This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the
books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for
COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
DEUTERONOMY
1 At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3 And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.
4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.
5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.
After God had spared them through grace, He gave the ten words to Moses again. This time God instructed the building of a tabernacle, and the ark which would hold the Words of God.
6 And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
7 From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.
8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
9 Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.
The important part of this passage, I belive, is that the tribe of Levi was "set aside." God chose them to "bear the ark," or carry the Word, which is the gospel of truth (see Matthew 28:18-20).
10 And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee.
11 And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
EVERYTHING belongs to God; even people (verse 14). Isn't God gracious to ask only that we love Him, honor Him, and follow His Word, and serve Him. ALL these four requirements are written in the "commandments of the Lord, and His statutes" (verse 13). Therefore, it is easy to KNOW God's will for us - He wrote it down!
15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
God specifically chose the Hebrew nation (verse 15). God specifically chooses EACH PERSON who comes to Him through Christ today.
19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
This is an exclamation point to the above statement!
20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Here is a sort of "conclusive" statement. Love, honor, and cling to God. He is our praise, for we do nothing in this world that endures. Only God does that.
Please continue to follow with us daily in Bible study.
CHAPTER 10
Today, God has built a church, and we are responsible for housing the Word of God. As Christians, we are to be very careful to teach the Word of God in purity and truth.
The church "houses" the Word of God today, and also carries the Word of God into the world. The gospel in a nutshell is as follows:
1) Man is a sinner in need of God.
2) God is Holy, but has provided a way for man to come to Him.
3) Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for all men's sins and to offer God's salvation to those who will meet Him at the cross.
4) Man must come to God and ask forgiveness - then he can be saved.
This "gospel" is GOOD NEWS! The church has the responsibility of carrying this good news to the world.
Circumcision was an act of faith. Since the Hebrew nation was chosen of God, each one was BORN a Hebrew. But circumcision was an act of loyalty to God and signified obedience.
Baptism is a similar thing today. It is an act of faith, and symbolizes the person has willingly died to self, and is now leading a life obedient to Christ.
The God of the Hebrew nation is the ONLY God. All others are false gods: even Satan, because he is only a created being.
It is THIS God (Jehovah) Who came and died on the cross of Calvary in the person of Jesus Christ. He is King of kings and Lord of lords!
Isn't God amazing? (After all, it was God who came up with the idea of putting a "fly-swatter" on the end of a cow.)
God exercises "respect" (or prejudicial judgment) toward no one because of their STATUS in the world! In fact, God taught people to care for widown, orphans and strangers.
Prejudice is NOT AKIN to godliness!
Look what He did for Israel. They started in Egypt as 70 people, and left Egypt as 2.5 million or more!
In contrast, just look at what God has done with that handful of disciples who were in the upper room in Acts 6!