#DailyDevotion You Shall Rejoice Before The Name Of The Lord

October 13

Deut 11:26—12:12

Deu 12:5  But you shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go,… 7  And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

 

Well, you may wonder why there is such a fuss over Jerusalem by the Jews these days. Well it pretty much comes to this. The Lord had chosen, by the time of Solomon, to place his name there in Jerusalem where the temple was. The Lord wanted to gather his people there in one place to worship him at the appointed times of the year (there were three times). At the time Moses writes this the people were worshipping wherever they were in the manner they wanted to worship. But when they went into the Promised Land, they would find all these worship places with the idols of the pagan inhabitants. The Lord was worried, with good cause, the people would start to worship these idols and bring down the curses they would pronounce upon themselves. They would be bound to this place by the Mosaic covenant.

 

But the Lord has established a new covenant in Jesus, nullifying the first by his death on the cross. For when someone dies, the covenants he made are nullified. Jesus is the Lord who made this covenant with Israel in the wilderness. Jesus tells us as much when he is talking with the woman at the well–Joh 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” That hour has come at the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

So now that has come to pass Jesus also tells us, Joh 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. (24)  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” We are no longer bound to one such place on the earth to worship the Creator of the heavens and the earth. However, the Lord has made a promise of where’d he be and found to receive the forgiveness of sins. He promised in Mat 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” And so it is, we gather on Sunday mornings in the name of Jesus where we bind and loosen the sins of those who call themselves Christian. Mainly we go about loosening sins through the absolution, the reading of the word, the sermon, the Lord’s Supper and Christian conversation before and after the service.

 

We also should note one more thing in the passage. The Israelites were to gather to eat before the Lord and rejoice in all the Lord had blessed them with. In their festivals, they would bring first-fruits and the tithe and have a party before the Lord. Now the Lord gathers us together and offers us the first-fruit from the dead, the risen Lord Jesus who had been crucified. He gives not just a tenth but gives us everything he has. The Christian life and worship is not meant to be a glum, somber thing but a life of rejoicing in all the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us and has given us in the world to come.

 

Heavenly Father, you cause your name today to be where two or three gather in your name of your Son Jesus Christ. Ever bring your name among us that we may receive the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation so we may ever rejoice in all your benefits to us in Christ Jesus the Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.