Tag: Deuteronomy

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The listen promise.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Just before this promise passage in Deuteronomy, God declared the “Hear O Israel” or Shema – the listen command that is still spoken by millions of Jewish people today. God follows it up with announcing the fulfillment of a very long promise made to the Jewish patriarchs, Abram, Isaac & Jacob. That is 400 to 430 years from promise to fulfillment! In modern times, we have absolutely no concept of a time-span like that. It is currently November 4, 2024 (yes! the day before the big election between Donald Trump & Kamala Harris). America is only 248 years old! Most of us barely know our own country’s history let alone remember any promises that God may have made to someone that long ago.

Israel and God’s chosen people have a really long memory and an even longer story! When you’ve been through the struggles of being a nomadic people for a very long time and God promises their own land, and controlling their own destiny- it’s a very big deal. Oh, what joy must have swelled in the hearts of the people as they heard God’s promise of this new land. God said the land was basically “move in” ready, describing it as cities they didn’t need to build and housing fully stocked with food they did not work and toil over in the fields. The lifeline of water! The sweet delicacies of grapes and multipurpose olive oil. Ah, was it just a dream? No, God says it’s real and coming soon. What the catch? No catch really, just to remember the Lord that rescued them from slavery, delivering them from years of wandering and captivity. “Just remember me!” God says.

Dan and Chip Heath wrote a book back in 2007 called Made to Stick and writes about the idea of the curse of knowledge. The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when a person who has specialized knowledge assumes that others share in that knowledge. Once we know something, and we are familiar and comfortable not just knowing it, but talking about a subject, we begin to assume everyone listening already knows the subject as well. As we speak about it, we sort of take shortcuts instead of taking the time for people unfamiliar with topic to catch up.

The Jewish people and their leaders had lived through a really long and arduous journey. It was such an embedded cultural experience that outsiders could not relate to their story at all. One way the people fought against the curse of knowledge when it came to their children and grandchildren is they told the old stories in totality over and over again. Their family meal times and cultural celebrations were all dedicated to telling the story of who they were and how God rescued them. As modern parents and modern children we struggle to tell, and re-tell, and re-tell the stories of life, of faith and of God’s blessing or divine intervention because we fear sounding old, out-dated and out of touch. Our children may not help when they roll their eyes and say, “oh, here we go again… talking about the old days!” But when we don’t tell the stories and our children bristle at the slow-paced talks around dinners or celebrations, there is much to be lost! It’s more than just “back in my day…” when candy was a nickel and gas was a quarter! It’s stories of unbelievable hardship or overcoming years of cyclical dysfunction or addictions in families. It’s stories of being very poor, but never realizing it. But really the old stories remind us of the power of Christ to redeem and restore a life and be able to leave a legacy for the future. These stories contain opportunities for children or grandchildren to pickup the memory stones of their parents and use them to pave a whole new path to glorify God!

The people in these very old Bible stories, lived a difficult life, heard God’s promises and many were able to experience the fulfillment of those promises within their lifetime. What promises of God are we not talking about, not sharing with the next generation? What promises have we believed and course-corrected our life to be obedient to God REMEMBERING Him in all things? If we do not speak of these things, if we do not tell the stories of God’s grace and miracles, our children and grandchildren may never know why we are so passionate about our faith in Jesus! To quote God, “Repeat them again and again to your children.”

Prayer

Dad,
Oh, that it would not be said of me that I did not tell the amazing stories of your grace and power to change my life! I remember and I give thanks that you did rescue me from slavery, from son, from my stubborn determination to live my life my way. I can never forget what you save me from! With that, give me courage to continue to tell my story and others might know of your mercy. Amen.

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Rule Followers?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life.”‭‭ Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Alright, I can admit this right up front. I’m not a great rule follower. I try to justify it by my own origin story being a chaotic mess, our blended-family lacking the basics of safety, consistency and definitely boundaries. At some point I had to face reality – rules, laws and boundaries are good and I missed out and messed up by not understanding that. It didn’t help much that before Jesus, I had no guilt triggers either.

There are so many lessons to be learned from these books of the law. One big one, God, being the creator, gets to set the rules. We, as the created, do not. That’s a hard one for us. In our humanness there is a massive, “I get to be my own god” syndrome. The other huge lesson is so practical, so pragmatic – if we obey, we will enjoy a long life. I guess it’s parenthetic that we don’t agree with God on what the “good life” looks like.

I look at the ten commandments from my past non-churchgoer perspective. They are not that hard to understand or obey. It seems the biggest issue is a perceived loss of autonomy. For example, God says, “take a day off and give it a rest,” to which we say, “I don’t want to.” Just below these demands to obedience comes an even stricter law – “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” Notice both the absolute, declarative truth – The Lord IS our God, the Lord ALONE,” and the following mandate… “you MUST.” God was not gentle parenting here! There was no, “I would suggest,” or “It’s in your best interest to.” And, we find no echo from God’s children (Israel) asking… “WHY God?” Isn’t it obvious? Because God said so!

I think God puts up with plenty of “why’s” from us, and He is so long suffering and patient towards us. “Why did I get cancer?,” “Why did he leave me?,” “Why did my child die?,” “Why don’t you give me a house, car, job, money, or success?” Ask away, no problem. But on the matter of who God is and will He be shared with other fake deities? Absolutely not.

There are far more than just boundaries and truth in these rules that come from the character of who God is. There is safety, security, hope, love, assurance and complete confidence in our obedience to God. Would you really want God to be more like us? For God to be duplicitous, fickle, selfish and ultimately undependable? That’s just silly. We need God to be God over all, over everything – over us. And, we need to quit pretending that our versions of God would be much better. God knows what He’s doing, so let Him do it – ultimately it’s in our favor!

Prayer

Dad,
Even knowing your ways are above my own. Even knowing your will is right and good, beyond my own understanding and expectation. Even knowing that, I still see rebellion rising within me. I still feel the tug of sin which is determined to find a different way, a better way, a faster way to get what I want, when want it. I want to obey, but I struggle in submitting to your way of doing life! Help me, Oh Lord. Forgive me, Oh God. Your way, your will, be done in me and through me.

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God makes a deal.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai. The Lord did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today. At the mountain the Lord spoke to you face to face from the heart of the fire. I stood as an intermediary between you and the Lord, for you were afraid of the fire and did not want to approach the mountain. He spoke to me, and I passed his words on to you.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭5‬a NLT‬‬

Moses calls the people of Israel, now free from Egyptian slavery to listen to the deal God wants to make with them. This deal is unprecedented! There has never been a deal like this made between any other god and humankind. The ancient gods only made deals where they were the takers, the receivers. They made the rules for people to benefit them and no one else. A deal with those gods were all about them, not us. Yahweh God was different. His decrees and regulations were all to benefit humanity. The first four were about keeping the relationship with him, much like a marital contract. Even the sabbath rest was demanded for our own good and called for a weekly investment into a relationship with Him. The other six were given to protect and uphold the sanctity of human relationships. Starting with parents and working through the normal breaches and breakdowns of relationships – murder, betrayal, theft, lies, and coveting or desiring someone else’s belongings. These are still the big five of relational failures.

Moses announced this covenant, this promise or agreement between God and His chosen people. These stipulations would fulfill God’s promise to Abraham and as Moses told them, it would protect and prosper them as they made their journey to their own land. “So Moses told the people, “You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail. Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy” Vs 32‬-‭33‬.

We may look at this entire process as a simple arrangement. Keep the commandments and reap the benefits of living in relationship with God. We now know that it would not be possible to keep God’s rules. It isn’t God’s fault, it’s our own sin that would prove time and time again that we are promise breakers and choose our own way, our own rules. All of which leads us to leave or wander from a relationship with God. God knew we couldn’t keep the rules and provided one and only one that would not only keep every single law in the covenant, but also become the physical and spiritual sacrifice for our sin, our selfishness, our rebellious desires – that is Jesus! In one way or another I have broken every one of the big ten commandments. But God is faithful. He is always right, true and just!

Prayer

Dad,
Knowing myself a lot better than I did when I was young. And knowing you much better as well. I can see how keeping the law, the contract would be impossible. I am thankful that you provided a way back to you even before I came to fully understand how it all worked. Thank you for your grace, your gift of forgiveness and reconciliation. Thank you for rescuing and restoring me when I was so lost and broken.

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Why does God have rules?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God’s rules were never about keeping us from having fun, enjoying life or just to be a kill-joy. It’s all about living and thriving in this relationship with Him. Who knows better than God who built us and the entire system of how the world works. Moses records the truth about all the rules, lessons, hardships and detours, “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

There’s reason behind the rules? God makes them for OUR benefit! Yep. A big lie is the bad-rap, stereotype that God is some old mean man in the sky. Oh please, that’s ridiculous! That makes us sound like toddlers squabbling to get our own way. God is not old, not a man and not mean!

In these verses it reminds me of everything God wants for us in terms of our basic wants and needs in life. Moses writes, “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.” I see a couple things here: One, God wants to bring blessing of abundance. For example the idea of milk and honey. These staples and sweets of life are for our enjoyment as much as they are for our health. Two, God put iron & copper in the hills for building infrastructure, for our homes and tools. Notice the difference? One comes with sowing and reaping, just caring for the land and reaping the delicious results. Ah, but the other, the minerals and ore’s, they have to be mined! It is much harder work to dig and mine those resources. It’s just pure work!

After all this, God’s instructions comes back to remembering Him, remembering His rules, His ways. Why? Because when abundance comes, our relationships, both with God and one another, tend to fade into the background. God states a difficult truth about our human nature, when we become too rich, we forget. “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!”

Prayer

Dad,
I am comforted and embarrassed that you know us so well. I know I get distracted so easily when things are going super good. When it comes to having wealth or abundant resources, I believe your antidote is generosity. Giving away the abundance, the extra, helps me focus on something other than just storing up more for myself. Plus, It’s fun. So when I buy a two-pack of milk at Costco, I can think of these verses and remember to give one away 😀.

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God’s angel-investment into Israel

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭6:10-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

But did they forget the Lord? Absolutely. And, we tend to do the same.

First of all, God breaks his own principle of sowing and reaping to bless Israel. Yes, the people had it hard! They had only known multiple generations (400) years of slavery. They were learning the hardest lesson of all, dependency on a new master, a loving benevolent God and father to their people. But God also did the extraordinary – provided where they had not sown, had not worked, had not waited and had not invested. He would GIVE them large prosperous cities, fully stocked housing, water producing wells and vineyards and olive trees they did not plant nor tend to. God would give them a fully functional city-system that was already producing enough to not only sustain them, but also give them financial income when they sold or bartered goods in the future. All ready to go. God believed they needed it to get started.

He only asked them NOT to forget about him – and they eventually did.

I think this is a condition of our sin, of our humanity. I’m not saying we can’t push against it or even win to some degree, but it’s woven deep into our DNA. And, I don’t think the curse just effects our snobbery to God, I think it happens in our relationships to one another as well.

I believe we have a short memory and a very long selfish desire that plays the “what have you done for me lately” track in our brains. I have to stop and force my self, shake down my memories to remember what God (and friends) has done for me and sift out the gratitude as it is surfaces.

I must remember, not only being RESCUED but also provided for and loved.

PRAYER:

Dad,
I read about the amazing journey of Israel and see the template script of humanity overlaid in the stories.

I’ve know for a long time that I can’t look at the stubbornness, forgetfulness or the rebellion in their lives and not see those same qualities staring back at me in history’s mirror.

Yet, I know how the story ends now, they did not. I know the whole truth of the price of redemption, they did not. And still, even knowing and pursing the truth, I am, we are, still haunted by my failures, my shadows, my sin.

This is where faith truly makes another difference in our story compared to theirs. Abraham believed! And it was accounted to him as righteousness.

So it is with me.
I believe.

I can either wallow and whine or I can confess and keep moving forward. This helps me not forget what you’ve done.

And, I am eternally grateful.