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Leviticus 20（ESV）
9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him…..
22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
REFLECTION
- Today’s passage is about punishment for the unclean/unholy
- The disciplines that turn us from dishonoring our parents to honoring them also train us in a way of life that honors God. Home and holiness are closely related not only in this passage but also in the passage from childhood to adulthood. In Prov 1:7-8, we see a similar relationship between the teaching of God and the teaching at home:
Start with God – the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.
Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you;
never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee. (The Message)
- Holiness begins at home. It begins with honoring our parents. In honoring our parents, we honor God. How we speak to our parents will largely determine how we speak to God. The late Rev. Stephen D. Knights, founder of AFC Canada used to say, “A person who is obedient to his parents is more likely obedient to God.”
PRAYER
Examine my relationship with my parents, how does it affect my attitude toward God? Is the Holy Spirit rebuking me, or reminding me areas that I need to improve? Ask for His help and guidance.
HYMN:
I Love You Lord – youtu.be/SYV0ce3ybEA
