Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / July 16 - Deuteronomy 19

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July 16 - Deuteronomy 19 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Wednesday.
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  It's the 16th of July. And clever you for tapping on
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  play and inviting me into your day.
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  I hope you're going well. I hope that it is a good moment
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  that you can stop and you can put down all the busyness of the
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  day. Our days are busy, aren't they?
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  Even when we're on holidays like I am this week.
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  Hey, things are still busy. There's still a lot going on.
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  We're trying to cram things into our time.
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  And then when we retire, people who retire tell me, Sean, I
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  don't know how I had time to work when I when I wasn't
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  retired. So that doesn't give me much
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  hope for more calm and peaceful existence.
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  So I think life is just full. That's just how we roll.
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  And if that's the case, great to have a moment where we can come
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  before God and hear His word as we are moving through Moses
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  exploration of how people are to live in this new land under
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  God's law. And today we move to the next
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  set of commandments which are about human dignity.
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  Of course, with the next commandment being you shall not
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  murder. So today some laws will be set
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  out to protect the dignity of human life in this new society.
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  So let us read it together friends, as we explore Moses
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  words in Deuteronomy chapter 19. When the Lord your God destroys
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  the nations whose land he is giving you, you will take over
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  their land and settle in their towns and homes.
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  Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the
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  Lord your God is giving you. Survey the territory and divide
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  the land the Lord your God is giving you into 3 districts.
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  Then anyone who has killed someone can flee to one of the
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  cities of refuge for safety. If someone kills another person
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  unintentionally with that previous hostility, the Slayer
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  may flee to any of these cities to live in safety.
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  For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a
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  neighbour to cut wood, and suppose one of them swings and
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  axe to chop down a tree, and the axe head flies off the handle,
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  killing the other person. In such cases, the Slayer may
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  flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety.
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  If the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too far, an
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  enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person
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  who caused the death. Then the Slayer would die
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  unfairly, since he had never shown hostility toward the
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  person who died. That is why I'm commanding you
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  to set aside three cities of refuge.
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  And if the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he
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  swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he
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  promised you, you must designate three additional cities of
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  refuge. He will give you this land if
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  you are careful to obey all the commands I've given you, if you
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  always love the Lord your God and walk in His ways.
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  That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the
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  land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.
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  You will not be held responsible for the death of innocent
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  people. But suppose someone is hostile
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  toward a neighbour and deliberately ambushes and
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  murders him, and then flees to one of the cities of refuge.
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  In that case, the elders of the murderer's hometown must send
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  agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over
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  to the dead person's avenger to be put to death.
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  Do not feel sorry for that murderer.
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  Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people.
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  Then all will go well with you when you arrive in the land the
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  Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.
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  You must never steal anyone's land by moving the boundary
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  markers your ancestors set up to mark their property.
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  You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only
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  one witness. The facts of the case must be
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  established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
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  If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a
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  crime, then both the accuser and accused must appear before the
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  Lord by coming to the priests and judges in office.
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  At that time the judges must investigate the case thoroughly.
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  If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow
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  Israelite, you must impose on the accuser the sentence he
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  intended for the other person. This way you will purge such
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  evil from among you. Then the rest of the people will
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  hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing.
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  You must show no pity for the guilty.
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  Your rules should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for
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  tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
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  Our Lord, this concept of justice has become deeply
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  ingrained in our society. An eye for an eye.
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  How often do we hear that thrown around?
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  Oh Jesus, while this certainly was the way that that you wanted
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  your people to live at that time to understand what justice
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  looked like, then you came along and showed us a whole new way, a
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  way of forgiveness, a way of grace, a way of restoration.
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  And all of that is only possible because you came Jesus, and you
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  restored us and restored away to the Father.
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  Thank you that we live under this new covenant that you have
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  brought us, a covenant of grace, a covenant where we know that we
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  are loved beyond our ability to understand by a loving, gracious
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  God. So help us live in your
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  forgiveness and share that love, grace, and forgiveness with
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  those around us too. Ah, we thank you Jesus, and we
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  pray all of this in your loving name, Amen.