ESOCS Devotional 28 June 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come.” Deuteronomy 12:5
TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 12:1-11 (KJV)
These are the statutes and ordinances which you shall be watchful to do in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you to possess all the days you live on the earth.
2 You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations you dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains and the hills and under every green tree.
3 You shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire; you shall hew down the graven images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place.
4 You shall not behave so toward the Lord your God.
5 But you shall seek the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put His Name and make His dwelling place, and there shall you come;
6 And there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the offering of your hands, and your vows and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock.
7 And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 You shall not do according to all we do here [in the camp] this day, every man doing whatever looks right in his own eyes.
9 For you have not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God gives you.
10 But when you go over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God causes you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about so that you dwell in safety,
11 Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause His Name [and His Presence] to dwell there; to it you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes and what the hand presents [as a first gift from the fruits of the ground], and all your choicest offerings which you vow to the Lord.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
The Lord, by Himself chooses places (altars) for offering of sacrifices to Him and expects such place to be revered with utmost sacredness. This He does either through vision or instruction. The Lord empowers believers to destroy altars that do not represent Him. Therefore, it becomes anti-God for believers to associate themselves with altars made for idols. There are some African cultures that have exposed some Christians to idol altars, either under the guise of chieftaincy ceremony, masquerades, festivals or some sort of practices. For others, before becoming born again, it could be an inherited ancestral altar. The practice of idolatry has placed so many people under a serious siege.
The implication of aligning with idol altars ranges from retarded progress, consistent family limitation, bloodline barriers, age long suffering, consistent premature death, prolonged delay, near success syndrome, to mention but few. Suffice to say that most Christians seem to be under this siege without knowing the source of their life challenges.
Conversely, the Lord’s altar is a place of succour and supernatural manifestation of possibilities. He has chosen that we offer sacrifices and our tithes before His altar and experience the fullness of His grace and goodness. This is the only altar that should be exalted in the lives of Christians. On the altar of God lies no evil or such that has the similitude of negativities. There is power at the altar of God!
Without intentionally breaking off from such known and unknown evil altars, life may seem unbearable, imbalanced and unfulfilling in its entirety. We are by today’s devotional, warned to discard all forms of idol altars, break forth from the influence of evil altars, for there is no relationship between the altar of God and mammon. As God has so lavished His love upon us, we are not to be contaminated with evil altars, as such is highly detested by God.
- The Lord deserves that we reverence His chosen altar. Try as much as the Holy Spirit empowers you not to mingle with idols of idols.
- Father Almighty, I subject myself unto your influence, that I be not contaminated. I receive grace to keep your altar undefiled, in Jesus name, Amen.
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 39:21-end; Luke 1:39-56; Acts 10:34-end
Thank you for reading the ESOCS Devotional today. Please share and follow us on all our platforms to contribute to the spread of the Gospel.
ESOCS Devotional 28 June 2023
Comments 1