Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 3-4.

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After Moses had completed recounting the events which had happened since the people of Israel left Egypt he began to repeat the commands which God had given them.  Those to whom he was speaking needed this repetition because they had been too young to fully understand what was going on when these things happened (if they had even been born).  Even though we are not today under the Law which God gave to the people Israel, that Law, and the things Moses told them along with repeating it, tell us things about God, and how we can please Him.  Moses began by telling them that God would be near to them whenever they called upon Him.  This is true for all people, God will draw near to everyone who has become part of His people and calls upon Him.  But, once we have become part of God’s people we must take care and diligently keep our souls, or we may forget what we have seen with our own eyes that God has done and our hearts will stop honoring Him.

One part of diligently keeping our souls is making known to those who come after us what we have seen God do, and what those who went before us saw God do.  In order to keep our souls right with God we must tell again and again what we know that God has done.  When Jesus told His disciples, and through them us, to go into all of the world and make disciples, teaching them what He had taught them (and taught us), that was not just to bring more people to Him.  We are to make disciples and teach them what Jesus taught us so that WE may remind ourselves what He has taught us to do and continue in doing it.  I write this blog, and have begun recording videos of it, in order that I may become more faithful in following Jesus’ teachings and remain faithful to those I already follow.  I pray that the Holy Spirit may bless those who read it, or who watch the video, but it serves to convict me to do better at obeying God.

Later in the passage, Moses warns the people that they may act corruptly and fail to diligently keep their souls faithful to God, that indeed they likely will do so.  However, he also tells them (and us) that if they do so and find themselves far from God, if they (and us) seek God with all of their (our) heart and all of their (our) soul, They (we) will find Him.  God is merciful and He will not leave us, nor forsake us.  I do not know your life experience, but one of two things is true.  God has either shown you that He is God and that there is no other God, or, if you are willing, He will show you that.  If God has spoken to you, do not allow yourself to forget His words.  If you have not yet heard God speak to you, I pray that you will open your heart and ask Him to do so.  If you ask Him and listen for His voice, He will speak to you.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 3-4.

I started reading this and my first thought was that this was going to be another passage where I write something with more academic interest than devotional content.  Then I came to this verse “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”  The very next says, “Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God…”  If you have put your faith in Jesus and allowed the Holy Spirit to come into your life, then at some point you have stood before the Lord and listened to Him speak to you,  Or, more likely you did not stand, at some point most of us have lain prostrate before Him.  Do not forget that day and why you were there and what God has done for you since.  We must remember these things because we were shown them so that we “might know that the Lord is God, and besides Him there is no other.”  If we do as He commands, it will go well with us and with those who follow after us.  Which leads to the other part about why we were shown God’s power so that we tell others about it.  So that we tell those who need God how to come to Him and receive His grace.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 3-4.

Every year when I read this I am struck by the fact that Moses says that God refused to allow him to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land because of the rest of the Israelites.  I am struck by this because in Numbers 20, God told Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land because he struck the rock when God had told him to speak to it.  What Moses says here is not exactly wrong, because he struck the rock, rather than just speak to it, because of his frustration with the Israelite complaining.  I wasn’t sure where I was going with this as I wrote it, but I realized what an important lesson it is about controlling our anger.  Moses allowed his anger at the people to get the better of him, and he suffered the consequences.  Moses failed to faithfully follow God’s command, which meant that he was never able to enter the land of Canaan.  No matter how much we feel that we have been provoked, God will hold us accountable to faithfully follow His instructions.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 3-4.

Moses reminded the Children of Israel to be careful and make sure that they did not forget the things which they had seen.  Let us do the same.  We also need to be careful and not forget the things which we have seen.  I have seen God do many wonderful things.  I assume that most, if not all, of you who are reading this blog have done likewise.  If you have not seen God do wonderful and marvelous things, I beseech you to call out to Him and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.  God showed Himself to the Children of Israel, and to each of us, so that we might know that He alone is God and there is no other like Him.  The Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below and no other being or thing can compare.  No other being or thing can claim sovereignty over heaven or earth from Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Deuteronomy 3-4.

I am not quite sure where I am going to go with this, but I want to focus on a couple of contrasting phrases in today’s passage.  First, the passage says, “do not make for yourselves an idol…For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  Then a few verses later when discussing the punishment which will come from breaking that command it says, “ if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul… For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you…”  The final quote I want to pull out from today’s passage comes a few verses later and, in my mind, explains all of this, “Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.  Keep his decrees and commands, …so that it may go well with you…”  The words I left out are also important, but I want to focus on the parts I quoted.  God is jealous because He knows that the idols we may seek to worship cannot fulfill the desires which lead us to worship, cannot satisfy the needs which we turn to them to fill.  He knows that our worship of idols can only lead to our heartbreak.  God is also a merciful God and has provided that anyone who truly seeks Him will find Him.  That final phrase reminds us that God’s commands are not arbitrary.  He made us and thus knows what we must do so that things will go well for us.   His anger at us when we violate His commands comes from His sorrow at the suffering which He knows our actions will bring us.  Once again, everyone who truly seeks God with their entire being will find Him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 3-4.

Today’s passage has Moses finish his summary of what had happened to the Israelites from the time they had left Mt Sinai until the day when he was speaking.  When Moses finishes summarizing their history, he reminds them that they had experienced some of this history and it should serve as a reminder to obey God’s commands.  In particular, Moses points out that they had seen for themselves the consequences of disobeying God when many of the people had worshiped Baal-peor.   Moses further reminded them that they had not seen God’s form when He spoke to them at Mt Sinai.  Therefore, they should not presume to create something which they present as being the image of God for worship.

I want to touch on one other thing which I come across from time to time.  Throughout the Old Testament we see that the people of Israel did indeed worship other gods and that, at least some of the time, they viewed these other gods as sharing the heavens with God.  From this, some people conclude that it was only later that the religion they followed became monotheistic.  However, if one believes, as I do, that this passage represents what Moses taught at the time this passage would have taken place one reaches the conclusion that Moses taught a monotheistic religion.  The failure of the people of Israel to live according to what Moses taught does not change what he taught anymore than the failure today of people to faithfully follow Christ’s teachings diminishes their value.