Deuteronomy 13 & 14: A PECULIAR PEOPLE
Verse of the Day: (14:2) For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
1. Prophet (13:1-18)
Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (13:3)
God warned Israel of false prophets who would come and preach to them, and the only way to test them was to know that whatever they prophesied must come to pass. Indeed, the prophecy of God’s prophets shall come to pass, and this was the evidence that they were His prophets. God was also proving the faith of Israel, and their love for Him, when He tested them of their discernment in knowing the true from the false prophets. Let us therefore be careful when we hear God’s Word from His preachers, that they preach nothing except His Word, and that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God. (1 John 4:1-6)
2. Peculiar (14:1-21)
Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. (14:21)
God’s people are peculiar or holy people, and they are the minority in the world, because most people refuse to repent their sins and wickedness, and believe in the true and living God. Many in this world believe in themselves, just like the days of Moses, and until the day, when they encounter crises, then they realise they desperately need God to help them. God also commanded Israel for their health benefits to eat only the creatures that He approved of, such as ox, sheep, goat and deer. The creatures that God disapproved of were camel, hare, swine, and especially the dead creatures. God also forbad them to boil their young goat in his mother’s milk. Indeed, let us confess and repent our sins, and God is faithful not only to forgive our sins, but to make us His peculiar people. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
3. Place (14:22-29)
Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: (14:25)
God is a reasonable God, as He commanded Israel to sell their sacrifices, such as corn, wine, oil and flock for money, instead of carrying them to the faraway place where He had chosen for them to offer to Him. Indeed, God is reasonable, and He shall reason with you, and plead with you to confess and forsake your sins and believe in Him. (Isaiah 1:18)
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You that I am Your peculiar people because I believe in You.
