Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."
The Lord said to me: "What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." Deuteronomy 18:14-22
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Thus far, Israel has been instructed as to what not to worship as they enter Canaan. They’ve been warned to be careful about who to associate with and not associate with. In today’s passage, they are told who to listen to and who not to listen to.
For our scripture tells us that Israel would dispossess nations who listened “to those who practice sorcery or divination”…two practices that the Lord didn’t permit Israel to have anything to do with. So who would Israel listen to? Moses had been the voice of God to the people ever since their time in Egypt but remember that God would not allow him to enter Canaan. Before Israel could ask Moses who they would have to guide them, he tells them:
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.”
Indeed, the Lord told Moses, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.” Moses had fulfilled that role. Joshua was soon to assume it. And many other prophets were to follow…some legitimate, some not. So how would Israel know if they were dealing with a prophet who was truly speaking a message from the Lord? The final portion of our passage answers that question.
For scripture tells us that if what a “prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken”. These served as words of assurance for Israel. There was a potential danger that someone could come forward and lead Israel astray, falsely speaking on behalf of the Lord. But the Lord showed Israel and us as well that we could always check the credibility of the messenger by the validity of the message. If what the prophet said came true or took place, then the message was from the Lord. Otherwise, the message was false…untrue…fabricated.
Question: How do you test that the message you are hearing is really from the Lord? Hopefully, today’s message has given you the means to know. I would add that we should always pray over every message we receive, asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, we should be getting into God’s word to validate what we’ve been told. Using them in tandem, we can be assured that we won’t be led astray.
Regardless of what means we use, in the end one thing is sure. We need to be careful about who we listen to.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment