dispute – Praying Pint

52.b. Wilderness – 16.h. “Acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty”

Deu 25:1-3 “If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.

This is the simple responsibility of all government and courts. As Paul described the role of government in Romans 13:4: For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Apparently, God considers that some criminals are wicked and deserve to be beaten. We seem to have a justice system today that considers itself more compassionate and kind than God Himself, yet we can’t say that we live in a more just or safe society. (I doubt this compassion of the cultural courts has resulted in a safer society.)

Though sometimes a beating was the appropriate punishment, God also agrees with the idea that there is a such thing as excessive punishment, and this was intended to prevent excessive punishment. Additionally, the beating was to be administered in the presence of the judge (and be beaten in his presence), so he could make sure the punishment was not excessive. Paul listed this among his “apostolic credentials”: From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. The forty stripes minus one means Paul was beaten by the Jewish authorities with thirty-nine blows on five different occasions. Paul did not receive 40 blows, as according to Deuteronomy 25:3 because as a common practice, the Jews only allowed 39 blows to be administered. This was to both show mercy and to scrupulously keep the law – one blow was left off to protect against a miscount. (Guzik)

Every punishment should be with solemnity, that those who see it may be filled with dread, and be warned not to offend in like manner. And though the criminals must be shamed as well as put to pain, for their warning and disgrace, yet care should be taken that they do not appear totally vile. Happy those who are chastened of the Lord to humble them, that they should not be condemned with the world to destruction. (Henry)

We may see this as barbaric justice. We may see it as over-the-top justice. We may even see it as criminal. We may see it as injustice and certainly not what civilized people would do. God ordained this for the purpose of being justice to the offender and a deterrent to others.

When the courts, judges, lawyers, and overseers of justice are corrupt and administer justice according to man’s rules of right and wrong, there will be injustice.

This is how earthly disputes were judged. The innocent were acquitted and the guilty were condemned. Scripture tells us that we will stand before God and be judged. On one side of the justice scale is sin and on the other righteousness. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. None, no not one, are righteous in the eyes of God. All are guilty. The penalty of being found guilty of sin is DEATH and TORMENT and complete SEPARATION from God. HELL. When standing before God we will have no defense for God is all-knowing and knows all of our thoughts, actions, and intents. There is nothing we can say in defense. We are guilty and deserve whatever He has judged us to receive as punishment. How are we to ever stand in God’s judgment and be acquitted? Faith, belief, trust, obedience, and reliance in Jesus Christ. How can this be?

In Isaiah, it says: Isaiah 53:5. KJ21. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.

Jesus came to take the punishment we deserved and bear our sins and our guilt. He was guiltless, sinless, the Son of God. He took our guilt and thereby we are acquitted and deemed innocent. When we stand before God in judgment our only plea will be: I have Faith, belief, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ. There can be much said about how we should live in light of the price that was paid for the redemption of our soul and the promise of Eternal Life.

Work on living in such a way that all of your thoughts, words, and actions are taken captive and purpose in your heart to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do.

51.q. Wilderness – 15.w. “Do what is right in the sight of the LORD.”

Deu 21:1-9 “If in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the LORD, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. Accept atonement, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.

Num 35:33-34 ‘So you shall not pollute the land where you [are]; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. ‘Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.’ “

This passage shows that the blood of unsolved, unavenged murder defiles and pollutes the land. Therefore, if there is a murder unavenged, some kind of cleansing is necessary, so the land will not be defiled. First, the matter of jurisdiction had to be settled. These elders were responsible to make the sacrifice to atone for and cleanse the murder-polluted land.

Then, appropriate sacrifice had to be made. This heifer was sacrificed by the sons of Levi in the presence of the city elders, who washed their hands over the sacrificed animal. This washing of the hands, done in the presence of the sons of Levi, who by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled, was a powerful proclamation by the elders: “We have done all we could to settle this case, but cannot. We are clean from all guilt in the matter of this slain man.” Of course, this ceremony of washing the hands over the sacrificed animal meant nothing if the elders had in fact not done what they could to avenge the murder; apart from that, this washing of the hands was just as much an empty gesture as Pilate’s washing of his hands at the trial of Jesus.

Unavenged murders defile and pollute the land and atonement must be made for the land itself. When Israel followed God’s instructions for atonement, He honored His word by taking away their guilt. But the removal of guilt was always based on blood sacrifice, on a substitutionary atonement – looking forward to the work of Jesus on the cross for the entire world. (Guzik)

If a murderer could not be found out, great solemnity is provided for putting away the guilt from the land, as an expression of dread and detesting of that sin. The providence of God has often wonderfully brought to light these hidden works of darkness, and the sin of the guilty has often strangely found them out. The dread of murder should be deeply impressed upon every heart, and all should join in detecting and punishing those who are guilty. The elders were to profess that they had not been any way aiding or abetting the sin. The priests were to pray to God for the country and nation, that God would be merciful. We must empty that measure by our prayers, which others are filling by their sins. All would be taught by this solemnity, to use the utmost care and diligence to prevent, discover, and punish murder. We may all learn from hence to take heed of partaking in other men’s sins. And we have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, if we do not reprove them. (Henry)

If the land and people on that land needed atonement for an unsolvable murder, how much more so would the lands where abortion is rampant and approved. It is the murder of innocent babies still in the womb. Making laws that condone it mean nothing in absolution of the guilt of it. Read this from the WHO website:

Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. Comprehensive abortion care is included in the list of essential health care services published by WHO in 2020. Abortion is a simple health care intervention that can be effectively managed. Restrictive abortion regulation can cause distress and stigma, and risk constituting a violation of human rights of women and girls, including the right to privacy and the right to non-discrimination and equality, while also imposing financial burdens on women and girls.

Lack of access to safe, timely, affordable and respectful abortion care is a critical public health and human rights issue.

51.n. Wilderness – 15.t. “Both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD”

Deu 19:15-20 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you.

This isn’t just because it is possible for one witness to lie without having his story corroborated. It is because one witness can be confused, or mistaken in his testimony. It is a basic measure of reliability that it must be more than a simple case of “my word against theirs.” At the trial of Jesus, many false witnesses rose up against him, and were demonstrated to be false witnesses by their confused and contradictory testimony (Matthew 26:59-60). The false witnesses, under Jewish law, should have been put to death, because that is the punishment they sought for Jesus.

Many modern people doubt that the punishment of others is an effective deterrent to crime; but the Bible clearly says that it is. Weak or inconsistent punishment does not deter crime, but effective punishment does. This was an important principle for the Biblical court of law; here, connected to the punishment described for false witness, it shows that whatever evil was planned or practiced against another, a similar punishment should be brought against the false witness.

Our tendency is to want to do more to the offending party than what they have done to us. But we cannot punish from a motive of revenge, only from a motive of justice.

Many Rabbis in Jesus’ day taught that the eye for eye law meant you were obligated to avenge yourself of a personal insult or attack brought against you. Jesus rightly disallowed the application of this law in our personal relationships; it was a law intended to guide the judges in the law courts of Israel, not to guide our personal relationships. (Guzik)

It is hard for us to know the truth of a witness. How could we? However, many people are swayed by the charismatic or crafty words of a single witness. How many true things have happened and a witness proclaims it, but there is no collaborative witness? How many false things have happened and a witness proclaims it, but there is no collaborative witness?

We have social media where people say just about anything, about anybody, and there are no checks or balances to it. The same can easily be said about news outlets. The truth of the matter is that people lie or embellish events to suit their narrative. It would do us well to keep our eyes and ears away from it, but that seems impossible due to the wide acceptance of both social media and news outlets.

The heart that is seeking to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions will need to be continually attentive to the Holy Spirit’s leading in all things. God’s Word is truth. God’s Word benefits the heart, mind, and soul. God’s Word is sharper than a double-edged sword and able to discern the intents of every person.

Our hearts get filled with so much worthless dribble if we let it. We get swayed by it. We even chase after it. We like it. We talk about it. We worry about it. We get angry about it. We get confused by it. We get to the point where we even believe what is being said is true. We might even proclaim it.

This should not be so. What would our lives be like if we were to desire and seek truth from God’s Word with the intent of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions? What would our lives be like if we had a deep desire to know more and more about God?

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three in one, will bear witness for us or against us. God knows our every thought and intent. He knows it all and were we to stand before Him and He is the witness against us – who would be guiltless? What defense could be given? We would stand before Him on judgment day and be declared guilty, without hope of appeal. But praise be to God. He sent His one and only Son to bear our punishment and be our witness as to the debt of our offenses being paid in full by His death. Jesus is our advocate, savior, and redeemer.

Confess and repent of your sins and trust in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ’s work completed on the cross for all who believe.

44.c. “Wilderness” – 8.j. “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there”

Exo 24:12 The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.” Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

“Joshua accompanied Moses for a distance and there waited six days (a solemn reminder of God’s unapproachableness), when Moses was called higher to a personal and private time with God. (Thomas)

Moses was directed to ascend into the mount, and hold prolonged communion with God, in order that he might learn from the mind of God with respect to all these things. (Ellicott)

A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God’s special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. (Henry)

We have previously read of the Commandments given by God, read to the Israelites, a covenant entered into with the Israelites, and the 70 elders along with Aaron and two of his sons ate and drank with God. Now Moses is called to come to the mountain and wait for God. He waited 6 days and then on the 7 day God called out to Moses. The call of God to Moses to come to the mountain and wait, the waiting by Moses, and the call of God to Moses to come further should remind us all that it is God that calls and draws us toward Himself. “Behold I stand at the door and knock”, “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son”, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them”, “Therefore you have no excuse”. God calls out to all mankind. God draws all mankind to a place in their minds where they will intentionally choose to either answer His call to repentance and belief in Jesus Christ or deny and reject it. When called, there will be some who will try to respond in a way that seems right to them. They shallowly commit and settle on a path that seems right and will allow themselves to be good enough (in their own eyes) to receive the promises of eternal life, and allows them to live in this world giving little to no thought of the Holiness of God and the sinfulness of their sin. Their lives are lived in this world and for the pleasures this world has to offer. Though there have been words of commitment and obedience coming out of their mouths there has been none of this commitment and obedience in their hearts, minds, and souls. Is this the expectation of God? Do we not understand that it cost the suffering and ultimately the life of His only Son? Should it be right to answer the call of God to repentance and belief in His Son so shallowly?

2. “What you are doing is not good.”

Exodus 18:13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.

Time is a big consumer. It can consume our lives for good things. Note Moses gave time for a good thing – “settling disputes” and he “made known the statutes and laws of God”. These are good things to be doing but not all alone. There are others to help. How we spend time on good things is a choice. It is always a balancing act and there does not seem to be an answer unless we look at it from the perspective of “What are God’s plans and purpose for us”.

If good things of this life pull you from living fully for God or give you excuse to not engage fully for Him, those good things may not be good for you.

There must be a balance. How does one balance God, work, family? Is it possible? Yes, it is. Placing God first in all you do puts life this side of eternity into perspective. With God first, we find certain good things in this life are just not as good as others. With God first and His word in our heart, we can learn to say NO to good things of this world and more YES to the one to come. Placing God first will lead you down paths of wisdom in determining what is meaningful good things and what is not.

All I can tell you is that when God is your desire good things of this world do not give satisfaction to your soul like the good things He leads you to do.