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Miscellaneous Laws and Biblical Principles for Society 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word as our journey today takes us to Deuteronomy chapters 23 through 26, verse 19 of chapter 26, and that he shall set you high above all nations which0:22 he has made in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the lord your god just as he has spoken. Now the first 3 chapters, that we read here today0:34 continue the miscellaneous laws and personal responsibilities that we began looking at last time. Chapter 20 covers what we might call the the first Thanksgiving, which will be0:46 like, I think fingernails on the chalkboard of globalist as god establishes what we would call an exceptional nation. Now before we go to chapter 6, I wanna touch on, some of the provisions that we find in these first 30:57 chapters to show the the Bible's influence on the laws and customs of Western civilization. Verse 2, chapter 23. 1 of the illegitimate 1 of illegitimate birth shall not enter1:09 the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord. So what do we see here? Is this why illegitimacy in our1:21 culture has been taboo up until probably the last 30, 35 years? The removal of the Bible from the broader culture and then the failure of the church to teach the whole1:32 council has got of God has led to the normalization of birth outside of marriage. In fact and and there's there there are significant consequences to that for society, not1:44 to mention the individual children that are born into those relationships. In the US today, 40 percent of all births are outside of marriage. Now we should we should pause1:57 and and ask the question, has this made us a better society? How has this worked out for us? Where we see crime, where we see the fact that most men that are incarcerated2:08 today grew up without a father in their home, oftentimes not even having a father or knowing their father. Alright. In fact, evolutionary biologist2:20 Richard Dawkins, who's an atheist, and he spent a lot of time focusing his attack on Christianity a couple of years a couple years ago. In fact, I think it was on, like, Easter Sunday, a few a2:32 couple years ago. He acknowledged that what has filled the cultural space left by the church's decline, is not what was anticipated. This intellectual2:44 ascent, this developing to a higher level, hasn't happened, and what has happened is not good. There's a growing recognition from the intellectually honest.2:56 Right? Doesn't I'm not not saying Christian, but the intellectually honest that Western civilization is simply surviving on the fumes of Christianity. And once those fumes are gone, it's3:08 it's it's over. Verse 3 chapter 23, an Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord even to the tenth generation. None of his none of his3:26 lasting exclusion. Verse 4, Because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam, the son of Beor, from3:38 Pethor of Mesopotamia to curse you. Nevertheless, the lord your god would not listen to Balaam, but the lord your god turned the curse into a blessing because the3:49 lord your god loves you. Kinda reminds me of of the verse that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Alright? We don't have to worry about what is said against us. God is the judge, and4:01 he it it vengeance his mind, says the lord. You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days. You shall not abhor now let's just shift gears here. You shall not abhor an Edomite, for4:13 he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian because you were an alien in your land. The children the children of the third generation born of them may enter the assembly of the4:25 Lord. So this here, right, here's here's a a principle. This is a selective immigration policy. The term assembly or congregation was not the church. We think congregation, we think of the church. But this is the4:37 community, the nation. There were different policies for the Edomite, for the Egyptian based upon how those countries treated Israel and the threat that they posed.4:49 Now these passages contain more principles, that either appear in our laws or did at 1 time when we were more aligned with biblical truth. So look for the principles that we need to return to5:02 and and share with others. Now in the if the Bible alright. Think about this for a moment. If the Bible was in in in this 200 and fiftieth anniversary of our nation, and and hopefully,5:13 you'll be, you know, looking back on our history. In fact, again, encourage you to, to take a look at our God and Government course that I've taught. It's online. You can find out more about it either at the5:25 Stand Firm app or just email us, email me tony tony perkins dot com, and we'll send you the link. But we need to go back and discover these biblical foundations of our nation. And if the5:37 Bible was used and was critical to the founding of this nation, it's critical in the governance of our nation as well. Verse 15, you shall not give back to his master,5:49 the slave, who has escaped from his master to you. This was the foundation of those in the abolition movement that to create the underground railroad for slaves. Verse 17, there shall6:01 be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel or a perverted 1 of the sons of Israel. This speaks intentionally to sexual immorality of male and female prostitutes6:12 connected to the idolist idolatrous, rituals that surrounded the idols that they were worshiping in Canaan. And, unfortunately, what we see later that Israel6:24 did as well. Today, we've only removed the stone idols because we worship sex itself. But throughout most of our nation's history, these6:36 behaviors have been against the law. I mean, literally criminal, but they're not anymore. They're celebrated. Verse 20. To a foreigner, you may charge interest, but to your brother, you shall not6:47 charge interest that the lord your god may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess. Now, again, we're looking for principles here. Let me let me jump ahead and bring in a6:58 couple of verses from chapter 24 verses 14 and 15. You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether 1 of your brethren or 1 of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each7:10 day you shall give him his wages and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it, lest he cry out against you to the lord and it be sin to you.7:22 Now let let me just practical application here of these principles. This is how we look at the the Old Testament. What principles would apply here? During my time in the legislature, I looked to the principles here from7:33 these passages as reasons to oppose these payday loan businesses that exploit the poor. I mean, literally exploit the poor. But there's something else in verse 207:45 of chapter 23 that we've seen before that I'm gonna go back to. Look at the the end of that verse. That the lord your god may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land. Now, again, obedience7:58 to god's word gives us the ability to operate in God's economy. Now I know people like to dismiss that today that God's not involved. God is involved. God says, I will bless your obedience.8:10 And when we operate in God's economy, it goes beyond our paycheck. It goes beyond, you know, our fixed income. God can bless us in so many different ways. I have seen it over and8:22 over. Now before we jump to chapter 26, I wanna explain a passage in chapter 25 that may have prompted some questions, but, again, shows us we've gotta dig a little deeper for the principles here. Now there's more8:34 miscellaneous law, some regarding economic honesty, which god calls us to, in business. We should be, operating honestly. But for verse 11, if 2 men fight together8:45 and the wife of 1 draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the 1 attacking him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, then you shall cut off her hand. Your eyes shall not pity her. Now what's8:57 this about? This speaks to an intentional act, and it's not just, you know, like touching. The the the the idea here is, and this is based upon the, again, the biblical scholars, how9:09 they've analyzed this, looking at it in the context, that this was a an act that would impact the man's capacity to produce offspring. It, number 1, speaks to the9:21 value that God places on life, include including potential life. It also speaks to moral boundaries, which we ignore today and to even to restraint in conflict. ThereThe First Thanksgiving: First Fruits Offering 9:33 there are boundaries. Alright. Let's go over to chapter 26 verse 1. And it shall be when you come into the land which the lord your god has given you as an inheritance and you possess it and you dwell in it, that you9:44 shall take some of the fruit of all the produce of the ground, which shall you shall bring from your land that the lord your god has given you. Notice it repeatedly says that the lord is giving9:56 you. We we need to recognize that what we have is from the lord and put it in a basket and go to the place where the lord your god chooses to make his name abide. Again, it's pointing to what we will see see is Shiloh is10:07 where the tabernacle was for 369 years. And you shall go to the 1 who is priest in those days and say to him, I declare today to the lord your god that I have come to the country which the lord swore to our10:19 fathers to give us. Again, recognizing that God keeps his promises. Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the lord your god. And you shall answer10:31 and say before the lord your god, my father was a Syrian about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there. Few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.10:43 Again, here we see a recounting of the history. We need to be doing this. We need to be doing this for our children, letting them know what god has done even in our own families and in our nation as well. But the10:55 Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the lord god of our fathers, and the lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the11:06 lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this11:18 land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, oh lord, have given me. Then you shall11:30 set it before the lord your god and worship before the lord your god. So you shall rejoice rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your11:42 house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you. Now the first fruits of the land were to be dedicated to the Lord. This was a Thanksgiving celebration, and this11:53 did 2 very important things. First, it put it puts God's God first recognizing that all of this was from him. He was the provider. Praise god from whom all12:05 blessings flow. Their identity and their history were deeply embedded in these festivals, including this Thanksgiving celebration. And look what it says. They were to recount their history12:18 as they presented their offering to God. Now the source of an exceptional nation, what is it? Well, look at verse 16. This day, the lord your godCovenant Obedience: Path to an Exceptional Nation 12:30 commands you to observe these statutes and judgments. Therefore, you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Today, verse 17, you have proclaimed the lord to be your god12:42 and that you will walk in his ways and keep his statues, his commandments, his judgments, that you may obey his voice. Also today, the lord has proclaimed you to be his special people, just as he12:54 promised you that you should keep all his commandments. And look at verse 19, and then he will set you high above all nations, which he has made in praise, in name, and in13:06 honor, and that you may be a holy people to the lord your god just as he has spoken. As I said, this is kinda like fingernails on the chalkboard to the globalist. Not all nations13:17 are the same nor are all people. Yeah. Yes. We're created in the image of god and equal in our human agency to choose whether to follow God and to yield to him.13:30 And as we have read and seen from that choice of whether we choose to follow God, we choose life or we choose the blessing cursing, follow consequences13:41 and outcomes that have the ability to make a nation exceptional. Today, those on the political and ideological left focus on the outcomes, demanding equality of outcomes despite13:53 personal or corporate choices that are contrary to biblical truth. God gives us a choice as we will see in the next couple of chapters to live a blessed14:05 life through obedience to him or to live under the curse, which is man's default position if we choose to reject the truth.14:17 Ultimately, the choice is ours, whether we obey or whether we reject god's truth individually and collectively as a nation. Let's pray that in this 200 and fiftieth anniversary of14:29 our nation, that as a nation, that we choose to return to the truth of God. Father, we thank you for your word, and, Lord, just thank you for the reminder that we have of looking back on14:41 this 200 and fiftieth anniversary of our nation that our founders, they chose to to follow your principles and your truths, and we see them even today, remnants14:53 in our laws and in our customs. We're losing it, but it's still there. I pray for a revival, a a revival, Lord, of truth in our nation, a revival, a spiritual revival15:05 that would lead to a revival and a renewal of our commitment as a nation to walk according to these truths, that your blessings might be upon us. Father, continue to guide us in this journey.15:16 May the Holy Spirit open our eyes and our understanding that we might see these truths and how they apply to our lives in this world in which we live. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me15:28 this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.15:34 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:46 can read through the entire bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Miscellaneous Laws and Biblical Principles for Society9:33 The First Thanksgiving: First Fruits Offering12:23 Covenant Obedience: Path to an Exceptional Nation
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