Burunche’s Blog

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

”And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.  ‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.  ‘Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the Lord your God.  ‘And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 

You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. ‘You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.

God continues to show His people the ways of holiness. Why be holy? Because God is holy; if we really worship Him, we should strive to be holy as well. Now God is describing the ways of practical holiness and of loving our neighbors.

1. Keeping the Sabbath and respecting the peace offering by consuming it by the second day. That meat will begin to rot by the third day anyhow; why not share it with the poor while you can? When else will they get good meat to eat?
2. Leaving harvest gleanings and part of the grapes in the vineyard behind for the poor. Those gleanings might mean the difference between life and death for those people.
3. Refusing to steal, lie, cheat, swear falsely, or misuse the Name of the Lord. In an earlier age, one of the finest compliments someone could receive was “His/her word is his/her bond.” Such people were men and women of integrity and could be counted on.
4. Refusing to cheat, rob, withholding a worker’s wages when you know he/she needs that money. Tantalizing people in such a fashion is cruel, and God hates cruelty!
5. Refusing to curse the deaf (who cannot hear you and therefore don’t realize you are angry with them) or leaving something in the path of the blind over which they might stumble. God wants His people to have compassion for the disabled. In ancient times, people believed that God must have specially cursed the disabled for them to suffer their disabilities. God wants His people to know that is absolutely wrong.
6. Judging justly and refusing to bear tales. “Discretion is the better part of valor” has been a common saying for years. Unfortunately, social media platforms serve to encourage people to spread all kinds of vicious rumors. Even before online social media existed, “bush telegraph” social media was alive and well and operating full tilt, destroying reputations in the process.
7. Refusing to hold grudges. God wants His people to settle differences quickly and peacefully. Later, St. Paul would advise the Ephesians, “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26-27) The longer we hold a grudge, the more likely we are to do something horrible or stupid in revenge.
8. Steadfastly keep the Sabbath and respect God’s sanctuary. If we refuse to honor God’s Sabbath and to respect the place of His worship, we are demonstrating disdain for the Creator of the Universe, the One who holds our breath in His hands.

APPLICATION: We have spent much of our lives working with poor people. There is nothing inherently virtuous about poverty; there are some poor people who have become bitter and greedy. But many times, we have found that the poor are more appreciative and grateful than those with more wealth. Here in rural Ghana, it’s common for people to demonstrate gratitude by giving guinea eggs or guinea fowls and tubers of yam to those who have helped them. Repeatedly, we have been the recipients of such gifts, and it is always humbling. At the same time, we do as much as possible to help those with catastrophic illnesses who may have no money with which to sustain themselves while in hospital, let alone settle their bills later.

God wants us to practically demonstrate His love and care to those around us. We can always share something. One story making the rounds is that of a family who attended a church that was doing a special offering for missions. Although the parents made small salaries, the children quickly organized and earned money by running errands, mowing lawns, etc. When the missions offering was taken, it totaled $100, a large amount in those days. What people failed to realize was that this poor family with little means had contributed $80 of that offering! The next time you are shopping, why not buy a few  items and donate them to the local food bank or to neighbors who need help? If you don’t have money, visit people in nursing homes or make phone calls to elderly neighbors and relatives. These people are generally not on social media platforms and may be cut off from caring attention.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be conscious of those around us who need help. Guide us so that we will help practically and effectively. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on July 22, 2023 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.