Skip to main content

Daily Devotion: Exodus 22:28-31

Exodus 22:28-31     "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs." 

Regardless of what men may say, we are not expected to give credence to idols in an effort to not offend others. This verse of scripture does not indicate that it is alright with the true and living God to accept any old form of worship. We are not being told to accept customs and traditions that the word of God plainly teaches against. The scripture plainly tells us to destroy the places of idol worship (Deuteronomy 12:2).

Another meaning of the Hebrew word translated here as “gods” was “magistrates.” The idea that we are not to hold in contempt those that have governance is repeated throughout the scripture. In a kingdom, the various offices of government answer to the king (ruler). If we consider that this is a continuation of the “judgements” that God gave to Moses starting in Exodus 21:1, then this seems the most likely understanding of verse twenty-eight. 

If we would truly serve God and be at peace, we cannot put off giving praise and honor to Him until after we have done everything else we want to do. We are to offer our efforts to Him first. We are to offer to Him the good things (ripe fruits and juices). Our daily labor and all we possess should be offered first to God (Colossians 3:22-24, 1 Corinthians 4:7).

We who are called according to His purpose in grace are a sanctified people unto the LORD. We are not at liberty to just swallow anything that comes along. Only those things rightly prepared before Him are we to consume. He deserves the very best we have without any procrastination on our part in offering it to Him.

Popular posts from this blog

Daily Devotion: Psalm 88:1-4

Psalm 88:1-4  A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. "O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:  (2)  Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;  (3)  For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.  (4)  I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength" I've said this before and I will say it again (and probably more times before we get to the end of the Psalms) - I love the Psalms because I can surely identify with them. Most Psalms start in a low place and as the writer expresses his thoughts, the Lord begins to lift him up out of that dry place.  Though this entire Psalm is a fervent cry unto the Lord, the Psalmist tells us specifically in three verses that he cried daily unto the Lord. Just a few Psalms ago, we were reminded that God always hears our prayers. ...

Daily Devotion: Knowing God By Bearing Fruit

Some will notice the title is not “Bearing fruit because we know God,” so to avoid getting sidetracked with that, we can start with the fact that we won’t bear any godly fruit unless our heart has been changed and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Also, to avoid confusion, I’ll be using the terms “bearing fruit,” “good works” and “service” interchangeably.  I took this article’s title from Part 7, of John Piper’s “Look at the Book” session on Colossians 1:9-12. I greatly encourage you to view that short video to get his excellent exposition on this subject.  When I saw the title of the video earlier this year, I got kind of excited because that’s the direction my thinking has gone in the past several years. My thinking was founded Biblically with verses on good works like Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.” But I couldn’t expand it to expla...

Daily Devotion (Video): I Will Fear No Evil - Psalm 23:4