You Shall Only Pursue Justice
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 16:18-17:1 (NASB)
18 “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
21 “You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22 You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates.
17 “You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.
SUMMARY
Moses has asked the Israelites to appoint judges and officers in all the towns in each of the tribes so that there will be righteous judgement amongst the people. God is a jealous God and anything that takes place of God, it is considered an idol. God detest idols. Moses also instructs Israelites to not give as sacrifice ox or sheep which have any blemish or defect.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
In order to keep things intact, it is vital we appoint judges or officers to bring justice. It brings order to the community and sets rules that are fair to everyone. If there are no appointed judges, then we can be prejudiced with our judgements. These leaders we appoint, we must prayerfully elect them and always keep them in prayer. So, that they are not doing their job for self gain.
I realized our sinful nature causes us to pursue things more than God because it makes us feel good at that moment or also we want to be like our peers. Even though at times, we do not mean to do it intentionally, we are doing it even without thinking. This is why community of believers and keeping each other accountable to make sure we look out for each other. When we see our brother or sister fall into sin or idolatry, as long as we do it out of love.
APPLICATION
Unfortunately, there have been situations where I acted on the temptation against faith. For example, as silly as it sounds, there were incidents when I went to movie theaters and I would take in drinks and food when it is not allowed. When I think about it now, I can’t believe I would fall into such temptation to save money.
Next time, when I finally go to the movie theater after Covid-19 is over. I would not do what I used to do and change my actions to be set apart from the world.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for Your word. Thank you for opening our eyes and reminding us how we need to be righteous. Please help us to turn away from temptation from the world. Give us wisdom to make the right decisions. Let us be the light among our nonbelievers to show we are different, and we want to do what is pleasing to God, not man. During this time of election coming up, let us be wise in electing the right person and also prayerfully make the decision. Be our eyes to keep our eyes fixed on God. Let us not be swayed by what it feels right at that moment. In Jesus name, Amen!
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