IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

God’s People Are Responsible and Honest

Date: Feb. 7, 2023

Passage

Deuteronomy 25:1-19 (ESV)

“If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.

“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’

11 “When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, 12 then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.

13 “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.

17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 25:15

A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

God’s laws require a court system. The courts uphold justice and should reveal God’s just and merciful character in the world. The guilty may be flogged but not degraded. Punishment must never humiliate others.

God’s people must not neglect others. The apostle Paul quotes verse 4 twice (1 Cor 9:9; 1 Tim 5:18) to encourage Christians to provide financial support to full-time ministers. In ancient times, widows without sons could easily become destitute and abandoned. A brother of the dead husband should marry the widow and have a son for his dead brother. Anyone who does not fulfill this duty is confronted by the widow and disgraced in the community. Though we no longer keep the specifics of this law, we are still responsible for the care of widows in our earthly and church families. Is there someone in need whom you can bless?

God also commands his people to use accurate and honest weights. We may be tempted to be dishonest and try to justify this sin. However, God detests dishonesty. Dealing honestly comes with a promise – living long in the land the LORD gives them. Conversely, the Amalekites, who showed no fear of God, would be blotted out in the future.

Prayer: Prayer: Father, help me to live up to your standards and reflect your great character in my daily life.

One Word: One Word: God’s people are people of integrity

Daily Bread

“he Has Risen!”

Mark 16:1-20

Key Verse: 16:6

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.

Read More

Intro Daily