Young People’s Blog

“The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:34)

I went to public school shortly after World War 2, and at that time quite a few people immigrated to Canada from Europe. Many of these people had known nothing but war and fear for a number of years. It was common for the principal of our school to bring new boys or girls into our classroom, and introduce them to us. Usually they could not speak much English, and they were always crying. I remember feeling sorry for them, as they were in a new country, and suddenly being brought into a classroom of strangers. I am thankful to tell you that everyone was nice to them, and they quickly felt comfortable and at home.

The Israelites were to do the same, and to remember that they had been strangers in Egypt. It is always good to treat strangers nicely, and to be a help to them. We never know when we too may be in a new place, and need some help.

“Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head (person with white hair], and honour the face of the o[d man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:32).

When I attended high school (that was quite a few years ago!), we had a good principal whom everyone respected and liked. He would occasionally have to walk into a classroom in the middle of a lesson, to speak to the teacher. When this happened, he expected all the students in the class to stand up, and remain standing until he told them to sit down. We all gladly did this out of respect for him.

Attitudes in this world have changed considerably since then, but the Word of God tells us clearly to respect older people and honor them. According to our verse today, this respect is connected with the fear of God. If we fear God, we will respect those who are older.

In western culture, it has become customary for young people to speak to older people as if they were speaking to other young people. This is not right; there should be that healthy respect for those who are older, as the Word of God teaches us.

“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).

“And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing” (Leviticus 5:5).

Perhaps you may remember that we talked about the first verse for today back in early January, pointing out that if we sin, we do not need to be saved all over again. We never need a second application of the blood of Christ, for it has already cleansed us from all sin. However, we do need to confess the sin to the Lord, and be restored to happy fellowship with Him again.

Our second verse reminds us that we must be specific about our confession. A general confession that “I have done wrong” is not enough; we must do as the Israelite had to do. We must confess exactly what we have done. It is easy to say that we have sinned, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But when we confess exactly what we have done wrong, it brings home to our hearts the seriousness of sin. Then the Lord forgives us; we can be happy again, and enjoy the Lord’s company.

“So Moses finished the work [of the tabernacle]…And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:33,35).

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).

When the tabernacle was finished, the glory of the Lord filled it, and Moses was not able to enter into it. The same thing happened many years later, when Solomon’s temple was finished. The priests were unable to go in and perform their duties because of the glory of the Lord. See if you can find this verse about the temple.

How beautiful it is to see how we are now able, by faith, to enter into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus. In the Old Testament, no one but the high priest could go into the holiest of all, and then only once a year, with the blood of an animal. But now the blood of Jesus has opened the way for us to go into God’s presence, for His blood has cleansed us from all sin.

When the Lord Jesus died, we read that “the veil of the temple was rent in twain (in two) from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51). The work was done, and now man could enter in, and God could come out.

“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously” (Exodus 15:1).

“And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30).

The singing that is mentioned in Exodus 15, after the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, is the first mention of singing in the Bible. People may have sung before this, and probably did, but there is no mention of it. Why is this?

I would suggest that it is because God could not really mention singing until the work of redemption was complete. Of course, the work of our Lord Jesus on the cross would not happen for another 1500 years, but the Passover is a picture of the work of Christ. Israel was now a redeemed people, and they were also freed from the authority of Pharaoh. They could not help but sing!

But many years later, in view of His work on the cross, the Lord Jesus would keep that same Passover with His disciples. Then He would show them how to remember Him in His death, not with a lamb, but with a loaf and a cup. But then, before they went to the Mount of Olives, He too would sing with them. He looked beyond the cross to the blessing that would come from it, and He too could sing.

“It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Peter 2:21).

As I write this in December, 2021, a note on the internet caught my attention. It said that when people in the U.S.A. are asked what religion they are, more and more of them are saying, “None.” According to one survey, this group now comprises nearly 30% of American adults.

One college student, a girl who used to attend an evangelical Christian “church,” left it three years ago. (Obviously she was never truly saved.) She identified as atheist, then agnostic, before embracing what she calls “a spiritual but not religious life.” In her dorm, she blends rituals at an altar, chanting Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu mantras and paying homage to her ancestors as she meditates and prays.

We are living in the last days, and the Lord has said that this would happen. How important it is to cling to the Word of God, and to those things that never change. God’s Word will abide forever, and it will keep us from this confused and Satanic thinking.

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord….The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13-14).

The children of Israel were on their way out of Egypt, yet Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he gathered his chariots and pursued after them. The children of Israel had no way of defending themselves, as they had been a nation of slaves. But the Lord was on their side, and Moses quieted their fears by telling them simply to “stand still,” for the Lord would fight for them. So it happened, for the Lord first of all took off the chariot wheels of the Egyptians, and then caused the Red Sea to come in and drown them all. But the children of Israel walked through on dry land.

This can sometimes happen in our lives, when problems mount up, and we have no way of dealing with them ourselves. Then the Lord tells us simply to trust Him, to stand still, and let Him work. It is wonderful to see this, for the Lord can change our circumstances so easily, and deliver us from an impossible situation. Then He gets the glory for it.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).

A few months ago I read a short article in a magazine, where the author said that most people in this world think of themselves, and talk about themselves, as they wish they were, not as they actually are. He complained that many people who, for example, write resumes about themselves in order to get a job, describe themselves as awesome and clever, and say how they are very good at certain things. But most of the time, they are grossly exaggerating their abilities. They are doing just what this verse says — “deceiving your own selves.”

When it comes to spiritual things, Christians can do the same thing. We can read the Bible and believe it, yet fail to be a “doer of the Word.” We are like a man who looks at his dirty face in the mirror, and then walks away without washing it. It is important to be honest with ourselves and with God, and to obey what we have read in His Word.

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not [does not scold]: and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).

Wisdom is knowing how to use the knowledge we have in a right way. Many people in this world have knowledge, but do not know how to use it. God promises that if we really want wisdom, we may ask Him, and He will give it to us. This does not mean that we will suddenly be smarter than we were before, but rather that we will be able to make right decisions in our life, in dependence on the Lord.

More than this, God does not scold us for not having wisdom. Perhaps you have asked a question, and the person whom you asked made you feel stupid for not knowing the answer already. I remember some teachers and university professors who did this, and embarrassed their students. But the Lord will never do this to us; He will give us wisdom if we ask Him, for He loves us, and wants to help us.

“Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Most of you who are reading this calendar are probably young people, and are in good health. But as we get older, our bodies start to become weaker, and we experience what can be called “degenerative diseases.” This means that we are not really sick, but that we begin to have things like arthritis, high blood pressure, shortness of breath if we exert ourselves, and aches and pains that we never had before. Another one of these things is a dementia, or perhaps something more serious called Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia is when we cannot remember things very well, and Alzheimer’s disease is more serious, where people start to think in strange patterns.

Perhaps you have seen people like this, and it is hard to have a good conversation with them. I remember a man who had this problem, and if I talked about everyday things, he got confused. But as long as I talked about the Lord’s things, and the Bible, he was fine, and all his conversation was perfectly normal. His “outward man” was perishing, but his “inward man” — the spiritual man, was being renewed day by day. How impressive it is to see this!