Deuteronomy 11:1-32


Our choices have consequences.  God has given us the freedom to make our own choices.  However, He has revealed to us what He would like for us to choose.  He does not force us to choose according to His will but He has graciously instructed us as to what He would have us do.  We do not, however, have the freedom to choose the consequences of our choices.  God is still very much in control of this world and then events that occur on this earth.  He may give us the liberty to choose out paths but He has determined the final destination of those paths.  Moses is urging the children of Israel to choose the path that is marked according to God’s will so that they can enjoy the blessing of obedience that God has promised to those who love and obey Him.

LOVE: The first and most basic command of all of Scripture is to love the Lord with all of our hearts.  Moses reminds the people that they must love God and demonstrate that love by following His commands.  Moses reminds that people that they have all been eye witnesses of God’s rescue of the children of Israel as well as Hus judgment of their sin.  With all that God has done and because He has created and sustained us; it only seems natural that we would love God.  However, our natural bent is to love ourselves and resent God’s control over our lives and circumstances.  We must learn to wage war on this natural bent in our hearts and regularly recall the greatness of God so that our hearts will be filled with love for Him.

LIVE: The only way that we can genuinely demonstrate our love for the Lord is to live according to the commands of His Word.  The great part about the life of obedience is that it is really the only way that we can experience true life.  The path of rebellion and disobedience is marked by pain, heartache and guilt.  The pleasures of sin are so quickly passed but the heartaches of sin are enduring.  The sacrifice of obedience is minimal and temporal while the rewards of obedience are eternal.  God promises that the land the children of Israel will inherit is a good land that produces crops that grow from rain that falls from the sky and animal that will grow fat from the grass of the fields.  The reality is that when we live for God is life is generally much better now and is always much better in eternity.  It is sheer lunacy to live for anyone else besides God.

LISTEN: They key to being able to live for God is listening to the instruction of His Word.  The idea of listening is regularly repeated in this passage as it implies not only hearing but also understanding and commitment to obey.  The emphasis is to remember clearly the commandments of God and then make the teaching of these commandments our top priority in life.  We are to teach them to the generations to come and the younger generation is responsible to listen closely to the Word of God.  We must never become arrogant and think that we know all that we need to know.  We must be very careful not to be deceived into listening to the wisdom that comes from the world.  But we must pay close attention and listen with a longing to obey the Word of God.

 LEARN: The end result of listening is learning, but we can also learn from the mistakes of others.  The children of Israel had made many mistakes as they traveled through the wilderness.  They endured various judgments from the Lord along the way.  It is important that all of us learnt that God does judge sin.  He promised that the consequences for disobedience would be fields that do not produce, because He would not send the rain that was needed.  They would be taken captive, suffer illness and would suffer under poverty as a result of their disobedience.  The consequences of sin are always much worse than we want them to be or hope that they will be.  We must learn to trust Him, obey Him and fear Him so that we will not be tempted by the society in which we live, Satan the enemy and our own hearts to ignore the Word of God.  We must learn, once and for all, to count the consequences of sin and trust the justice and goodness of God.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than a...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:3-7

I thank God   whom I serve, as did my ancestors,   with a clear conscience, as I remember you   constantly in my prayers night and day.    As I remember your tears,   I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.    I am reminded of   your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and   your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.    For this reason I remind you   to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us   a spirit not of fear but   of power and love and self-control. It is easy for us to forget many important things especially in the face of difficulty or danger.  Paul is in prison and Timothy is facing difficult times in ministry so there are important reminders that Paul wants to make sure that Timothy understands.  God has given us everything we need to face the difficulties He allows i...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:8-14

Therefore   do not be ashamed of   the testimony about our Lord, nor of   me his prisoner, but   share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,   who saved us and   called us to a holy calling,   not because of our works but because of   his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus   before the ages began, and which now has   been manifested through   the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,   who abolished death and   brought life and   immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But   I am not ashamed, for   I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until   that day   what has been entrusted to me.  Follow   the pattern of   the sound words   that you have heard from me, in   the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ...
Read more