“How happy you are, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is the shield that protects you, the sword you boast in. Your enemies will cringe before you, and you will tread on their backs. ,”
Deuteronomy 33:29 CSB
How incredible that God cared for Israel, and now cares for us! We have been saved and protected by God personally…Lord thank You for Your faithfulness and Love to undeserving people!!!
“See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-16 CSB
There is still blessing in obedience, but thankfully we are indwelled by the Spirit of God. We have the added strength and direction of God living in us! How impossible would obedience have been in their time?
“Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the Lord’s name, and they will stand in awe of you. ”
Deuteronomy 28:10 CSB
Both following the Lord or rejection the Lord bring about the same result: People will recognize that God is doing something and His name will be exalted! But the experience of His people will be vastly different…incredible blessing versus unimaginable suffering!
That is a no-brained for me…follow God and experience blessing! Lord, help me to lay down every decision as a living sacrifice asking the question: “what does God want me to do in this scenario, right now?” Then do that and only that!
“‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.’ And all the people will say, ‘Amen! ’”
Deuteronomy 27:26 CSB
I like how all these laws were to be practiced. It was not enough to mentally agree to them or even to verbally confirm the goodness of them. The minimum standard was to practice them…in other words actually do these things.
“No one of illegitimate birth may enter the Lord’s assembly; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the Lord’s assembly.”
Deuteronomy 23:2 CSB
The law that is given through these instructions was designed to keep Israel holy. I am so grateful that holiness no longer depends solely on me, rather on the finished work of Jesus. That doesn’t give me reason to live in sin, but Jesus does cover even the things that I have no control over.
Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to fix the problem of sin. Help me to pursue holiness in every thought, action or word. I am so grateful that You made a way for me to come into Your presence!
“you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death. ”
Deuteronomy 17:5 CSB
God is serious about fully removing sin. He does not allow a half hearted approach.
Lord, help me to be just as serious about removing sin and temptation from my own life. I want to follow You in every way!
“You are to hold a seven-day festival for the Lord your God in the place he chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, and you will have abundant joy.”
Deuteronomy 16:15 CSB
I love how celebrations are important to God. Celebrations that highlight family, food and joy. Occasions to remember all the blessings He has given us.
““Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse: there will be a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you today, and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the Lord your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known.”
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 CSB
Gods intention behind this was to use both the blessing and curse to prove that He was indeed God and sovereign. God’s character has not changed, so does He still operate under a similar principle with us as believers today? Obviously, we have the Holy Spirit permanently dwelling in us to help guide us. And we don’t loose Him if we are disobedient…
He does bless us with sweet joy, peace and contentment when we are walking closely with Him! But that does not prevent us from suffering trials…when we are not walking closely, we tend to make less wise decisions that lead to additional suffering, despair and isolation. We feel far from Him and we intentionally pull away from others…And we still experience trials in addition. It seems like the same pattern.
Lord, help me to follow You closely so that I can experience the joy and peace of your presence and know You more fully.
“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm his covenant he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 CSB
“You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfill the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. ”
Deuteronomy 9:5-6 CSB
““And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good. ”
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 CSB
Humility and wisdom. Trust in God rather than your own ability because He is the one who enables our work and prepares our path.
““If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I drive them out? ’ do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt:”
Deuteronomy 7:17-18 CSB
So much of the story of Israel maps onto our own salvation. Chosen by God because of nothing they had done, slowly fighting against the sins/idols that could entrap them, God defeating even the undefeatable, providing for all their needs…if they surrender and obey.
Oftentimes my sin seems greater than I have the ability to fight…Lord, remind me that You are fighting for me! That I am not facing these on my own, but rather You have already fought them and won! That You are fighting them by Your strength and they ARE more powerful than me, but NOT more powerful than YOU! Allow me to rest in the knowledge that You will win…I just need to surrender to Your will.
“Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.
He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them by oath, because the Lord your God is a compassionate God.
You were shown these things so that you would know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. ”
Deuteronomy 4:9, 31, 35 CSB
Why do I need these same reminders about who God is? It seems like these things would be so inspiring and memorable, but the small (in comparison) trials that I deal with are occasionally inflated to take up my entire view…enough to push these truths from my mind.
That must be why God decided we needed this second reminder of the law and His works! Lord, help me to know You and remember Your character especially when I am facing trials!
“The Lord your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw him do for you in Egypt. And you saw in the wilderness how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place. But in spite of this you did not trust the Lord your God,”
Deuteronomy 1:30-32 CSB
God, You show Yourself to be faithful over and over in scripture and in a thousand ways in my life experience! You always demonstrate Your faithful love and patience…yet stupidly, so many times I am fearful that the situation I face this time will be the will be the outlier!?! This will be the time You leave me alone to figure it out…how foolish!
Lord, strengthen my faith in You. Help my confidence be solely in You regardless of the circumstances, especially if it looks like I can handle it. Let me surrender everything to Your will!!!
