Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s Scripture comes from Leviticus 23:26-32.

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement;  it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord.  You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God.  If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people.  As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.  You shall do no work at all.  It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.  It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls;  on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.”  Leviticus 23:26-32.

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Humility and rest are keys to atonement in today’s Scripture.

“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6.

“If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:13-14.

“O love the Lord, all you His godly ones!  The Lord preserves the faithful And fully recompenses the proud doer.”  Psalm 31:23.

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  Psalm 34:18.

“Seek the Lord,
All you humble of the earth
Who have carried out His ordinances;
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.”  Zephaniah 2:3.

“7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret;  it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
11 But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”  Psalm 37:7-11.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 23:1-8.

“1 The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations -My appointed times are these: 3 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation.  You shall not do any work;  it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.   4 ‘These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them 5 ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover.   6 ‘Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD;  for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 ‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation;  you shall not do any laborious work.   8 ‘But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD.  On the seventh day is a holy convocation;  you shall not do any laborious work.’ ”   Leviticus 23:1-8.

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The theme of today’s Scripture is complete rest.  But, we are not inclined to rest.  We are like anxious and skittish sheep.  We need a Good Shepherd.  “He makes me lie down in green pastures;  He leads me beside quiet waters.”  Psalm 23:2.

By our “Total Depravity” nature, we are also neither obedient nor grateful.  We may receive a command to rest, but we will not do it.  We also will not feel grateful that could have helped us have peace and joy and thereby be inclined to rest.

If only we would trust God!  We would follow the Good Shepherd and rest.  We would obey God.  We would be content and even grateful.  We would be inclined to rest.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.”  Jeremiah 17:7.

But, our trust cannot be based on our corrupted and shaky free-will such that we will try to trust God based on our wisdom and will.

Our trust needs to come from God as a gift.  That is what is meant by the phrase “And whose trust is the LORD” in the prior Scripture.

“Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;  You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.'”  Psalm 22:9.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 22:17-32.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+22&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or of the aliens in Israel who presents his offering, whether it is any of their votive or any of their freewill offerings, which they present to the Lord for a burnt offering— 19 for you to be accepted—it must be a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep, or the goats.  20 Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you.  21 When a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.  …

31 So you shall keep My commandments, and do them;  I am the Lord.

32 “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel;  I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out from the land of Egypt, to be your God;  I am the Lord.”  Leviticus Chapter 22:  Verses 17-21 and 31-33.

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“Then you will know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”  Ezekiel 20:39-44.

Our deeds were corrupt.  Even our will was corrupt.  We were so extensively corrupted by sin such that we were dead in sin.  “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”  Ephesians 2:1-2.

Thus, we could not trust either our votive offerings dedicated to fulfill a special vow or even our spontaneous freewill offerings.  We needed a perfect offering.

But, there is hope!

“And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”  Hebrews 5:9.

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.  For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”  Hebrews 9:11-14.

So, who are we going to trust?

Are we going to trust our corrupted works or corrupted will?

Or, are we going to trust the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ?

“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.  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.  Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.’ ” Jeremiah 17:5-7.

Although most people will not trust their works to earn them salvation, they really trust their free-will choice of Christ to earn them salvation.  They think that they deserve some credit, maybe only 1% – but some credit, because of their own free-will choice of Christ.  They think that Christ died for everyone and everyone received the blood of Christ, but what distinguishes them as receiving salvation is that they chose Christ through their own free-will.

Reformed Doctrine will not allow any of that false heresy to stand.  See Canons of Dordt – http://www.prca.org/cd_index.html

Reformed Doctrine pounds the table on “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.  Our only chance for salvation is “Unconditional Election” by God, and that for those elect, God did everything for their salvation from “Limited Atonement” through “Irresistible Grace” through “Preservation of the Saints”.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:4-9.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.”  In other words, blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust does not comes from their own free-will but whose trust comes as a gift from the LORD.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 22:1-16.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+22&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they dedicate to Me, so as not to profane My holy name;  I am the Lord.  3 Say to them, ‘If any man among all your descendants throughout your generations approaches the holy gifts which the sons of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from before Me;  I am the Lord.  …

9 They shall therefore keep My charge, so that they will not bear sin because of it and die thereby because they profane it;  I am the Lord who sanctifies them.  …

15 They shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel which they offer to the Lord, 16 and so cause them to bear punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts;  for I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”  Leviticus Chapter 22:  Verses 1-3, 9, and 15-16.

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You would think the sons of Israel could at least present their holy gifts to the LORD without profaning them.

You would think that today we could at least worship the LORD as we should without profaning our worship by the idols that we raise in our worship of how we would like God to be (rather than the God of Scriptures).

But, their failure to do so, and our failure to do so, is additional evidence of “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

But, there is hope!

“As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God, “Go, serve everyone his idols;  but later you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols.  For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land;  there I will accept them and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.  As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered;  and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations.  And you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.  There you will remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves;  and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.  Then you will know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”  Ezekiel 20:39-44.

Reformed Doctrine teaches that we need a sovereign God to save us.  We are dead in sin and need to be made alive.  We need to be dealt with not according to our alleged free-will and evil ways;  we need to be dealt with for God’s name sake, according to His “Unconditional Election”, the “U” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Today’s Scripture comes from Leviticus Chapter 21.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2021&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“7 They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God.  8 You shall consecrate him, therefore, for he offers the food of your God; he shall be holy to you;  for I the Lord, who sanctifies you, am holy.  …

14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people, 15 so that he will not profane his offspring among his people;  for I am the Lord who sanctifies him.’”  …

22 He may eat the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy, 23 only he shall not go in to the veil or come near the altar because he has a defect, so that he will not profane My sanctuaries.  For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.’”  Leviticus Chapter 21:  Verses 7-8 and 14-15 and 22-23.

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Today’s Scripture covers regulations for the priests, some of which may seem quite peculiar to us today.  Rather than try to dissect each regulation to find a reason for it, we will focus on the three time emphasis:  “I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”

Yes, the LORD gave regulations to the sons of Israel.  But, let us primarily consider that the LORD drew most attention to Himself as the Almighty God Who is the One Who sanctifies.

Today’s Scripture, “I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”, helps us to understand other Scripture better that “the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith”.

“Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God?  May it never be!  For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.  But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:21-25.

Today’s Scripture, “For I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”, helps us to understand other Scripture better that we were made to die to the Law, so that we might be joined to Christ, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”  Romans 7:4.

Today’s Scripture, “I am the Lord who sanctifies them.”, helps us to understand that by God’s doing we are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us sanctification.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 20:9-27.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+20&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“9 ‘If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death;  he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.

10 ‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.  11 If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness;  both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.  12 If there is a man who lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death;  they have committed incest, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.  13 If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act;  they shall surely be put to death.  Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.  …

22 ‘You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out.  23 Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.  24 Hence I have said to you, “You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.”  I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.  25 You are therefore to make a distinction between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the unclean bird and the clean;  and you shall not make yourselves detestable by animal or by bird or by anything that creeps on the ground, which I have separated for you as unclean.  26 Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy;  and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.  …”  Leviticus Chapter 20:  Verses 9-13 and 22-26.

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I quote verses 9-13 to give a sample of the statutes and ordinances in today’s Scripture.  When we read verses 9 and 10, we think generally of the Ten Commandments and specifically about:  “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.”  Exodus 20:5. and “You shall not commit adultery.”  Exodus 20:14.  When we read verses 11 to 13, we think more generally about morality.

Some may say to us:  “Those statutes and ordinances are just your statutes and ordinances!”  And, we can even agree that they may not be their customs.  But, we do note that the LORD states:  “Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.”  Verse 23.

Thus, the theme of today’s devotion is that we are a separate people.  “… I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples.”  Verse 24.  “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy;  and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.”  Verse 26.

We should take delight in this fact that God has set us apart to be His people.

“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.

“… 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 1:4-6.

“1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 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.

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.”  Psalm Chapter 100.

Today’s Scripture comes from Leviticus 20:1-8.

“1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel:

‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.  3 I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name.  4 If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

6 ‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.  7 You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.  8 You shall keep My statutes and practice them;  I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”  Leviticus 20:1-8.

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It is hard to believe that anyone would give a child as a sacrifice to be killed for Molech.

It is hard to believe that after the LORD God had done so many miracles for the sons of Israel and had so faithfully shown His presence and His faithful guidance, protection, and blessing of them that they would act as harlots and chase after such false gods of their imagination and such mediums and spiritists.  But, as we read through the Old Testament, we see this pathetic pattern repeatedly.

“Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there.  I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.  And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.  Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.  Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 3:6-10.

“Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation, warns us to not lightly dismiss this Scripture as something that only foolish Israel would do.  “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. ”  Ephesians 2:3.  “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”  Ephesians 2:1-2.

But, there is hope!

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;   not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:4-9.

Today’s Scripture concludes with the short sweet summary:  “I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

Today’s devotion comes from Leviticus 19:19-36.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination or soothsaying.  27 You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard.  28 You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves:  I am the Lord.  …

31 ‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists;  do not seek them out to be defiled by them.  I am the Lord your God.

32 ‘You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God;  I am the Lord.

33 ‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.  34 The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;  I am the Lord your God.

35 ‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity.  36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin;  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt.  37 You shall thus observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them;  I am the Lord.’”  Leviticus Chapter 19:  Verses 26-28 and 31-36.

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I quote verses 26 and 31, because we are tempted by books, television, and the movies “to play around” with divination, soothsaying, mediums, and spiritists.  We may think that all we need to do is avoid the bad witches and wizards and side with the good witches and wizards.  But, today’s Scripture commands us to not turn our attention to them at all.

I quote verse 28, because we are tempted by professional athletes and famous actors to get tattoos.  Today’s Scripture commands us to not make any tattoo marks on ourselves.

Regarding both commands, God again reminds us:  ” I am the Lord your God.”  We belong to the LORD, and we should be devoted to Him alone.  “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2.  “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price:  therefore glorify God in your body.”  1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Regarding verse 32, I hate to think of myself as the aged, but I guess compared to some, I am.  Yesterday, I was at the gym struggling to see the numbers on the padlock to open my locker.  A young black man noticed and said respectfully:  “May I help you?”  At first, my pride kicked in, and I wanted to say:  “No thank you.”  But, for some reason, I thought I should allow him to help me.  After he opened my padlock, it gave me the chance to look him in the eye and say:  “Thank you.  That was kind of you.”  It gave me the chance to allow him to “honor the aged” and to wish a blessing on him.

I love Florida.  We have to be welcoming and kind to strangers.  For one reason, tourists pay our taxes.  But, more compelling, almost all of us are strangers in Florida in the sense that most of us were not born or raised here.  Verses 33 and 34 reminds us to do no wrong to strangers, but rather to love them as ourselves.

Verses 35 to 37 remind us to be just.  “… I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:24.  Let us particularly be just in our business dealings.

Today’s Scripture comes from Leviticus 19:5-25.  Here is a link to this Scripture – http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19&version=NASB

I quote the following verses.

“9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.  10 Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard;  you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger.  I am the Lord your God.  …

13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.  The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.  …

15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment;  you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.  …

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself;  I am the Lord.”   Leviticus Chapter 19:  Verses 9-10 and 13 and 15 and 18.

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We will focus on the four various commands that I quoted above.  The first thing that we should note is the repeated emphasis by God:  “I am the Lord your God.”  When we read it, we should not only think that God has the sovereign right to make commands, we should remember the preceding Scripture:  “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” in Leviticus 19:2.  In other words, God does not just arbitrarily make commands because He is God and can do so, God makes commands, because He is holy and leads us into holiness by His commands.

You may be like me.  I don’t like it when I buy something from the grocery store and the cost of the purchase is a few cents more than the nearest dollar such as “$9.03” and I don’t have change.  I know that the cashier will swallow up ten dollars instead of just nine dollars and will give me back a pocket full of change.

But, my wife likes it, because I put the change in my drawer, and she can get my change anytime she wants it.  (As a side note, I am not so bad that she only gets the change, we have joint accounts, but you get the point.)

In a sense, when I put my change in the drawer for her, it is my way of obeying the command in verses 9 and 10:  “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard;  you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger.  I am the Lord your God.”  There are other ways that we can leave gleanings for others, but this is one way to illustrate this command.

There was a realtor in Treasure Island, Florida who always paid me right on the spot when I delivered the product of my legal services to him.  I loved it and thought so highly of him.  He could have told me that he would mail a check to me, but instead, he always handed me a check on the spot when I delivered the product of my legal services to him.

In a sense, when he paid me right on the spot, it was his way of obeying the command in verse 13:  “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.”  I was an independent contractor who did not need to be paid on the spot, but I still loved it.  How much more important is it to pay the wages of a hired man on the spot who may not be able to eat or pay a utility bill until he receives the wages!

Robin Hood, who stole from the rich to give to the poor, is not our role model.  Society seems to love and honor the Robin Hoods, but we should not do likewise.  “You shall do no injustice in judgment;  you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.”  Verse 15.  We should be like the lady of justice who is blindfolded so that she will not see and be tempted to favor either the rich or the poor whom is closest to her.  We should be not even partial to the poor;  we should be impartial in our judgments.

These commands and so many others can be summarized by the summary command in verse 18:  “you shall love your neighbor as yourself;  I am the Lord.”

So, let us delight in God’s commands and obeying them, for:

“… He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.”  Psalm 23:3.