After 40 years in the desert, God's people are on the very edge of the Promised Land. It took a long time to get here; it should have taken 11 days to cross the desert, but due to their lack of faith, they ended up wandering as nomads for 40 years. Often, we take the hard road by not listening to God, not trusting Him and making life much more difficult for ourselves.
Eventually, they are finally ready for life to get better and to enjoy the amazing life that God has for them but they must adhere to His promises. In Deuteronomy, Moses repeats God's laws for Israel. The name of the book itself reminds us that this is the second time the law has been presented to the people.
How many times has God had to tell you the truth and you refuse to listen? Thankfully, He comes back time and again so that we can eventually understand. The Bible states that God speaks once and then twice, but that man often fails to grasp it.
Through Moses' words, God reveals His heart. He loves the nation of Israel and wishes them to love and trust Him in return. However, God doesn't want people who are simply robotic; He wants a genuine relationship with us. In fact, Deuteronomy feels almost like a wedding, where God binds Himself to this nation with promises of love and faithfulness. They responded with a dramatic mountain experience, pledging to be faithful to Him and to keep His law. While this was a promising start to their new life, their history shows it was not ultimately followed through.
This message of the Bible and Deuteronomy is directed at those who are in danger of missing out on the amazing adventure of a deep relationship with God. In it God invites us to give our all to Him, avoiding distractions from the temptations and stresses of the world.
We must choose between loving and trusting God fully or living our own way; it's a choice between life or death, happiness or hopelessness, blessings or curses. This is the most important decision we will ever make. God often gives us a second chance, just as He gave the people a second law, and He wants us to respond by repenting of our sins and putting our faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Key Scriptures
Now therefore fear -- the LORD, and serve -- him in sincerity and in truth: and put away -- the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye -- the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve -- the LORD, choose you this day -- whom ye will serve; whether -- the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or -- the gods of the Amorites, in whose land -- ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve -- the LORD
Joshua 24. 14,15 (KJV)
Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4. 1-6 NLT
All photos courtesy of Unsplash
No comments
Post a Comment