Tuesday April 24, 2012

Read Deuteronomy 13:12-16

 

Picture yourself in Old Testament Israel. You hear a rumour that a distant Israelite town has succumbed to temptation and has begun to worship other gods and statues. Apparently they’ve taken up the ways of the nations around them and have prostituted themselves to foreign gods. What should you do?

 

God, being a God of justice, commands you to investigate the accusation or rumour very carefully. No rash decisions are to be entered into. If the case is found to be false, the matter is left. Fellowship is continued. But if the matter is found to be true, drastic action is to be taken. The entire town is to be killed and all the things of the town are to be burned in the centre  of the town. That town itself is to remain a ruin, never to be rebuilt as a living reminder of the holiness and majesty of God. The ruined town reminds all passers by that God, our God, is deadly serious about holiness. To understand the immense and absolute holiness of God, you only have to read Deuteronomy 13:12-16.

 

Such commands serve to build up a positive atmosphere as well. Each member of a town or village would contribute to the health of the town by being holy and by encouraging each other to be holy. Any movement away from holiness would be jumped upon by various members of the town. The result is a corporate push for holiness. This is clearly illustrated in a school classroom. I’ve often seen teachers tell the class that any talking or misbehaviour would immediately result in detention for the entre class. Immediately the class starts to encourage each other in positive behaviour. You simply would not stand back and remain uninvolved if your neighbour’s sin would certainly lead to the destruction of the entire town, would you?

 

God doesn’t want us as His children to be uninvolved in each other’s lives. He wants us to care enough and to love enough to get involved. He wants us to step in when our brother or sister needs help and support or rebuke and admonishment. He wants us to be actively, even proactively, involved in each other’s holiness.  God wants us to push each other on and to spur one another to greater heights of love and good deeds.

 

Prayer:

¥ Uganda.  In the main secular news, the focus is on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who have wreaked havoc in Northern Uganda.  The Ugandans who have moved back to their homes are still along way from fully re building their lives.  While Uganda did not make into the World Watch List this year, Open Doors is working there and are reporting numerous instances of persecution.

¥ Pray  the Open Door workers, for the displaced Christians and for the people in the LRA, that God would become the centre of their lives.