DCLM DAILY MANNA - SHUN THEM!

Wednesday January 25, 2017

SHUN THEM!

-LEVITICUS 19:23-32

KEY VERSE:

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD" (Leviticus 19:31,32).

God does not keep His children in the dark concerning His likes and dislikes. Because He does not want us to incur His anger and displeasure, He presents laws to lead us into fruitful and enduring relationship with Him. There is a vivid demonstration of this stance of a loving Father in the Scripture today. Having rescued the children of Jacob from hundreds of years of bondage in Egypt, God is now taking them to the Promised Land of freedom and abundance. The Lord wants them to abide by a new regime of rules, ceremonial, moral and ecclesiastical, that would carve them out as a peculiar breed set aside for God. In the Promised Land, the Israelites must shun ‘uncircumcised’ fruit until the fifth year. They were not to eat slaughtered animal with blood, nor should they resort to enchantments and observation of times. They were forbidden from making marks on their body to honour the dead. Their daughters should not desecrate the land with prostitution. God’s Holy Temple and His Sabbaths must be respected, just as the elderly needed to be accorded honour. There should be no recourse to familiar spirits and wizards because it would amount to defilement and idolatry. The Lord also commanded His people to treat strangers among them with love, while there should be no sharp practices in business transactions. Each time the Lord concluded the pronouncement of a law, He would declare ‘I am the LORD.’ Why? It is to assert the unquestionable authority of God Who does not change. His commandments are as timeless and are to be obeyed throughout all generations. They are to be cherished by those who seek to make heaven. No other laws can guarantee the love of God. No other laws can guide one into God’s presence in heaven or ensure one enjoys peace of mind here on earth.

Thought for the day: God’s do’s and don’ts are the only doorway to His Presence.

Bible Reading in one Year: ACTS 24 - 25