Monday, March 1, 2010
Deuteronomy 32:8
Monday, March 01, 2010 |
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
Our reading today is the first portion of a song that the Lord directed Moses to write and then teach the children of Israel, Deuteronomy 31:19 and 21. The fact that God directs Moses to write a song, which we will discuss in a moment, is evidence that the Lord will and does use music to teach His way to His people. I have long said that music is so much more than entertainment. It is for edification and exhortation, for the people of God.
Part of the heritage of Christianity is the music it has produced over the centuries. I am thinking especially of the time of the Reformation when the reformers would use music to teach the body of Christ those truths that came out of the Reformation. Men like Luther, Knox, the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, and many others.
These men would write songs containing doctrine, and then teach the people to sing these "truths" as the Reformers would travel to another location to teach. The Lord, of course, was the originator of this concept, using music to teach the children of Israel great truths, knowing that Moses would soon depart from this world.
This brings to our attention how important music is in our Christian experience. It is essential that we use and listen to music that has the right doctrine and to make sure that the "medium carrying the message" is consistent with the message and the Master who sent the message.
Now to the song's content – this is the message that the Lord wanted the Israelites to have before He would bring them into the “promised land”. There is so much in this song we will have to visit it again in a future devotional but let's look at one phrase found in verse 8.
The Lord is teaching the Jewish people of the importance He places on these people that He chose to be a “special people” unto Himself, a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. He tells Israel that when He divided the peoples of the world into nations, Genesis 10 and 11, He set the bounds, the borders of the nations, according to the number of the children of Israel.
Ezekiel, an ancient Jewish prophet, reveals the centrality of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 5:5. The Lord placed Jerusalem in the center of the earth with all the nations around the “holy city”.
Notice that God did this according to the number of Jews there would be in the future because when God divided the peoples of the earth into nations there were no “children of Israel”. Based upon His foreknowledge, God set the bounds for the nations.
God had a plan for the Jewish people. He has a plan today for his chosen people. But most important, He has a plan for the children of Israel in the future that will be played out.
The plan the Lord has for the Jewish people is found in the prophetic passages of the Bible. In the last days God will deal with these Jews that have been scattered around the world for 2,000 years.
He will “re-gather” the Jews and bring them into the land of their forefathers. They will be “restored” as a nation among the nations of the world. Then there will be a “terrible time of testing” for the Jews, the Tribulation, before Jesus, the Jewish Messiah”, returns to Earth and to lead His “chosen people”.
If you want to know where God is in His plan for the end times, you focus on the Jewish people. This is such an easy formula for all to live by in the last days. We simply must know God’s plan for the Jews, stay abreast of what is happening with them and compare current events with Biblical prophecy to recognize where we are on His “time line” for the end of days.
PRAYER THOT: Help me, Lord, to see Your plan for this world unfolding as I watch Your “chosen people” today.
Our reading today is the first portion of a song that the Lord directed Moses to write and then teach the children of Israel, Deuteronomy 31:19 and 21. The fact that God directs Moses to write a song, which we will discuss in a moment, is evidence that the Lord will and does use music to teach His way to His people. I have long said that music is so much more than entertainment. It is for edification and exhortation, for the people of God.
Part of the heritage of Christianity is the music it has produced over the centuries. I am thinking especially of the time of the Reformation when the reformers would use music to teach the body of Christ those truths that came out of the Reformation. Men like Luther, Knox, the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, and many others.
These men would write songs containing doctrine, and then teach the people to sing these "truths" as the Reformers would travel to another location to teach. The Lord, of course, was the originator of this concept, using music to teach the children of Israel great truths, knowing that Moses would soon depart from this world.
This brings to our attention how important music is in our Christian experience. It is essential that we use and listen to music that has the right doctrine and to make sure that the "medium carrying the message" is consistent with the message and the Master who sent the message.
Now to the song's content – this is the message that the Lord wanted the Israelites to have before He would bring them into the “promised land”. There is so much in this song we will have to visit it again in a future devotional but let's look at one phrase found in verse 8.
The Lord is teaching the Jewish people of the importance He places on these people that He chose to be a “special people” unto Himself, a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. He tells Israel that when He divided the peoples of the world into nations, Genesis 10 and 11, He set the bounds, the borders of the nations, according to the number of the children of Israel.
Ezekiel, an ancient Jewish prophet, reveals the centrality of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 5:5. The Lord placed Jerusalem in the center of the earth with all the nations around the “holy city”.
Notice that God did this according to the number of Jews there would be in the future because when God divided the peoples of the earth into nations there were no “children of Israel”. Based upon His foreknowledge, God set the bounds for the nations.
God had a plan for the Jewish people. He has a plan today for his chosen people. But most important, He has a plan for the children of Israel in the future that will be played out.
The plan the Lord has for the Jewish people is found in the prophetic passages of the Bible. In the last days God will deal with these Jews that have been scattered around the world for 2,000 years.
He will “re-gather” the Jews and bring them into the land of their forefathers. They will be “restored” as a nation among the nations of the world. Then there will be a “terrible time of testing” for the Jews, the Tribulation, before Jesus, the Jewish Messiah”, returns to Earth and to lead His “chosen people”.
If you want to know where God is in His plan for the end times, you focus on the Jewish people. This is such an easy formula for all to live by in the last days. We simply must know God’s plan for the Jews, stay abreast of what is happening with them and compare current events with Biblical prophecy to recognize where we are on His “time line” for the end of days.
PRAYER THOT: Help me, Lord, to see Your plan for this world unfolding as I watch Your “chosen people” today.