Deuteronomy 25:1

Hello, Cross Connection. Good morning if you're watching this in the morning when it first comes out. If not, I'm glad to be with you. Pastor Miles has asked that I stand in for him as we continue our series in Deuteronomy. Today, we're going to be looking into Deuteronomy chapter 25.

I have been so blessed to listen to our pastor teach through Deuteronomy, even the difficult and uncomfortable sections. What a blessing it has been to look at God's law and how it was administered to His people. It makes me so thankful that we're not under the law, but it also makes me grateful that God had a plan for us. As we weave through the law, we're able to see these little hints of Jesus and the plan of salvation. It is so great to be in that series right now.

Additionally, it's been Pastor Appreciation Month, and I want to say to our congregation, thank you so much for the cards and letters. Some of those have meant so much to me. I see where we've recounted things and experiences I've walked through with you or your family. Some of them even slipped my mind, and I appreciate how thankful you are for those moments. This is a congregation that is a blessing to pastor, and I am very thankful for you all.

As we've been marching through the reopening and navigating what's going on in the world, I've been taking a closer look at this from Moses' point of view in the book of Deuteronomy. The leadership challenges that come with guiding God's people, your family, or your employees are significant. I have been very blessed to go through this.

One of the things that strikes us is that we can get into the habit of making excuses for these odd, crazy-sounding laws that seem so foreign to us. As we go through them, we see how some were very important, while others leave us shaking our heads, wondering what they are all about. It's kind of funny to think that we find these laws in Deuteronomy to be crazy. I have a few laws I'd like to read to you here from our great state of California.

I wondered what Moses would think if I were sitting across the table from him, sharing these laws. In the city of El Monte, sandboxes may not be used as ashtrays. Evidently, that's very important. In Fresno, no one may annoy a lizard in a city park; it's a very serious matter. It is also illegal to injure or disturb a rock in Fresno City Park.

In Los Angeles, it is illegal to cry on the witness stand. You may not hunt moths under a street lamp. Additionally, bathing two babies in the same tub at the same time is prohibited. It is a misdemeanor to shoot any kind of game from a moving vehicle unless the target is a whale. Furthermore, it is a crime for dogs to mate within 500 yards of a church. We are certainly thankful for that.

Moving on to Chico, you are prohibited from owning a smelly animal hide. Detonating a nuclear device within Chico city limits results in a $500 fine, so don't do that; you'll be quite a bit poorer. One law that I really like is in Barstow, where you are not allowed to wear cowboy boots unless you own at least two head of cattle.

I wonder what Moses would think of these laws we have today. From my research, it seems that it is harder to get a law off the books in California than it is to get a law on the books. This is probably why there are so many extraneous laws.

As we look at the laws in Deuteronomy, I think they fall into a few different categories. In fact, some of your Bibles will refer to them as miscellaneous laws. I don't know about your house, but just about every house I've ever been in has something called a miscellaneous drawer. When you pull out the miscellaneous drawer, there are items in there that you're sure you're going to need. Maybe it's that lens cap for the camera, some half-used batteries, a pocket knife, or a screw for something. They are all things you're pretty sure you'll need, but you just don't use them.

That often. But you don't want to throw them out because there's still a good chance that you might need them for something.

Then there are some laws that I believe are more like they've been inspired. They inspired the memo, so to speak. Perhaps you've been in an office situation where somebody inspired the memo, maybe on a casual Friday when they wore something a little too casual. Some of these laws seem to be inspired by a memo. There's probably a name or an incident connected to these laws, and looking at those kind of brings a smile to my face.

These laws are all being reviewed. The background for these laws being reviewed by Moses to his people is that they are on the outside of the great nation of Israel. They are going to go in and occupy. They are on the border, waiting to step into this blessing. These are some things that they have to establish for Israel to become a nation and to function. They will need some of these rules, some of this government, and some of this organization.

Today, if you could leave with something, I want you to carry in your head and your heart the heaviness of the law and the burden of the law. Consider just how hard it is to keep that and weigh it against the joy of the new covenant that we have in Christ Jesus, the fact that He fulfilled the law. These laws are taken care of by Him. As I said, He did not come to abolish the law, but He came to fulfill it. I am so thankful for that.

I think today will be a time in the Word that will be filled with appreciation and humor, but also a time of thankfulness. So let's pray as we open up God's Word.

Dear Father, we thank You so much for the fact that this is written down, Lord, and that we can be encouraged by Your Word and the history of Your people and the valuable lessons there. While we are removed from that timeframe and that situation, there are still valuable principles that we can glean, and we can see the foreshadowing of salvation in Jesus Christ.

In our hearts this morning, do this work, Lord, by Your Holy Spirit, as we open up Your Word. It is in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

This morning, as I remind you, we are in Deuteronomy chapter 25. So let's read.

If there was a dispute between men and they came to court, the judges may judge them, justifying the righteous and condemning the wicked. If the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. He may give him forty blows and no more, lest he exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, causing your brother to be humiliated in your sight.

Point number one on your outline: the administration of God's law justifies the righteous and condemns the wicked. Again, the administration of God's law justifies the righteous and condemns the wicked. As this people sits outside the land they are going to inherit, they will need government; they will need a system in place, even more than what they already have. They are reviewing some of the rules and regulations, the statutes, and the judgments of the Lord. Moses is giving this to them, perhaps as a refresher or in response to something that has come up.

Without this system, they would be like many of the peoples around them. It would be the Wild West. There would be a need for a system of law in place, one that was written down and not so open to interpretation. There would also need to be people to administer this law. This is the very essence and beginnings of justice—true, fair justice and law versus vigilantism in the world.

In this ancient world, it was more of a survival of the fittest. Those who had the best alliances, the strongest connections, and the most power and influence were the ones who received the fairest deal. They were the ones for whom everything seemed to go their way because they had so much on their side. If you were a powerful man or had a powerful family with many alliances and wealth in these ancient times, you would receive a much better shake or judgment.

In a situation involving a widow or an orphan, Moses' giving of these laws aimed to even the playing field for all. It was intended to create a justice system that resembles what we strive for today. Much of our country's justice system is rooted in the foundational aspects of these laws. However, even today, we face challenges in our modern society where those with alliances, wealth, and power often find that things are fairer for them.

This presents a valuable lesson: a standard had to be established in the land for the people to succeed. At that time, there were no jails; they were nomadic, and the concept of prison had not yet been invented. Therefore, they had to address matters during their 40-year camping trip. The punishment prescribed was a certain number of lashes. Interestingly, research shows that while one could give up to 40 lashes, they would typically only administer 39. This was to ensure that if someone miscounted, they would not exceed the limit or be too harsh.

The punishment was methodical and metered. It was supervised, not carried out by a mob mentality. Instead, it was conducted before a judge who oversaw the administration of the lashes. This supervision ensured that the punishment did not go over the line and was not excessive. The process was quick; rather than serving a prison term, the punishment was completed in a matter of minutes. It was recorded, although they did not have a computer system or a book to keep track of everyone's records. Instead, all one needed to do to determine if someone was a repeat offender was to look at their shirt and see the lashes from previous crimes. Thus, the punishment was recorded and paid.

As near as I can tell, it was paid. It was done. That transgression was even, and it was paid in full at the administering of that punishment. If you notice, they use the word "brother" in there, and for him not to be humiliated. The punishment was not designed to humiliate; these were to be done as to a brother. It was by the Hebrews, for the Hebrews. So, by God's people, for God's people. It was exclusive to them, it appears. It was for the people that were the nation of Israel.

The one thing you need to know about God's law is that there's always a foreshadowing, it seems, of Jesus coming to fulfill it. Turn with me, please, to the book of Isaiah, chapter 53, and we're going to read in Isaiah chapter 43 this foreshadowing, this prophetic message given by Isaiah about Jesus, about the Christ, about the Messiah.

In Isaiah 53, we see in verse 4, it says, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." But he was wounded for our transgressions; this is referenced in Romans 4:25. He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, which is often interpreted as "crushed." And by his stripes, we are healed. Some of your Bible interpretations say "by his lashes."

We have a prophecy about the Messiah appearing in Isaiah, matching up with this situation that people knew of in Deuteronomy, where the lashes were prescribed to our Savior. It was supervised, it was being watched, and it was recorded. We have this in our Bibles, and it was final. He paid the price for you and me—final, infinite. It's done; it is finished. Telestoi, it is paid.

In 1 Peter chapter 2, read along with me. I like that it reinforces the scripture in Isaiah; he reflects on this. So, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 21, says, "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose stripe we were healed." Jesus paid it all.

We see the foreshadowing of this not just in Deuteronomy, but also in Isaiah, in 1 Peter, and throughout the Old Testament. This would be how our sins, one day, as Gentiles, would be forgiven.

Now, let's go down to verse 4. It says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." This is kind of a no-brainer, so to speak; you wouldn't be cruel. You wouldn't force an animal to look at the very food that he's producing and not be able to eat. This has ramifications outside of just what Moses is telling these people while revisiting the law, but this is specifically talking about the ox and the principle of that.

Point number 2 on your outline: God's promises and commands in the law are not necessarily promises and commands to you. We see this principle of not muzzling an ox come up in 1 Corinthians 9, verses 8-11. You can go back there and read, but basically, the situation is that Paul is there preaching to the Corinthians, and the subject comes up about pastors or people preaching or missionaries being supported and being paid. What he brings up in this situation is that he goes back to, in quotes, Deuteronomy.

In 1 Corinthians 9:25, Paul looks at the principle of why we should support missionaries and pastors, people coming to teach. He emphasizes that the Corinthian church should do so. However, he also states that he is not taking advantage of this principle because he wants his message to be loud and clear. Therefore, he works as he goes and discusses this matter.

Paul takes an Old Testament command, extracts a principle from it, and uses that to explain a situation. It is important to keep in mind that sometimes we want to take Old Testament promises or commands and act as though they are speaking directly to us. The truth is that these were made to a specific people group at a certain time and in a certain situation. Nevertheless, Paul has no problem appropriating this to teach a principle, which is a healthy understanding to have.

Now, I want you to take a look at one of my favorite t-shirts. It's my favorite because I think I'm kind of snarky. The t-shirt says, "Yes, I can do all things through a verse misquoted or taken out of context." Many times, we can take these promises and commands that were given to Israel and try to appropriate them to fit our own lives or to look like something relevant to America. However, they simply are not meant for us. We can definitely take the principles and apply them when they are in context, but we cannot take these promises and commands as being directed to us because they were not made for us.

This can be a challenge to explain sometimes, as it is a point of error for many people. The best way I can explain it is like this: Imagine a man and a woman who get married. They are very excited and go on their honeymoon. While at a beautiful resort for a couple of days, they are having a great time in a beautiful situation.

The new bride goes to take a spa day for the morning, and the groom decides to find something to do. He goes by the ocean and discovers metal detectors for rent. He rents a metal detector because this is a place of history. After spending an hour shoveling through the sand, he finds a valuable ancient gold coin and feels blessed by it.

As he examines the gold coin, he realizes something important. This coin was minted to be used during a specific time frame by a certain group of people. If he were to try to use this gold coin in a vending machine to get a bag of potato chips or a soft drink, it wouldn't work because it wasn't made for that situation. Similarly, if he took it to the convenience store next to the resort or attempted to pay for something at the resort with it, it would not be considered legal tender; they would not know how to use it. The coin was not made for this time period as a means of monetary exchange.

Is it valuable? Absolutely. Does it have great worth? Certainly. However, the worth of the coin must be derived from exchanging it for something else. Its value lies in another place. The historical significance and the material it is made from no longer serve as legal tender for the situation that this young groom finds himself in.

The story continues with the groom going out every day for the next four days, digging for coins, but he never finds another one. The moral of the story is that we can spend so much time searching for these coins and looking for tender from an ancient time that we miss out on our honeymoon, so to speak. It is very important to keep this in our minds and hearts as we reflect on our experiences.

When we look into the Old Testament and examine the law, we find it to be of great value. It is fulfilled in Christ. However, if we take these laws, feasts, and regulations to be applicable today as if they are somehow legal tender that we must follow, we would be in error. The best approach is to extract the timeless and valuable principles that surround these laws, as they hold great worth.

There is a danger in this, and I mention it because it has indeed happened. Just as Moses mentions these odd laws, he does so not because he has never seen them happen, but because someone has inspired the memo. One of the dangers of falling into a Judaized relationship with the Lord is when we place too much emphasis on keeping feasts, blowing shofars, or trying to wear yarmulkes. When we attempt to become more Jewish in effect, thinking that this will somehow deepen our relationship with Christ, these practices can become a great distraction.

I have no argument with learning about the feasts or even attending one to appreciate the earnestness and symbolism involved. However, to make these practices a core part of your identity as a believer and how you perceive the Lord can lead to a dangerous trap of Judaizing your relationship with Christ. I emphasize this caution not because I haven't seen it happen, but because I have.

In Hebrews 15, we see an example where believers are cautioned because men are showing up and telling the church that they all need to be circumcised. They are being told they must become more Jewish to have a relationship with the Lord and to gain a deeper understanding of Him. This simply isn't true, and they are corrected and chastised for spreading such ideas, especially since the people they are addressing are not Jews. They were attempting to turn the early church into Jews, which was never the command and never the point of why we were set free in Christ and given liberty over the law.

If, as a believer, you start to follow the law and the traditions...

In a way, the promises can lead you away from that covenant relationship with the Lord, and you won't even know it. It can be a very dangerous thing.

Listen with me to 2 Chronicles, chapter 7. I would like to read this verse, which is very valuable in how we can interpret it. Second Chronicles, chapter 7, verse 12 says, "Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, 'I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When—He did not say if—when I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.'"

I bring that up because how many times have I seen that scripture displayed on a banner with the United States or the Capitol building in the background? It is presented as though God is speaking directly to the United States of America, but He is not. He is speaking to Solomon after the completion of the temple. It is a great moment, and I will tell you, Solomon's stock is so high at this point, finishing the temple. He is there, and the Lord appears to him and speaks to him. This is a historic situation, a certain time, and a certain promise made to God's people. Was it made to the United States of America? It was not.

Now, because this is valuable, because it is gold, and because it is important, how can you and I interpret this? How can we use this promise made to God's people? Well, as a principle. The truth of the matter is, I believe if the United States of America—looking around us—we are very distracted people right now, and in many ways, we are very far from God. If we did repent, if we did humble ourselves, if we did pray, would God not react in a positive manner?

I believe He would. Is it a promise that He is bound to because He made it to Israel? He is not. Our promises, again, our commandments, are in Jesus Christ. When you see this scripture and take these promises that God has made to Israel, we are looking at the principles of the promise. We are not looking at the promise directly as it pertains to us.

It is very important that we are reading our Bible. I tell you, we have been doing a class here at Cross Connection on how to read your Bible and study your Bible. Over the course of nine weeks total, what an eye-opener it has been for so many people to learn how to parse the Greek and to look at what the Bible says as opposed to what we want it to say. It is so important, when you want to hear from the Lord, to be able to see what it actually says and what it is actually telling us.

The truth of the matter is, the only promise and the command for the Christian is this: Jesus. Jesus is the only promise and the only command that we need. John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but will have everlasting life." There is our promise, our commandment.

John 13:34 says, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you love one another." If you want to take that a little bit farther, you can go into Matthew 28:19, which says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." There is our promise, and there is our command in Jesus Christ.

Now, let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter 25. We are going to go to verse 5. "If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family. Her husband's brother shall go into her, take her as a wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed the name of his dead brother, that his name will not be blotted out of Israel. But if the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go to the gate to the..."

Elders shall say, "My husband's brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel. He will not perform the duty of my husband's brother." Then the elders of the city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, "I do not want to take her," then his brother's wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, "So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother's house." His name shall be called in Israel, "the house of him who had his sandal removed."

Point number three in your outlines: God's law puts a high value on lineage and inheritance. Looking at this situation, I guess it's safe to say that this would be a very strange situation in 2022 America. Many of you know I lost a brother here in the United States last December, and it was heartbreaking. It was very hard. I can't imagine what my house would be like if my sister-in-law moved in with us and how that would change the dynamic in the house.

She's a great sister-in-law, but it would definitely change the dynamic if that were what we were required to do as the brother of the deceased. How weird would that be? How strange would that be? Again, I thank the Lord for the new covenant, and I'm sure my sister-in-law does too. She's really great; she was a professional pastry chef. If she moved in, I would weigh about 450 pounds, so we wouldn't want to do that.

However, we have to understand that God's law at this time, in the nation of Israel, placed a very high value on lineage and inheritance. There is one thing we must understand about Judaism at this level: it is not evangelical. Think about that. Have you ever had anyone come to your door wanting to talk to you about becoming a Jew? Have you ever heard of a great Jewish evangelist filling stadiums and trying to bring people into the knowledge of Judaism? It is simply not a component. Why? Because Judaism...

Especially at this time, there was an ethnocentric relationship and an ethnocentric religion. You are born a Jew; you do not become a Jew. The increase of God's people was not through evangelism, even though some of the people and places they took over at certain times did come into the fold as part of the households. It was not through evangelism, but through lineage—literally, reproduction and having children. That was what was important.

A widow at this time would have no place for land or inheritance in Israel if she did not have a male child. This was very important, even enough to put the brother in an uncomfortable situation of having to be responsible for someone else. There were prescriptions and rules pertaining to this.

One of the things we have to remember about Judaism and the law is that it is exclusive. At that time, it did not appear that there was a plan for Gentiles, for you and me. In fact, when Jesus walked the earth, the common thought among the Pharisees was that Gentiles were simply logs for the flames of hell. They believed that God had no plan for us and that there was no thought for our redemption through a Messiah and a Savior.

So, it is not evangelical Judaism; it is exclusive. Our stature in that context was very grim and sad. All that being said, we are not Jews, and we cannot become them. Just as I am Portuguese, if you are not Portuguese, you cannot become Portuguese. You cannot eat enough fish, make enough wine, or learn Portuguese to become Portuguese. It simply will not happen. That is not how it works.

This was the plan and the situation at the time. I grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. Most of my friends were Jewish, even through high school. Many of my friends were from different countries, and they were Jewish, which added a whole other aspect to the Jewish relationship, so to speak.

Recently, I had the honor of attending one of my oldest friend's father's funeral memorial. I believe I was the only Gentile there, and it was a unique experience. I had never been to a Jewish funeral before. The families were gathered much like you would see at a memorial that you and I would attend. However, my friend's father was buried in a very simple pine box, as is tradition, so it did not look flashy or anything special. This simplicity was part of Jewish tradition.

I was invited to be part of a lineup of people who would shovel dirt on the casket. I believe this act is a symbol of closeness and respect. Doing this was considered an honor, as it signified that you were family and close to the deceased. I was deeply honored to be part of that, especially for this old friend I have had for, gosh, 40 years.

One thing I found interesting during the service was the remarks made by the two rabbis. I listen to a lot of sermons, so I am always ready to hear rabbis speak. One of the things the rabbis mentioned over six times— I lost count after that—was the fact that my friend's father was a good Jew. They spoke about how he helped people and how he kept the law. They even had a kosher kitchen.

However, the point they emphasized repeatedly was that he married a Jewish woman and that his children married Jews. They highlighted the importance of keeping that law, that lineage, and that inheritance alive. This was a recurring theme throughout the ceremony, presented as a high standard and something of great importance. For us, this may be something we do not fully grasp; it is a uniquely Jewish experience.

The emphasis on Jews marrying other Jews and preserving that ethnic lineage was reiterated again and again. This was evident not only in the sharing but also in the lives of the people I saw there, many of whom I grew up with. It was a revelation, so to speak, regarding the significance of that tradition.

Now, the good news in that is the New Covenant, where...

Jesus, the high value that He holds, is significant. He has a lineage that traces back through David and many other characters. His lineage, being of the house of David, meets the standard for our inheritance. He is how we enter the kingdom. It is by our relationship with Him, not by birth or reproduction, but by spiritual birth and spiritual reproduction—being born again.

If you'd like to see the most beautiful foreshadowing of the relationship we have in Christ, it is found in the Book of Ruth. In this book, we see a man named Boaz, known as the kinsman redeemer, who redeems the wife of a deceased relative. Many believe this story outlines and foreshadows the relationship that you and I have with Jesus and the plan of salvation. I encourage you to read the Book of Ruth.

As we move along, let's go down to verse 17. I realize there are some topics in this passage about men fighting together, the seizing of genitals, weights and measures, and those matters. I think they are fairly self-explanatory and must have been issues that occurred, as there is a name attached to these things, and someone inspired the memo. Therefore, we won't dwell on that very much.

Now, as our last and final point, let's look at verse 17. It says, "Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, during the Exodus. How he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary, and he did not fear God."

Therefore, it shall be when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around in the land which the Lord your God has given you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

Point four on your outline: God reminds His people not to forget, because they often did. We see in the history of Israel that there is a cause-and-effect relationship. In fact, as part of the Deuteronomic agreement, the covenant, God sets many conditions: if you do this, I will do this; if you do bad, I will respond this way. There is a clear cause-and-effect relationship between the obedience of God's people and their relationship with Him. God spells that out very clearly, knowing that they would forget. He does not say "if"; He says "when."

When we look back into 2 Chronicles and the promise made to Solomon, He states, "When these things come upon you." Amalek was a people group that served as the arch-enemy of Israel. They seemed to always be a problem, much like Lex Luthor for Superman—always an adversary, always having it in for Israel.

There comes a time in the book of Samuel when Israel's first real king, Saul, is given the instruction to go up against the Amalekites and wipe them out. He is commanded to eliminate every living thing associated with the Amalekites and to take nothing for himself, including the livestock. Saul goes into battle, and Israel is triumphant, even against the odds, achieving a miraculous victory.

However, Saul forgets. The prophet Samuel approaches him and asks if he did what God commanded. Saul affirms that he did. Samuel then questions him, asking why he hears the bleating of sheep. Not only had Saul kept the sheep, but he had also spared their king, Agag, alive. Agag was evidently kept alive for a little longer, though I know he was eventually destroyed.

But he must have kept somebody else there also because we see in the Book of Esther much later. There is a decree that goes out in the Book of Esther, and a man named Haman is responsible for getting the king to issue a decree to basically wipe out all those of Jewish descent, to create a holocaust. It says of Haman that his lineage was that he was an Agagite. Saul had forgotten, we'll say, and years later this Agagite surfaces. This hate by another people group raises its head, and it is going to cause the threat of destruction of Israel once again.

A 14-year-old girl, most likely a 14-year-old girl named Esther, has to clean up the mess of the first king of Israel. It's a fantastic story, and we went through it here not too long ago at Cross Connection. I suggest you read that story.

If there is ever a minor to not forget, one of the things that struck me the very first time I read through the Bible many years ago was in the Book of Kings. A king would rise to power in Israel, and he would forget to tear down what they call the high places—places of worship that God wanted torn down, abolished, and forgotten. Those high places would always cause a situation that led God to withhold blessing from the king, or sometimes these kings would directly stumble because of this.

It was never lost on me, for us as Christians, that while those high places don't exist, the principle of high places in our lives does. In 2022, as we wrap up here, I look at our own nation and see so many of the foundational things that our nation was built upon—things that were out of this Book, both Old and New Testament. So many of those principles we have taken from the promise of God and the relationship and grace of Christ have been forgotten.

As we part, I will ask you, as one of your pastors—and it is a privilege to be one of your pastors— to reflect on this.

Our temptation is to complain or to get political. As you are watching this, I want you to remember that on November 8th, there will be an election, and you have the ability to pray for all these next days. I ask that you would pray every day for our nation, that we would remember, that we would stop forgetting, and look at the many things that we have forgotten and to repent.

While the promise in Chronicles is not to us, I do pray as a people that we would repent and that we would humble ourselves. Dear Lord, we pray that you would look upon us, that you would rescue us, and that you would bless us again.

It is in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. God bless you all, and see you next week.