{"id":22265,"date":"2022-07-07T22:00:29","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T05:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/deuteronomy_17_1-13-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T17:10:54","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T00:10:54","slug":"deuteronomy_17_14-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/deuteronomy_17_14-20\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Traps to Avoid and 3 Ways to Grow Spiritually"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deuteronomy 17:14-20\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Deuteronomy 17:14-20.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Deuteronomy\u00a017:14-20, Moses foresees the day when the Israelites would want to be like other nations and have a king of their own.\u00a0 While God’s original plan was that He alone would be Israel’s king, God was sensitive to Israel’s desire for a human king (see 1 Samuel 8).\u00a0So in these verses Moses lays out some of the requirements that the king would be expected to meet: 3 things that the king must not do (v14-17), and 3 things that the king must do (v18-20).\u00a0 As we study\u00a0Deuteronomy\u00a017:14-20, we\u2019ll find that this passage is very much a discipleship passage, one that teaches us how to grow our relationship with God and become Christ-like disciples.<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 17:14-17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When you enter the land the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0be sure to appoint over you the king the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 14-17:\u00a0 In addition to requiring that\u00a0the future king of Israel be an Israelite and the one whom God chooses, Moses identifies 3 things that the king must do, or 3 traps that the king must avoid.\u00a0 Since in Christ you and I are members of God\u2019s royal family and priests in God\u2019s kingdom, we need to be careful to avoid these same 3 traps as well:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Don’t be power hungry.<\/strong>\u00a0 Just as the king was not to go out of his way to accumulate great numbers of horses for himself (v16), so we need to be focused on serving the needs of people rather than wielding power or making a name for ourselves.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Don’t be girl crazy<\/strong>\u00a0(or boy crazy).<\/strong>\u00a0 Just as the king was not to accumulate many wives for himself (v17a), so we need to keep our hormones, attractions, and infatuations under control, lest they cause our downfall.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Don’t be money greedy. \u00a0<\/strong>Just as\u00a0<\/strong>the king was not to accumulate much silver and gold for himself (v17b), so we must not allow greed or a love of money dictate our decisions.
\nIt\u2019s not unusual to hear a leader in God\u2019s kingdom be taken down by one or more of these traps.\u00a0 May God give us foresight to recognize these traps ahead of time and the humility and wisdom to avoid falling into them.\u00a0 With God\u2019s grace and power we can.<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the\u00a0LORD\u00a0his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-20:\u00a0 Here\u00a0Moses identifies 3 things that the king must do.\u00a0 These same 3 things are what you and I must do to grow spiritually.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Copy down God’s Word.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first thing the king must do when he takes the throne is not to throw a party or hold a meeting, but to write down a copy of the law for himself (v18).\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 It’s because\u00a0by writing down the law with his hand, it helps him get the law into his heart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the same way, I encourage you to be not just a priest but a scribe as well.\u00a0 When you see a verse that impacts you, write or type it out.\u00a0 Many have found that by transcribing the verse by hand, or typing it out, somehow God\u2019s Word gets more into their heart.<\/p>\n

On a related note, whenever you listen to a sermon,\u00a0I strongly encourage you to\u00a0take notes<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0Even if you never look at those notes again,\u00a0just the process of\u00a0<\/strong>taking notes helps you to listen, digest and remember the Word you’re hearing.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When I have a pen in my hand or the notes app open on my phone as I’m reading the Bible or listening to a sermon, taking something home with me from the Word of God is inevitable.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Carry God’s Word with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the second thing that the king must do, verse 19a says that God’s law “is to be with him”.\u00a0 In other words, the king is to keep God’s Word close to him physically.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 It’s because\u00a0the closer something is to you physically the more you’ll be inclined to access it and think about it<\/strong>.\u00a0 What you physically carry with you reflects what’s most important to you.<\/p>\n

Likewise, I encourage you to bring your Bible to church and small group.\u00a0 Don’t rely on your neighbour to bring their Bible or the multimedia team to show the Scripture passage on the screen.\u00a0 When a Scripture passage is being talked about, open it up in your own Bible.\u00a0 When you’re standing in line or waiting for an appointment, consider opening up your Bible and reading it.\u00a0 It\u2019s much easier to get God\u2019s Word in your heart when you physically have it near you.<\/p>\n

3. Read God’s Word every day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a third requirement that the king must do, verse 19b says the king “is to read it [i.e. God\u2019s law] all the days of his life”.\u00a0 Why read God’s Word every day?\u00a0 It’s not just to accumulate knowledge.\u00a0 More importantly, it’s “so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God” (v19b) and “not consider himself better than his brothers” (v20).\u00a0 In other words,\u00a0reading God’s Word every day is even more for the heart than it is for the head.<\/strong>\u00a0 It’s to keep our hearts soft toward God and humble toward people.<\/p>\n

If we would put into practice these 3 habits, it will help us to grow spiritually and to love God\u2019s Word more and more.<\/p>\n

Father, I pray that I would not be power hungry, girl crazy or money greedy.\u00a0 I pray that I would keep Your Word close to me wherever I go and serve You and Your people with excellence for the long haul.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Deuteronomy 17:14-20.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Deuteronomy\u00a017:14-20, Moses foresees the day when the Israelites would want to be like other nations and have a king of their own.\u00a0 While God’s original plan was that He alone would be Israel’s king, God was sensitive to Israel’s desire for a human king (see 1 Samuel 8).\u00a0So in these verses Moses lays out some of the requirements that the king would be expected to meet: 3 things that the king must not do (v14-17), and 3 things that the king must do (v18-20).\u00a0 As we study\u00a0Deuteronomy\u00a017:14-20, we\u2019ll find that this passage is very much a discipleship passage, one that teaches us how to grow our relationship with God and become Christ-like disciples.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Deuteronomy 17:14-17 (NIV)
\n14\u00a0\u00a0When you enter the land the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”
\n15\u00a0\u00a0be sure to appoint over you the king the\u00a0LORD\u00a0your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.
\n16\u00a0\u00a0The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the\u00a0LORD\u00a0has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”
\n17\u00a0\u00a0He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22265"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22268,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22265\/revisions\/22268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}