Deuteronomy 13:6, “If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;”
Deuteronomy 13:9-10, “But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”
As of this writing I am sitting here and thinking about so many of my family members. I have been blessed beyond measure with wonderful relatives. Many in my family know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and that makes for such a wonderful family relationship. Unfortunately, there are some in my family who have never put their faith and trust in Christ for salvation.
Families are funny groups of people. Each one is so different. Families are like people in that they have vast differences. There is one thing about some families that are close. They don’t allow any “funny stuff” to go on. If someone in the family is living contrary to the family’s values then the family will police their own so to speak. It should be this way in God’s family also.
God takes purity very seriously. Notice in our Scriptures for today that the Israelites are warned that if a close relative tries to lure them away from following Him that they are to stone them. He further tells them that the person being enticed needs to be the first one to execute judgment upon whomever it is. It does not matter if it is a child, their sibling or who. They are commanded to stone them to death. This is a strong penalty. God is holy and will not tolerate sin, period.
I know the hardest thing I ever did was tell someone very close to me that their lifestyle did not line up with God’s Word. This particular person has not really spoken to me since. I think there is a chance for reconciliation though. I know I pray that it will come about soon. It is not a pleasant thing to talk with someone you love and tell them they are doing wrong. However, it must be done in order to keep our families pure and to be pleasing to God. I don’t mean beat them up with a big, black, King James Bible either. We must love them and show them what God says and the rest is up to them.
Maybe you are the one that is living contrary to God’s established plan. I beg you to repent (change your mind, heart and attitude) and run back to God. I know He will be there waiting for you. Just ask the prodigal son.
So, how are you doing?
Today’s reading: Deuteronomy 13, 14, 15; Psalm 26, 56, 86, 116, 146; Proverbs 26
Today’s prayer: “Lord Jesus, I ask You to forgive me for sinning against You. I ask You to wash me and cleanse me from all sin. Make me a clean, pure, empty vessel that You can use for Your glory. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”