Today's Reading:

Deuteronomy 8
Deuteronomy 9
Deuteronomy 10
Deuteronomy 11

Remember God’s faithfulness, the importance of gratitude, and warning against pride. Remember the rebellion of the past and the covenant God made. God kept the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years as a lesson to humble and test the Israelites. Remember that what you do and your wealth does not come from within- it is all given by God. His plan was to drive out the Anakites in order to fulfill the covenant He made with the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Circumcise your heart and do not be stiff-necked. Just as circumcision was sign in the flesh, they were not acting like it with their hearts. They needed to “cut out” their stubbornness by following God’s ways. Faith must be shown by actions! Love Him fully and remember His salvation. Obedience matters and following His commands is essential.

 

 

Moses’s farewell speech continued to remind the new generation of God’s faithfulness andthe  importance of gratitude and warning against their pride. As a man disciplines his son, so God will discipline you with gentleness; Moses said do not forget Him. Moses warned not to become arrogant; if you forget the Lord and fall back to idolatry, you would be destroyed. Live, multiply and possess the land God swore to the ancestors. There is danger in forgetting the Lord who brought them out of Egypt from slavery.

In chapter 9, Moses told the Israelites they were about to cross to the Promised Land- be assured, God goes before you. The Promised Land was not given to the Israelites because of their righteousness, but because the other nations were wicked. The Israelites would reap the benefits of the other nations' destruction. Moses reminded the new generation, repeating “I, I, I and you, you, you” at first with his own intercession, “I fell before the Lord...I prayed to the Lord... I lay prostrate... I prayed again” to show he was always pleading on their behalf. Then he switched to the people “you have been rebellious... you provoked the Lord... you turned aside quickly... you are a stubborn people” to remove the thought that victories were earned by their own righteousness rather than God’s mercy and faithfulness. Recognize God is the Lord of the world. Moses made two more tablets for God to rewrite the commandments, and they were placed in the Ark of the covenant after restored. Then God told him to lead the people. All Moses asks after this is that they fear the Lord your God, walk in obedience, love Him and serve Him with all your heart it was for their own good! (10:12-13).

By loving the Lord your God, you will be blessed with rain, crops, and will be satisfied- not just provisions, but abundance. On the other hand, if the heart is deceived and they turn to other gods, then there would be no rain, and the Israelites would perish quickly. Once the Israelites were to cross over the Jordan River, they were to set a blessing on Mount Gerizim and a curse on Mount Ebal. These two mountains faced each other, and the curses would be shouted from the top as a choice for the people to make – very black and white- down in the valley near Shechem, the choices of life or death. This was repeated in chapter 27 and followed out in Joshua 8:30-35. There is no point in spiritual religion if you do not love God.

When God placed blessing and curse side by side—life or death, obedience or rebellion—why do you think He made the choice so black and white, and how do we still face that same valley-level decision in our daily lives now?

Today's Discussion question: 

When God placed blessing and curse side by side—life or death, obedience or rebellion—why do you think He made the choice so black and white, and how do we still face that same valley-level decision in our daily lives now?

 
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