There are times in my life when I clearly know I am doing something wrong. The Holy Spirit convicts me and I am actively disobedient. There are other times when I do wrong, but don't realize it until later. Maybe this is because of my ignorance or lack of seeking God before acting. And still in other cases I know I need to do something and procrastinate (sometimes indefinitely). This might include making a phone call to a long-lost friend that God brings to mind or simply completing a chore that I know needs to be done.
To borrow a quote from Beth Moore... Anybody with me?
God demands that the Israelites actively deal with sin. In several cases throughout these chapters God tells the Israelites that they must "purge the evil." He gives very specific instructions and scenarios to convey His standards. In these chapters, God speaks specifically to a new and unhappy marriage between a man and his wife, inheritance for a first born son who is not born to a loved wife, rebellious sons, dealing with dead bodies, adultery, rape, keeping the camp clean (i.e., "toilets" outside of the camp), who can and cannot enter the assembly of the Lord, keeping vows, and several other laws.
It's clear to me that God cared about the intimate details of the Israelites' lives. He was passionate (and of course still is) about the holiness of His people. God required action or responses from the Israelites and in some cases the action was death to those who had done wrong. I think the action God required can be summarized as follows:
- Do what is right in the eyes of the Lord
- Discipline those who have done wrong
It is so freeing to me to do the right thing and to confess when I've done wrong... to reconcile with God and people I have hurt. It's also amazing how free my mind and spirit are when I no longer have to worry about that thing that keeps bothering me. God tells us in 1 John 1:9,
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
This New Testament scripture is a promise that God can "purge evil" from our lives today if we confess our sins. Lord, bring unconfessed sin to our minds. Teach us what is right in your eyes and help us deal aggressively with disobedience in our lives.
Some of these laws I've heard before, but I'm continually amazed as we read, at the specific instruction God gave His children! Like, they can walk through a field as a shortcut, and eat a few fruits of the harvest, but it is wrong to fill their pockets with it.......so interesting to think on these things today. This can apply to so MANY things in life......."take what you need for right now, keep moving."
ReplyDeleteI think so much of what we read today could be summed up as "do unto others as you would have them do unto you..." I love how concerned God is with looking out for all people!
ReplyDeleteYes, Terry - I'm with you!
ReplyDeleteI have found in my life and the life of my family that it is so much easier to "deal with" the sin when it first happens, or to deal with something you know is not right. Ignoring it will NOT make it go away. If you don't deal with it now, you will later - and it will probably be worse.
Fantastic post Terry! I could not agree more with all of you about purging the evil from our lives. The more we push away the Holy Spirit, the more desensitized we become to the sin in our lives, so we need to deal with it IMMEDIATELY!!! I also once again see God's involvement in the smallest details of our lives and I just LOVE Him for that! It just amazes me that He cares about the littlest things in our lives!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Terry! Confessing my own sin as soon as possible is very cleansing and healthy. I am not a person who likes to let sin fester and stay on the mind or in my heart. If I know I have done something wrong I confess it right then. It makes for a much happier life. God wants us to confess sins no matter how big or small (bad thoughts, bad attitudes towards others, angry feelings, etc.).
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