Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Deuteronomy 16-18; Psalm 45; Galatians 2

Deuteronomy 16
1-8 Passover Reviewed
  • Month of Abib -- the month of the escape from Egypt
  • Passover sacrifice eaten only in the place of God's choosing
  • Unleavened bread -- bread of affliction -- eaten for 7 days. Didn't recall it being called the "bread of affliction" before
  • 7th day a day of rest
9-12 Festival of Weeks
  • 7 weeks from beginning of harvest
  • Proportionate freewill offering
  • Rejoice -- at the place the LORD will choose for a dwelling
13-17 Festival of Booths
  • 7-day festival, when produce has been gathered
  • All -- Israelites, families, slaves, Levites, strangers, orphans, widows -- will rejoice and celebrate God's goodness
All males will appear in place of God's choosing at these 3 festivals

18-20 Municipal Judges and Officers
  • Appoint judges and officials throughout the tribes
  • You must not: distort justice, show partiality, or accept bribes
  • Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue

Deuteronomy 17
16:21 - 17:7 Forbidden Forms of Worship
  • Sacred poles
  • Defective animal sacrifices
  • Idolatry - punishable by stoning on the evidence of 2 or 3 witnesses
  • Witnesses will cast the first stones. I would think this would deter hasty judgment, if you knew you had to help carry out the execution
8-13 Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges
  • Questionable cases decided by levitical priests and the judge in the place of God's choosing
  • Decision must be obeyed exactly. Disobedience punishable by death "so you shall purge the evil from Israel."
14-20 Limitations of Royal Authority
  • When you decide you want a king.... God is prophesying they will eventually want a king -- long before it happens.
  • He's giving them permission to do so, but sets these guidelines:
    • He must be one of you
    • He must not acquire many horses for himself, especially if it means going back to Egypt to get them
    • He must not acquire many wives, because they'll turn his heart away
    • Nor silver and gold
    • He must have a copy of this law and read it all the days of his life.
    • Besides being Israelites, not many of their kings followed these guidelines very well. Solomon had scores of horses -- and wives, which -- sure enough -- turned his heart away. The law was eventually forgotten altogether, and in the back of my mind, I'm thinking there may have been an Egyptian alliance during the time of the Divided Kingdom.
Deuteronomy 18
1-8 Privileges of Priests and Levites
  • No land allotment or inheritance
  • From animal sacrifices, priest receives the shoulder, two jowls, and the stomach
  • He also receives the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, and the first fleece
  • Any Levite can serve at God's chosen place. There they will have equal portions to eat, regardless of their personal wealth
9-14 Prohibition of Abhorrent Pagan Practices
  • Child sacrifices, divination, soothsaying, augur (interpreting omens), sorcery, casting spells, consulting ghosts or spirits, seeking advice from the dead
  • These practices are the reasons God is driving out these people before you
15-22 New Prophet like Moses
  • From among the people, as they requested at Horeb. If we didn't know about Acts 3:22, this mention of a "prophet like Moses" would be a real puzzle. The Jews were still wondering about it during Jesus' time, thinking John the Baptist might be this prophet (John 1:21).
  • False prophets are subject to death
  • The test: Whether or not what he prophesies takes place
Psalm 45 Ode for a Royal Wedding
To the King: 7 - "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."
To his bride: 10 - "Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him...."

Galatians 2
1-10 Paul and the Other Apostles (He continues his defense of his apostleship with a history of his association with some of the original Twelve.) (Jerusalem)
  • In Syria and Cilicia for 14 years, then he made the trip to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along
  • There he met privately with church leaders regarding his work with Gentiles
  • "False believers" slipped in as spies, seeking to force the old law on them, but Paul was not moved
  • James, Cephas, and John, the "acknowledged pillars," extended fellowship to Paul
  • Their only request of Paul: That he remember the poor. Such a simple request for someone of Paul's stature. It's as if they're saying, "Yes, we're really impressed with the progress you've made in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. But don't forget in your fervor to remember their physical situations as well."
11-14 Paul Rebukes Peter at Antioch (Map 17)
Further evidence of his position as an apostle, that he could chastise even Peter.
  • Peter came to Antioch and ate with the Gentiles, until some men came in from Jerusalem. Then he distanced himself from them.
  • Other Jews -- even Barnabas -- were led astray by Peter's actions.
  • Paul publicly rebuked Cephas (Peter): You don't live like a Jew; how can you shun the Gentiles because they don't live like Jews?
15-21 Treatise on Salvation by Faith for both Jews and Gentiles
  • Paul: Even as Jews by birth (and not Gentile sinners), we know we're not justified by works of the law; we're justified by faith
  • That doesn't mean we go back to sinning; we're saved from sin, not in sin
  • It would be a sin to go back to the law that we have rejected and especially to take others with us
  • Paul's trying to keep the law was a part of his decision to leave the law behind. In order to live for God, he had to leave the law behind. I need to think about this one some more. It's hard to understand and even harder to express how he could die to the law through the law.
  • "I have been crucified with Christ...." I think this meant more to Paul than just denying his own desires; to him, it was all intertwined with his old life as a Jew as well. We have lifted this verse out of context so often, I think we often fail to make that connection.
  • To look to law for justification is to nullify the death of Christ and the grace of God

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