The people entered into an oath to walk in God's law as given to Moses and do all the commandments of the Lord, our Lord and his judgments and statues. (10:29) They also agreed not to allow their children to marry outside of their beliefs, not to buy or sell on the sabbath, to bring their offerings to the Lord, to tithe, and not to forsake God or His house. Each was given an assignment on where they was to live and what they was to do.
As I read these chapters, I ask God to let me know how these words relate to us today. Some people will say that we live under grace today and not the law so these chapters in the Old Testament do not apply to us. Yes, we live under grace but if God didn't expect us to learn from these chapters, He would not have given them to us. We need to remember the statement; "Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
When the Israelites lived as a nation for the Lord, He blessed them. When they strayed and served other gods, then they faced the consequences. Our nation is like that today. God has blessed us when we followed Him and we to have suffered the consequences when we turn away from Him.
There are those today who would have you believe that our nation was not founded because the people was searching for a way of life in which they could worship God. They want to rewrite history and tell us God didn't enter into the picture. This simply is not so. God has ALWAYS been a part of our Country. Our fore fathers fought and died for the right to serve God. God is mentioned in our Declaration of Independence, in our Constitution, and on our buildings in Washington. He is on our money, in our pledge to the flag, as well as our national anthem. Congress always began each session with prayer. Our country's roots are deep in serving God.
As towns were started, two of the main buildings to be constructed as soon as possible was the church and the school. Often they would be the same building. Just about everybody in the town would be at church on Sundays serving God.
I can still remember when the stores would close on Sundays so people could go to church. (God's instruction to the people in Chapter 10 was neither to buy or sell on the sabbath.) Then one day, a major chain decided to open on Sunday. Soon other stores followed them to stay in the competition. Yet, Truitt Cathy has never gave in and closes on Sunday and God has blessed him for it. I know I am guilty of shopping on Sundays. The grocery store is on the way home and it is so convenient to stop. I do it without even thinking if it pleases God or not.
The thing is we are allowing others to tell us it is OK to do the things in direct opposition to what God tells us. God is no longer blessing our land. He has not completely turned His back on us. I believe it is because there are Christians who pray everyday for our country.
We have a leader that says we are no longer a Christian nation. The fact that he would say that, gives credence to the fact that we were founded as a Christian nation. This is very scary to me. It is also something I take great offense to. Lord, let not this ever happen. As we are coming up on the 4th of July, our nation's birthday, let us turn back to God as the Israelies did and ask Him to heal our land.
These people were going through a time of seeking God's plan (again). They were creating a binding agreement essentially recommitting themselves to follow God's commands.
ReplyDeleteBoots, I agree with you in prayer for us personally and as a "people" to turn back to God.
I hope that nobody misunderstood me. I don't think it is wrong to go out to eat or shop on Sunday but I was using this as an example of how they did not obey God. The Israelies as God's chosen people was very wishy washy about things. They would go against God and when things got bad they would come back to Him sorry for their behavior and then turn around and do the same thing again. I have seen that in our country. When 9/11 happened, people was stunned, looking for answers they turned to God. I remember us holding hands in church and praying for our country. People went back to church looking for comfort but when things started getting better, they started turning away from God again.
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe our nation is in serious trouble and unless our people turn back to God, it will get worse. Pray for our country and its leaders every day.
Boots, you are so right about us needing to ask God to heal this land. We need God in all of the public realms (and not just on Sunday). We need God in everywhere from the youngest pre-k classroom to high school classrooms to the local, state, and federal public government offices. Also, the court systems. I pray every day that people rise up and take a stand for God. I also pray as Terry does to turn back to God.
ReplyDeleteBoots, I agree with everything you said in your blog today! I too remember when stores were closed on Sunday as a "day of rest." Many years ago we moved from S.C. to Wisconsin - in S.C. all the stores were closed on Sunday, but when we got to Wisconsin, the malls were open on Sundays. Well, with snow up to our ears and a toddler and a 4 year old, we said - "we'll just go to the mall and stroll around - we won't buy anything - just to get out." We did - and alas before we knew it, we were shopping too! Once you open "Pandora's box" you can't close it again.
ReplyDeleteI also remember a time when my kids here in Griffin were on ball teams and they had scheduled practices on Wed. nights. We got up a petition to the Parks and Recreation Dept to not have anything on Wed. nights - and guess what - they agreed! So, we can make a difference if we try.
Ms. Boots - another fantastic post! I totally disagree with people who try to down play the Old Testament and its importance. Yes, WE ARE New Testament Christians, but that does not mean we are not still held accountable for seeking to obey the law! Murder, theft, adultery, etc. are STILL a violation of the law even though we are NT Christians! Jesus said that He did NOT come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. That does NOT mean that the law is no longer applicable!
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with ALL of your comments about our nation and how it was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and how we have turned our back on the Lord. This is also a VERY scary place to be to me too Ms. Boots. If you EVER get the chance, PLEASE go through "The Truth Project" class, as Dr. Del Tackett does an EXCEPTIONAL job of showing EXACTLY how our nation was founded on Christian principles. It gives us as American Christians the ability to defend this position against people like Barak Obama! As the Bible states in Revelation chapter 2 verses 4-5, if we as a nation do not turn back to our "first love" (the Lord), Jesus is going to remove our "lampstand" from us. As a result we would no longer have the protection of God on our country. I think, very tragically, that this is exactly where we are headed in the NEAR future. I believe that the horrible things we heard done to Dr. Samuel Thomas today at Oak Hill will start to happen to Christians here in our own country soon. Take up the FULL ARMOR OF GOD...we are going to need it!!!! (Ephesians 6:10-18)
Barbara, thank you for your petition efforts when your kids were playing ball. We were able to reap those benefits this year. I was glad that there were no practices or games on Wednesdays or Sundays. Obviously, I had no idea of the history of that. Thank you for making a difference in our lives as we were able to be at church without conflict!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the summary section of these chapters, I try to keep the big picture in mind and this helped. I grew up hearing that we weren't supposed to eat out or shop on Sunday, but I never could balance the thing in my mind. Sometimes it would seem old-fashioned or unrealistic, and others it made perfect sense. Maybe one day we'll get to share further on this....
ReplyDeleteAnd, what an interesting way to find out about ball practices and games. I keep being reminded that so many things I take for granted probably have a rich history....I'm so thankful when God reveals these things to me. I can rejoice even with my sisters as they discover things, too~
My son has told me that the only one of the commandments that is not relisted in the New Testament is: "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy". We must remember that the Sabbath was Saturday the last day of the week. This was celebrated in the old testament. We live under grace and we celebrate the "Lord's Day" on Sunday being that was the day Jesus was supposed to have resurected. The reason I say suppose instead of did is not because I doubt that he rose but the calender was different in those days then it is now so we don't really know what day it happened on. I think we do need to show more respect than we do for the Lord's day but no where in the Bible does it say it is a sin to work, shop, or eat on that day.
ReplyDeleteWow. :) Since I was working on Sunday I'm coming back to all these comments and posts later on and let me tell you...it was a treat to read all the comments!! Great post Ms. Boots. It is SCARY to realize just how much of a nose dive we have taken as a nation in our morality, just in the decade since I've been out of high school. I agree that we need to pray and pray and pray for our nation. And there are SERIOUS moral issues at stake- abortion, freedom of religion..etc. But lets be careful to pray for changed hearts and lives. Not just the "right" votes on the ballot. And may we pray for the strength to stand out.
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