Saturday, March 19th: Deuteronomy 23-25 ~ Nathan

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Deuteromony 23-25

Deuteronomy 24:7 "If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you"

I noticed again the term "purge the evil from among you", which reminded me of what we read a few times yesterday,

21:21 - about a rebellious son
22:21 - promiscuous women
22:23 - rapist

The Israelites were to deal harshly with certain sins,  God wanted these sinners rooted out permanently. This made me think about my own sins again, do I take them seriously?  I ask for forgiveness,  but do I really feel bad about them after and desperately want to change?

In the last half of chapter 24 we read of a few instances where we need to show mercy and kindness to others. We read about,

- not taking advantage of a hired worker (v14)
- depriving foreigners or the fatherless of justice (v17)
- leaving forgotten grain after harvesting (v19)
- leaving olives (v20)
- leaving grapes (v21)

This made me think of where in my life can I "leave something behind" for someone less fortunate, in a case where I would normally not.

My wife used to work in the restaurant industry as a waitress, and has been on my case for not tipping enough at times. She has often rolled her eyes at me for being less than generous! (I follow that up by playing dumb and trying to change the topic,  haha) These verses made me think that maybe I could be a little more generous with tipping after dinner out. A few extra dollars out of my pocket could go a long way for a cash strapped student or single parent working evenings and weekends trying to get by.

The point is to think about others needs,  rather than just our own.  No matter who we are,  there's always someone out there that's less fortunate than us,  what can I do to show mercy and help?

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Deuteronomy 26-27