2002-03-26 - Gier-Eagle

Leviticus 11:18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier-eagle.

I get lots of email that, in general, is seeking to be helpful regarding these devotionals. Some think that I should only be using the Authorized Version of the Bible. The above quote is for you, straight out of the AV. Others think that I am not academic enough in my presentation. They tell me that if I would only show myself to be "smarter" these devotionals would be much more effective. I suppose that is possible. Maybe it would be more interesting to write about Heilsgeschichte or Kuyper's view of uit Christus opgebouwd, but I don't think so. The idea, at least for me, in these devotionals, is to put things as simply as I can. Many others tell me that these devotionals are a jump start before they start work. That's sort of the idea. No matter how hectic your life is, these devotionals should convey a thought about the grace and mercy we have in Christ. It is a reminder we all need and being academic, to some extent, is simply showing off.

So lets be academic for a moment and then try to apply it. Frankly, there is not much else we can do with the cumbersome verse we have stated with. The above verse mentions some birds that were unclean and forbidden for the Israelites to eat. We might translate gier-eagle as raw-khawm from the Hebrew, or in English we might say "Pharaoh's chicken." (If you are looking to franchise that's a great name) Most likely this is the racham of the Arabs or, as we would say, a vulture. It was forbidden for the Israelites to munch on such birds. So much for academics.

However, there is room for us here to apply. I've never had vulture before and it is not high on my list of delicatessens. But what we learn here is that God has rules. He has standards for His people. There is, as it were, "a code of conduct" for those who would follow Christ. We live a certain way and we are no different, in this respect, than the Israelites were. We are to live in a manner that honors God, even if that means we have to take vultures off our menu. These civil laws were abrogated in Christ, but God still has set standards for Christian conduct. We are still not to lie. We are still not to commit adultery. We are still to honor our parents. We are still not to murder. We are still to have no fake gods before the only God. Yes, there is freedom in Christ, but that freedom is not a free pass, or a license to sin.

If you have never lied, if you always honored your folks, if you have never put self interest before your duty to put God first, well, why are you reading this dribble? If you are like the rest of us and have failed already today then you, like me, must flee to Christ. There is no where else we can go. There is an old Latin term "Solus Christus," and it means "only Christ." That should be our mentality. It is only to Christ that we can flee when we transgress God's will. We must flee to Christ because in Christ there is forgiveness and mercy. We find it no where else. It is only in Christ and I urge you today to remember that when you yield to temptation and sell out to sin: there Christ is with open arms to forgive and forget. He grants mercy!, and that is the most puzzling and awesome thought we could think.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Soli Deo Gloria,

T-

 tim@cfdevotionals.org
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