THE LORD SPOKE (March 19)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 20-21

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid. (Deut. 21:18-21)

Here’s one law that’s probably written not primarily for the law-breaker. Ultimately, of course, it is. The rebellious son is the one who will be corrected in the end, but the whole purpose of this law is to not get to that end!

This law is much more for the father of a rebellious son. Can you ever imagine a caring, engaged, father coming to the point of calling the elders to execute his own son? Would he not first do everything in his power to correct his own boy?

This law will make you take your responsibility as a parent much more seriously! If you really understood that the death penalty is punishment for a rebellious child wouldn’t you start a little earlier, work a little harder, and give yourself a lot more to the task of child discipline?

So, maybe you’re glad we don’t live under the Mosaic Code anymore. But are we really better off? Parents today who don’t teach their children to be disciplined, law-abiding, God-following people condemn them to a death every bit as horrible as death by stoning. That undisciplined child will grow up to be an undisciplined adult who will suffer shame, confusion, personal pain, rejection by society, alienation from decent people, and much more.

For the rest of his life, if he doesn’t change, he will die a slow death. And it’s your fault as a parent because you didn’t correct his path at an early stage. You have condemned your own flesh and blood to such a miserable existence because you were “too tired to deal with it right now” or some other such foolish excuse for not disciplining your son or daughter.

This is a matter of life and death. A godly child is an absolute joy but a wayward son is a rottenness in the bones. Start early and don’t give up!


New Testament: John 10

The Feast of Dedication. We know it better today as Hanukkah. Thought not one of the Levitical festivals, it is a “biblical” holiday in that it happened in the Temple during Bible times and is celebrated here in the New Testament by Jesus. Jews commemorate the miraculous extension of light from the oil at the Dedication of the Temple in December, 165 B.C. Judas Maccabees led the people in cleansing the Temple and re-instituting the sacrifices after Antiochus Epiphanes had desecrated it by offering a pig on the altar.

On this occasion, nearly 200 years after the initial event, the crowd was in suspense (Jn. 10:24). They had been following Jesus, wondering at His works, listening to the testimony of those healed, hearing the debates in public places. He was under increasing scrutiny of the religious leaders and many expected Him to be arrested or worse. The evidence was growing that He was a prophet - it had been 400 years since the last one. Or maybe more. Could He really be the Messiah? “If you are, please just tell us!”

But He had! Some had heard more than mere words. They had really heard His voice and knew He was the long-awaited Shepherd of Israel. They followed that voice. And there it is again - a direct claim to deity! It may not be so clear to us today because we’re not familiar with the 1st century Jewish language, culture, and theology. But the religious leaders heard it very clearly and were ready to stone Him for blasphemy (Jn. 10:31-33).

Not only was He claiming to be the Messiah, He was claiming to be God. The works backed up the words and no one could argue that point! They might not like it. They might not want to believe it. But they couldn’t find answers to deny it. So they resorted to violence.

But Jesus’ time had not yet come. John doesn’t tell us the details of how, but somehow He slipped from their grasp again (Jn. 10:39). Back on the other side of the Jordan many new believers received entry permits to heaven. Do you have some questions you’d like to ask them when you get there? You are going, aren’t you?