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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Deut. 16
In this chapter, unleavened bread is called “the bread of hardship” (from Deut. 16:3). That’s enlightening! Yeast is often representative of sin in the Bible, and this is one such instance. By substitution, then, we infer that a life without sin is a life of hardship. To take that one step further, we know that the only way we have a life without sin is when we live our lives in Christ Jesus. So we now have one more confirmation that living as a believer in not an easy road.
Deut. 17
God knew the Israelites would eventually want a king like all the other nations had. So, even though the ideal was for God to be their king, He gave concessions for this even before they entered the land. Interestingly, though, none of the kings – not even David – complied with all these statutes for kings. Knowing that Jesus is God’s true appointed King to reign over His people, however, makes this passage a foretelling of that promise.
Something that stood out to me in that this morning is that God said of Egypt, “You are never to go back that way again.” (Deut. 17:16b). Egypt represents our old life in our own human nature. Just as God brought His people out of Egypt, He brings us out of that old life into a new life in Him. When we come to Jesus, we are never to go back to our old ways. But in order for Jesus to bring us out of our old life, He had to go where we were. That is why Jesus spent time in Egypt after His birth in Bethlehem. God meets us where we are – in our sin – to bring us into His presence. Someday He will completely destroy that road back to Egypt and we will dwell with Him in peace forever.
Deut. 18
Just as God promised a King, He also promised a Prophet. Though He provided many prophets over the years to speak His word to His people, His ultimate promise was for a prophet like Moses. “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him. I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that He speaks in my name.” (Deut. 18:18-19). Jesus is that promised prophet. He brought us God’s word and protects us from His righteous wrath. Because Jesus is both our prophet and our king, however, He does so much more for us than Moses ever could.