Deuteronomy 10 – 12
Verse 10:16 caught my eye as odd:
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
This seems odd that that they would describe it that way. And I wonder if that is the main purpose for circumcision, submission. I have always wondered why that was a custom to differentiate the Israelites from others. Honestly did they “whip it out” or have it exposed often? How would you know otherwise? Anyway the key here is to approach God with a soften heart, it’s hard enough to believe in an all knowing all seeing entity that you cannot see.
Verses 11:16 & 17 are a warning to the people of Israel:
16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
We need to protect our hearts also for we do not want to follow false teachers. The Israelites had the same problem with so many other cultures; they needed to guard against integrating their customs and religions into Judaism. God has promised they would be protected and fruitful in the previous verses but wanted to make sure they understood it was conditional.
Today we look at “conditionality” of living today. We often see people who are wretched doing quite well and living the “good life” while good Christian families deal with tragedy after tragedy. One could easily question why this does not apply to everyone. The answer is simple, the nations that are not subject to the Law are not judged by not following it. The “heathens” who do not know Christ do not live under the same standards. They will be judged for their actions but are not subject to the same standards we Christians must follow.
Verse 12:30 continues the warning of straying from the Law:
take care that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not enquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’
We don’t need to integrate other religions into our faith to make a “better one”. Once it happens we lose much of what our faith means. You see messages get “watered down” to appeal to a broader audience and not offend others. What we should really be doing is remaining true to the faith and allow God to filter the “offensive” statements.
I think the most polarizing issue today is homosexuality. The Bible is clear that it is wrong. We have that both in the OT and NT, so both Jewish and Christians are told it is wrong. This is where the waters get “muddied” where I believe the Hebraic Law is clear and it a sin for Israelites to lay with the same sex; Paul’s statements need to be analyzed. Was Paul addressing a “orgy/bath house mentality” and did not apply to loving relationships? If God was against gays, why are people born this way? I still am not clear on how Christians should respond. Again it seems like if it’s “Law” for us Christians, it may not apply to those outside the faith. Still trying to figure out in my head what God truly means.
It’s not our job to judge, just love and accept people, show everyone God loves them. God will change their heart of there is a problem, otherwise we do not want to reject people and damn them to help because of a misinterpretation of God’s intentions.