining Good

  • June 7, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 11.2
Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm.

Reflection: Defining Good
By Carolyn Westendorf 

My 2-year-old son ran off in the parking lot. It seemed good to him to have some fun. I saw danger with cars driving around us. I knew what was actually good for him. Parents discipline their children for their good. Children resist discipline for their own definition of good.

Consider the Lord’s discipline (Deuteronomy 11.2-6). It seemed good to Pharaoh to attack Israel at the Red Sea, but his hard heart caused him to be drowned. It seemed good to the Israelites to complain and doubt God, but their unbelief left them in the desert for forty years. It seemed good to Dathan and Abriam to overthrow Moses and Aaron’s leadership, but their selfish ambition led to the ground swallowing them up. What seemed good was not actually good.

God urged his people to remember these examples of discipline because he knew where he was taking them. The Promised Land was different from the land they knew (Deuteronomy 11.10-12). The Israelites planted and irrigated their gardens in Egypt. God was preparing them for a new way of working. They would plant. God would water. They needed to trust God to provide the rain and provide it at the right time. They needed to believe that God cared for them and would not let them starve. They needed to let go of their own understanding of good provision and lean on God’s definition of what was for their good.

The Lord disciplined the Israelites to prepare their hearts to live in the Promised Land. I discipline my son to prepare him for living under God’s discipline. God disciplines Christians to prepare their hearts for a future with him. A relationship with God is one of continual trust in his definition of what is for our good. God’s correction in our lives matures us to embrace this kind of life.

God wants us to choose him and to live in his ways, not what seems good to us. He corrects our definition of good and teaches us how good his ways are. He has our future in mind when he stops us from spiritually running in a busy parking lot.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
O God of hosts, show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. — Psalm 80.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 11 (Listen 4:38)
2 Corinthians 5 (Listen 3:14)

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Stubborn Praise

  • June 6, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 10.16, 21
16 do not be stiff-necked any longer…21 He is the one you praise; he is your God.

Reflection: Stubborn Praise
By Jane Schaible

We know the story of grumbling Israel. Generations were stiff-necked and stubborn. Their ancestors were known as the ultimate complainers. They were grumblers who often failed to praise God. They had hearts that were headstrong and contrary. We read about them and sigh, thinking, “Again, Israel?”

But we need to be fair here. Before completely condemning them, we should take a moment for self-reflection. Are we really that much “above” the ultimate complainers? 

I’ll confess something to you. I’m probably one of the most critical, stubborn, stiff-necked people you’ll ever meet. And usually proud of it. 

In these moments of self-glorying pride, my eyes land on God’s unchanging words – “do not be stiff-necked any longer.”

When I read them, I get a wee bit squeamish. I can’t take my eyes away from them and I begin to self-doubt. I reluctantly ask myself, has the condition of my headstrong, contrary, stiff-necked heart kept me from praise?

Yes. Yes, I admit that it has.

He is the one I should praise. He is the one I want to praise. He is the one I long to praise. He is the one I gladly praise. That is when I do praise. 

Too often I have stubbornly allowed my prideful heart to guide how I respond to his great wonders. I have been stiff-necked even in my praise. 

Instead of being stubbornly proud, I want to be stubbornly humble. I long for the strong determination in me to fuel praise, rather than complaint.   

Scripture reminds me that God has done his great wonders and gives his words for our own good (Deuteronomy 10.13). These wonders and words of deliverance, grace, affection, and love renew my stubborn ways. They open up my heart and my mouth towards a new kind of stubbornness, one that is stubbornly determined to lift my voice up to him always.

Oh Lord, your mercy is great, and your grace is abundant. I praise you because you are the faithful, committed, loving God, who set his affection on me and my sisters and my brothers. You are the mighty and awesome God who delivers me in my weakness by the strength of your Son. You are the one who saved me and gave me your living word (John 1:14). You have been the determined one.

You, you alone are the one I praise, you alone are my God.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Sing praise to the Lord who dwells in Zion; proclaim to the peoples the things he has done. — Psalm 9.11 – From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 10 (Listen 3:12)
2 Corinthians 4 (Listen 3:02)

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Defeating Giants of Pride

  • June 5, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 9.1-6
1 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Reflection: Defeating Giants of Pride
By Carolyn Soto Jackson

God frequently warned Israel against taking on pride and claiming righteousness that was not their own. In Deuteronomy 9, God promised to go before them and annihilate the Anakites. These descendants of Anak, who are noted as tall and strong, did not intimidate God. He told Israel not to fear these “giants.” God made it clear he would destroy them with one quick blow and the land they possessed would be given over to the Israelites. 

Pride frequently tempted the Israelites. They might think they had reason for pride after defeating the Anakites but they were certainly not capable of defeating them without God.

Pride is often described as, “haughty eyes” as in Proverbs 6:16-17. In Hebrew, sinful pride means being “set on high” or “lifting oneself on high.” In English, we have similar idioms such as “high and mighty” and “holier than thou.”

Why do we take on pride? For what reasons do we try to lift ourselves above others? It can be easy to succumb to haughty eyes by looking down on others or viewing ourselves above others. For centuries, followers of God have taken on pride for no other reason than their own glory, all the while, robbing glory from God who deserves it.

Let us not forget, God detests the sin of pride. When God’s people boast about themselves, fill their chests in arrogance, and exult in their own righteousness, God cringes. 

God destroyed the wicked nation of the Anakites because of their evil ways, graciously handing over the land to the Israelites after they crossed the Jordan.

God did not give Israel possession of the land because of their humility or righteousness. It was because of God’s disgust at the pride and wickedness of the Anakites. This revealed to Israel God’s grace, omnipotence, and desire to teach his children to give glory where it was due.

There will be times in our lives when we believe we figured it out, and we succumb to pride. But God is the one who goes before us. God is the one who gives us wisdom. God paves the way. Knocks down every giant. Empowers every success. When we are tempted to take on pride in any accomplishment, let us be reminded, “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory.” (Psalm 115.1)

Let God defeat our giants of pride.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord. — Psalm 31.24– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 9 (Listen 5:06)
2 Corinthians 3 (Listen 2:25)

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