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Leviticus 24（ESV）
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. 3 Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 4 He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord regularly.……
13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. …….
22 You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.” 23 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they brought out of the camp the one who had cursed and stoned him with stones. Thus the people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.
REFLECTION
- Regulations of the tabernacle and sin of blasphemy
- This first part of this chapter (vv1-9) emphasizes “continually”, “lasting ordinance”, and “regularly”. They speak of repeated patterns in each believer’s life. We are to make sure that the ordinary things in our daily lives are in harmony with God’s will. The second part (vv10-23) describes a crisis. A young man “blasphemed the name of the Lord with a curse”. The implication is that he used God’s name in a magical incantation intended to harm an enemy (v10). Here was a situation very out of the ordinary! So the people wisely sought a ruling from God. When the ruling was given, the people obeyed and stoned the blasphemer to death. When we face a crisis situation, we too need to wait until the will of the Lord is made clear, and then act on it.
- Both habitual obedience to God’s known will and seeking God’s direction in crisis are ways we demonstrate a commitment to obedience that God welcomes as acceptable worship.
- What about me? Do I habitually obey God in my daily life? Or do I tend to cry out to God in crises?
PRAYER
Take an inventory of myself. Ever since the beginning of “Listening to God” devotions, have I been faithful in following it? Has the daily Bible reading become a habit for me? What about the practice of the 5 short prayers? From my replies, can I see how obedient I am to God, to the church God established, to the church’s leaders/pastors?
What about my obedience to God in my daily living, even in crises?
Tell God about all these and wait for His response.
HYMN:
With All I Am – youtu.be/Dk8Y98QLTvY
