Matthew 23:16-22 Swearing by Heaven
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: August 1, 2019 Matthew 23:16-22
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
(Understanding the Text) Matthew spends a lot of time on these woes. Why? Is it because people needed to be warned away from the scribes and Pharisees? Or was it so that we would not become the scribes and Pharisees? Is Matthew worried that we will become blind guides who substitute form for reality? Does God want to warn us against being blind and foolish? This sounds like Laodicea in Revelation. “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see” (Rev 3:17-18). Both the Pharisees and the Laodiceans feel rich and in need of nothing. In fact, they are in a pathetic state and to be pitied because they are poor, blind, and naked. I guess these verses in Matthew are warnings to the church today.
(Revelation of God) The Pharisees focused on the money more than the temple. They focused on the offering/gift/sacrifice placed on the altar rather than the altar itself. They focused on heaven, but not the one who sits on the throne of heaven. Jesus first directed the people from the gold to the temple, but then He lifted them even farther to the One who lived in the temple. It must all ultimately come back to our Creator. Today, we focus on the money, time, and effort that we give rather than the temple, altar, and throne that we have been given. The temple is God living with us. The altar is God sacrificing Himself for us. The throne is God being king over us. We focus on our efforts and accomplishments when we should be focused on being with God and what He has done for us at the cross and how He is the king of our whole lives and deserves our loyalty. The Pharisees focused on themselves and on human accomplishment when they should have been focused on God and who He is. We focus on going to heaven but not on being with the King of heaven.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I need to keep focusing on You and not on me or on other people. I still question whether other people listen to You because they want to dictate what I do, and You have indicated that I should cooperate as much as I can unless it goes against Your will. However, when I disagree with what they want to do because I suspect that it goes against Your will, I need to know that they are listening to Your will and won’t lead me away from Your desires. I will submit to their decisions, and try to keep focusing on You rather than them, but it is hard. I still don’t understand how to love my fellow Christians when they seem to not hear You. How am I supposed to maintain respect when they seem to be hardheadedly pulling me in the wrong direction, and every time I gently nudge them in a new direction, they return to their pulling back towards legalism and separation? Help me.