Think tall

I  came down the steps from my bedroom and found my mom perched atop a chair in the kitchen.  "What are you doing?" I asked.  "Cleaning the top of the refrigerator."  I asked "Why?" as I didn't recall her doing this before.  "Your grandmother is coming."  "So?" "She's tall enough to see the top of the refrigerator."

My grandmother was a few inches taller than both my mother and me.  She would be able to see the dust atop the frig.  Mother and I never saw the top or the dust but my mother didn't want her mother to see something that would disappoint.

Deuteronomy 23:1-14 details a list of don'ts so the Israelites won't disappoint God.  He instructs who is not allowed in the assembly before Him.  These verses also give instructions for basic sanitation practices.

Whereas, the Ammonites and Moabites are not allowed in the assembly before God, because they opposed God and Israel, the next verses warn that  the point is not that they are outsiders and different.  The Edomites and Egyptians are allowed.  They are relatives and instruments for Israel's deliverance.  I am reminded not to be legalistic but to listen to God's reasons for determining good and evil.

The verses that speak to me today are at the end of this section.  The Lord moves about the camp to protect and deliver you.  The camp must be holy so God won't see anything indecent and turn away.

Today these verses tell me that God moves among the events of my life.  He is available to protect me and deliver me.  I may have enemies that will come against me and God is ready to  protect me.  God is also available to deliver me from those dangerous situations that I may get myself into with my own poor choices.

God doesn't want to see anything from me that would disappoint Him and He is with me, in my daily life to protect and deliver me.

For a while I carried on the tradition of cleaning the top of the refrigerator when my mother visited.  Even though neither of  us could see the top without assistance, it meant that occasionally that part of the house did get cleaned.  I'm putting it on my "to do" list as I can't remember when it was last cleaned and I'm sure the last time it was cleaned, Dick did it! 

Perhaps cleaning where I can't see but God can will make my life safer and less complicated. These verses do tell the Israelites that when (not if) they are encamped against their enemies to keep away from everything impure. So part of fighting evil is to remain pure. In today's world, I occasionally feel that I am encamped against some enemies. I certainly need and want God actively moving, protecting and delivering me.  I need to look at my behavior and confess what may be disappointing to God.  In my life, I don't want to live a moment away from God.