August 12, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The message of Deuteronomy is one that the church desperately needs to hear today. These final words of Moses given to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land serve as a warning, an encouragement, and a charge. Through them, God exposes the idolatry of our hearts and calls us to give all of our love, worship, and devotion to Him alone in every area of our lives! Moses warns the people that when they enter the land there will be things that compete with God for their attention, their affections and their worship. We, too, have hundreds of things that compete for our hearts each and every day. In this book, God teaches us how to properly respond to the amazing grace He has given us by giving Him our undivided allegiance, our whole hearts and our whole lives. Over the next 34 days, let\u2019s seek this ancient way together as a church!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moses begins his address to the children of Israel by recounting the events after their covenant with God at Mt. Sinai leading up to their current situation. Moses is addressing the second generation of Israelites who left Egypt in the exodus event, and here he begins to explain why the first generation did not receive the promises God had made to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moses begins by explaining how he had set up judges over the people in order to take the load of the people\u2019s problems off of him a bit. The way that Moses instructed the judges to carry out their duty is reflective of the fact that they were to reflect God\u2019s character in their judgments (righteous, impartial, hearing the small and the great and not being intimidated). This demonstrated the principle at play when God gave His people the Law in the first place: the point is that they would shine as bright lights in the darkness, being distinct in their living from the surrounding nations and reflecting the character of God to the rest of the world!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From there Moses goes on to explain how the first generation of the exodus failed to take hold of God\u2019s promises. When God gave them opportunity to enter the Promised Land, they shrank back in fear, refusing to trust and believe in God\u2019s power and promises towards them. Because of this, God swore in His anger that not one of them would enter the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moses speaks these words to the children of those who refused to enter, the second generation, and he speaks this as a warning to them not to be like their parents! They failed to follow God, failed to put His glory and character on display through their lives, and failed to attain what He had promised them, all because they did not believe Him as they should have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For us, the message is clear: God\u2019s promises are ours for the taking, but we must move forward in faith. If we don\u2019t believe God, how should we expect to receive anything from Him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n