Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / July 15 - Deuteronomy 18

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July 15 - Deuteronomy 18 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends. It's Sean here.
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  It's Tuesday. It's the 15th of July.
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  So good to have your company. I hope you're going well.
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  I hope you're warm wherever you are.
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  Boy, I am literally wrapped up in a blanket right now because
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  it's chilly. Yeah, the the the shortest day
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  of the year might be past in this part of the world, but the
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  coldest days, I reckon, are here.
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  But that's OK. Cold and warm.
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  The seasons we go through, this is part of life, right?
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  And Speaking of seasons that we go through as part of life, we
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  are continuing this season through the work of Moses,
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  writing down these instructions from God in the book of
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  Deuteronomy. And today is the last day that
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  we will be reading about that 5th chapter, not that 5th
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  chapter, that 5th commandment that talks about human
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  authority, honouring the one's mother and father, But not just
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  that. Today, God explores the passing
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  of authority, His authority to his priests, to His prophets,
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  and to those who would then wield that authority as people
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  leading their communities. And it's a good reminder for us
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  as we think we're very important, authoritative people
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  to know where authority truly comes from.
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  So join me friends, as we read together Deuteronomy chapter 18.
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  Remember that the Levitical priests, that is, the whole of
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  the tribe of Levi, will receive no allotment of land among the
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  other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites
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  will eat from the special gifts given to the Lord, for that is
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  their share. They will have no land of their
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  own among the Israelites. The Lord Himself is their
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  special possession, just as He promised them.
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  These are the parts the priest may claim as their share from
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  the cattle, sheep, and goats that the people bring as
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  offerings, the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.
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  You must also give to the priests the first share of the
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  grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing
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  time. For the Lord your God chose the
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  tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the Lord's
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  name forever. Suppose a Levite chooses to move
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  from his town in Israel, wherever he is living, to the
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  place the Lord chooses for worship.
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  He may minister there in the name of the Lord his God, just
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  like all his fellow Levites who are serving the Lord there.
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  He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even
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  if he also receives support from his family.
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  When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very
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  careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the
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  nations living there. For example, never sacrifice
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  your son or daughter as a burnt offering.
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  And do not let your people practise fortune telling, or use
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  sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast
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  spells, or function as mediums of psychics, or call forth the
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  spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is
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  detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations
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  have done these detestable things that the Lord your God
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  will drive them out ahead of you.
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  But you must be blameless before the Lord your God.
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  The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and
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  fortune tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such
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  things. Moses continued.
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  The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from
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  among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him, for this
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  is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you
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  were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, don't let us hear the
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  voice of the Lord our God anymore, or see this blazing
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  fire, for we will die. Then the Lord said to me, What
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  they have said is right. I will raise up a prophet like
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  you from among their fellow Israelites.
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  I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the
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  people everything I command them.
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  I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to
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  the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf.
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  But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name, or
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  who speaks in the name of another God must die.
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  But you may wonder, how will we know whether or not a prophecy
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  is from the Lord? If the prophet speaks in the
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  Lord's name, but his prediction does not happen or come true,
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  you will know that the Lord did not give that message.
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  That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be
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  feared. Lord, thank you that you are
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  such a generous God. You wield authority, absolute
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  authority over all your creation and you generously share that
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  authority with us. You give us authority over this
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  earth to rule and Co create and sustain it, and you also give us
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  authority within our societies that we can live ordered,
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  structured lives ultimately under you.
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  Lord, help us remember that all authority is yours, and if we
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  are tempted to wield authority in a way that is not consistent
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  with you and your loving heart, Lord, convict us of your ways.
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  Continue to draw us back to You as our perfect example of how
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  authority is used. We love you and we are humbled
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  by the way that you love and you lead.
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  Hold us tightly in your embrace as we pray all of this in Jesus
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  name, Amen.