Exodus 22: 31 “You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people. You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons. You shall do likewise with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to Me. You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.”
When I was growing up, there were many times that I wanted to do the same things other kids were doing; sometimes my mom did not agree. At that point Mom would tell me, “You’re not just anybody’s kid. You’re MY kid, and I want you to behave better than that!” In these verses, God is telling the Israelites the same thing Mom used to tell me. The Israelites are GOD’S people, and He wants them to maintain high standards.
1. Don’t blaspheme (curse) God. We blame God for so many things. We blame God for bad weather. We blame God when our families misbehave. We blame God for natural catastrophes such as tornadoes or floods. And worst of all, we blame God when we make stupid mistakes! We can’t even manage our lives properly, but that does not keep us from cursing God, even thought God is the One who has given us life and who can end our lives at any moment.
Dennis Prager points out that “In this verse, the word normally reserved for God, Elohim, means “judges,” as it does on a number of occasions. Consequently, the verse should read, “You shall not revile [curse] judges, nor put a curse upon a chieftain among your people.” Read in this fashion, the two parts of the verse make better sense. Prager also notes that “God does not refer to Himself in the third person anywhere in this section.” The Torah is commanding us to treat leaders with the respect due to their offices. We do not have to agree with them.
“You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats.” The Israelites were commanded to offer the best of the first results of their harvest to God. Offering the first fruits is a scary thing; what if that’s all that you get? You might wind up with nothing! God wanted His people to trust Him so much that they would make this offering, trusting that He would bless them abundantly. Remember that Cain’s first sin was to offer God whatever he felt like, not the best of the first of his produce.”
“You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons. You shall do likewise with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to Me.” WHOA, GOD! ARE YOU DEMANDING CHILD SACRIFICE? No. In fact, God is actually asking for the Israelites to present their firstborn sons to Him as an act of consecration. God loathes child sacrifice and there are many commands against it. God wants the Israelites to set aside their first – born sons to him as holy, an act that would deter them from later offering that same son as a burnt offering to Molech or one of the other demons. Child sacrifices were common among the other tribes, and in the days of wicked King Ahab, when things had deteriorated morally in Israel, Hiel of Bethel began rebuilding Jericho by sacrificing his oldest son. (1 Kings 16:34)
What about the cattle and the sheep? Once the animals have reached the age of 8 days, they are eligible to be sacrificed. Offering the first – born of a cow or a sheep is a daunting prospect. What if that is the only calf or lamb an animal bears in its lifetime? Making such an offering is just as scary as walking through the Red Sea with those towering pillars of water on either side.
“You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.” Evidently, this was a common practice in those days – hey! fresh meat! ….or was it? God wanted His people to eat fresh meat slaughtered in a specific clean fashion and to bless Him as they ate. The meat from a mauled animal would definitely be contaminated with the bacteria from the animal’s intestinal tract. Such meat would be infected and consumption might even lead to death. In addition, God wanted His people to distance themselves from animals as well as from the pagan idol worshipers around them. “You are MY people! Just because the tribes around you are behaving badly is no excuse for you doing so as well!”
APPLICATION: How holy is our behavior? How much do we trust God? Do we curse leaders and judges with whom we do not agree, or do we pray earnestly for them? Are we willing to offer God our first fruits, trusting that He will supply our needs; or are we holding back, giving token amounts in case something bad happens? Do we dedicate our children to the Lord and then pray for them daily, or do we let them go through a baby dedication as a social convention, without any concern for following up on the promises we make during that ritual?
Those around us need prayer! Our families need prayer! Our leaders need prayer! Our children need prayer, now more than ever before. God has designated us to be the ones providing the prayer covering. God speaks every language, so there is no worry about using King James English. Tell God your worries and concerns and ask for His help.
PRAYER: Father God, help everyone who reads this devotional to know how much You love them and care for them. Help us to realize and understand that You want good things for our lives and that You want us to be holy. We confess that our lives are full of dirt; please help us clean up! In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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