Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Deut. 18:9-13

"9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God."  Deut. 18:9-13

I was reading this passage today.  It pretty much seemed like a typical, Old Testament-commandment-from-God passage at first glance.  But, when I actually went back and thought about it, Moses' words to the Israelites echo across time and into the Christian's life.

We are called to be a set-apart people.  We're to be a nation, a citizenship, within the nations that we physically live in.  We must not operate under the systems and ideologies of the society in which we reside.  We operate under a divine economy within the laws of our country.  We are set apart.

We are not Israel.  We are not called to be a distinct, physical nation.  Yet, we are called to live under a higher order, a righteous God.  We answer to Holiness Himself.

And that is the difference -- the world lives to be right by their laws, right by their own corrupt consciences and distorted views of morality.  We live under grace, we function by way of relationship with our Father, and we need to deal with others in light of this grace of God.  We are held to a higher calling, a deeper faith, a truer love.

We are to be holy.

-Aylin

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