Burunche’s Blog

Deuteronomy 7:1 – 11 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.

Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession, above all peoples on the face of the earth.

The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. But those who hate Him He repays to their faces with destruction; He will not hesitate to repay to his face the one who hates Him.

So keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances that I am giving you to follow this day.”

TOTAL DESTRUCTION!!! That is God’s will for the tribes that are currently inhabiting Canaan. There are seven tribes, each one much bigger than the Israelites – the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. God wants all of these tribes to be completely destroyed, In addition, God also is ordering that everything pertaining to the religions of these tribes also be destroyed – altars, pillars, Asherah poles, and idols. Anything that can be burned should be burned. Anything made of stone should be smashed. Anything made of metal should be melted. Why is God being so insistent that these people and their devoted objects be destroyed?

God has no illusions about the Israelites. This is the same bunch that couldn’t even wait forty days for Moses to come down off Mount Sinai before they pressured Aaron into making an idol of a golden calf. If items connected with the worship of these pagan gods survive, the Israelites are likely to seize them and begin worshiping them, rather than the God who has delivered them.

We want to believe that God favors us because we have special gifts that set us apart. Here God advising the Israelites that in fact, they are a very small tribe. “The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” Hundreds of years ago, God made a promise to Abraham, and God always keeps His promises. God has delivered Israel from the most powerful nation in the world to demonstrate His power and His goodness.

God wants to use Israel to demonstrate to the world the vision of a nation wholly devoted to Him. By taking the smallest and weakest nation of all and then helping them conquer all these others, God wants the remaining nations to see His power and His grace and to turn to worship Him as well.

APPLICATION: Sometimes we feel that we are so unique that God will do things for us just because of our outstanding attributes. It’s pretty humbling if we realize that God has actually chosen us because we are weak and insignificant! 1 Corinthians 1:27 – 31 tells us, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,  that no flesh should glory in His presence.  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—  that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

We are safest when we understand how vulnerable we are. We are in the most danger when we think that we can handle all our problems ourselves. The saddest part of the admonitions Moses is giving in Deuteronomy 7 is that later on, the Israelites failed to destroy all those tribes and they paid a huge price spiritually as a result.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to be obedient. When You order us to do something, let us not whine and complain but let us obey immediately, realizing that this will be for our good. Thank You for loving us and for caring for us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 6:20 “In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?” then you are to tell him, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, but He brought us from there to lead us in and give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers.

And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God, that we may always be prosperous and preserved, as we are to this day. And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before the LORD our God just as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.”

According to the UNESCO World Heritage website, “Masada is a rugged natural fortress, of majestic beauty, in the Judaean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is a symbol of the ancient kingdom of Israel, its violent destruction and the last stand of Jewish patriots in the face of the Roman army, in 73 A.D. It was built as a palace complex, in the classic style of the early Roman Empire, by Herod the Great, King of Judaea, (reigned 37 – 4 B.C.). The camps, fortifications and attack ramp that encircle the monument constitute the most complete Roman siege works surviving to the present day.” (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1040/)

Masada became the site held by the last 960 Jewish rebels who were holding out against a huge Roman army. Masada was taken when the Romans built a long ramp up the side of the cliff that allowed them access to the stronghold. According to the ancient historian Josephus, those holding Masada committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Romans.

To Israelis, Masada has become a symbol of Israeli independence. No matter where Israeli military recruits swear their oath of allegiance, the oath always ends with the words, “Masada shall not fall again!” With only a few exceptions, national military service is mandatory for all Israeli citizens above the age of eighteen. This means that the vast majority of Israelis know what and where Masada is and are committed to defending their country.

In today’s passage, Moses is instructing the Israelites to teach their children the elemental facts about the Exodus.

1. ““We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ” The Israelites are never to forget where they started, how bad things were at the beginning, and that it was God who delivered them from slavery.

2. “Before our eyes the LORD inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household…” God wants each succeeding generation of Israelites to remember the fact that He reduced the most powerful nation in the world and its ruler to little more than rubble.

3. ”…but He brought us from there to lead us in and give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers.” God wants the Israelites to remember that He always keeps His promises, even when it takes centuries for them to be fulfilled.

4. “And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes and to fear the LORD our God, that we may always be prosperous and preserved, as we are to this day.” The Israelites must remember that their prosperity and safety depend on God and not on their own efforts. If the Israelites wander away from God’s commandments, they will automatically forfeit that prosperity and safety as well.

5. ”And if we are careful to observe every one of these commandments before the LORD our God just as He has commanded us, then that will be our righteousness.”

How can the Israelites be sure that they are acting righteously? They are to be CAREFUL TO OBSERVE EVERY ONE OF THESE COMMANDMENTS BEFORE THE LORD. The Israelites must be conscious that God is always watching for their obedience. These commandments are not a cafeteria – style matter; they don’t get to select which ones to ignore and which ones to obey.

APPLICATION: These days, obedience to rules is not popular! Many people want to make their own rules and then get others to abide by those rules. But truth is not relative. Values that change with different situations are worthless. God has given us eternal absolutes in His Word, and when we ignore His commandments or try to bend them to fit our desires, we are setting out on a slippery downhill slope that ends in a moral quagmire. And when we refuse to train our children in the ways of God, we are setting them up for failure.

God know us better than we know ourselves. God’s commandments are for our good, not for our destruction. Why not trust the Creator of the Universe to give us direction?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to follow Your commands and to teach them to our children as well. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 6:10 – 19 “And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

It’s an amazing thing about human nature; when things are going poorly, we want to blame God, but when things are going well, we want to take credit. In fact, the reverse is actually true, and God is making that clear to the Israelites. The Promised Land is no fixer – upper! God is promising to give the Israelites “a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.” Pretty good deal, right? God is promising that once the Israelites have conquered the tribes currently occupying Canaan, they are going to move into ready – made situations. But there is a catch: God knows that once the Israelites begin enjoying prosperity, they will begin to congratulate themselves, as though they have somehow deserved all this bounty. And in the midst of that self – self admiration, the Israelites are likely to forget the God who has made all this possible in the first place.

Think about it. All the time the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, someone in Canaan was building houses and planting olive groves and vineyards. Even though those in Canaan had no idea what would eventually happen, God knew and was already designating things for various people. “This olive grove will belong to Shemuel; that vineyard will be Daniel’s. That house is going to shelter the Bar Joseph family.”

You would think that when the Israelites actually entered the Promised Land and began enjoying all these good things, that they would praise God and worship Him in gratitude forever. Unfortunately, as the stories in the Book of Judges demonstrate, the Israelites proved to have short memories!

“Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths (only) in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah. (“Massah” means “testing.”) You are to diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God and the testimonies and statutes He has commanded you. Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, so that it may be well with you and that you may enter and possess the good land that the LORD your God swore to give your fathers, driving out all your enemies before you, as the LORD has said.”

God has already made His promises; now He is warning what will happen if the Israelites fail to obey Him completely. Later on, the prophet Samuel tells King Saul that “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:22 – 23)

APPLICATION: We are no better than the Isaelites! Most of the time, we cry out for deliverance, and then as soon as God gets us out of our messes, we turn around and say, “Thanks, Lord! I can take it from here!” And that’s when we generally fall flat on our faces. Notice the words God uses here. ““Fear the LORD your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths (only) in His name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you. For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.” Human nature has not changed. We must ask God to help us guard our hearts so that we will follow Him and nothing else. In a day dominated by a flood of social media, single – heartedness seems ever more difficult to achieve than ever before.

“Do not test the LORD your God as you tested Him at Massah. The story of Massah is told in Exodus 17. Massah was the first place in the wilderness where the Israelites ran out of water and threatened to stone Moses. God graciously allowed Moses to strike a huge rock with his staff and water gushed forth. Moses called the place “Massah” and Meribah,” meaning “testing and quarreling.” God warns the Israelites to DILIGENTLY keep the commandments and to do “what is right and good in the sight of the Lord.”

Today, we need to ask God to help us avoid the mistakes made by the Israelites. We must realize that only the grace of God has kept us alive thus far and that any blessings we enjoy are from God and not because we are special sinless people. We need to express our love and gratitude to God by finding His Will for our lives and then obeying it, not arguing or complaining. God is looking for people who will follow Him completely so that He can bless them.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us! Thank you, that Your Will for our lives is for us to enjoy Your goodness and mercy. Guide us so that we will follow Your plan for our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 6:1 – 9 “These are the commandments and statutes and ordinances that the LORD your God has instructed me to teach you to follow in the land that you are about to enter and possess, so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

God has already told the Israelites that he did not choose them because they were the biggest or most important nation. God has chosen Israel because He wants Israel to be a shining light to the nations, so that others will see the glory of the One True Living God. God wants all the people of the earth to come to Him and to worship Him. People are interested in what works; if other nations see that the Israelites are living holy lives and that God is blessing them abundantly, they too will want to worship the God of Israel.

“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai Echad!” The words of Deuteronomy 6:4 have been repeated in every synagogue throughout the world for centuries. But more than that, those same words were on the lips of believing Jews as they went to the gas chambers in Nazi Germany, or when they were martyred for their faith.

What’s so important about the fact that the Lord is only one God? God is telling the Israelites that He is the only true God. All the surrounding peoples worship a panoply of gods, depending on the needs of the moment. But these are demons and not the One True Living God.

Since God is the One True Living God, He is truly worthy of all worship and all praise at all times. True worship does not consist in standing with a group of people in a church or synagogue. True worship begins with acknowledging that God truly rules our lives and is all – powerful, all – knowing, all – merciful, all – just, and all – loving. To worship God means that we give Him first place in our lives, searching for His Will and then following it.

God knows that people really are like sheep. Sheep wander along, searching for tender blades of grass, many times without realizing where they are going. People are easily distracted and can readily wander off on spiritual or mental tangents. This tendency to become distracted is why God is ordering the Israelites not only to teach their children His commandments throughout the day, but to even write them on the doorposts of their houses as a constant reminder.

APPLICATION: Many times we feel that we don’t have time to read God’s Word, let alone teach it to our children. But it’s all a matter of priorities. There is a famous illustration about the use of time using rocks of different sizes. The big rocks represent major priorities while small rocks and sand represent the less important stuff. If you place your big rocks into a container first, the other smaller things will find a space in the container. But if you dump all your small rocks and sand into the container first, there will be no room for the big rocks. Likewise, when we fail to make reading God’s Word and teaching it to our children a number one priority, the urgent affairs of our day will crowd in, leaving us exhausted at nightfall.

One suggestion is to set the alarms on your cell phone so that every few hours, you can stop and read a few verses and then continue with your work. Personally, my husband and I both read our Bibles and pray first thing in the morning. In the village in which we work, those who have wants or problems will begin appearing on our doorstep by 6 AM. If we haven’t read our Bibles by then, it may be difficult to catch up later on.

Many people have found that writing Bible verses they want to remember on small cards and posting them around their houses helps. This practice is particularly useful if you are going through some trial and need to be reminded of Gods’ love and care for you. Those battling depression may find this practice very useful; once you have the cards posted where you can see them readily, you may find they have formed a life line of hope.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for Your Word! Thank You for giving us guidance so that we can live long and fruitful lives. Help us to diligently teach our children, so that they too may live long and fruitful lives as well. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 5:22 – 33 “The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

And when you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me, and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.

But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived?

Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.” And the LORD heard the words you spoke to me, and He said to me, “I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever. Go and tell them: ‘Return to your tents.’ But you stand here with Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and statutes and ordinances you are to teach them to follow in the land that I am giving them to possess.”

So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left. You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”

It’s a scene like no other! A mountain full of fire and smoke, the earth shaking as God speaks out of that fire – no wonder the Israelites are terrified! And they make a good start by designating Moses to delegate for them and to bring back the commandments God wants them to follow. At this point, it seems that nothing can go wrong. Everybody is in agreement. Moses is probably heaving a sigh of relief as he climbs further up the mountain to hear from the Lord.

The key to the entire scene is God’s comment to Moses: “If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.” While Moses thinks all will be well, God already knows what is going to happen while Moses is up on the mountain. The same people who have sounded so respectful will very shortly change their minds, become impatient, and force Aaron to make a golden calf.

APPLICATION: Ever wonder what God’s plan for your life might be? You actually can find out. How?

1. Study God’s Word, the Bible. God is never going to go against His Word. Pray before you read that God will open your mind to the things He wants to teach you.

2. Look at the opportunities that God has built into your life. Sometimes we fail to take advantage of God – given resources because we are waiting for something big and dramatic. Many times, God works in small things as well as in big ones. If we are not faithful in the small things, why should God give us anything more?

3. Assess your abilities and your personality and interests. God does not make cookie cutter humans; He has given you special abilities that will fit His plan for you.

4. Don’t become impatient! Many times, our prayer is “God, give me patience and give it to me NOW!” But some things can’t be rushed. While you are waiting for something new to happen, make sure that you have already taken advantage of everything in your current situation.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to realize how much You love us and care for us. Help us to realize that You have already built incredible opportunities into our situations if we will only take advantage of them. Thank You for promising to guide us and help us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 5:17 – 21 “You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

MURDER!!! ADULTERY!!! THEFT!!! SLANDER!!! At first, the Israelites must have thought, “Well, we understand why God is forbidding these things, but what do they have to do with coveting? Can’t I admire my neighbor’s possessions or his wife?”

Both the Mosaic Law and the lex talionis of the Code of Hammurabi stated that the penalty for premeditated murder was death. The Mosaic Law listed six cities of refuge where people who had inadvertently caused someone to die could escape. But murder is the theft of a life and the theft of everything that person might have accomplished for himself or herself, for his or her family, and for his or her community. Murder tears at the fabric of a community.

Theft of possessions equally destroys communities Sixty years ago, in many small towns in America, nobody locked their doors. People felt safe. When people are fearful, they must spend resources protecting themselves, leaving less to build up communities. In areas damaged by conflict, even the land might not recover for decades.

Bearing false witness or slandering someone is also a form of theft. In this case, it is the person’s good name and their reputation that is being damaged. Recently we learned of a situation in which one family member deliberately spread falsehoods about another, both in the family and in the community. Such lies have long legs and are impossible to erase. Again, communities that thrive on gossip are not safe for anyone.

In 1953 Arthur Miller brought forth a play about the Salem witch trials entitled The Crucible. One of the themes of the play was the manner in which good people could be not only slandered, but also killed on the testimony of those who were later found to be deceived or to be lying. Miller wrote this play at the time Joseph McCarthy was conducting anti – Communist hearings in Congress. Even at a distance of decades, it is impossible to tell whose innocent reputations were destroyed.

Yet another pitfall of bearing false witness is the fact that one is purporting to tell the truth before God and men. Falsehood under these circumstances can have eternal consequences.

Even though adultery is tolerated and sometimes even admired today, the fact remains that adultery is wrong. Adultery destroys families. God designed the family unit to have a father and a mother to provide security and to raise children in a safe atmosphere. Adultery destroys relationships and leaves children stranded and confused.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” It is interesting that this commandment, the tenth, actually forms the basis for the sins described in the previous commandments. Murder, adultery, slander – all begin when one person lusts after another’s reputation or possessions or spouse. Deeds begin with thoughts, and sins are born in the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

As we read these commandments, we might feel a bit smug; after all, we have never done anything of the sort! But that tenth commandment is the one that catches all of us. While we might not have acted on our envy of someone else’s reputation or professional achievements, or their house or car or family, at some point in our lives, we have looked at what we have and longed for something else.

All of us suffer from heart disease – the disease called sin. But praise God, there is a remedy. We are not captives of our sins because Jesus Christ has shed His Blood for them and has made a way for us to escape from ourselves. If we will only ask Jesus to help us, He will give us the power to change and to live holy lives. The process of change is a life – long one, but the rewards are peace and joy and contentment.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You for making a way so that we are not trapped in our sins. Help us to confess our sins to You, knowing that You will forgive and will give us the grace to change into Your likeness. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 5:11 – 16 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

APPLICATION: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.” In the time of Moses, calling upon the name of a god amounted to calling heaven and earth to witness that what you were about to say was true. Calling on a god to witness your statements was also a form of worship; you were acknowledging that this god had power over you. To use God’s name to curse someone or to use it carelessly would be an act of anti – worship.

What’s the difference between an act of worship and an act of anti – worship? God promises throughout His Word that worshiping Him will bring blessings. On the other hand, if we scorn God and use His Name as a curse or even as a casual exclamation (OMG!), we are graphically demonstrating that we do not respect God nor do we worship Him. Does this mean that we need to be careful about our language? Yes.

Honoring the Sabbath has gone out of style in the last few decades; however, this commandment was made for our protection. Each one of us needs rest; if our jobs require us to work on a weekend, we still need to have off days some other time during the week. The amazing thing about this commandment was that its provisions extended to children, servants, animals, and even to “the foreigner within your gates.”

God wanted this rest to be comprehensive, knowing that human and animal bodies need time to recuperate. Ignore this commandment and you are headed for burnout. Observing this commandment also constitutes an form of worship and respect for God, both for his act of creation and also for his deliverance.

“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” OUCH! At first, for some of us, this commandment might appear to be impossible. While some families have Hallmark movie kinds of relationships with loving parents and children, others are quite different. What do you do if one or both of your parents were absent (emotionally or physically or both), neglectful, or even physically or emotionally abusive?

You need to recognize the truth of your relationship with your parents. Generally, babies are born with normal affections and normal reactions. You were a normal child; you were not defective. At the same time, parents generally repeat the parenting style they experienced when they were children.

 Some parents may never had had any affection whatsoever and therefore do not know how to be affectionate. Children of such parents are likely to blame themselves, sometimes becoming people pleasers in an effort to gain affection their parents cannot give. Some parents received harsh physical discipline when they were children and know no other means of training a child. Parents who abuse drugs or alcohol may act according to the state of their addiction.

The first step in honoring a difficult parent is to see yourself as a child of God, not just of your parents. Whether or not your parents could give you love, God loves you unconditionally. Because God loves you unconditionally, you can love your parents in the same way. Ask God for help.

The second step is to find anything good that you can think of about your parents. Sometimes this might be nearly impossible; ask God to help.

The third step depends on your situation. Are you still living with your parents? Are you in danger? Are you out of the house, but your parents are trying to suck off resources that you or your own family need? Honoring your parents does not mean that you have to endanger yourself by remaining in an abusive relationship. Again, ask God for help and guidance. If God has given you this commandment, He has a perfect way that you can fulfill it.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to celebrate Sabbaths, even if we have to do it on some day other than Sunday. Help us to find ways to honor our parents, even the difficult or wicked ones. And help us to honor Your Name in all of our speech. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 5:5 – 10 “At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. And He said: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

FIRE! SMOKE! EARTHQUAKES!!! THE DEAFENING SOUND OF A TRUMPET! When God gave His laws the first time, the Israelites were so terrified that they begged Moses to represent them. Once Moses had come down off the mountain, he faithfully taught the Israelites everything that God had told him. But were they really listening?

Even while Moses was up on Mount Sinai, the Israelites already were becoming impatient and demanded that Aaron create a golden calf idol for them. Moses came down bringing the stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments, only to find an orgy in progress! And these were the people who had already walked through the Red Sea on dry land and had watched as God then wiped out the entire Egyptian army. At the very least, these folks were slow learners! And later on, when they might have readily entered the Promised Land, these same people chose to believe horror stories from ten of the spies rather than believe Joshua and Caleb, who believed that God could give them victory. (This might be one of the earliest examples of someone believing public opinion polls; after all, 80% of the spies warned of giants, while only 20% of them believed in God’s power to defeat their enemies.)

Now Moses is dealing with people who have been born during the wanderings in the desert. These people have followed the pillar of cloud by day and rested in the security of the pillar of fire at night. The manna has continued to come, as well as water for all this huge group of people plus their animals. And those same animals have continued to find adequate grazing – no mean feat in the midst of a wilderness. Have these people taken God for granted?

Now Moses is dealing with the second generation of Israelites. As God’s prophet, Moses has a sacred responsibility to do his best to teach this new generation the ways of God. Moses starts by carefully going through the Ten Commandments, the God – given foundation for the new life He wants for the Israelites. Please look at the promises God makes in conjunction with these commandments:

APPLICATION: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” The One True Living God does not change. He is the same for all eternity. Each one of us has a sin problem that keeps us enslaved just as surely as if we were in chains. Only God can deliver us from ourselves. Why shouldn’t we worship Him as He deserves?

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

When we make anything apart from God our object of worship, we are creating idols. Some of us refuse to acknowledge God in our own lives and then expect our children to make righteous choices. But ” Do as I say and not as I do” has never worked. From the time our children are born, they will pick up our mannerisms, our ways of life, and our faults. If you roll your eyes at your kids, rest assured that eventually those eye rolls will come back to haunt you! Early conditioning can kick in at any moment, whether or not we want it to.

At the same time, God promises to show loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Him and who keep His commandments. Disaster or blessings? The choice is ours. Parenting is a sacred responsibility, but many of us feel lost as to how to go about it. Sometimes our parents never received healthy parenting themselves. Such deficiencies can lead to generations caught in emotional deserts. One friend has come from a family plagued by depression for generations. Facing such burdens, we might be tempted to quit in despair.

Here is the glorious news: If God calls us to do something, He will give us the strength and the guidance so that we can be successful. If God has called you to parent, then rest assured that God is ready to encourage and guide you. Your parents’ choices do NOT have to be yours! With God’s help, YOU can be the change – maker in your family.

How can this happen? God promises in Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you and lead you in the way you should go; I will guide(counsel) you with My eye upon you.” Again in James 1:5 God tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Do you feel overwhelmed? Scared of bad stuff in your family? Worried that you will repeat the mistakes your parents made in raising you? Take courage! God is still the same Miracle Worker who delivered the Israelites and kept them for forty years as they wandered in the wilderness. God wants you to be a wonderful parent, and He is ready to help.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving and caring for us! Lord, thank You that we are not stuck with all the mistakes our parents made but that You can help us create new and healthy ways to parent, whether we are raising our own children or helping others around us. Thank You that You have promised loving devotion to a thousand generations if we will only love You and keep Your commandments. Help us to love You more each day than the day before. And help us to keep Your commandments. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:44 – 49 “This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt, while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.

They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan—the two Amorite kings across the Jordan to the east— extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyone (that is, Hermon), including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah,f below the slopes of Pisgah.”

Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites were history! The Israelites must have been elated. They hadn’t even crossed the Jordan yet and already they were conquering enemies. Even Og, the giant, couldn’t stand before the armies of the Living God. Looking at the land already conquered, the Israelites might have been thinking that conquering the Promised Land was going to be a piece of cake! But while the Israelite soldiers were strutting around and puffing out their chests, they needed to remember that God was the One who had given them those victories.

All the Israelites who had come out of Egypt had died, except for Moses, Caleb, and Joshua. None of those currently camped on the east side of the Jordan had seen the towering walls of water or felt the winds that drove back the water or heard the terrified shouts of the Egyptians as those same waters closed over them forever.

Those who refused to trust God and go into the Promised Land as God desired were gone. Now Moses had to teach the next generation so that they would know the ways of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 5:1 – 3 “Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully. The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.”

At this point, the Israelites might have been scratching their heads and saying, “HUH?” Why was Moses speaking as if they had been present at Horeb? It was the previous generation who had witnessed the spectacle at Horeb/Sinai with fire, earthquakes, and the sound of a divine trumpet. But Moses wants to emphasize something: Just because the first generation to escape from Egypt died does not relieve the present generation from the covenant that was made at Horeb/Sinai.

When Moses came down off the mountain and spoke to the people, the people agreed that they would obey. Exodus 24:3 “When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” That day, the Israelites were cutting covenant with God, an agreement that was binding not only on them, but also on their forever. Since the current generation had never experienced the scenes at Mount Sinai, it was even more necessary that Moses fully explain and repeat all the teachings God gave at that time.

APPLICATION: Moses knew that if he failed to thoroughly teach the Israelites everything God wanted them to know, they were headed for disaster. It’s likely that while some of the soldiers were running around boasting, Joshua and Caleb were standing back and shaking their heads; they knew there were tougher battles coming up.

God assigned Moses to help mold a nation out of a group of slaves. At times, Moses must have been ready to go back to herding sheep; it might have been easier. It was up to Moses to teach the Israelites the commands of God and the way God wanted them to live. God knew that waiting across the Jordan River were tribes who practiced all kinds of fertility rites, who sacrificed children, who committed unspeakable horrors. If the Israelites did not learn God’s commandments and practice following them, they were doomed to assimilation.

God did not want the Israelites to be like all those other nations. God wanted the Israelites to be an example of holiness and righteousness, so that these other nations would see the glory of God and would want to follow Him as well. God had far more in mind than just saving the Israelites.

So many times, we play games with God’s Word or with His commandments. There are many people today for whom the Ten Commandments are merely Ten Suggestions – something to be discarded when they prove inconvenient. But children who are raised without standards find themselves confused without a firm moral foundation for their lives.

What teachings are the foundations for your life? Does your life really have a solid foundation, or does it depend on the shifting sand of public opinion, popular beliefs, or something even less tangible? And what kind of foundation have you given your children for their lives?

Jesus told a story in Matthew 7:24 – 27 about two men building houses. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to follow Your Word and Your Commandments so that our lives will truly have solid foundations. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:41 – 43 “Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save his own life, he could flee to one of these cities: Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.”

Numbers 35:9 – 15 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge. These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.”

REFUGE! Why would anybody need refuge? Both the Mosaic law and the Code of Hammurabi included the law of lex talionis “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” The penalty for murder was death, and that penalty was to be carried out by “the avenger of blood,” generally a close male relative of the deceased. But what if this death was accidental? What if two men are felling trees, and an ax head accidentally flies off and hits one of the men, killing him? The other man has no bad intent; must he die? The list of “What ifs” could be a long one.

God’s answer to this question is “No.” To that end, God appointed a total of six cities of refuge, 3 on the east side of the Jordan River three on the west side. These cities were distributed so that the innocent could readily reach one of the cities in time to save his own life.

What if the manslayer really did intend to commit murder? Number 35:16 – 18 gives us that answer as well: “If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him. Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him, or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally, or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him, then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.”

APPLICATION: It was the most terrible dream I had ever had! I dreamt that I murdered one of my co workers, although I did not mean to do so. Waking from my nightmare, I began searching my heart and mind. True, I had recently had a disagreement with this person, but I was more baffled than angry. Surely I was not harboring murder in my heart …. or was I? Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

To this day, I remember that dream and shudder! When I really dug deeper, I found that I was coldly furious with this person. The circumstances do not matter, but I realized that my heart attitude truly was murderous.

Accidents happen. Years ago, my husband was working on an electric circuit box in a factory. The electricity was supposed to be off; yet, when he touched the outside of the box, he got a shock that nearly knocked him off the ladder on which he was standing. An individual who had no idea what was going on saw the switch turned off and chose to turn it back on without checking with a supervisor.

There are times when each of us needs refuge. Live long enough and at some point, you will need a place of peace, a place of rest, an place of refreshing, a place of safety. Those who were granted refuge in the six cities were bound to remain in that refuge until the current high priest died; however, as long as they remained in that city, they were safe.

Where can we find refuge today? While we may not be able to find a physical refuge, we can certainly find a spiritual one. Moses told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 33:27 – 29 “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’

So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew. Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”

Psalm 46:1 tells us that “God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble.” The manslayers in ancient Israel had to flee to cities of refuge and hope that the avenger of blood did not catch them on the way. But our refuge is only a prayer away. We can always ask God for help, for guidance, and for protection. “But,” you say, “I’ve done horrible things.” Do you think God does not already know what you have done? God knows more about you than you. But the Bible assures us in 1 John 1:8 – 9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us! We know that we have done wrong things that do not please You; yet, You have promised to forgive us, to clean us up, and to shelter and protect us. Show us the things we need to confess so that there will be no barrier between You and us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.