June 2, Reading 1 – Deuteronomy 13:1-14:23

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

Public health regulations today have similar concerns – pigs carry diseases and parasites that infect humans. Notice that God said: “don’t eat bats” 3,500 years ago. All carrion eaters can carry parasites and diseases from the dead animals they consume.

SJA Notes

* God of Majesty, our soul thirsts for You, the living God.

“You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.”

God takes idolatry seriously. Chasing after other gods, putting something else in the place of God.

We will read that in a few generations (the book of Judges) Israel does abandon the Lord and go after other gods.

The judges are raised up, and then we move into the rule of the kings.

“Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away.”

When you boil it down this is the key issue we face.

The root of our sin. The trouble of all mankind.

“Have no other gods but ME.”

We struggle with this. It is a hard word. Because the world entices us, it calls out and softens the blow with a little sweet word or a sympathising ear.

How often do we find our lives taken up with other things?

How often do we find ourselves at odds with the Lord because we’ve veered off the narrow way?

How often do we find decisions being made that take us away from God, away from His word, away from meeting with His people?

Wilfulness can very easily become idolatry. As can working hard, time out, sport, exercise, food.

We desperately need the Holy Spirit to be working in us, pointing us back to the Lord.

More of Jesus, less of us. More of His grace and mercy, less of our pride and ambition.

* Dear Lord God,

You are the great all-powerful God in whom we trust.

You fiercely and jealously call us – there are to be no other gods before You!

Please help us to be a faithful people.

Amen.

June 2, Reading 2 – Song of Solomon 3:6-5:1

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

The Apostle Paul when he uses the illustration of the human body to the Church says: And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty. So too in this work, those parts are treated with special modesty. Images such as hills, mountains, gardens, fountains, aromatic plants all were immediately understood 3,000 years ago in terms of human physiology and bodily responses. God wants married couples to be able to talk with each other about this most central subject to their marriage with appropriate delicacy, humour and tact.

SJA Notes

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.”

This is an important idea to wrestle with.

Beautiful and breath-taking poetry aside, this is God’s word.

In the now, husbands must work hard at singular devotion to their wives.

In the now, wives must work hard at singular devotion to their husbands.

We are to love one another with a steadfast faithful love, a love that ascends past our limited frail selves – God’s love first shown to us.

So that we can say truer and deeper each day of our beloved,

“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.”

And how much then do we look forward to the _not yet_, where truly, as we read of our King Jesus, the Christ, and His bride, the church – That in the new heavens and the new earth we will have no flaw, perfectly adorned for the marriage supper of the Lamb (read Revelation 19 and 21).

* Loving God,

Thank You for Your faithfulness, without end, steadfast and true.

Thank You for Your love, given in grace, mercy abounding.

Please help us to love one another as You have first loved us.

Amen.

June 2, Reading 3 – Luke 10:1-24

Reading

Audio, Visual

SAA Notes

The early manuscripts of the Bible are fairly evenly divided as to whether the number is 70 or 72. Either way we are meant to see the connection with the Old Testament. Jacob had 70 descendants who came into Egypt with him. The nation of Israel had 70 elders in their national council. Jesus is forming a New Israel and sends them out to call people into the coming Kingdom! His Kingdom will prevail!

SJA Notes

* Dear God, Your word is food for every part of our lives. Please feed us with the bread of life today.

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

We so often get things backwards, even in service of our King.

Power is seductive.

Power for believers is just as much a temptation as for non-believers.

Imagine the power to cast out evil spirits and heal diseases! To have such an important impact, a wielding of such authority that even the spirit world listened, even the biological world obeyed.

Imagine that!

But again, we exclaim at the wrong thing. We focus on the power itself, instead of the one who gave the power (and the reason why it was given).

We look to the power as a motivator.

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

You and I can get into the same sort of mischief, the same thinking process.

Having power over people is not to be grasped for, and if we do have it, not to be rejoiced over. It is not to be our motivation!

Instead, that our names are in the Lamb’s book of life – This is what matters!

* God Above,

Please help us listen to Your word to us today.

Please help us to seek first the kingdom of God.

Please help us have the correct and right motivations.

Thank You Lord!

Amen.