Climbing Companions! With the hope of ramping up the conversation about what we are reading, I have added a Group at YouVersion. I hope you will sign up. I have made it a moderated group to keep it among those of us who read on the same schedule. Please sign up and enter the discussion! Sam
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was used of God to shake up that nation as well as the traditional Catholic church. He did so by going into communities and building compounds within them. In those compounds they practiced their faith as it had been taught by Jesus. Living there was a commitment to love and serve your neighbors, speak truthfully, and share with each other. A person could stay as long as they lived by the covenant. Many moved in who didn't believe in Christ and became Christians because of the way the Christians treated each other. Once a group was established, a few young families would move to a neighboring community and start the process over.
Deuteronomy: “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ I preached about this last Sunday at Stone Ridge Church. It's always a temptation to go back to Egypt. Egypt represents the world system and it's hold over us. We who come to Christ are transferred out of Egypt in into God's kingdom. We have a whole new life and must not long for Egypt.
Being a pastor in a city with military bases makes me often think about the rules of engagement in Deuteronomy 20. I find it especially significant that God warned them not to cut down the fruit trees. As someone who grew up with a small fruit orchard, the value of those trees is beyond numbers. It can take many years to replace them with trees that will bear similar fruit. Fighting forces, though, can be tempted to ravage the land in their quest for victory.
I can imagine all kinds of situations in later years when Israel was facing a question and went back to today's passage for instructions.
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