I am doing some thinking this week as I read through Debarim. What? You've never heard of it? I assure you, it has been on the Best-Seller list for years! In fact, it’s been through so many publishings, I think we have lost count. Not to mention being translated into practically every language known to man...
You probably know it by its English title: Deuteronomy. Surely you have heard of Moses? It is just one of his best-sellers.
So this week's reading takes us through Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25, and I am pondering some of the things Moses writes - which could just as well apply to us today as to his original audience back in the day:
I. 8:2-6 “And you shall remember that YHWH your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not. And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of YHWH. “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Thus you shall know in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so YHWH your Elohim disciplines you,” therefore you shall guard the commands of YHWH your Elohim, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
God allows us to go through “wilderness experiences” for several reasons. Not the least is to help us remember where we would be without Him guiding us! He also uses those experiences to “test” us and help us figure out if we are really listening to His instructions or if we are going off and trying to do things our way.
II. 10:12-16 “And now, Yisra’ĕl, what is YHWH your Elohim asking of you, but to fear YHWH your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, to guard the commands of YHWH and His laws which I command you today for your good? “See, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to YHWH your Elohim, also the earth with all that is in it. YHWH delighted only in your fathers, to love them. And He chose their seed after them, you above all peoples, as it is today. And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and harden your neck no more.
God spells out exactly how He wants us to live. It’s kind of a no-brainer when you look at it. Well, maybe not the circumcision of the heart bit - that takes a little pondering to make the connection about having a covenant with the Spirit and not be living our lives by what "feels good" to us.
III. 11:22-25 For if you diligently guard all these commands which I command you, to do it, to love YHWH your Elohim, to walk in all His ways, and to cling to Him, then YHWH shall drive out all these nations before you, and you shall dispossess greater and stronger nations than you. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads is yours: from the wilderness, and Leḇanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea is your border. No man shall stand against you. YHWH your Elohim shall put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, as He has spoken to you.
What I’m reading here translates to me as this: IF we pay attention to what God is instructing us, THEN He will entrust us with a mission or a calling and will allow us to partner with Him to purge the polluting, toxic influences “every place on which the soles of our feet tread”.
That’s the kind of footprint we should be concerned about leaving on our environment!
Thanks, Bill Bullock, for putting so much time into your devotionals.
All scriptures quoted are from The Scriptures 2009, Institute for Scripture Research. You can read it at www.bible.com.
All scriptures quoted are from The Scriptures 2009, Institute for Scripture Research. You can read it at www.bible.com.
