But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Philippians 3:20
Deuteronomy 23:1-14
Believer, do you know how precious you are to the Lord? Do you know it was not you who chose Him, but He who chose you? He called you out of the world, not so you could be like them but so you could be like Jesus, His holy, noble, and righteous son or daughter. The Lord gave Israel many laws to help them understand their distinctiveness and to show their distinction to the world. This chapter Deuteronomy continues with reminders of the various laws they should remember once they entered The Promised Land. Verses 1-2 read,
“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.”
God is not telling us that Eunuchs may not be members of our churches or that people who marry unbelievers and their children may not join our churches. In Israel, they could not enter the Temple’s courts and worship. The Promised Land is our symbol for New Jerusalem the Eternal City we will one day enjoy. The Temple was the holy dwelling place of The Lord and imperfections, idolatry, and sin could not enter into His presence.
Today, we are the Temple, God dwells in us. He perfects us, forgives and eradicates every sin and every blemish that makes us like the world instead of Jesus. We know Eunuchs are welcome today because Jesus told us they were. Jesus was teaching about how God detests divorce and sexual immorality when the following exchange took place.
The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it” (Matthew 19:10-12).
Some people are born without an attraction to the opposite gender, some are made that way through the traumatic events in their lives, and some choose to abstain from sex for the Kingdom. They are welcome in the church as long as they, like the rest of us refrain from sexual immorality. This was further expressed when Phillip was sent to the Eunuch and explained the Scriptures to Him. That man believed Jesus is Christ and was immediately baptized (Acts 8:26-40).
Only the perfect will enter New Jerusalem. The good news is that even though we are incapable of being perfect because we were born imperfect, The Lord makes us perfect! (Hebrews 10:14).
There were others who were forbidden from entering the assembly of Israel. Verses 3-8 read,
“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.”
The Ammonites and Moabites were the enemies of God because how they had treated His people. They could have blessed Israel but instead chose to curse them. They made God their enemy then.. They couldn’t hurt Israel because Sovereign God protected them. The curse they tried to hurt Israel with was made into a blessing by God. In Numbers 23 and 24, Balaam was hired to curse Israel, but when He tried, the Lord put His word into him instead. He does the same for us today. He will not allow any weapon formed against us to hurt us (Isaiah 54:17). Whatever circumstances arise, he uses for good to those He loves and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
God’s enemies cannot enter Heaven. We were once God’s enemies, but through Christ we are now his friends. Romans 5:9-11 reads,
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
We are not supposed to go through the world hating others, thinking we are somehow better than they are because God chose us. We were once in the world. We are sojourners there now. As Israel was called to show kindness and mercy to Edom and Egypt, we are called to show kindness to the people of the world. They may eventually see the Light of Jesus in us and answer God’s call on their hearts.
We can’t live like the world. We are called to a higher life. Why would anyone recognize Jesus in us, if we look, act, and speak like everyone around us? We are meant to be attractive to them, love them, and be salt and light to them. Even when we are not in church, we are supposed to be the church. Our difference should be noticeable. Verses 9-14 reads,
“When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.
12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it.13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you”
Remember, though we are in the world, we not of the world. When Jesus prayed for us He said,
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:14-19).
He wants us to be distinctive, He prayed for that and He makes it happen. He sanctifies us with the Truth of His Word. We have to go out into the world to fight the enemy. We have to go out into the world to make disciples. But we do not have to live like the world. Paul told us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. Romans 12:1-3 reads,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned
Child of God, are you distinctive? Do you stand out in the world as peculiar or do you blend in? Is love perfecting you or is apathy leaving you as a sinner?
Believer, do you know how precious you are to the Lord? Do you know it was not you who chose Him, but He who chose you? He called you out of the world, not so you could be like them but so you could be like Jesus, His holy, noble, and righteous son or daughter. The Lord gave Israel many laws to help them understand their distinctiveness and to show their distinction to the world. This chapter Deuteronomy continues with reminders of the various laws they should remember once they entered The Promised Land. Verses 1-2 read,
“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.”
God is not telling us that Eunuchs may not be members of our churches or that people who marry unbelievers and their children may not join our churches. In Israel, they could not enter the Temple’s courts and worship. The Promised Land is our symbol for New Jerusalem the Eternal City we will one day enjoy. The Temple was the holy dwelling place of The Lord and imperfections, idolatry, and sin could not enter into His presence.
Today, we are the Temple, God dwells in us. He perfects us, forgives and eradicates every sin and every blemish that makes us like the world instead of Jesus. We know Eunuchs are welcome today because Jesus told us they were. Jesus was teaching about how God detests divorce and sexual immorality when the following exchange took place.
The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it” (Matthew 19:10-12).
Some people are born without an attraction to the opposite gender, some are made that way through the traumatic events in their lives, and some choose to abstain from sex for the Kingdom. They are welcome in the church as long as they, like the rest of us refrain from sexual immorality. This was further expressed when Phillip was sent to the Eunuch and explained the Scriptures to Him. That man believed Jesus is Christ and was immediately baptized (Acts 8:26-40).
Only the perfect will enter New Jerusalem. The good news is that even though we are incapable of being perfect because we were born imperfect, The Lord makes us perfect! (Hebrews 10:14).
There were others who were forbidden from entering the assembly of Israel. Verses 3-8 read,
“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.”
The Ammonites and Moabites were the enemies of God because how they had treated His people. They could have blessed Israel but instead chose to curse them. They made God their enemy then.. They couldn’t hurt Israel because Sovereign God protected them. The curse they tried to hurt Israel with was made into a blessing by God. In Numbers 23 and 24, Balaam was hired to curse Israel, but when He tried, the Lord put His word into him instead. He does the same for us today. He will not allow any weapon formed against us to hurt us (Isaiah 54:17). Whatever circumstances arise, he uses for good to those He loves and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
God’s enemies cannot enter Heaven. We were once God’s enemies, but through Christ we are now his friends. Romans 5:9-11 reads,
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
We are not supposed to go through the world hating others, thinking we are somehow better than they are because God chose us. We were once in the world. We are sojourners there now. As Israel was called to show kindness and mercy to Edom and Egypt, we are called to show kindness to the people of the world. They may eventually see the Light of Jesus in us and answer God’s call on their hearts.
We can’t live like the world. We are called to a higher life. Why would anyone recognize Jesus in us, if we look, act, and speak like everyone around us? We are meant to be attractive to them, love them, and be salt and light to them. Even when we are not in church, we are supposed to be the church. Our difference should be noticeable. Verses 9-14 reads,
“When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.
12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it.13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you”
Remember, though we are in the world, we not of the world. When Jesus prayed for us He said,
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:14-19).
He wants us to be distinctive, He prayed for that and He makes it happen. He sanctifies us with the Truth of His Word. We have to go out into the world to fight the enemy. We have to go out into the world to make disciples. But we do not have to live like the world. Paul told us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. Romans 12:1-3 reads,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned
Child of God, are you distinctive? Do you stand out in the world as peculiar or do you blend in? Is love perfecting you or is apathy leaving you as a sinner?
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