Message: The many forms of theft
Time: This book chronicles farewell messages by Moses, the 120 year old leader of the Israelite, primarily intended for the lay person. It covers about one month, at the end of the forty-year period in the wilderness - 1405 BC. It is a renewal of the old covenant given at Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab.
What the Lord is Saying:
"Have you ever stolen anything, even if it was small and even if you were small?" - I've spent time at malls or parks with a friend asking spiritual questions and when we would approach people this was a common question we would ask. In general, when we think of theft we think of it on a large scale of breaking into a store or shoplifting items from a store, taking items that have a price tag without paying for them. When I was a kid, I remember stealing candy. There was even a time when I thought I could steal a magazine but as I grew up I did not do this again.
And yet, there are other types of stealing or thievery. A child taking another child's toy is a form of theft. More recently, downloading music from the internet is a form of theft. In addition, using company time to do personal things. Or simply not working at your job when you are being paid to work.
In addition, in Malachi 3:8 it says, "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings." Here is a pronouncement - we rob God by withholding our tithes and offerings. How often have I done this?
I think one of the big reasons I have trouble with this command as well as other commands is I do not see the consequence clearly from breaking the command. So when I steal hours from my job, I still get paid. When I withhold tithes and offerings, I still expect God to bless me. And so without clear consequences sometimes I keep breaking laws.
I think this is a reason accountability is difficult because it lays out consequences. As a manager at work, there are expectations of workers and when they are not followed, consequences follow. One item that we uphold is getting to work on time. We are supposed to write people up that are late, so even if they are 2 minutes late then we are to write them up and this could result in suspensions of various lengths. It is hard to enforce these accountability moments.
Summary: Any time we take from another, a store, another person, our employer, or another owner of those goods or services, we are committing the crime of thievery.
Promise: Let us not rob God by withholding our tithes, but let us carefully consider our income and budgets to make sure we are giving to the work of the Lord and the advance of His kingdom.
Prayer: O God, remind me continually of the ways I continue to break this command. I know it happens as I am not working always in the way you ask me to work or I'm expected to work. Lord, keep me sensitive to those that break this law. The problem being sin and I need to have more compassion as I live and am alongside others. My patience with my kids sometimes has not been great. Lord, I want to honor you with my choices.
Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God.
Bringing me to Christ
The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects. The Law and Our Powerlessness - We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. The Law our Guardian - The law is not a tool of justifying me, but rather it is an instrument to bring me to Christ and show me my need for Him.
Guiding our Lives
The Guidance of the Law - The Law is a guide in our lives for what pleases God and what it looks like to walk in holiness. The Antinomian Error - We were slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to obedience and righteousness. Judaizing Legalism - The error of Judaizing Legalism is the idea that obedience brings about God's acceptance of us for salvation. The Deadliest Form of Legalism - This legalism is that one would get too focused on external practices instead of focusing on the heart.
The Law is our Guide
The Centrality of Love - Love and the law go hand in hand. We do not belong to God unless we love our neighbor, and we cannot love our neighbor without knowing and doing God‘s law and loving him. Finding Guidance in the Law - God's Word, all if it, is a guide to my life and I am to meditate on it continually.
Caring and Protecting Us
The One and Only God - I seek to trust and love God above all else today. Images and Idols - Pictures, statues, symbols, art, people are not bad; but be careful about placing too much emphasis on these things I see. Using God's Name Frivolously - Blasphemy or using God's name frivolously are examples of taking God's name in vain. Keeping the Lord's Day - It is vital that we are setting apart a day to gather for worship and fellowship, resting from our ordinary vocations. Honoring Father and Mother - Parents are to rear their children in faith, teaching them to respect authority and children are to follow. Murder, Self-Defense and Hatred - Murder is not unforgivable and yet like any other sin, even hatred, we need to avoid it. It has consequences in this life. Adultery - Breaking the covenant of marriage by replacing what God has commanded with our own choices.
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