Altogether Just

Deuteronomy 16:20--That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Some thoughts this morning to be centered on three words in the text....

Altogether
Just and
Follow

As happens often in the Word of God, a truth is emphasized by repeating it. The words altogether and just are the same. It means right, moral, legal. There are some things that men have determined are right, but they everybody knows that they are not right. The government might make homosexuality legal, for instance, but no law can make it altogether just. God's Word urges the Christian to know the difference between those things that are legal and those things that are altogether just before the eyes of God.

The word follow means to run after, to chase or to hunt. I have in my head the careful, methodical, persistent search for that a person might have if he were hunting pheasant or quail. The birds know to hold and to hide. The hunter finds the birds only after slowly and carefully covering all of the ground. Every piece of cover is explored. every square inch of ground is checked.
The eyes are sharp, looking for the elusive creatures.
The ears listen for the sounds of the rustling.
Many birds will be flushed that the hunter is not after, still he hunts for his prey.
The hunter is not discouraged by either rain or snow, and
If he does not find a bird on this outing, he will surely go again.

Even so ought we to follow that which is altogether just.