April 1- So You Want To Know The Future, Huh?

April 1, 2011

Scripture Readings:
Deuteronomy 18:1-20:20; Luke 9:28-50
Psalm 73:1-28; Proverbs 12:10

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.

~Abraham Lincoln

Deuteronomy 18:1-20:20

It has never been easier to know the future.  A few minutes of internet research can produce the contact information for hundreds of phone psychics, fortune tellers, palm readers, tarot card readers, crystal interpreters, and astrology experts.  These people claim to be able to help you find out what will happen in your love life, educational endeavors, and professional pursuits.  Some tout the ability to reconnect you with loved ones who have passed on.  You can get this for as low as $.19 per minute.  What a deal! 

Today in our reading Moses lays out the objections God has against this type of false prophecy.  The Israelites were forbidden to consult mediums, psychics, and sorcerers.  They were not to participate in witchcraft, casting spells, and calling forth spirits from the dead.  God describes His emotions about this type of activity as horror and disgust. As a matter of fact, He states that He is displacing the Canaanites out of the land because of practices like this.  The fallen angels have sold humanity a bill of goods. Why does God hate this behavior so much?

The book of Deuteronomy provides an explanation.  Here is a direct quote from Deuteronomy 18:15-19,

"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites, and you must listen to that prophet. For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mt. Sinai.  You begged that you might never again have to listen to the voice of the Lord you God or see this blazing fire for fear you would die. So the Lord said to me 'Fine, I will do as they have requested.  I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites.  I will tell that prophet what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command him.  I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf."  (NLT)

Can you guess who this prophet?  That's right. The reason the Israelites and you and I are not to consult mediums or participate in these other forms of future telling is that God's plan has always been to provide the Final Prophet- Jesus Christ.  God spoke to Moses through the fire to give the world God's Law.  God finally spoke through His Son, Jesus Christ, to give the world the message of forgiveness, grace, and salvation.  Jesus also prophesied about the end times, heaven, and hell.  Do you remember God telling Peter at the Transformation that Jesus was His Son and Peter was to listen to him! According to this Scripture in Deuteronomy, this is all that we need to know.  God wants us to rely on Him, in faith, for all the areas of our life. To consult others is to blaspheme God.

As we keep reading in the Old Testament we will be introduced to many godly prophets.  Daniel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and Jeremiah are just some of the men that God used to predict the future.  God is against foretelling of events not designated by Him.  His ways are above our ways and I am content to trust God in this area.  If you are a person who has a hard time obeying this area of God's will, you may want to spend time focusing on developing a stronger prayer life.  Prayer replaces the need to know God's will immediately.  Jesus was a good example of relying on prayer to rest in faith until God's will becomes clear. Jesus practiced this throughout his earthly ministry. One excellent example is Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.

God gives Moses a strict standard for determining whether or not a prophet is from the Lord.  That standard is that the prophet must be 100 % accurate. The Israelites were not to fear or listen to anyone who had predicted something that did not come to pass. There are passages in the Old Testament that recommend killing false prophets if their prophecies are designed to draw the Israelites away from God into idol worship.  (Deut. 13:5).  It is God who decides what is sin.  Sin leads to death. God set up these rules to preserve the Israelites as the people who would bring the Messiah into the world.  Idolatry and false prophesies were not to be tolerated.

Are you tempted to find out your future through horoscopes or palm readers?  Have you ever gone to a psychic or tarot card reader?  Jesus encourages people not to worry about tomorrow, because today has enough worries of its own.  This advice leads us away from false prophets.

Luke 9:28-50

Well, how about this.  Today we are reading about the Transfiguration of Christ on the mountain.  Jesus appears dazzling and white, right there in front of Peter, James, and John.  Jesus is with two of the greatest prophets who ever lived, Moses and Elijah.  It should be noted that Moses was God's prophet for the Law, Elijah was the prophet of Christ's coming, and Jesus is the Final Prophet.  As Peter attempts to worship by building some shrines, God the Father stops Peter and declares that Jesus is God's Beloved Son, His Chosen One, and Peter should LISTEN TO HIM.  When God's voice dies down, Jesus is there alone with the three apostles.  Jesus is the Final Prophet that we are all to listen to.  God restates what He said to Moses in Deuteronomy many centuries before, a final prophet has come.

Later in the story Jesus prophesies about his own betrayal.  The disciples do not know what he is talking about.

Do you trust the words of Christ?  Do you believe his prophecies about the end times, heaven, and hell.  How about his truth about salvation and obedience?  Is Jesus your Final Prophet?

Psalm 73:1-28

This psalm is about looking at the wicked wealthy and envying their ease of life.  The psalmist wonders if God is seeing their behavior.  By verse 21-28, the psalmist gains perspective.  This is worth reading and meditating on.  This is a healthy way to work through issues and attitudes.

Proverbs 12:10

"The godly are concerned with the welfare of animals, but even the kindness of the wicked is cruel."

What did you see today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton
© 2011