Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 30-31
Deuteronomy 30:2
And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
Obedience to the Lord God is a recurring theme throughout the entire Bible. Basically put, obedience to the Lord brings blessings to any and all. Disobedience brings disastrous results. It really is that simple. In today’s reading, Moses is once again putting forth two paths. Obey God or not. These are the same two paths we are faced with every day and in every situation. Forgive another? Obey God and forgive or don’t. Live clean holy lives? Obey or don’t. Serve others sometimes even to the detriment of self-interests? Obey or don’t. On and on the list goes. At every juncture wherein a decision must be made there are two basic ways to walk, in obedience or disobedience.
In the last few chapters in Deuteronomy the blessings of doing that which God commands and the difficulties of rejecting His commands are highlighted. It is sad to report that history records that in large part Israel rejected God’s commands and all the horrible things prophesied were the result.
As all good sermons do, Moses’ sermon included an invitation. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (30:19). Sadly, Moses knew which choice they would make, for he said, in his last few recorded words: For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands. (31:29). How did he know these things?
God had told him. Nine verses earlier God said to Moses: For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. (31:20) God knows! He always knows!
As a simple illustration of this truth of the bad results of disobedience, revisit the first story of such. It’s found all the way back in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect situation. But they disobeyed God’s one command. Afterwards fear entered them, they hid from God, an innocent animal had to be sacrificed to make them coats of skin, they were driven out of that perfect garden, and ultimately one of their sons murdered their other son. These were horrible, terrible, issues to deal with. It all started so innocently by just breaking one simple law of God. They could not blame the Lord for these things, they could only blame their own sin. So, as it was then, so too is it today. Sin, which is disobedience to God’s commands, always brings disastrous results. Thankfully, we have the gospel, the promise of cleansing from sin, God’s grace and mercy to forgive our sins, every single one. What a wonderful Savior we serve!
Dr. William T. Howe