- 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. Deuteronomy 25:3 – Here we see God outlining a punishment to be given to those who committed a crime deserving of such a punishment. They were to beaten with a whip/rod in an amount that correlated to the severity of the crime committed. We see though that God limited the stripes one could be given to 40, for any more could beat the man so badly that he’d be forever scarred and mutilated in his community. While given as a way to correct evil, we see that this law was abused and even used as a tool in the hands of the enemy. Paul, a powerhouse for the Gospel in the New Testament, says in 2 Corinthians 11:24 that five different times he was given 39 stripes, a custom of the Jews to subtract one from the total they could give just in case they miscounted. Many say Jesus also got the 39 stripes, but we must remember it wasn’t the Jews that flogged Jesus, it was the Romans. They had no care to follow Jewish law so likely Jesus was beaten far more than the limit of 40. What’s the takeaway though for us from all this? Holy living doesn’t equate a bypass to feeling pain. Paul lived holy, boldly preaching the Gospel, yet faced such terrible pain. Jesus, God in the flesh, One who could do no wrong, felt the fullest extent of pain one could at His crucifixion. I say this not to frighten, but simply to prepare. In this life we will navigate physical, emotional, and relational pain even when we are living well for Christ. We have an enemy seeking to dissuade us from following Jesus. Choose to stay faithful through the pain knowing its temporary for this life is temporary. Trust the Lord in the pain knowing He walked through the pain first. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3463
- You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. Deuteronomy 25:4 – God wants us to find a fill from the work He is calling us to do. Here God is saying to allow the ox to be free to eat on the grain as it works. What then is the work He’s called you to? What from it can you find a fill from? Possibly the work in front of you seems difficult to find any sort of fill from. Know though God hasn’t put a muzzle on you to where it’s impossible to enjoy fills from it. Maybe the process of finding those fills isn’t as easy as lowering your head to eat some grain as it was with the ox, but we can work knowing God’s not keeping fills from us. Seek out then how the work ahead of you can possibly bring the fills you need. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1320
- Deuteronomy 25 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. Deuteronomy25:13-14 – In their day weights and measures were used constantly in their buying and selling. When out buying things like grain or meat, they could pull out a common weight in their bag and have an accurate way to price what they were getting. At home they would have a measure, something used to find an amount they were selling to another. God tells them not to have different weights or measures, not even in their own home. What God is saying is don’t carry around a larger weight when shopping and don’t have a small measure when selling so you can rip off your neighbor. Keep things honest and do what’s best for your neighbor, even if that costs you a little extra. And don’t even have near you, or even within your home, such things that may tempt you to take advantage of your neighbor. Now in our day we aren’t buying/selling goods like they were, but the concept of being honest with those around us and seeking their well being over our gain is a calling we’ve been given. Let’s look at what belongs to us and if it somehow could be used to tempt us to take advantage of a neighbor or brother in Christ, let’s get rid of it. Our desire should be the good of those around us and letting go of the things that may cause others harm. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2450
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