Deuteronomy 16:21-17:13

Well, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we're at Deuteronomy chapter 16 verses 21 through chapter 17 verse 13. They tie together. They're all about adult idolatry, not adultery. Although it's kind of like spiritual adultery, but anyways. You want to have some coffee? We'll pray and get into God's word. It's warm. I don't think it's super hot. You can try it. Let me know if it's too hot for you. Only a sip though. Don't drink all my coffee. Is it good? Okay, let me have some coffee. All right, let's go ahead and pray and we'll get into God's word. Lord, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your word. God, we pray that you would please help us as we read it that we would understand it. Please Lord, apply it to our hearts, apply it to our lives. Let us follow you. Thank you for this time with Dan Dan. And thank you for the blessing we have to read your word. Help us Lord, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Deuteronomy chapter 16 beginning at verse 21. You shall not plant for yourself any tree as a wooden image near the altar which you build a for yourself to the Lord your God. You shall not set up a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates. All right, so what's this talking about? Uh He doesn't like idols. Yeah, right. So don't make it up for yourself an idol. I think this is specifically talking about an idol that would be called Ashura later, but yeah, no no no wooden images like that. Mhm, no sacred pillars. All right, here we go. Verse Chapter 17 verse 1. You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect for that is an abomination to Lord your God. What's that talking about? That you shouldn't give him a bad animal. All right, not sacrificing bad animals. Good. If there is found among you within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God in transgressing his covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshipped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven which I have not commanded, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if indeed true and certain that such an abomination has committed been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates the man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So, you shall put away the evil from among you. What's that talking about? Worshipping God. Just something really bad. Mhm. What was the thing that they're saying would be really really really bad? Uh like if worship idols and not obey God and Yeah. And so, if if they find out about it and there's two or three witnesses, what's supposed to happen? Yeah, right, stoning. And who's the first people to throw the stones? The witnesses. Yeah, the witnesses, right? You better be really about what you're saying if you're going to if you're going to testify like that. Hope you don't break the ninth commandment, bearing false testimony. If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go to the place which Jehovah your God chooses. And you shall come to the priest, the Levites, and the judge to the judge there in those days and inquire of them. They shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you. According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you you shall do. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. Now, the man who acts presumptuously will not heed the priest who stands to minister before the Lord your God or the judge, that man shall die. You shall put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously. All right, so if there's too hard of a case, they can't figure it out, what are they supposed to do? Uh Tell it to who? Well, they go to the temple where the Lord has put his priests. And what are the priests supposed to do? Obey. Yeah, right. He's supposed to go to the law and figure out what's supposed to happen. What if somebody says uh forget that stupid priest. I don't care what he or that law says. That would be bad. Yeah, what's say what does it say is supposed to happen to that man who acts presumptuously? What does it say he is to be put to death? Yeah, doesn't that sound kind of harsh? Why do you think they would have to be put to death? This is what's called the It's It's both treason against God and the slippery slope, right? Who gave them the law? God did. Was God just a figment of their imagination? Nope. And so, if they're not if this guy is not willing to obey the law, who's he not obeying? God himself. And so, if you're not obeying the king, right? Cuz God's supposed to be the king of Israel. What's that called? Bad. Yeah, there's a there's a fancy word for you, right? Treason. Right? On the ship, do you know what it's called if people say, "We're not going to listen to the captain. We're going to do whatever we want to do." We're going to take over this ship. Called a mutiny. Even in the Navy today, you know what happens if there's a mutiny? Those who were in charge of the mutiny are liable to death. Yep, even in our own uh Uniform Code of Military Justice, the UCMJ. What's the UCMJ? Well, that's the that's the military law. They can be put to death. Cuz it's an insurrection. It's against It's against the the military itself and against the commander and against the nation. I think that's kind of a Yeah, they're a threat, right? They're a threat to to God and to the to the people being a nation as a whole. And so, is this a easy chapter or a very serious chapter? Serious chapter. What do you think you would If you had to summarize all of these different things, right? With idolatry laws and difficult laws and and stuff like that. What do you think you would summarize that with? What's this A about? I think it's about maybe like just laws. I think it's about when the Lord's law was given. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, right. So, yeah, the Lord wrote the commandments and here's how they're to judge according to the commandments. Just before this it was when God told them they're to have they were to appoint judges. The judges couldn't be impart The judges couldn't be partial and they couldn't take bribes, but they needed to judge righteously. And here's some examples of that. Well, I think the best verse for this In my Bible, you see what I have underlined? I have verse 11 underlined. According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you according to the judgment which they tell you you shall do. Right, so their judgment should be based on what? God. Yeah, God and his law, right? So, they're not to just come up with whatever they want. They're to go to his word. They go to his word and find out. So, uh don't turn away from that to the right or to the left, right? Do what they Do what they tell you is written in the law. Right, so that's what I think this is the best verse for this. Uh okay, so let's let's do the easy part now, right? Easy said, hard to do. See, calling. What are you called to do? Why do you think this applies to your life? Mhm. I think it's that we shouldn't make graven images. Okay, that's a good calling, right? We are we're not to make any graven images even still today, right? You to bow down to the stars or the moon or the sun or any graven images. Mhm. Right, but the problem is the New Testament says that covetousness is idolatry. Wanting other people's stuff and wishing you had their life, even that in your heart is idolatry. Is it easy to get rid of idolatry? No, it's not. Mhm. Is it easy to follow God's law? Oh, sure it is. You've never disobeyed me. You've always been a perfect son. You've never dishonored me. I know you've never hit your brothers and sisters. You've never committed murder in your heart. Mhm. You've always been a nice boy. What about stealing? I know you've never stolen anything in your entire life, right? Well, 50 times I've done so. Right, so what hope do you have? Uh Jesus Christ died on the cross. That's right. That's right. But are you a slave to your sin? No. No, absolutely not. Why? Because Jesus saved us. Yeah, Jesus saved us. And did he leave us alone like orphans? What did he do? He brought us into his house. Yeah, he brought us into his house. And guess what? He pours out his Holy Spirit in us. So we can fight against our sinful nature. We can put those things to death. Pretty good news? Would you like to pray or would you like me to pray? Let me pray. Okay. God, thank you so much for the blessing of knowing that you are our God. Lord, we pray that you would keep us from idolatry. We pray that you would keep us from open blazing sin, Lord, where we would have treason or mutiny against you. Lord, please lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Deliver us from even the temptations from our own hearts and from temptations outside of us. Lord, please help us to walk in your ways, not turning to the right or to the left. Thank you for Jesus who did this perfectly for us. In his name we pray. Amen. Can I have some coffee? You want to say good Well, how about I give you the coffee. I say goodbye. We wave. And then we Okay, ready? So. Well, may the Lord bless you and may you love him and follow him all your life. We'll see you next time. Bye.