(Deuteronomy 23:1-25) “No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 3 No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord, 4 because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. 6 You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
7 “You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. 8 The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
9 “When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 “If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not reenter the camp. 11 But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may reenter the camp.
12 “You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, 13 and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement. 14 Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.
15 “You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.
17 “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
19 “You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. 20 You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the Lord your God will surely require it of you. 22 However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. 23 You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket.
25 “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Here are some practical healthy guidelines to practice, which help the overall wellbeing of relationships in any sort of community. Properly managing trash, waste and personal hygiene are important to being a good and thoughtful friend and neighbor! Seriously, I have seen these types of things become big issues even in marriage!!! So if you care...
In the same way, we should maintain healthy practices in our everyday lives, in our communities. We are not to lie, or steal, or mistreat anyone, no matter what color or status one has in life. So obviously, we should not be involved in any sort of prostitution or sexual degradation or manipulation. We should not want to hurt anyone in any way, but desire to help! We can loan money and things to people in general, but for our brothers and sisters in Christ, we should not charge interest, since we are to be helping each other when in need.
Also and most importantly, we should maintain healthy practices in our spiritual lives. We are to align ourselves with those who are believers, and avoid any association with evil. Unbelievers should never be allowed to serve in our churches. They do not represent God or His word. And we ourselves lie to the Lord if and when we make a promise to Him and do not carry that out. If we cannot keep a promise that we've made to the Lord, people will see that we are not trustworthy. So basically, having any relationship with sin is unhealthy!
In all things, our desire should be to keep God's truths, since He is all-knowing and wants the very best for each and every one of us. It stands to reason that if we apply healthy practices, we will be healthier - physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our relationships with others will also be healthier when we focus on our spiritual health, by working on our relationship with the Lord and leaning on Him and His healing powers.
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