DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO

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.

If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master. Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him.

No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.

Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.

If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

If you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. If you enter your neighbor's grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.

Deuteronomy 23:15-25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The remainder of Chapter 23 and Chapters 24 and 25 of Deuteronomy contain various laws Israel was to adhere to. I’ll take a look at these through the next three devotionals.

First, the group of laws at the end of Chapter 23.

A runaway slave is taking a large risk by fleeing. For if their masters catch them, the penalty was often death. So an Israelite was to provide asylum for any slave who took refuge with them. They were not to “hand him over to his master” nor “oppress him”. Israel was to remember that they were enslaved and oppressed in Egypt. God didn’t want them to do to others as the Egyptians had done to them.

Baal worship was popular in Canaan and prostitution in the shrines was a popular part of this. The words of the Lord are clear. “No Israelite man or woman (was) to become a shrine prostitute”. And any man or woman that participated in prostitution were not to bring any of those earnings as offerings to the Lord. Such earnings came from sinful actions and God had no tolerance for anything connected to sin, especially in His temple.

We read where lending practices were used even back in the days of the Old Testament to include the charging of interest. Many loans were provided to people who did not have the money to support themselves and thus any additional money added to what was owed would only further their financial burden. This is why there was emphasis placed on the matter of interest. Scripture commanded the Israelites to “not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest” with a brother being a fellow Israelite. This exemption did not extend to foreigners as foreign merchants would certainly try to come and obtain financing from Israel. Scripture authorized Israel to “charge a foreigner interest”.

Many places in the scriptures deal with how the people of Israel were to deal with the harvest. An additional law added in Chapter 23 addresses the matter of eating from a neighbor’s vineyard or grainfield. The matter of gleaning was already promulgated to ensure that the poor were able to benefit from the harvests as much as the rich. This law seems to be similar in nature, authorizing a person to eat grapes and pick grain kernels as long as the privilege wasn’t abused. God never wanted His people to go hungry, especially since everything available to eat belonged to Him…the Creator of all things…first.

The final law I want to cover deals with vows. The scripture advises that “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin”. In other words, if you pledge to do something before God, you had better carry it out. To not do so would make one “guilty of sin”. If you don’t intend on carrying out a vow or if you’re unsure whether you can fulfill the vow once made, it’s better to not make the vow at all. For once again, our scriptures say that “if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty”. In the end, one was to do “whatever (ones) lips utter” when a vow was made to the Lord.

As I read through this command, I couldn’t help but think how we so often violate it today. How many times do we vow to do something before the Lord and then fail to carry it through? I don’t know about you but I’m sure I don’t want to see the scoresheet for my life and how I have done in this area. How about you?

The bottom line is that we need to watch what we say before the Lord, especially when we are making a commitment. If you say you will pray for someone, do it. If you say you will make a change in your life to walk closer in the way the Lord expects, then do it. If you take a vow before the Lord to do something like marry someone, serve your country in the military and government or lead God’s people in church as a pastor, elder, trustee or deacon, then you had better remain true to your word and carry out your responsibilities.

Vows are to be words of integrity. God expects us to be trustworthy and true. So if you talk the talk, then walk the walk associated with the talk. Do what you say you will do…and do it because you are a person that not only God but others can count on. In the end, we are to strive to be like our Creator, who created us all in His own image. He does what He says he will do. He wants us to do likewise.

In Christ,

Mark

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