OT DAY 229 - Fear of God (Please click here for English podcast)

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Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Open your heart to praise the Lord

        
           Sing aloud to God our strength;
                            shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2          Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
                              the sweet lyre with the harp.

                             Psalm 81:1-2

Confession and Repentance

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

The Word (Numbers 25:1-18)

English(ESV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers 25&version=ESV

While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.”

6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehasthe son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.                                  Numbers 25:1-9

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

My Listening
     This passage is not easy to understand and accept. God's wrath and punishment can be so severe when it hits the bottom line of God's mercy and love that God has to take action. Everyone takes it for granted of God's mercy and love. I think not a lot of Christians really have the "fear of God" as in His judgement and wrath. But, you need to know that "fear of God" is the main teaching in the whole Old Testament. If we really have the fear of God, then we don't have to fear anyone or anything because God is our only hope, our rock and our fortress. 

Let's see how Professor John Goldingay tells us: 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goldingay) :

    

     Paul is taking up the conviction expressed here in Numbers about the danger involved in marrying someone who gives allegiance to a different god. Numbers refers to this different God as the Master of Peor, which was the name of the mountain where Balak took Balaam to look down on Israel and utter his curse. So "the Master of Peor" is Baal or the Master as worshiped there (in 31:16 Moses will attribute the Israelites' betrayal to Balaam).
    The marriage of two people who serve different gods is like the yoking of a donkey and an ox to pull a cart. They are bound to be pulling different ways. Marrying a foreigner who is prepared to give allegiance to your God is fine. Boaz did this in marrying Ruth. But if the other person isn't prepared to change allegiance, you and your family are implicated in your spouse's allegiance. The immorality from which this story starts is the immorality of being involved with a person who serves another god, not ordinary sexual immorality. The story's focus lies in the men's religious wrongdoing. 

John Goldingay. Numbers & Deuteronomy for Everyone. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p.68-69.

      I have seen too many bad examples of a Christian marrying a non-believer. I have seen some good examples though. But, the point here is beyond Christian marrying a non-believer causing all kinds of problem. The point here is whether we have the fear of God that we do not do those things God does not want us to do. God is the first priority, Jesus is Lord!

      If you have a non-believing husband or wife, you really need to pray and fast until your spouse's eyes are opened to see that Jesus is Lord and the two of you become members of one Holy family of God. 

Dear Lord Jesus, 
Help us to know that fear of God is so important that we need to learn and live out so that we won't be living in a life fearing so many other things.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Reflect on these questions:

1. How do you understand the problem as stated in today's passage about marriage? How are you going to do about it? 

2. Have you learned how to fear God? What is the fruit of fearing God? 

Praise and Thanksgiving

Let's give thanks for God with us. Let us praise Him:

10,000 Reasons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

You may choose to follow my other daily blog:

Daily Devotion on Fire: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/

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