“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” (Romans 12:9-13 ESV, passage continued next week)
Maynard NY United Methodist Church
Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Circumcise your heart
>Here we are given a list of what Yahweh requires of his covenant people but it is better “summed up” in Micah 6:8- “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
>In case you might have forgotten how powerful and awesome Yahweh was we are reminded in verse 14 that “heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it” belong to him- just in case you had any doubts.
>Back in Genesis 17 the sign of circumcision was set up as the sign of the Covenant. Every male who entered into the Covenant was to be circumcised.
>Like much of everything else in Old Testament Judaism the covenant of circumcision also was symbolic of something.
>Here we are given a list of what Yahweh requires of his covenant people but it is better “summed up” in Micah 6:8- “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
>In case you might have forgotten how powerful and awesome Yahweh was we are reminded in verse 14 that “heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it” belong to him- just in case you had any doubts.
>Back in Genesis 17 the sign of circumcision was set up as the sign of the Covenant. Every male who entered into the Covenant was to be circumcised.
>Like much of everything else in Old Testament Judaism the covenant of circumcision also was symbolic of something.
Circumcise your heart continued
>When a man was circumcised he made the symbolic statement that if he were to break the covenant that he could easily be “cut off” and thrown out- just like his foreskin.
>Keeping with the theme of circumcision as a symbol, when we are told to circumcise our hearts it is symbolic of cleansing our hearts and letting Yahweh in. In Romans we are told that, “circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit…” (2:29 ESV) which keeps with the symbolic picture.
>Keeping with the loving nature of Yahweh we are also told to help those in need- the Israelites especially were to help travelers because they were themselves were “guests” in Egypt.
>When a man was circumcised he made the symbolic statement that if he were to break the covenant that he could easily be “cut off” and thrown out- just like his foreskin.
>Keeping with the theme of circumcision as a symbol, when we are told to circumcise our hearts it is symbolic of cleansing our hearts and letting Yahweh in. In Romans we are told that, “circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit…” (2:29 ESV) which keeps with the symbolic picture.
>Keeping with the loving nature of Yahweh we are also told to help those in need- the Israelites especially were to help travelers because they were themselves were “guests” in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 11
Keep the whole commandment
>There’s a brief reminder of the ten plagues (the mighty deeds done to Pharaoh and all his land), the crossing of the Red Sea (the horses and chariots being destroyed until this day), keeping the people alive in the wilderness, and the squashing of the Israeli rebellion (Dathan and Abiram being swallowed up by the ground).
>These are the things that Moses mentions as the “great work of the Lord”. Indeed these things were great deeds that we’ve studied so far.
>Here a distinction is made between Egypt and Canaan- in Egypt the crops were watered by the annual, predictable floods of the Nile that filled the irrigation ditches whereas in Canaan the crops were watered by the actual rains that fell on the land.
>There’s a brief reminder of the ten plagues (the mighty deeds done to Pharaoh and all his land), the crossing of the Red Sea (the horses and chariots being destroyed until this day), keeping the people alive in the wilderness, and the squashing of the Israeli rebellion (Dathan and Abiram being swallowed up by the ground).
>These are the things that Moses mentions as the “great work of the Lord”. Indeed these things were great deeds that we’ve studied so far.
>Here a distinction is made between Egypt and Canaan- in Egypt the crops were watered by the annual, predictable floods of the Nile that filled the irrigation ditches whereas in Canaan the crops were watered by the actual rains that fell on the land.
Keep the whole commandment continued
>Canaan is also distinguished as a land of flowing hills and valleys whereas Egypt was a desert.
>Here the command of Deuteronomy 6 is repeated where the Israelites were to remember the words and write them on their eyes and their door posts and their hands etc.
>Conservative Jewish families to this day will have a “Mezuzah” on their door post- a little holder with a scroll of Deut 6:5 (the Shema) printed on it.
>The blessings and curses that are mentioned here are actually written out in chapters 27 & 28 and would later be echoed from two mountains that overlooked each other- Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal.
>Canaan is also distinguished as a land of flowing hills and valleys whereas Egypt was a desert.
>Here the command of Deuteronomy 6 is repeated where the Israelites were to remember the words and write them on their eyes and their door posts and their hands etc.
>Conservative Jewish families to this day will have a “Mezuzah” on their door post- a little holder with a scroll of Deut 6:5 (the Shema) printed on it.
>The blessings and curses that are mentioned here are actually written out in chapters 27 & 28 and would later be echoed from two mountains that overlooked each other- Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal.
Deuteronomy 12
Places of worship
>When Moses talks about the Canaanites setting up places to worship on the mountains, hills, and under every green tree it reminds us that the Canaanites were polytheistic.
>The standing stones at Gezer that we saw last week are one example of Canaanite objects of worship, so were things called Asherah poles. The Canaanites had altars that needed to be torn down and they also worshiped pillars.
>In addition to all these things the Canaanites also had carved images of their gods (idols) that needed to be destroyed.
>Yahweh did not want the Israelites to worship that way (with all the reminders) but to search for a central location to keep the Tabernacle.
>When Moses talks about the Canaanites setting up places to worship on the mountains, hills, and under every green tree it reminds us that the Canaanites were polytheistic.
>The standing stones at Gezer that we saw last week are one example of Canaanite objects of worship, so were things called Asherah poles. The Canaanites had altars that needed to be torn down and they also worshiped pillars.
>In addition to all these things the Canaanites also had carved images of their gods (idols) that needed to be destroyed.
>Yahweh did not want the Israelites to worship that way (with all the reminders) but to search for a central location to keep the Tabernacle.
Places of worship continued
>When Deuteronomy 6:5 says that the Lord our God, the Lord is one it is a reminder that Judaism is monotheistic.
>Having one single location for the Tabernacle (even though it was the portable tent of meeting) was a way for the Israelites to streamline worship and truly worship the Lord as “one”.
>Don’t try to be like the Canaanites after they are destroyed, and study their ways of worship. Moses gives great advice about worship of Yahweh and not trying to make it like everything else when he says, “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”
>When Deuteronomy 6:5 says that the Lord our God, the Lord is one it is a reminder that Judaism is monotheistic.
>Having one single location for the Tabernacle (even though it was the portable tent of meeting) was a way for the Israelites to streamline worship and truly worship the Lord as “one”.
>Don’t try to be like the Canaanites after they are destroyed, and study their ways of worship. Moses gives great advice about worship of Yahweh and not trying to make it like everything else when he says, “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”