Insight into Scripture – Deut 21-23
In verses 21:18-21 Moses speaks of stoning a mother’s and father’s son for “Gluttony and drunkenness”. The meaning of the text is that the son is beyond reform.
In verse 22:8 Moses speaks of a parapet on a house or a roof. Since most roofs were considered living spaces. A parapet was a lip that would aid in a person from falling off the roof.
Scripture Reading
Deuteronomy 20:1-4, 8 ESV
“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people 3 and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, 4 for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’
8 And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’
Thought for the Day
As you are reading the Bible, you will come across many promises like this….. “The Lord will fight your battles”. When you read these you must realize that these promises belong to the people who are truly dedicated to Christ, and do their best to follow Him. As we have read in the chapters before, Moses told the Israelites that they must choose between a blessing or a curse.
My son would read these verses and think to himself that he is going to win all of his battles, that is not true. The key phrase that he used was “His battles” When you are in Christ, it is the Lord’s battle, when you spend quality time with Him, you will know what His battles are and what are not his battles.
If you are in Christ, these verses are very promising. Whether you are doing battle with satan, or you are facing a situation that you feel can not be won. If you are in Christ, it is already won! Christ has gone out before you and paved your way to victory. The hard part for us is to have the faith, to take the step into battle. Our eyes can only see earthly things, they can not see the spiritual that is going on around them. One of my favorite passages is where Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant, so he could see what was really going on around him.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”17 And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. – 2 Kings 6:16-18
Isn’t that a neat story.
Maybe you are going into battle today, maybe today is not your day. But, when you do go, remember that the Lord has gone out before you. Remember the story of Elisha and what his servant could not see. Take a moment right now, look around you, can you see all the angels and chariots that are waiting to move when you do? 🙂
Closing Prayer
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for fighting my battles. I know that there were battles that were won, that I did not even know where going on. You fought them alone for me. Thank You! Please Jesus strength my faith so that I can boldy walk into battle with you. I love you Jesus!
In Your Name I pray,
Amen
Let God Fight Your Battles
Related articles
- The Good Disciple (dailybibleplan.com)
- Home of Prophet Elisha may have been found (fggam.org)
- Famous Liars in the Bible (famous101.com)
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