Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
The Law that God gave to Moses is called “Moses’ law”, but it was really Israel’s law; it was God’s gift to the people of Israel. Even Jesus, speaking to the elders of Israel, referred to it as “your law” (Jn. 8:17; 10:34).
The real-life situation in ancient Israel, however, was that although the Law was theirs, most of the Israelites could not read it. This was not unusual. It has been estimated that 95% of the peoples of the ancient world were illiterate. Men and women of ancient cultures did not have time for superfluous things such as learning to read; they had to tend to their fields and to their animals so that they could survive from year to year. This was the normal course of life for everyone. So, the Israelites needed teachers to tell them what their Law said.
God provided those teachers from the men of the tribe of Levi. They were supposed to be Israel’s teachers. They were suppose to tell their fellow Israelites what their Law said for them to do, and the health of the nation depended upon the Levites doing their job well. The fact that Israel was eventually ruined and plundered is testimony to the quality of the Levites’ work.
The holy Ghost is the Law for God’s people in this New Testament, and God’s people still, as a rule, cannot “read” it. They still need teachers to help them understand what the Spirit is saying to the saints of God. The health of the body of Christ depends on God’s appointed servants doing their job well.
Take a look around you. Are the people of God united or divided? Are they filled with power and love, or are they sick and suspicious of one another? Do they have understanding, or are they confused about the essentials of the faith of their God? Are they in harmony concerning the doctrines of God, or are they confused? Do men anointed with the holy Ghost rule among them, or are they members of Christian churches and subject to Christian ministers?
Pray that God will raise up pastors after His own heart. God’s people cannot read the Spirit that he has given them, and they are being misled by foreigners who can read the Spirit no better than they.