(Deuteronomy 21:1-23) “If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. 3 It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. 6 All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. 9 So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Digging up history that is bitter, and putting it into the hands of an antagonist is very dangerous. Any sort of bullying, no matter how calmly or intellectually stated, will have a polarizing effect. Whatever unrest there is, we all need to look at our part - our role in these matters - and confess our sins where there are sins. Having said that, I've been in a church where there was a prevailing critical spirit which needed to be dealt with, but it was difficult to say how or who started it all. So...
I see the value of corporate confession, most certainly applicable to families and/or church congregations, as well as nations! If we as a whole recognize an issue and realize the need for confession and forgiveness, we could find healing. and begin to strive together towards peace and unity. As we humble our hearts, confessing our sins will remove guilt and shame, and forgiving all wrongs will remove hatred, fear and bitterness so we can stop the finger-pointing and the blame-games. It is possible to move on together with a fresh new start.
Obviously, if there is an issue between us and a particular person, or group of people, we should first approach them privately and try to reconcile.
In anything, it most certainly helps when the Lord is our common denominator, and that we have placed Him first in our lives. As He is all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere present, we can depend on Him! Understanding that His word is 100% true, we CAN come to an agreement on what is right and wrong. Knowing that the Lord loves and cares for us, we can confidently trust in Him to work all things out.
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