More Instruction (March 18)

There will always be poor people in the land.  Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

But if your servant says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he lives with you and your family and is well off with you, then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life.  Do the same for your maidservant.

You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?"  If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.  That prophet has spoken presumptuously.  Do not be afraid of him.

                                          From Deuteronomy 15 & 18 NIV

Generosity, freedom/servanthood, and prophesy are the topics of the excerpts of today's reading.

God encourages generosity, Christian charity, helpfulness to others.  This is an example of following a command to love your neighbor.  Discernment is important to determine and follow God's will to bring glory to God.

The action here of marking a servant for life with an awl through the ear into the door might strike one as being coercive, forcible or extreme.  One might consider God's command to avoid body piercing as stemming from a piercing as being a mark of service to another.

During a lecture, the concept of freedom was discussed.  In the ancient world, there was no word for freedom as we know and understand freedom today.  The closest word to freedom that was in use meant a relief from a duty such as paying taxes for a period of time, a grant of relief given by the ruler or king.

Much is heard by us about what will come eventually to pass.  God gives us guidance today about what to do with prophets who use the Lord's name.  If the prophet's words do not come true they are not of the Lord.   Do not fear that man.

Discernment, a skill in perceiving or discriminating is a gift from God, a careful ability to find balance in giving of one's treasure, time, and in this case today attention, a talent.

How do others know you are charitable?  What do they see?

Who do you serve for life?

How would you recognize a false prophet?

Pray for time to read God's word, to listen to sermons and for the Spirit to guide you to the truth.

In Christ,

David P