Tag: tribute

51.f. Wilderness – 15.l. “And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God”

 

Deu 16:9-12  “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Here we have the Feast of Weeks and tribute of a Freewill Offering. The Passover remembrance was commanded by God to the Israelites so that they might always remember His mighty hand, works, signs, and wonders that delivered them out of bondage. The Feast of Weeks was to remind them of God’s continual blessings. 

The Passover, the sacrifice of a lamb, and the sprinkling of the blood on the doorposts of their homes was given before the exodus, or the parting of the Red Sea, or the 10 commandments were given. The sacrifice was before the commandments them all! This was all in line with the covenant God made with Israel. 

When Jesus came, was crucified, died, and rose again, He was the sacrificial “Lamb of God” given before the New Covenant (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) was fully manifested through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and proclaimed by the Apostles.  The old covenant was taken away and a new covenant was given. Where the Passover was remembered and celebrated once per year, the bread broken and the wine (Communion) was not limited to once per year but “as often as ye do it in remembrance of Me”. Remember your salvation, redemption, eternal life, and deliverance from the bondage of sin. 

The Feast of Weeks was a freewill offering, a remembrance of God’s blessings. How many days go by where we are not thankful, grateful, and in awesome wonder of God’s blessings? Do we think they happen because of chance, or hard work, or luck? No, they are blessings from God. They are to be remembered and be thankful for. They are to be shared. They are to be a Feast with rejoicing and thankfulness. We have Thanksgiving in the US and it can be a time of thankfulness but many times if we are not in the right mindset to rejoice and be thankful it becomes a time of celebration of a family get-together without remembrance of God’s Blessings. 

It is good for us to always be in the mindset of rejoicing and thankfulness to God. It keeps us grounded in our Heavenly Father. It keeps us from thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. It places all we have in the One who gave them. It reminds us of who is in control and watching over us. It keeps us desiring to honor and serve Him, not because of what He will do but because of who He is and what He has already done.

How can you taste the living Word of god and drink in the living water of Christ and not be consumed by the sense of thankfulness, worship, praise, joy, and repentance?

48.r. Wilderness – 12.x. “Take the count of the plunder”

 

Num 31:25-40  The LORD said to Moses, “Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation, and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD. And from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD.” And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, and the LORD’s tribute of sheep was 675. The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 72. The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD’s tribute was 61. The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD’s tribute was 32 persons.

 “The booty is equally divided between the people and the soldiers; a five-hundredth part being given to the Lord, and a fiftieth part to the Levites.” (Clarke)

This accounting of spoil from the defeat of the Midianites shows a remarkable amount of plunder. Israel’s officers made this remarkable report to Moses and Eleazar. They took 12,000 men to battle against the Midianites, and not a man of them was missing. “This wondrous indication of Yahweh’s providence and protection would provide the armies of Israel with assurance and confidence for the coming campaigns in the land of Canaan.” (Guzik)

There was a lot of plunder. There was no death to any of Israel’s army. God determined the distribution of the plunder. This act of the sovereignty of God and His awesome power over the assignments given to Israel is given to us in scripture as another example of God’s love and provision, and His wrath and judgment. No matter what people may think, God is in control and His purposes and plans are right and just and holy. There can be no question of this. We may think some things to harsh and other things to soft, but how God directs His grace, mercy, love, anger, wrath, or judgment is His alone. It will always be just and right and holy.

39.s. “To him shall be the obedience of the peoples”

 

 

Genesis 49:8  “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, comes in for the supremacy after the three former have been set aside. His personal prowess, the perpetuity of his dominion, and the luxuriance of his soil are then described. “Thee shall thy brethren praise.” This is an allusion to his name, which signifies praise Genesis 29:35. As his mother praised the Lord for her fourth son, so shall his brethren praise him for his personal excellence. Ardor of temperament, decision of character, and frankness of acknowledgment are conspicuous even in the blemishes of his early life. Tenderness of conscience, promptitude in resolve, capacity for business, and force of eloquence come out in his riper years. These are qualities that win popular esteem. “Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.” They shall flee before him, but shall not escape his powerful grasp. They shall be compelled to yield to his overwhelming power. “Thy father’s sons shall bow down to thee.” Not only his enemies, but his friends, shall acknowledge his sway. (BARNES)

Judah is compared, not to a lion raging and ranging, but to a lion enjoying the satisfaction of his power and success, without creating vexation to others; this is to be truly great. Judah should be the royal tribe, the tribe from which Messiah the Prince should come.(HENRY)

 In a powerful way, this prophecy over Judah is a description of Judah’s greatest descendant: Jesus Christ. “The dying patriarch was speaking of his own son Judah; but while speaking of Judah he had a special eye to our Lord, who sprang from the tribe of Judah. Everything therefore which he says of Judah, the type, he means with regard to our greater Judah, the antitype, our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Spurgeon)

9.z. ““Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people “

Amos 7:7   This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

2 Samuel 8:2    And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

2 Kings 21:13    And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.

Isaiah 28:17    And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”

Isaiah 34:11    But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.

If you have ever done any construction “plumb line” would mean something to you.  A plumb line is a weight suspended from a string used as a vertical reference line to ensure a structure is centered. As they always find the vertical axis pointing to the center of gravity, they ensure everything is right and centered. Of course, now we use lasers to do this but the end result is the same, finding the center between two vertical points.  David used a horizontal line to say who was to live and die amongst the Moabites. In Isaiah, we see a line of justice and a plumb line of righteousness.

This got me to thinking about what we use to ensure we are centered in relation to God’s righteousness.  How can we know?  The Word of God will and does center us.  The problem is I think we wait until we are way too far from the center before we seek center.  Too often we use the plumb line of worldly expectations and definitions of what centered means.  Health, wealth, prosperity, busyness, and ease of life seem to scream out this is what being centered means.  God says, seek and desire me with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength.  Love your neighbor, help the orphan and widow, and humbly serve honor, follow, obey, trust, and rely upon Me.  Our center is found in His Word when our hearts, minds, and ears are opened with a hunger and thirst for its leading in our lives.  To be centered with God requires an intentional surrender of self and an intentional choice to keep focused on Him alone.  Grab hold of the plumb line and never let go.  Keep centered. Rely on, cling too, and trust in Him alone.

3.n. Let it be done with all diligence.”

Ezra 5:6  This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?’ We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders. And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.’ Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.”

Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits, with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.”

“Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”

Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

What a record of God’s mighty hand at work in the restoration of His temple and His people.  You can’t help but read this and see His plans and purposes overcoming those in opposition.  Can you imagine what was going through the minds of those rebuilding the temple?  Here King Cyrus had made a degree and the work started only to have a new King Darius now in place and those in opposition seeking to stop this work by appealing to the King with the intent of just making the King aware of the situation.  The work God did to cause Cyrus to issue the decree to rebuild was also caused in Darius.

When I read this I try to imagine what would be going through my mind if I was one of the leaders directing the rebuild.  Would I have faith and trust in God to continue in the face of opposition?  Would I be strong?  Would I believe in what God spoke through the prophets?  Would I be afraid or fearful?  Would I stay the course?  Would I pray to rejoice in what God would do or would I pray in fear of what might happen?  Would I easily be swayed by the turn of events?

At the end of these questions I come to the conclusion that it is a daily intentional choice and commitment to believe, honor, serve, follow, obey, and trust in God.  This choice lives and breathes life into our heart, mind, and soul as our faith grows and matures in and through time in His word.

2.y. Because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.

2 Chronicles 27:1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord according to all that his father Uzziah had done, except he did not enter the temple of the Lord. But the people still followed corrupt practices. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord and did much building on the wall of Ophel. Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and forts and towers on the wooded hills. He fought with the king of the Ammonites and prevailed against them. And the Ammonites gave him that year 100 talents of silver, and 10,000 cors of wheat and 10,000 of barley. The Ammonites paid him the same amount in the second and the third years. So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before the Lord his God.

2 Chronicles 17:3-6    The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals,  but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.  Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor.  His heart was courageous in the ways of the LORD

2 Chronicles 12:12    And when he humbled himself the wrath of the LORD turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction. Moreover, conditions were good in Judah.

Ezra 7:10    For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Having God with us, guiding us, leading us, and helping us for good does not happen by chance or good luck.  It does not happen because we earned it as if God is in debt to us and owes us something.  He created us for His glory and honor and praise.  In this creation, He gave us (mankind) a free will to honor and glorify Him.  He allowed His creation to choose to do this, or not.  Not only did He create us but He also revealed Himself to us through creation, angels, prophets, works of miracles, His written word, and His Son Jesus Christ.  We have been given free will to choose to honor, glorify, follow, serve, trust, and obey Him.  He has given us words to live by so that in our life this side of eternity we demonstrate our love for Him as creator and worthy of all honor and praise.  He has given us precious promises too.  He is steadfast in His love toward us.  He blesses us and disciplines us with righteousness.

Mankind, we, were created for His honor and glory.  We are created to bring honor and glory to Him alone.  We are created to worship and praise Him above all else.  He gave us His written word so that through it we might gain wisdom, understanding, knowledge of Him and His purpose and plans and continually grow in this so that our honor and glory of Him consume and directs our every thought, word, and action.

He is worthy of so much more than lukewarm lip service from us.

Proclaim good news

“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

Psalms 72:1   Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!   May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!   Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!  May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!   May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!   May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!   In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!   May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!  May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day! May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field! May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed! Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!

Luke 4:18   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

Isaiah 41:17   When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

Ezekiel 34:16    I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Job 5:15  But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty.  So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.