 |
Home | Mission Statement | Video Gallery | Audio Gallery | Photo Gallery | Daily Manna | Testimonies | | Links | Contact us |
 |
For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
 |
| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The New Tablets for the Ten Commandments Bible Verse:Exodus 34:1-9 (ESV) "The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze near the mountain.” So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands [or, thousands of generations], forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” " Message:
If there was any ambiguity about the state of God’s relationship with the Israelites, it is clarified here: The covenant made in Exodus 19-20 was broken and completely void, as symbolized by the smashing of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. Remaking the tablets signifies that the covenant has been made again.
As promised (see previous Devotion), God shows His glory to Moses. But as we learned previously, God would not show His face to Moses (“face” being, perhaps, a metaphor used to describe the aspect of God which is unknowable to a human being).
There are differences of opinion on the meaning of the words “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Modern scholarship generally seeks to explain this passage as meaning something different than it says, e.g., that, if a person commits a great sin and is punished for it, his children cannot continue to commit the same sin and expect not to be punished. But this is an example of rewriting Scripture to conform to current culture; holding offspring liable for the sins of their forebears is anathema to the modern mind.
But in previous times, “corruption of blood,” as it was called, was common practice. We can actually date the change in attitude, because the law was changed in the United States by the U.S. Constitution (art. 3, sec. 3): “[N]o Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood . . .”). Prior to the 18th century, the idea that a person’s heirs might continue to pay for his crimes or sins, especially in cases of disloyalty, was widely accepted.
Solomon, whose sins
would be visited on his descendants.
The passage about “visiting the iniquities of the fathers on the children” means exactly what it says. Yahweh’s covenant with the Hebrews was not between Yahweh and the people present. Just as with Abraham, it extended to their offspring. They would benefit from the righteousness of their forefathers by being born into a covenant, marked by circumcision of infant males; and as stated in today’s Scripture, the offspring might also suffer from the sins of their forefathers.
In fact, that is just what will happen from time to time: Generations of Hebrews will be punished for the sins of their forebears repeatedly in the history of Israel, especially for great sins akin to treason; e.g., idolatry, or not keeping the Sabbath and/or Passover. The easiest place to see this is the Babylonian captivity, where generations are forced or born into slavery in Babylonia, as punishment for the widespread idolatry developing after the death of David.
On the other hand, we can never forget God’s promise of forgiveness, made in the same sentence; a righteous Hebrew or a righteous generation, that affirmatively sought forgiveness would find it, no matter what the sins of the forebears; until, one day, ultimate forgiveness would come in flesh and blood, in the person of Christ.
Meditation : Prayer : Oh Heavenly Father, in whom I live and move and have my being, I humbly pray you so to guide and govern me by your Holy Spirit, that in all the joys, occupations, and cares of this day I may never forget you, but remember that I am ever walking in your sight. In Christ’s name, I pray,.....Amen |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
