Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 28:43-57.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 28:43-52 (NIV)
43  The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.
44  He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.
45  All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.

On verses 43 to 52:  Here Moses describes another problem that will come on God’s people if they refuse to obey Him: the land that God had given to them as an inheritance will be taken away from them and given to other nations.  Moses says that if the Israelites do not obey the Lord and observe His commands, they will be pursued by their enemies (v45).  A foreign nation will lay siege to them (v47-52) all “because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees that he gave you (v45)…[and] because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity (v47)”.  Because the Israelites would disobey God, they would lose the land that God had originally reserved for them.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 28:15-29.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 28:15-29 (NIV)
15  However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16  You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17  Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18  The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19  You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20  The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.

On verses 15-29:  Whenever you read the Old Testament, it’s important to read it with New Testament eyes. That’s because the Old Testament is not complete without the New Testament. So whenever you see something in the Old Testament, don’t stop there. Instead ask yourself: how does this play out in the New Testament? How does Jesus affect what I’m reading in the Old Testament? When you read the Old Testament with New Testament eyes, God’s Word comes to life like never before.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 27:11-26.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 27:11-26 (NIV)
11  On the same day Moses commanded the people:
12  When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin.
13  And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
14  The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:
15  “Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol–a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman’s hands–and sets it up in secret.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

On verses 11-26:  Here Moses tells half the Israelite tribes to stand on Mount Gerizim to pronounce blessings on the people (v12).  He tells the other half of the Israelite tribes to stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses on the people (v13).  Then he tells the Levites to pronounce 11 curses and have all the people say “Amen!” after each one (v14-26).
What can we learn from this?

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 26:12-19  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 26:12 (NIV)
12  When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.
 
On verse 12:  To tithe means to give one tenth of your income to the church.  A “tithe” literally means “one tenth”.  This verse tells us two of God’s purposes for tithing: to supply the needs of those who have dedicated their working careers to serving in the church – “that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied” – and to enable the church to reach people in need – “the alien, the fatherless and the widow”.   There are other good reasons to tithe: tithing is a reminder that every good gift ultimately comes from God, it’s a practical way to put God first, and it’s us giving God room to bless us even more.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 25:11-19.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 25:11-12 (NIV)
11  If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts,
12  you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.

On verses 11-12:  To us today, verses 11-12 might sound like two of the strangest verses you have ever read in the Bible.  Was it common in Moses’ time for a wife to intervene in a fight between her husband and another man by grabbing the other man’s private parts?  We don’t know, but you would think that it probably happened at least once for Moses to mention it.  Moses probably laid down this law to communicate to the Israelites what fair fighting looks like.  One should not try to “low blow” another so that it affects his ability to have children.  

How can we apply these strange sounding verses?  Unless it’s your job to intervene, try not to get involved in the fights and arguments that go on between two other people.  Otherwise, you might complicate the matter and get hurt in the process.