Deuteronomy 27-28  These two chapters lay out the greatness of God's blessings for His people when they walk in obedience and worship.  These blessings are all inclusive.. families, possessions, crops, etc.  Everything that they do would be blessed.. if they did not turn aside from the Lord and His commandments. 

But.. it also lays out the magnitude of the curse that would overtake them, personally or as a nation, if they failed to obey God's word.  And.. these curses were also all inclusive.. the things that would happen would be out of their control.  "And you shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see." ( v34) 

We know that Israel failed.. over and over.. to obey and worship God. They went into exile.. they became slaves.. they lost their homeland and their treasured temple.  But.. when I read the consequences of disobedience listed in chapter 28- another picture comes to my mind.. a more recent time that we call the Holocaust.. "The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke you in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly... " (v20)  Verse 33 "A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you shall never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually."  And verse 37 "and you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord will drive you. " 

Once again the choice is presented.. "joy and a glad heart"  when serving the Lord  or "trembling of heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul" as a result of disobedience and sin. 

Father in heaven, how great are Your blessings for those who surrender to You and live in the Truth of Your Word, filled by Your Spirit and washed by the blood of the Lamb.  How terrible are the consequences of turning away from You and following after false gods and false religions.  Thank You for making clear that we do have a choice.. for we have a Savior who has made a way!  He is the Redeemer who came to rescue us from the curses of sin and to bring us into Your glorious Kingdom.  Open the eyes of those who are blind.. perishing in the darkness of this world. Let the Light of the gospel of Jesus Christ shine brightly today we pray, in His glorious Name. amen. 

 Deuteronomy 25-26  Chapter 25 is an interesting mix of situations and the judgements that should be made for each one.. the point is that every problem, every disagreement, argument, or injustice would be decided by the judges to "justify the righteous and condemn the wicked".  Oh that our justice system would be able to do the same! 

Chapter 26 takes on a different topic... the bringing of the offering of first fruits.. a declaration of allegiance to the Lord .. "to be [their]  God, and that [they] would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice." (v17)

In return the Lord makes them a promise, "And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He shall set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken." ( v18-19) 

On the edge of the Promised Land...God offers something no other nation would have.. a place of honor .. to be a "treasured possession" of the God Who created heaven and earth. They were chosen because He chose Abraham and made him a promise.  Abraham's faith in God was the foundation of this promise and this nation.  If only Israel had kept that kind of faith!  They would still be rejoicing at the goodness of God and shining as a Light to the nations.  But... even in this the Lord has worked for the good of all those who put their trust in Him. Hallelujah! 

Father in heaven, let Your Name be honored and lifted up in every nation and especially in the Land of Israel.  May they turn back to You and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ the Messiah and King.  Father help us to live in righteousness, walking in Your ways.. by the power of Your Spirit.. in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 24  The Lord provided laws and decrees for the people of Israel that reflect His character and virtue.  They seem on the surface to be just a lot of do's and don'ts but there is a consistent thread of compassion and truth in every one. 

In this chapter He addresses divorce and remarriage; taking a pledge; caring for the poor, especially widows, orphans, and aliens.   Everything they do should reflect the same attitude that God had toward them.. "But you  shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing." ( v18)

Remember God's actions.. how He redeemed you.. from slavery to sin, to self, to the world.  Remember the love that He showed by sending His one and only Son.. to save you. It is in the remembering that we draw near to His heart.. go deeper into His love.. and find compassion and mercy to others in the same way. 

Father in heaven, we bow before You in thanksgiving, remembering that we were once lost.. once enslaved by sin.. and now You have redeemed us by the shed blood of Jesus , Your Beloved Son.  We now live for Christ, filled with the Spirit, and set apart to live a life of compassion and righteousness .  Help us to see those around us with Your eyes.. to show the love of Christ to everyone we meet.. and to keep remembering all that You have done so that You are glorified in us and in all we do and say.  May Your will be done and Your Name lifted up in us today we pray. Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 21-23  There are many laws and judgements given in the book of Deuteronomy...so that it is hard to keep them all straight.  The purpose of all of them is made clear in this simple statement.. " ... so you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance." 

Keep from evil. Purge the evil. Be redeemed from all blood guiltiness.  "Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you lest He turn away from you." (23:14) 

Every action and every word spoken was seen and heard by the Lord their God.  Every relationship. Every sin. Everything. God desires that His people are holy and helped them to know what that means in practical ways. 

It is here.. .in the middle of all these laws and statutes that we first hear these words.. " And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (.. for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance." (21:22-23)

Philippians 2:8 " And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.."  Jesus, the Lamb of God, emptied Himself and took upon Himself the curse of the cross.. for we have defiled the world with our sin and there is no other way to find the cleansing that we need. 

Father in heaven, may we be holy unto You the Holy One of heaven. May the sacrifice of Jesus cover us and remove all our guilt and sin. O thank You Jesus!  May our lives be made pure before You and may we keep from all evil.. O Lord forgive us our trespasses and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  This is Your will for us and we surrender all to You so that through Your Spirit we will live in holiness and joy.  We ask that once again you will renew our minds and transform us that we might be like You..  for you have given us new life that "has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." (Eph 4:23-24)  In the name of Jesus our Lord we pray, Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 20  What do I know about war?  It is not something I have dealt with directly or have any real knowledge of.. except that it is a horrible thing in so many ways.. 

The Lord gave Moses words to instruct and encourage the people of Israel as they were about to enter the land of promise. They were definitely going to battle.  

The Lord instructed that the priest would come before the army before they engaged in battle, "And he shall say to them,  'Hear O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.' "

Then the Lord gave some unexpected instructions.. He excused from battle those who had just built a house, planted a vineyard, was about to get married, and even those who were afraid. He wanted the willing and able to fight in His army. 

  He allowed the people to make peace agreements with those nations that were far from the new land.. but they had to destroy all the people that He was removing from His chosen land. 

Then one other interesting command.. don't destroy the fruit trees.  Use the other trees as needed for seigeworks.. but keep the trees that they could eat from. A word of hope for a future in the land. God had already provided what they would need. 

This war was going to be extensive.. but it was the Lord's battle and He would bring victory. The Israelites just needed to trust and obey.  

We know that we have an enemy.  This war has been waged since the beginning of time, starting in the Garden and continuing until the Day when Christ returns and the enemy is defeated for eternity.  We are part of God's army and we are given the same instructions that Israel received.. Don't be afraid, don't panic, don't tremble.. remember that the Lord fights for us.. to save us!  We have been given armor for this battle that is "not against flesh and blood.. but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Let us trust in the Lord, putting on truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. Let us stand firm and not be fainthearted.  Our God is on our side and He is fighting for us. Praise You Father, Son and Holy Spirit!  Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 19  This chapter deals with justice.  The Lord commanded Israel to set us cities of refuge so that someone who accidentally kills his neighbor would be able to go there and be safe from anyone wishing to avenge that death.  This also addresses the intentional murder of an innocent person and the killer in this case would be removed from the city of refuge and brought to justice. 

The Lord desires that innocent blood would not be shed in the land that He was giving to Israel. He also addresses other actions that are evil in His sight: 

To move a boundary mark.. taking someone's inheritance. 

Being a "malicious" witness against someone.  Every accusation should have two or three witnesses to be confirmed. 

Or not taking appropriate action against those who do evil because of pity. 

The Lord wanted the land to remain pure and for evil to be "purged" .

So, how do we think about these commands in the light of our day?  We know the Word tells us to "Do justice.. to love kindness.. and to walk humbly with [our] God."  (Micah 6:8)  This is God's way for His people to live righteously. 

 Can we agree with the Lord's commands that the innocent are kept from false accusations and the guilty are judged rightly?  

Can we agree that those who would defraud or cheat a neighbor in any way should be found guilty? 

Can we agree that a false witness should be put to shame and that the guilty should receive judgement that is deserved? 

We want our own land to be freed from evil.. Our problem is that we don't always agree on the definition of what is evil and what is not. How we need to look to the Word of God and pray that the Spirit of God would lead us into all Truth.  How we need to pray for our leaders, our judges, and our nation as a whole!

Father in heaven, may our nation turn to You and join herself with You to be Your people... that Your will be done and Your Name honored. " Let the evil of the wicked come to an end but establish the righteous" (Psalm 7:9)...   we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.

 Deuteronomy 18  There are three sections in this chapter: 

Verses 1-8 emphasize the place of the Levites in the nation.  They did not receive a portion of land like the other tribes, but they had a promise much greater.. "the Lord is their inheritance".  They were given portions of the sacrifices brought to the Lord and they were able to "stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever." 

Verses 9-14 firmly condemn the detestable practices of the nations that God was removing from the land - divination; sorcery; witchcraft; mediums and spiritists; etc.  Israel was forbidden to take up any of these practices.  God called them to be "blameless" before Him. 

Verses 15-22 give the promise from the Lord for another prophet that would come.. " I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him." the Lord told Moses.   Jesus told His listeners time after time that He spoke only what the Father told Him.. John 12:49-50 is one example, "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say and what to speak. And I know His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father told Me."  Jesus, Himself ultimately fulfilled this promise to Israel. 

Yet there were other prophets of God throughout the history of Israel. Some were true prophets who spoke the words that God gave them.  But, there were also men who were false prophets, who spoke "presumptuously" - arrogantly, rebelliously, insolently.  These men should have been put to death for they turned the people from the Truth.  God told the people to watch for the fulfilling of the prophecies given. This was the test of a true prophet. 

What can we learn here?

No matter who we are.. according to the ways of the world.. we who have come to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, Lord, and King have been given and inheritance like the Levites.. for the Lord Himself is our inheritance.  He has given to us the privilege of standing before Him and serving Him.  He has also called us, like He did Israel, to be blameless before Him.. not imitating the detestable things of this world. And, He has exhorted us to speak Truth.. to humbly speak the words of God.. and to be careful to refuse those who speak falsehoods and heresy. We must know His Word and be alert and diligent in obeying His word.  

Father, fill us again with Your Spirit that we might always walk in faith, in truth, and in the power of Your might as we follow Jesus Christ our King. We desire to be blameless before You and we know that You, the God of peace will sanctify us entirely that we may be without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, for You are faithful and You will do it.  ( I Thes. 5)  We look to You for help.. for perfect hearts and willing minds.. that we might seek You and find You.. every day and every hour.  Bring glory and honor to the Lord Jesus as He lives in us and accomplishes Your will in us. We ask this in His Name. Amen.