Tuesday 10 Dec 2013

Tuesday Reading: Exodus 21:12-21

Key Verse: Exodus 21:17
And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

Devotion:
We may look at the laws of old and think that they are barbaric in their constitution, but if we were to stop and study them we would find out why they were written the way they were. The whole ethos of keeping it simple so that people would understand the gravity of the law was amazing and is lost in modern society. We now have legal documents for the most simple of laws that span pages and pages just so that intelligent lawyers do not bend the meaning of the law because the words could just be taken out of context! The bible was not written in that way, but man has corrupted it in that way…

The law was simple. If you mistreat your mother and father then you need to be punished. If that punishment seems a bit harsh nowadays, then go back and think about what your parents actually are, who they are, what they have done and how God has given them a task to do. If God has given them that task, then we ought to stand up and obey those ways; this is God we are talking about!

We don’t have to bring back capital punishment in order for man to be brought to his senses, but if that is what is required for man to stop and think, then we should be thinking about what need to happen. But don’t get caught up in trying to lay down the law so that others can be judged righteously because we are also on the front line and have to live by those same laws. When the sinful woman was brought before Jesus for judgment, He turned the situation round on the people that brought her to Him by asking them if they were guilty too.

God gave us His Word so that we can know that He means business. Man has ignored the words and has come up with his own rules so he does not have to face death. That is what we all deserve because that is what was written down in the beginning. We need to bring our own sins before God and lay them down right now, asking for forgiveness before we have to face Him and explain what we have gone and done! God is holy. God is righteous. God is just. Remember that!

Points to Ponder:
How often have you called for justice?

How often do you face justice?