Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 28:1-14.

“1 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  2 All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.  8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.  9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.  10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you.  11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.  13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”   Deuteronomy 28:1-14.

———————

Some may wrongly think that this Scripture leads us back to focus on our own alleged ability and our own alleged free-will to obey the Law.  But, this Scripture does not negate the blessedness of those who trust in the LORD.  It rather should be correctly understood as making a vivid spectrum display of the blessings that the LORD gives.  We get the total understanding from the following Psalm 84:11-12.

“11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

We can obey only because God gives us grace to obey (and walk uprightly):  “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood:  May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”  1 Peter 1:2.

We read in a recent devotion.  “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  Ezekiel 36:26-27.

But, what immediately follows these verses?

The same type of blessings that we read in today’s Scripture!

“You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers;  so you will be My people, and I will be your God.  Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness;  and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.  I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.”  Ezekiel 36:28-30.

So, let us not wrongly receive these Scriptures as motivation to turn from our simple trust in the LORD to focus on our own alleged ability and our own alleged free-will to obey the Law.

Let us not turn from looking up to the LORD to looking down inward.

“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?  This is the only thing I want to find out from you:  did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”  Galatians 3:1-5.

Let us cling to Christ.

“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”  Romans 8:32.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 27:11-26.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+27&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’  And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

18 ‘Cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

19 ‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

20 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

21 ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

22 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

23 ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

24 ‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

25 ‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

26 ‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’  And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”   Deuteronomy 27:15-26.

—————–

“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”  Galatians 3:24.

“5 Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:5-8.

“10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse;  for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”  11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;  for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”  12 However, the Law is not of faith;  on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”  13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”  Galatians 3:10-14.

Which doctrine is more consistent to trusting in the Lord? 

Other doctrine which continually focuses on man and man’s alleged free-will?

Or, Reformed Doctrine which continually focuses on God and God’s work from “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement”, “Irresistible Grace”, and “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation?

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 27:1-10.

“Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I command you today.   So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God gives you, that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime and write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over, so that you may enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you.  So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up on Mount Ebal, these stones, as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime.  Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones;  you shall not wield an iron tool on them.  You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God;  and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God.  You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very distinctly.”

Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, O Israel!  This day you have become a people for the Lord your God.  You shall therefore obey the Lord your God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”   Deuteronomy 27:1-10.

—————–

We have repeatedly seen through Scripture that God required certain things to be done in order to point to a future hope.  In today’s Scripture, it seems to me that God would be pleased if Israel would meditate on this difficult, nearly impossible, task of writing all the words of the law on stones and if Israel would humble themselves and think:  “We have stony hearts!  If only God would Himself write all the words of this law on our stony hearts!!”  

And, this is exactly what God said and did.

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it;  and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”  Jeremiah 31:33.  See also Hebrews 8:10 and Hebrews 10:16.

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  Ezekiel 36:26-27.

Other doctrine is proud.  It looks inward to its alleged free-will and claims:  “We are good and wise.  We can know, remember, and obey this law.”

But, Reformed Doctrine is humble as shown by its first point “Total Depravity” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.  In essence, when Reformed Doctrine proclaims “Total Depravity”, Reformed Doctrine humbly proclaims:  “We have stony hearts!  If only God would Himself write all the words of this law on our stony hearts!!”

“My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.”  Psalm 34:2.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 26:12-19.

“12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.  13 You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me;  I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.  14 I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God;  I have done according to all that You have commanded me.  15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.’

16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances.  You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.  17 You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.  18 The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments;  19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.”  Deuteronomy 26:12-19.

—————–

“Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”  Psalm 100:3.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God;  you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  1 Peter 2:9-10.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”  Ephesians 1:3-6.

Other doctrine portrays a god with arms folded and waiting to see who will be good enough or wise enough to choose him.

Reformed Doctrine shows the electing and creating God of Scripture Who chooses “His people, a treasured possession” and makes them alive from being dead in sin and makes them holy and blameless and preserves them to salvation.  See “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

From the beginning, Heidelberg Catechism teaches that we belong to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ, and that because of this relationship as His people, He does everything necessary for our salvation.

Q. 1.  What is thy only comfort in life and death?

 A.  That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ;  who, with His precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;  yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.

Likewise, the Canons of Dordt shows an electing God Who does everything necessary for the salvation of His elect.

For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death;  should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.  Article 8 of Head II:  Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby.

Likewise, the Belgic Confession shows this election was made “without any respect to their works”.

Article 16:  Of Eternal Election.

 We believe that all the posterity of Adam being thus fallen into perdition and ruin, by the sin of our first parents, God then did manifest himself such as he is; that is to say, merciful and just:  Merciful, since he delivers and preserves from this perdition all, whom he, in his eternal and unchangeable counsel of mere goodness, hath elected in Christ Jesus our Lord, without any respect to their works:  Just, in leaving others in the fall and perdition wherein they have involved themselves.

Likewise, the Westminster Larger Catechism shows His special love to His elect which is not motivated by anything in them.

Question 67:  What is effectual calling? 

Answer:  Effectual calling is the work of God’s almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special love to his elect, and from nothing in them moving him thereunto) he does, in his accepted time, invite and draw them to Jesus Christ, by his Word and Spirit; savingly enlightening their minds, renewing and powerfully determining their wills, so as they (although in themselves dead in sin) are hereby made willing and able freely to answer his call, and to accept and embrace the grace offered and conveyed therein.

Why are we hesitant to embrace this blessed doctrine?  Is not the Almighty Creator able to do such things?

“8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
And righteousness spring up with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—
An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
10 “Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’”
11 Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:

“Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,
And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.”  Isaiah 45:8-11.

—

“15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.  17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.”  18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault?  For who resists His will?”  20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?  The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?  21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?  22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?  23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.  25 As He says also in Hosea,

“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”  Romans 9:15-26.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 26:1-11.

“1 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name.  3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’  4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.  5 You shall answer and say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation.  6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.  7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression;  8 and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders;  9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  10 Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God;  11 and you and the Levite and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.”  Deuteronomy 26:1-11.

———————

Remember what God promised to you, recount in detail what the LORD did for you, and “rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.”  Verse 11.

“11 I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all Your work
And muse on Your deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy;
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph.  Selah.”  Psalm 77:11-15.

“The Lord has brought about our vindication;
Come and let us recount in Zion
The work of the Lord our God!”  Jeremiah 51:10.

“5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.”  Psalm 13:5-6.

Other doctrine focuses on man and alleged free-will of man.  Other doctrine wrings their hands at all that man has done.

Reformed Doctrine focuses on God, God’s promises, and what God has done.  Reformed Doctrine rejoices at all that God has done.

Reformed Doctrine knows what man has done and labels it “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Reformed Doctrine also knows what God has done and labels it “Unconditional Election”, “Limited Atonement”, “Irresistible Grace” and “Preservation of Saints” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

And so, Reformed Doctrine is delighted to remember, recount, and rejoice.

Today’ devotion comes from Deuteronomy 25:4-19.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2025&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small.  14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.  15 You shall have a full and just weight;  you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.  16 For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God.”   Deuteronomy 25:13-16.

———————–

In our last devotion, we considered proportionate punishment as a principle of justice.  In this devotion, we consider proportionate charge for goods as an additional principle of justice.  A scale is a good and just scale which measures accurately the total weight of the goods such that the total charge for goods is truly proportionate based on the two factors:  actual weight of the goods and the advertised price for the standard of weight.

For example, if candy is advertised for sale at a dollar a pound, you first need a scale that can accurately measure a pound of candy, and then you also need a scale that will show true total weight based on that standard of measurement of one pound.  Five pounds of candy should be accurately weighed by the scale to be five pounds, and $5.00 should be the proportionate charge for five pounds of candy.

It is possible to have a scale, whether built intentionally to defraud or negligently, that does not measure out a pound of candy.

It is also possible to have a scale with differing weights, whether built intentionally to defraud or negligently, that may be able to truly measure out a pound of candy, but the scale does not show the true total weight of the candy such that the total charge for the candy is not based proportionately on the true standard of weight of measurement (a pound in this example).  In this example, it is possible to have a scale that may accurately weigh out a pound of candy but does not accurately weigh out 5 pounds of candy.

“A just balance and scales belong to the Lord;
All the weights of the bag are His concern.”  Proverbs 16:11.

“Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And a false scale is not good.”  Proverbs 20:23.

I shop at Publix, a chain of grocery stores, located not only here in St. Petersburg, Florida but also in other areas.  When I buy chicken, I like it when the sales clerk first weighs out the chicken and then determines the price for the chicken and then puts it in a box, sometimes with sauce, so that I am not charged for the box and the sauce.

But, all that appearance would be for naught if the scale was not accurate.  I certainly do believe the scales at Publix are accurate, but I am making the point that it is difficult (or impossible) to tell if the scales are accurate.  And thus, it is all that more important for the seller to know the importance of just scales and to know how accountable to God he or she will be.

God is all-knowing.

“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight.”  Proverbs 11:1.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 25:1-3.

“If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt.  He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes.”  Deuteronomy 25:1-3.

————————-

We see proportionate punishment in today’s Scripture:  “the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt.”  Verse 2.

Proportionate punishment is one of principles of justice.  One may deserve to be punished, even severely, but just because someone commits a crime does not mean that person necessarily deserves to die.  The more severe the crime, the more severe the punishment should be.  One size of punishment does not fit all crimes.  The amount of punishment should be according to the amount of the guilt.  If people conclude that law enforcement does not punish proportionately, they lose respect for the law.

Our God loves justice.  But, our God does more than love justice.  He establishes equity.  He executes justice and righteousness.  And so, our God teaches and commands principles of justice such as proportionate punishment that we read in today’s Scripture.

“The strength of the King loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”  Psalm 99:4.

“But I will punish you according to the results of your deeds,” declares the Lord …”  Jeremiah 21:14.

“The Lord also has a dispute with Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds.”  Hosea 12:2.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 24:17-22.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+24&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it;  it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.  20 When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again;  it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again;  it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.”    Deuteronomy 24:17-22.

———————-

God has given us richly and abundantly so many blessings.  We don’t need to be hoarders.

When we are gathering in all the abundance, we can leave change and crumbs for others as today’s Scripture reminds us.

Verses 19 to 21 remind me that I am on the right track when I do not keep my change.  Although it kind of annoys me when I make a purchase and the total comes a little over the dollar amount and I am given a pocket full of change, my wife and kids are thankful for the change, because they know that they can “raid” the change in my top drawer.

“And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David;  my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”  But He did not answer her a word.  And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.”  But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”  And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  But she said, “Yes, Lord;  but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”  Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great;  it shall be done for you as you wish.”  And her daughter was healed at once.”  Matthew 15:22-28.

Many of my readers are so blessed spiritually.  They also have their own family, their own close friends, and their own congregation for whom they are the primary providers.  And yet, they take time to shoot me an email or pick up the phone to give me an encouraging word.  I am thankful for these crumbs.

“He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.”  Proverbs 22:9.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 24:6-16.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+24&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge.  11 You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you.  12 If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge.  13 When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you;  and it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.  15 You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it;  so that he will not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you.”   Deuteronomy 24:10-15.

———————–

There are various ways that we can care for the poor, but the one way that is most common to us (most practical) is to pay the poor close to the time of their services to us.  For day laborers who are hired just for the day, today’s Scripture specifically commands that they should be paid at the end of the day, on the same day as their services.  Verse 15.

But, in addition, it may even more common for employers to employ for a greater amount of time, either full-time or part-time.  For those who are so employed, particularly near minimum wage, employers should consider paying their employees weekly rather than only twice a month, because as a practical matter, their employees are poor too and are living “paycheck to paycheck”.  Yes, it may cost the company more to do so, but it shows care for their poor employees consistent with this Scripture.

We can be encouraged by verse 13 in today’s Scripture that when you care for the poor, “it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God”, not in the sense that such care for the poor produces righteousness, but in the sense that such care for the poor shows our faith as taught in the Book of James.

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works?  Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works;  show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  James 2:14-18.

In conclusion, if an employer still unreasonably bristles against paying his or her poor employees weekly, wrongly thinking that he or she can demonstrate care for the poor in other ways or wrongly thinking that the Book of James should be cut out of the Bible, then the employer should consider that in the heart of the Bible’s teaching of faith, Romans Chapter 4, it states:  “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.”  Romans 4:4.  In other words, paying employees weekly not only shows care to the poor, it is also shows justice to the poor employees in the sense that they earned prompt payment in addition to earning the amount of their wage.

“²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.
²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.”  Proverbs 3:27-28.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 24:5 which was included in yesterday’s Scripture.  Today, we will focus on this verse.

“When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty;  he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken.”  Deuteronomy 24:5.

————————–

Our God changed water into wine at the wedding at Cana.  John 2:1-11.  Our God instituted honeymoon as we see in today’s Scripture.  What a God we have!

We may think of the doctrine of “Marriage is a life-long bond created by God” only as creating strict duties on spouses and the church.

But, today’s Scripture reminds us of the blessing of this doctrine.

In yesterday’s devotion, I included an extensive quote from a book by Professor David J. Engelsma (a Professor of the Protestant Reformed Churches) titled “Until Death Do Us Part” on the subject of marriage.  I quoted a section from Chapter 6 “Marriage:  A Lifelong Bond”.  Here again is the link that will bring you to this chapter but which will also contain the other chapters if you scroll up or down.  http://www.prca.org/resources/publications/pamphlets/item/648-until-death-do-us-part#h7-nbsp-chapter-6-nbsp-marriage-a-lifelong-bond

Today, I will repeat on a small part of that quote which does focus on the blessing of this doctrine and then I will add my own thoughts to the blessing that we receive.

“For in addition to its being a blessing to many families, as well as to the churches made up of these families, the doctrine of marriage as a lifelong, indissoluble bond serves the gospel of the covenant of grace. And this grand gospel of the covenant as a bond of fellowship between Christ and us, established, maintained, and perfected by the triune God in sheer, unilateral, unconditional grace and, therefore, unbreakable and everlasting, is the ‘best thing’ in the Protestant Reformed Churches, as it is the ‘best thing’ in the Bible.”

It seems to me that if we should think of the doctrine of marriage as being consistent with the doctrine of unilateral, unconditional grace, then we can think of “TULIP” and “Preservation of the Saints”.  And, we can think of the life-long bond of marriage created by God as “Preservation of the Spouses”.  In other words, this doctrine of marriage does more than only create a duty in man;  this doctrine of marriage glorifies God’s work.

So, what does God do when He creates this life-long bond of marriage?

We do know that God creates “one flesh”.  “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”  Genesis 2:24.

But, our thoughts should not end there, at that mysterious work of God.  God’s work does not stop there.

For example, we see in today’s Scripture that God provides the honeymoon.

“One flesh” and the honeymoon:  what a great way to begin the bonding! 

But, we see elsewhere other examples of God’s bonding.  I will only quote two more examples, but you can think of more.

God makes the newly-wed wife to be that excellent wife in Proverbs Chapter 31.

“10 An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.”  Proverbs 31:10-12.

God gives us children and a house to bind us altogether.

“1 How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in His ways.
2 When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be well with you.
3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
Within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the Lord.”  Psalm 128:1-4.

Now, we do know that not every action of our wives comes out of Proverbs Chapter 31.  And, we do know that not all of the blessed married couples have children.  But, there are other blessings that God gives us to bond us and preserve us.  In addition, God gives us special grace to endure.

But, in conclusion, if we received salvation by grace and we received spouses by grace, why should we turn our focus back only to our duties?!  Let us meditate on all that God has done for us, and is doing for us, in the life-long bond of marriage.  Let us live by faith not only in what God has done and is doing for our salvation.  Let us also live by faith in what God has done and is doing for our marriage.