Purging the Arrogance of My Heart
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 17:2-13 (NASB)
2 “If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by transgressing His covenant, 3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded, 4 and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death. 6 On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 “If any case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the verdict in the case. 10 You shall do according to the terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to observe according to all that they teach you. 11 According to the terms of the law which they teach you, and according to the verdict which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 The man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again.
SUMMARY
Moses teaches the Israelites that there may be men and women who do evil in God’s sight, such as committing idolatry, thereby breaking the covenant with God. In these cases, they shall investigate the matter thoroughly, and if two or three witnesses can confirm, the offender must be stoned to death with all the town’s people participating.
If the case is too difficult to decide, they must take the case to the place God has chosen, to seek the judgment of the Levitical priest or judge. After the verdict is given, they must follow the sentence exactly, without any modifications. Failure to do so would also result in death, as to eliminate all evil and presumptuousness.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
Reading this passage, I automatically paused at verse 11, which commands us to “not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left.” And when you continue on to verse 12, it then talks about the man who “acts presumptuously (“arrogant” is the term used in the New Living Translation) by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord, your God.”
I reflect on my presumption and arrogance towards my husband recently as he shared his disagreement about some of our household expenses and also ways we are caring for our children. Regrettably, I mostly dismissed what he had to say at that moment. Instead, I justified in mind that he doesn’t really know about all the needs and all the factors of our family as well as I do. I acknowledged his opinion at the time, but had no intention to change anything because I thought in my mind I knew best. But the Bible reiterates to me today what I knew deep in my heart and what I know about God’s will. In God’s attention to detail and order, I see that even the process to convict a transgressor is an orderly process and a purposeful command. For similar order, and for God’s purposes, I am commanded to respect and have a submissive heart toward my husband who is appointed to lead our family.
Even in various other situations, I recognize that in my arrogance and pride (which is ultimately foolishness in God’s eyes), I try to modify the way I need to do things. Sometimes my disobedience is subtle, but God still calls it arrogance or presumption that must be purged out.
APPLICATION
I pray that I can purge my arrogance and unruliness in my heart which causes me to “turn aside… to the right or the left” from what I commanded to do. Many times when I fail to do what I should, I reason in my mind that God’s grace covers it all, so it’s okay. It’s completely true that I’m fully covered by God’s grace, but my heart posture as I tell that to myself is wrong and sinful. I want to aim for what is right and excellent by God’s standard. I ask God to help me purge this sinful attitude of doing things the way I want.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the conviction in your word which leads me on a path of righteousness. I desire your direction and loving commands in every aspect of my life, because I know your loving heart for your children that is behind it. Holy Spirit, help me to overcome my unruly heart that wants to do things my way. Thank you also for your thoughtful and thorough directions in your word that are a gracious and guiding lamp to our feet.
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