Resist Temptations of Unbelievers Close to Me
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 13:6-11 (NASB)
6 “If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. 9 But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.
SUMMARY
Moses was reminding the Israelites to not be tempted by family members and/or friends to serve other Gods. Moses also mentioned to show no mercy to the friends or family members to the point of stoning them to death. The reason for this is because God knows that it will be hard to resist the temptation, and the Israelites could easily abandon God just as they did when they left God after being liberated from their slavery in Egypt.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
When I read this passage I was shocked when it mentioned about stoning your own family member to death if they try to seduce you. I was also confused because God called us to be forgiving and loving towards others, but why go to the point of stoning them to death? After thinking about this, I realized that God was probably speaking directly to the Israelites because God knew that they can be easily seduced. At the same time, it just portrays that God wants us to get rid of anyone who tries to seduce us to serve other gods, which makes me think about the many people in my life who worship other idols. I am constantly seduced every day, and I just need to remember that everything in this world is temporary, and I need to store the treasures in heaven instead. This passage just reminds me that I need to stay on the path towards God because my flesh is extremely weak and I can be easily seduced just like the Israelites.
APPLICATION
God also called us to make disciples of all nations, and I think about all the nonbelievers in my life who I can share the gospel with. I have many cousins who I can share the gospel with, who are currently lost and they worship worldly idols. My parents are also currently worshipping other idols, and it hurts me to see how lost they are. I just need to pray everyday for my parents to have the mind, eyes and ears to listen and understand who God is. Even though my parents watch church service with us every Sunday, it doesn’t mean that my parents will understand what is happening. I just need to pray that God helps them understand the sermons, pray for wisdom on how I can share the gospel to them in the simplest way possible and also pray that the seed planted in my parent’s hearts will grow.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I praise you for always reminding me to keep my eyes on you, and reminding me how weak my flesh is. I repent for serving other idols in this world and not prioritizing you. I repent for judging people who worship other idols and not understanding their upbringing or their lack of exposure to the gospel. I pray that all the nonbelievers in my life can have the eyes to see, ears to hear and heart to understand. I pray that the Holy Spirit will remind me to keep my focus on God when I am seduced by worldly temptations.
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