King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2024
Chapters: Deuteronomy Chapters 14-16
Message: Become A Child
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [Luke 18:15-17 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.]
Do you realize that no matter our age, those who accept Christ as their Saviour are His little children? Why? First of all, we are born again, [John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.] Second, we are babes; [1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.] And Jesus answered the third thing, we must have the faith of a child in order to receive Him. Matthew, worded it this way, [Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.]
Now, as we grow and mature in our faith we do get fed the meat of the Word of God rather than the milk that we receive when we first get saved, but that childlike faith needs to always be there. Why? It keeps us from turning away from Him. For this reason our entire lives are to be governed by the obedience and childlike confidence which God expects of us. As we continue in the reading of Deuteronomy, Moses, reiterates the importance of their understanding that even in the matters of every day life they were children of God and need to be holy.
[Deuteronomy 14:1-3,21 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. 3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. 21 Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.]
[thou shalt give it unto the stranger…or thou mayest sell it unto an alien:] [Stranger; A foreigner; one who belongs to another country. Alien; Estranged; foreign; not allied; adverse to; as, principles alien from our religion.] In other words, strangers are foreigners who were not Israelites, but followed the Law, whereas aliens are strangers, who did not follow the Law. It was not lawful for the Israelites or strangers who had been converted to the Jewish religion to eat something that died of itself due to the blood being in it, not to mention the decomposure of the flesh being full of disease and insects. However, the stranger that chose to live like an alien, could if they chose to do so. Even today, it all comes down to this, if we choose to accept Christ as our Saviour, then we are a holy people, and whatever we do we do for the glory of God, [1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.]
Do you realize that every saved, born again Christian is a stranger and pilgrim of whatever country they reside in right now? Therefore, if we are a holy people and God sees fit to bless us with an increase in our provisions, then we ought to rightfully honor Him by returning some of it. Back then they would give to God the first of what they harvested, but if it was too far for them to carry, they were allowed to sell it and bring the money earned. However, there was one strange thing that they were permitted to do if it was too far for them to travel.
[Deuteronomy 14:22-26 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. 24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,]
[And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after,] [Bestow; To add, apply, appoint, recompense, render, requite, restore,] So, there were three yearly feasts that were appointed for the men to attend, but if it was too far for them to get there, then God would allow them to sell it. He would then appoint a local place where they could bring the money and whatever was left over they could use to purchase whatever their heart desired as long as it was lawful to be eaten. Again, this all comes down to whatever we do we do for the glory of God as it is in our best interest to recompense to God some of what He has given to us, [2 Corinthians 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.]
Before we receive Christ as our Saviour, our soul is literally held bondage to sin, it is through our faith alone in Christ that we are released from that bondage and it is important to never forget that. Even after we are saved we can entangle ourselves with sin and bind ourselves back up in it chains. Nevertheless, because we are saved we do have the mercy and grace of God to return to Him and be released. Moses, goes on to remind the Israelites of the Sabbatical year, and anyone owing a debt was not only released from the debt.
[Deuteronomy 15:1-5 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release. 3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; 4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: 5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.]
[Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again:] These are the debt collectors who find some bill owed from ten years ago and try to get you to pay it, of course, it would be three times more than what was owed to begin with. We can thank Jesus for paying in full the biggest debt we owe for our soul, and that is death and hell. He gave His sinless life on the cross to pay that debt, and therefore, once we accept Him as our Saviour we are released from the debt, [1 Corinthians 7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.]
[Release; To be free from confinement, bondage, or obligation] While we are not to neglect our bills, things happen and this is why debts become null and void after seven years if they cannot be paid back. Moses, goes on to explain this.
[Deuteronomy 15:6-9 For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. 7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. 9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.]
[thine eye be evil against thy poor brother…and he cry unto the LORD] This would be an extreme case in which the person could not pay back their debt and the lender treated them cruelly. Do you want to know why our nations are in so much debt? They turned their backs on God and borrowed money from the enemy. The biggest fall of any Christian nation is depending on the world to help them instead of God, [Psalms 33:17-18 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;]
Credit card companies and pay day loan companies are all loan sharks who instill huge amounts of interest upon the very people who are so desperate for help that they turned to them. Those who get caught up in these debts literally become enslaved to their lenders as it really does take seven years to pay them back.
[Deuteronomy 15:12-17 And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: 14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. 15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. 16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; 17 Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.]
[thou shalt not let him go away empty:] Do you see that? When we are free from our debts, we will be well taken care of. Did you ever notice when you get your debts paid down you get all these free offers? Of course, we have to be careful of those because they can put us back in debt again, but they are proof that our debts have been forgiven. Jesus frees us from every debt, I do not care if it is sin or something we got ourselves into because we took our eyes off Him. We are the children of the LORD, and He will free us from any debt, as long as we give it all over to Him, [Psalms 147:10-11 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.]
The three yearly feasts that God instituted are mentioned in some form through the Books of Exodus to Deuteronomy thirty times. Why were they so important? They were designed as a way for those who feared God to remember all that He has blessed them with and to make an atonement for any sin they may have committed unaware. Three of the feasts were required to be held at the Tabernacle/Temple, in which every adult male must appear.
[Deuteronomy 16:1,10,13,16-17 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: 16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.]
[and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:] What will you have to present to Jesus when you see Him face to face? Will you come up empty, having nothing to give Him for all that He has done for you. Or will you come up full, having given what you were able? [Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Deuteronomy 16:6-7 But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. 7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for making me one of Your children when I accepted Your Son as my Saviour. I know I have always been peculiar, but You confirmed that when I discovered that I never fit in with the world in the first place. I know that it is important to put You first and give You my very best, but sadly I have neglected You and for that I truly am sorry. You paid my debt in full and the only way for me to honor You for that is to give everything over to You, my life, my family, my possessions, and even my debts. Lord, Lead me and guide me, feed me with the spiritual things that I need for You to sustain me in this world as I live my life as an obedient child. Give me Your power and strength to stay away from the things that can entrap me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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