August 28, 2017
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Reading along with us in Deuteronomy? Here’s today’s reading:
Deuteronomy 5 (ESV)
And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
6 “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me.
8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments… Continue Reading
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“Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!” Deuteronomy 5:29
“You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.” Deuteronomy 5:32-33
Those who do not know God see His commands as burdensome, as keeping them from enjoying the temporary pleasures of this world. To the unconverted, God’s laws are slavery — and worse even, slavery to a “hard and unfair taskmaster.”
But I see God’s love for me, as a Father who loves His daughter. He CHOSE me. And because of His great love for me, I am His bondservant, by my choice — because He is a loving, generous, compassionate, patient, freedom-granting “master” who takes care of me, who protects me, and who treats me not as a slave but as His beloved child. Why wouldn’t I long to live for Him and serve Him all the days of my life?
Vs 10 steadfast love to thousands of generations
32You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. ❤️
Where would we and the world be if we did not have the ten commandments, if God never shared these standards with the Jews and they were passed on to us? How much have our laws and consciences been affected by them? How different are the nations who are oriented to them as opposed to those that are not? And although these standards mean less and less as our nation turns from God, we have been affected by these laws.
And I like what Moses says in verse 3. God has made this covenant with you. Today it does not matter what God has done with a past generation, but the fact that He is speaking to you and many of these Israelites were children when God communicated to the past generation, they should not see this as something old, but something new. It is on them to follow and obey independent of what the past generation has done. This also reminds me of the Steve Green song, “Let all who come behind us find us faithful, may the fire of our devotion light their way, may the foot steps that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey, may all who come behind us find us faithful….”
And these commands are all about our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. Giving God the honor He is due and not misusing other people to satisfy our desires. Each one tells us….It’s not about me!
And don’t miss God ‘s heart expressed in Deuteronomy 5:29. Please believe, revere and follow me so it will go well with you because that is the only thing God can bless!