BIAY - Practice Right Rites
Deuteronomy 17-19, Psalm 45
Welcome to the Bible in a Year for 2025. Intro to this series and resource links available here, plus here’s how I’m approaching this year.
Scriptures for Today:
Reflection:
Safeguards on authority (Deut. 17:14-20) - The temptation to be like other nations is strong so parameters are given for a future king of Israel in order to paint a picture of appropriate safeguards. What are the concerns? Classics—money, sex, and power. Don’t accumulate “large amounts of silver and gold” (money/personal wealth over serving one’s citizens). Don’t “take many wives” (sex). Don’t “acquire great numbers of horses” (power—trusting one’s military might more than God). Unfortunately, the king who violates all of these is none other than Solomon, the son of David. The principles embodied in theses specific commands remain relevant.
Stay different (Deut. 18:9-13) - It is very important to God that the Israelites stay true to Him. He is insistent: “do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.” God is concerned about their worship practices. Why? Because as my friend JD Walt has said, “worship is about expressing faith and forming faith.” How they express faith will also form them in faith—beliefs and morals. Practicing child sacrifice, divination, witchcraft, and working as a medium for spirits expresses faith in the gods of these religions, but also it forms them into a particular kind of people.
Questions:
What do you think about worship “expressing faith and forming faith”? How do you prefer to express you faith through worship? Do you notice how worship is forming you in your faith?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, mold and shape me through worship that I may enjoy and serve you more each day. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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