Deuteronomy 24
Marry same woman a second timeverses 1-4
When a man has taken a wife – and married her
and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes
BECAUSE he has found some uncleanness in her
THEN let him write her a BILL of DIVORCEMENT
and give it in her hand – and send her out of his house
And when she is departed out of his house
she may go and be another man’s wife
And if the latter husband hate her – and write her a BILL of DIVORCEMENT
and give it in her hand – and send her out of his house
or if the latter husband die – which took her to be his wife
Her former husband – which sent her away
may not take her again to be his wife – after that she is defiled
FOR that is abomination before the LORD – you shall not cause the land to sin
which the LORD your God give you for an inheritance
One year honeymoonverse 5
When a man has taken a new wife – he shall not go out to war
neither shall he be charged with any business
BUT he shall be free at home one year
and shall cheer up his wife which he has taken
Millstone not to be used as security for loanverse 6
No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge
FOR he takes a man’s life to pledge
Kidnapping = death penaltyverse 7
IF a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel
and makes merchandise of him – or sells him
THEN that thief shall die – and you shall put evil away from among you
Skin diseases treated according to priestverses 8-9
Take heed in the plague of leprosy – that you observe diligently
and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you
as I commanded them – so you shall observe to do
Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam by the way
after that you were come forth out of Egypt
Security depositsverses 10-13
When you do lend your brother any thing
you shall not go into his house to fetch his pledge
you shall stand abroad – and the man to whom you do
lend shall bring out the pledge abroad to you
And IF the man be poor – you shall not sleep with his pledge
in any case you shall deliver him the pledge again
when the sun go down
that he may sleep in his own raiment and bless you
and it shall be righteousness to you
before the LORD your God
Pay poor workers dailyverses 14-15
You shall not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy
whether he be of your brethren – or of you strangers that are
in your land within your gates
at his day you shall give him his hire
neither shall the sun go down on it
FOR he is poor – and set his heart on it
lest he cry against you to the LORD
and it be sin to you
Everyone to die for his own crimeverse 16
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children
neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers
every man shall be put to death for his own sin
True justice for all even foreignersverses 17-18
You shall not pervert the judgment of the stranger
nor of the fatherless
nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge
BUT you shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt
and the LORD your God redeemed you thence
THEREFORE I command you to do this thing
Harvest once and leave the restverses 19-22
When you cut down your harvest in your field
and have forgot a sheaf in the field
you shall not go again to fetch it
it shall be for the stranger – fatherless – widow
that the LORD your God may bless you
in all the work of your hands
When you beat your olive tree
you shall not go over the boughs again
it shall be for the stranger – fatherless – widow
When you gather the grapes of your vineyard
you shall not glean it afterward
it shall be for the stranger – fatherless – widow
And you shall remember that you were a bondmen in the land of Egypt
THEREFORE, I command you to do this thing
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 5 When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall CHEER UP his wife which he has taken. (8055 “cheer up” [samach] means to brighten up, be glad, make joy, be merry, cause to rejoice, or gleesome)
DEVOTION: This chapter starts with the writing a bill of divorcement. It discusses the ending of a marriage. Divorce is not the unpardonable sin but God hates divorce. God wants couples to work out their differences. The last resort is divorce. The forgotten ones are the children in divorce. They are the ones hurt the most. The only one who wins in a divorce is the lawyer. Children are affected for the rest of their lives if their parent’s divorce
Separation may be needed in some marriages for couples to think about what they are doing. Christians should be the ones who do everything in their power to have their marriage endure.
This verse gives us a rule that the LORD gave the children of Israel. The rule was that a man should not go to war or be charged with any business for a year after his marriage. He was to be free of any responsibility for a year.
Can we imagine a yearlong honeymoon to just cause our wife to be glad she is married to us? That is what the Israelites were commanded of God to do for newlyweds.
Our society is thinks nothing of divorce. Our churches should think highly of marriage. Our churches should minister to those who are divorced but should be filled with people who work hard on their marriage.
Are we giving couples the tools to make their marriages endure? Are we involved in pre-martial and post-martial seminars? Are we busy making our spouses glad? Is the church encouraging young couples to love each other and make their marriage last until death? Can we do more?
We should be praying for every marriage in our church. We should be praying for those who encourage couples to work out their differences. Let us honor the LORD in our marriage. Husbands and wives in church together each Sunday make a difference in a marriage.
There should be training given to the children. They should have the example of their parents to understand what a Biblical marriage is all about. One problem is that the parents might not have had a good example to follow at home.
There should be at least one couple in the life of those who are thinking of marriage that they can look at their marriage and say “I want my marriage to look like that.”
Even if you didn’t have a yearlong honeymoon, you can brighten up the life of your spouse.
CHALLENGE: Set yourself up to be an example to your children and the young people around you. Ask the LORD for help.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and making merchandise of him, or selling him; then that thief shall die; and you shall put evil away from among you. (6014 “merchandise” [‘amar] means to treat as a slave, deal tyrannically, to act as master, treat brutally, or mistreat)
DEVOTION: Kidnapping was forbidden in Israel. To kidnap a fellow Israelite was to end with the death of the one who kidnapped him.
The LORD is concerned with how the Israelites treated their brethren and how they treated those who were foreigners. HE has a standard of proper treatment of our fellow human beings.
HE would remind those who were being trained that they were slaves in Egypt and should learn a lesson from that experience. It was part of their history and they were to remember that they didn’t like that treatment and should not treat others in the same way.
This was a sin that was to end with the death penalty when the person was caught. The LORD didn’t want this to be a common thing in a nation that was to honor HIM. HE considered this a great evil that was not to be found in Israel even if it was common in other places.
Remember that Joseph’s brothers sold him to travelling merchants. The LORD allowed this to prepare him for leadership in Egypt and to save the nation. They meant it for evil but the LORD meant it for good.
CHALLENGE: We need to watch how we treat others. We should not treat anyone as if they were our own personal slave.
: 13 In any case you shall deliver him the pledge again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless you: and it shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God. (5667 “pledge” [‘abowt] means a thing given as security, article pledge as security for debt, deposit or an article taken by the loaner as a security for a loan.)
DEVOTION: How do you treat those who borrow money from you? Here we have a poor individual who has to borrow money and give a piece of clothing for security for the loan. The only thing that they have worth anything is a piece of warm clothing.
The LORD commands the one loaning the money to return the cloak so they have something warm to sleep in during the night. They can take it back in the morning until the loan is paid.
Remember that anyone who was part of the children of Israel was not allowed to charge interest on the loan. They could only charge interest if they were strangers from another country.
So people apparently borrowed until the next time they had money to pay for something they needed at present. There were no charge cards back then. So if you really needed something you had to go to someone who had money to borrow for a short time period.
One of the unique things about the poor was that normally the community should be helping them without them having to borrow money. So sometimes this aspect of the nation was not practiced.
Today we have the poor who Jesus said we would always have with us. There will never be a time when there are no poor in the world. We have an obligation to help those in our neighborhood who are poor.
Those who are genuinely trying to earn money and don’t want to be poor will bless you for your helping them. Also, the LORD will bless you for the help you are giving to the poor. Not only that, but the LORD will count you living right in HIS eyes if you help the poor.
The working poor need our help regularly and we should be willing to help them because they are not just looking for a handout but for genuine help that they appreciate.
CHALLENGE: If you are poor and reading this remember to thank those who help you. Most of us really don’t understand what poor is because all we have in this country.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 15 At his day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down on it; for he is poor, and sets his heart on it: lest he cry against you to the LORD, and it be sin to you. (7939 “hire” [sakar] means wages, payment, expense, maintenance, the compensation for work or services, fare or passage-money)
DEVOTION: Day laborers were common in Israel. There was the one parable where the landowner went to the market at different times of day to hire more laborers. Those who were hired at the beginning of the day and worked many hours were going to be given a day’s wage. However, those that were hired to work one hour were also going to receive a day’s wage which the other workers thought was unfair. They thought they should get more.
Every family needs just so much to live on in any society. These day laborers all needed a day’s wage to buy things that were necessary to feed their family.
Here there is a warning to those who hire day laborers to make sure that they are paid on time. If they were not paid on time they had the power available to them to go to the LORD and tell HIM what was happening and the LORD would deal with those who hired them.
The LORD would count their actions as SIN. HE would have to judge them for their sin because HE is a HOLY God. If you were the one who hired those individuals would you like to face a HOLY God because of your sin against the poor?
Power in prayer is available to all. We can turn to the LORD and express our needs for daily living and HE will listen to us. It is great to know that God cares about those who have financial needs.
It is sometimes hard to turn your financial needs over to the LORD when you are going through a time of need. Yet we are commanded to wait on the LORD which means that we should ask HIM what our part is and let HIM do HIS part.
CHALLENGE: Don’t run ahead of God. Turn to HIM and HE will give you direction. Just like HE gives directions to those who are waiting for their daily wage
: 17 You shall not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; not take a widow’s raiment to pledge (5186 “pervert” [natah] means stretch out, incline, lengthen, turn aside, to elongate, bend, influence, hold out, thrust aside)
DEVOTION: In our world there are the haves and the have nots. There are people who expect special treatment and others who don’t expect it. This is not the way it should be for those who are followers of the LORD.
When it comes to those who are going to court for whatever reason to be treated fairly. Too often it is just the opposite. If someone has money and influence, they are treated better than a stranger or someone who has no money or influence.
Here we find the LORD giving commands that protect the stranger or the fatherless or the widow. Most of the time these individuals would be considered unimportant to many people
However, in the LORD’S eyes these people are important and if HIS people mistreat these individuals, HE was going to deal with them for their actions.
This was not only true regarding what was happening in the days of the children of Israel when they were about to enter the Promised Land but it is expected to be the same today.. The LORD wants us to treat everyone fairly.
Our responsibility as believers is to make sure that this is happening in our relationships with others. We are not to take advantage of people but to treat them as we would like to be treated if we were in the same situation.
Believers need to remember that we should go the extra mile to help those who are in need. We are to be the ones who set the example for others to follow. If believers are treating people poorly than what should we expect of those who are not followers of Jesus Christ.
CHALLENGE: Make sure that you treat people well in all your actions toward them whither they are believers or not. It is the example the LORD expects of us!
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Prayer of the poorverse 15
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Priestverse 8
teach
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandmentsverses 8, 22
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 4, 9, 13, 15, 18, 19
God (Elohim)verses 4, 9, 13, 18, 19
LORD thy Godverses 4, 9, 13, 18, 19
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Egyptverses 9, 18, 22
Strangersverses 14, 17, 19-21
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Uncleannessverse 1
Hateverse 3
Defiledverse 4
Abominationverse 4
Sinverses 4, 5, 15, 16
Not paying poor dailyverse 5
Stealingverse 7
Kidnappingverse 7
Evilverse 7
Oppress hired servantverse 14
Pervert judgmentverse 17
Not glean your harvestverse 21
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Inheritanceverse 4
Blessedverses 13, 19
Righteousnessverse 13
Redeemedverse 18
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Bill of divorcementverses 1, 3
New wife: one year honeymoonverse 5
Pledgeverses 6, 10-13, 17
Children of Israelverse 7
Priest to teach: plague of leprosyverse 8
Lesson from Miriamverse 9
Lend to brotherverse 10
Fatherlessverses 17, 19, 20, 21
Widowverses 17, 19, 20, 21
Gleaning allowedverses 19-22
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Thief shall dieverse 7
Every man put to death for his own sinverse 16
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org Also if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
QUOTES regarding passage
In any case, such theft of persons was so dastardly a violation of covenant that the perpetrator had to pay with his own life. As with murder or any such assault upon another, the heinousness of the deed lay in its victimizing of one who was the very image of God (cf. Gen 9:6; Deut 5:17). To steal a fellow member of the covenant community was, in effect, to rob God of his most precious possession, a human life. Respect for possessions of another thus reaches its climax in respect for another’s life and independence before God. (Merrill, E. H. (1994). Deuteronomy (Vol. 4, p. 320). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
24:7. Apparently the crime of kidnapping was common in the ancient Near East for it was also mentioned in the law codes of Mesopotamia and the Hittite Empire. Since the kidnapper was depriving his victim of his freedom (by taking him as a slave or selling him), the kidnapper was to be punished by death—as though he had taken the victim’s life. This was another of several crimes deserving capital punishment. On the purging of evil, see comments on 13:5. (Deere, J. S. (1985). Deuteronomy. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 305). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
The overlooked sheaf of grain was to be left for the underprivileged so that the Lord’s blessing may rest on the owner’s endeavors (v.19). Only once are the olive trees to be beaten with poles to harvest olives (v.20). The remaining olives were for the alien, the widow, and the orphan. In grape harvest also the vines were gone over only once so that the needy could have the remainder (v.21). (Kalland, E. S. (1992). Deuteronomy. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 148). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
24:19–22. This law to leave some grain (barley and wheat), olives, and grapes made it possible for aliens, the fatherless, and widows to glean during harvesttime (cf. Lev. 23:22). In this way the needy were not reduced to the humiliation of begging or seeking welfare. They could still work for their food. Also farmers were given opportunity to express their gratitude to the Lord for His abundant provision and His love for poorer members in the covenant community. (Deere, J. S. (1985). Deuteronomy. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 306). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books).
The farmer was to leave some “gleanings” for the poor during the time of harvest (Deut. 24:19–22; see Lev. 19:9–10). This would give the aliens, orphans, and widows opportunity to gather food in a dignified way and not be forced to beg. As with the lender, so with the generous farmer: God would bless him in his work and reward him for his kindness to the poor (Ps. 41:1; Prov. 14:21, 31; 29:7). “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1999). Be equipped (p. 160). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub)
Ver. 19. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, &c.] Whether barley-harvest or wheat-harvest, when either of them are ripe for cutting, mowing, or reaping, and are cutting down: and hast forgot a sheaf in the field; Jarchi says the phrase in the field is used to include standing corn, some of which is forgotten in cutting down, and so is subject to this law as well as a sheaf; and a sheaf claimed by this name is one that is forgotten both by the workman and the owner; if by the one and not by the other, it could not be so called. The canon runs thus, “a sheaf which the workmen forget, and not the owner, or the owner forgets, and not the workman, before which the poor stand, or is covered with straw or stubble, is not a forgotten sheaf.” And about this they have various other rules; “a sheaf that is near the gate (of a field), or to an heap (of sheaves), or to oxen, or to instruments, and left, the house of Shamma, say it is not to be reckoned a forgotten sheaf; but the house of Hillell say it is;—two sheaves are reckoned forgotten, three are not; a sheaf in which there are two seahs (about a peck and a half), and they leave it, it is not reckoned forgottenu:” thou shalt not go again to fetch it; which supposes a remembrance of it, or some intelligence about it when at home, and after the field has been cleared, and all carried in but this sheaf; then the owner might not go nor send to fetch it: the beginnings of the rows, they say, shew when a sheaf is forgotten, or not; particularly the adverse sheaf, or that over-against it, shews it; so Jarchi: it shall be for the stranger; or proselyte; the proselyte of righteousness; of this there is no doubt, but it seems to be for the proselyte of the gate also: for the fatherless and for the widow; which of them soever should first find it: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands; in the culture of their ground the next year, and give them large and fruitful crops; they either purposely leaving the sheaf for the poor, or however suffer them to take it unmolested when found by them. The Targum of Jonathan is, that the word of the Lord thy God may bless thee, &c. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 107). London: Mathews and Leigh)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Now this verse came to me as I thought of the many who have had their hearts opened to their need of Christ and have trusted Him as their Saviour. We would not have you think conversion is actually the end of the Christian experience—it is only the beginning. When people come to Christ and put their trust in Him, that is just the start in the Christian life. When we receive the Lord Jesus we are born again but are only babes in Christ and need to grow. Certain things are important in the nurture of a babe—proper care, good food, constant cleansing, and fresh air. A great many things are required that the babe may develop and grow in a way that will cheer the hearts of the parents, relatives, and friends.
So, often, people are converted in great revival meetings, and years go by and they seem not to develop as Christians should, and unthinking people turn and blame the evangelist, saying, “People get converted but do not get anywhere or amount to anything for God.” That is true if the converts are not built up in Christ afterwards. Barnabas realized that and went among these young converts and exhorted them, that “with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.” (Ironside, H. A. (1945). Divine priorities, and other messages (pp. 34–35). New York: Loizeaux Brothers)
Salvation does not depend on a happy feeling or an emotional upset or signing a card or holding up your hand or rising from your seat and going to the inquiry room. All these things are right and proper in their places, but new birth depends upon having received the word of the truth of the Gospel. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,” and that Word speaks to the conscience, and the power of the Holy Ghost produces new life. If you believe the Gospel you begin as a babe in Christ. As a babe, you need food. You need with purpose of heart to acquire that food which will be for your spiritual nourishment and up-building. The Apostle Peter’s first letter, chapter 2, opening verse, reads, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”
You will never grow, you will never make progress, you will never really develop as a Christian if you neglect your Bible. With purpose of heart cleave to the Lord and let one evidence of your cleaving be that from now on you will never permit a day to go by that you do not spend some time over your Bible. And as you open it, lift your eyes to Him who wrote it (for “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”) and ask God to reveal His mind and will to you in His Word, and seek grace to walk in obedience to His will. There is no other way to make a success of the Christian life. Back in the Old Testament, in the book of Joshua, there is a verse I like to give to young converts, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Josh. 1:8). There you have it! You want to make your way prosperous? You want to have good success? You want your Christian life to count for God? Then do not neglect your Bible! (Ironside, H. A. (1945). Divine priorities, and other messages (pp. 35–37). New York: Loizeaux Brothers)
Some of you may say, “I have never been in the habit of reading the Bible. I do not know how to go about it. Frankly, there is so much in it I don’t understand.” Of course not! You can expect that in a book from God. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9). But remember God, who wrote it, has given you the Holy Spirit. “After that ye believed ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). The Holy Spirit has come to dwell in you. You who have trusted Christ, your body is now the temple of God and the spirit of God delights to take the things of God and show them to you. As you open your Bible, look up to Him and say, “I do not understand it all; but, Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit open it up to me,” and you will be surprised how He will delight to do it. (Ironside, H. A. (1945). Divine priorities, and other messages (p. 37). New York: Loizeaux Brothers)
I would like to suggest this to you. Besides reading through chapter by chapter, I think it will be a wise thing for you who have only recently accepted the Lord to take a book like the Gospel of John and read a chapter of that each day, because you know John’s Gospel was given especially to make known the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ: “These are written,” John tells us, “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (20:31). You will find wonderful truths which will make the things of God more and more real.
Then if you are able to set apart three periods a day, may I suggest another book. You want to learn to pray and praise. Read one of the Psalms daily and meditate on that Psalm. Ask the Spirit of God to open it up to you. I can promise you this, in a few weeks and months, though you may not realize it, others will see you are growing and developing as a Christian.
A second thing, you not only need to read your Bible in order to grow in grace and knowledge, but you need to set apart some time daily for prayer. Let me read a passage from Paul’s epistle to the Philippians, chapter 4, verse 6, “Be careful for nothing [that may be translated, “Be not anxious about anything.” It is natural for us to be anxious. There are so many things to worry and distract us]; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” And then he promises that “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Ironside, H. A. (1945). Divine priorities, and other messages (pp. 38–39). New York: Loizeaux Brothers)
And I would suggest that you accustom yourself to praying out loud when you get alone in your room where nobody will hear but God and you. Half of the victory in your prayer life is gained when you become accustomed to hearing your own voice. Many people cannot pray in public, because they have never become accustomed to hearing their own voices. If you have liberty in praying in secret, you will soon have liberty in praying in public. Because your words seem crude and seem not to come all at once, do not discontinue praying. Continue to cleave to the Lord and you will find He will open your lips and heart and really teach you to pray. (Ironside, H. A. (1945). Divine priorities, and other messages (p. 40). New York: Loizeaux Brothers.)
As young Christians you should also avail yourselves of the opportunity of coming together with the people of God, that you may get better acquainted with His Word. He wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. He said, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is” (Heb. 10:25) but to come together and wait upon God together “and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Ironside, H. A. (1945). Divine priorities, and other messages (p. 41). New York: Loizeaux Brothers.)
Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, the newly elected secretary-general of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), believes that biblical illiteracy is a growing, troubling trend in the global evangelical church today.
Schirrmacher explained to The Christian Post that “beyond all theological differences, financial problems, and political questions”, “our biggest problem is that Bible knowledge is fading away.”
In the Western world, “more and more kids that come from evangelical families are not really rooted in the Bible,” and many end up departing from the faith, he asserted.
Conversely, more young people around the world are becoming Christians. Schirrmacher, however, noted that they “only know about the Bible what they learned from their conversion” instead of growing deeper in biblical knowledge.
Meanwhile, young Christians in rural areas are usually placed in pastoral roles even though they lack biblical and theological knowledge.
“So many people are becoming believers that the one who has been a believer the longest becomes the leader of the church,” Schirrmacher explained. “That might be three years. Short for us, but long for them. We have such a high conversion rate worldwide, that it’s extremely difficult to follow up with discipling, with teaching, with Bible knowledge.
“The result is that people know much less and are more … much more open to secularism and strange things like the ‘health and wealth’ gospel,” he added.
Along with the WEA, Schirrmacher intends to face the “crisis” of poorly trained church leadership by supplying a known, global standard for the outcome- and impact-based assessment.
“This is just one thing we do, but it’s extremely important,” he argued. “Because if evangelicals don’t know the Bible any longer, it doesn’t make any sense that we are a Bible movement. We have nothing else. We have no pope, we have no structure that keeps us together, no matter what we believe. We need to sit down and study the Bible, know the Scriptures, and be properly equipped for ministry.”
Founded in 1846, the WEA represents over 600 million evangelical Christians worldwide, making it the second-largest Christian and religious body of the world.
In October, WEA International Council appointed Dr. Schirrmacher as the next general/CEO. He will replace the current WEA head, Bp Efraim Tendero, on March 1, 2021.
Spiritual sacrifice and personal holiness should be the Christian response to trials.
INSIGHT
A pilgrim is a wanderer. A sojourner is one who lives somewhere temporarily. Peter calls us pilgrims and sojourners in this world. We are no longer at home here; we are no longer a part of this world. Whatever we do should be evaluated in light of our true citizenship in heaven. As such, we live by the rules and values of heaven, not earth. Peter writes: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul”(v. 11). When we violate the principles of heaven, it is not only God and His honor that suffer – we suffer. (Quiet Walk)
OVERCOMING BY FAITH
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:5
As a Christian, because of what has happened to me, I am able to exercise faith and to live by faith. Here is the second step. First you see “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world,” and then “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (verse 4). In other words, my rebirth gives me this faculty of faith and enables me to exercise faith and to live by it.
Let me put it in this practical form: The world that I am fighting is very powerful; it is much more powerful than any one of us. The world conquers and masters everyone who is born into it, for indeed we have been born in sin and “shapen in iniquity” (Psalm 51:5); the world is in us the moment we begin to live. Read your Old Testament; look at those great heroes of the faith, the patriarchs, the godly kings, and the prophets—they all were conquered by the world, they all failed. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10); the whole world is guilty before God (Romans 3:19); and therefore if I am to conquer and overcome that world, I need something that will enable me to do so. It is no use trying to fight the world immediately—that cannot be done. Monasticism recognizes that and says, “Run away from it.”
So what do I need? I need emancipation; I need to be lifted to another realm; I need a force and a strength and a power that I do not have myself. That is my need, and here is the answer: I am given faith—I am given an outlook and understanding—I am introduced to a source of power—I see something that another person has never seen. I see a might and a power that is even greater than all that is opposed to me. Christians are men and women who have been introduced to another realm.
A Thought to Ponder: Christians are men and women who have been introduced to another realm. (From Life in God, pp. 51-52, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Prayer of the Broken-Down
Help me, Lord my God.
Psalm 109:26“Dear Father in heaven, I’m not a praying man, but if you’re up there, and you can hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope.” That prayer is whispered by a broken-down George Bailey, the character played by Jimmy Stewart in the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life. In the now iconic scene, Bailey’s eyes fill with tears. They weren’t part of the script, but as he spoke that prayer Stewart said he “felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn.” It broke him.
Bailey’s prayer, boiled down, is simply “Help me.” And this is exactly what’s voiced in Psalm 109. David was at the end of his rope: “poor and needy,” his “heart . . . wounded” (v. 22), and his body “thin and gaunt” (v. 24). He was fading “like an evening shadow” (v. 23), and sensed himself to be an “object of scorn” in the eyes of his accusers (v. 25). In his extreme brokenness, he had nowhere else to turn. He cried out for the Sovereign Lord to show him the way: “Help me, Lord my God” (v. 26).
There are seasons in our lives when “broken down” says it all. In such times it can be hard to know what to pray. Our loving God will respond to our simple prayer for help.
By John Blase
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.