The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Deuteronomy 16-19
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 3: The Sinai Covenant and law: God embraces and instructs his people
Background Information: Deuteronomy 16-19
Moses describes the three annual pilgrimages that were to take place at the central sanctuary. This will eventually be the temple in Jerusalem. In John 4, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the day would come, in fact had now come, when people would no longer need to journey to Jerusalem but would worship in “Spirit and truth” from anywhere. The sacrifices were no longer needed because Jesus made the final sacrifice. Asherah was the female counterpart to the pagan god Baal; worship of her was directed towards a wooden pole. Israel is warned against blending worship of the one true God with the worship of false gods. Notice how worship practices and ethical concerns are blended together in the law of God. When nations worship idols of their own making, they become nations where ethics drift into disfunction. It’s remarkable how Moses knew Israel would someday ask for a king and exactly how that king(s) would be tempted and fail. Of course this was not the wisdom of Moses, but the fact that God gave this foresight to him. “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” sounds barbaric, but it was actually revolutionary. This is about legal proportionality. Even as the cities of refuge for murder were designed to protect people from revenge killings, this is about making it illegal to kill someone for accidentally injuring them. In the New Testament Paul wrote that we must watch our “life and doctrine closely” (1 Timothy 4:16). What we believe will always determine how we live. God has given his people the revelation of who he is, which if put to practice, will result in a revolution in how we live.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for Isaac & Suzanne to have wisdom as they teach many MK’s at Black Forest Academy. Pray for their students to walk closely with God and to turn their lives over to him as Lord.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call some now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.
Review the Storyline Map: Where we are in the Bible
Act 1 God’s Plan for All People
Scene 1: The Creation: The God of all of life.
Scene 2: The Fall: Rejecting God’s vision for life
Scene 3: The Flood: God judges and makes a covenant to preserve life
Act 2 God’s Covenant People
Scene 1: The People: God calls a Covenant People
Scene 2: Deliverance: God rescues his people.
Week 11:
Scene 3: The Sinai Covenant and law: God embraces and instructs his people
Day 1: Deuteronomy 16-19
Day 2: Deuteronomy 20-23
Day 3: Deuteronomy 24-27
Day 4: Deuteronomy 28-30
Day 5: Deuteronomy 31-34
Scene 4: The Land: God’s place for his people
Day 6: Joshua 1-2, Psalm 105
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Scene 6: Kings and Prophets: God divides the kingdom people.
Scene 7: Kings and Prophets: The southern kingdom as God’s people
Scene 8: Exile: God disciplines his people
Scene 9: Return: God delivers his people again
Act 3 God’s New Covenant People
Scene 1: Christ’s coming: God’s true king arrives
Scene 2: Christ’s ministry: God’s true king manifest his kingdom
Scene 3: Christ’s deliverance of his people: God’s work through the death, resurrection, and enthronement of his king
Scene 4: Christ’s church: God’s people advance the kingdom
Scene 5: Christ second coming: God future for the kingdom