"The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you."
--Deuteronomy 28:9,45 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on April 11, 2013 of Psalm 72:12-20; Romans 9:1-29; Deuteronomy 28:1-57.
Moses continues preparing the children of Israel for their long awaited entrance into the land promised to their fathers. He has been going back over all the commandments the Lord has given them since their release from bondage in Egypt, and now he includes some of the curses they can expect to fall on them if they fail to observe God's commands. Some of these curses we are familiar with because the Israelis did indeed suffer them. These are basically the opposites of the blessings they could have received had they obeyed God fully. Rather than be an all-conquering nation, they would be conquered and carried off by countries they've never heard of who speak languages they don't understand. Rather than bring in an abundant harvest, the land would yield less than is planted. But some of the curses are more dire and horrible to contemplate. An enemy will lay siege to the people for so long that there will remain no food nor livestock, there will be nothing left to eat but the "fruit" of their own flesh: their children. If you truly believed you would be forced to kill and eat your own child just to survive unless you obeyed God, wouldn't that be enough to make you follow the law to the letter?
The trouble is, we are human. We are born in sin and we live in sin. If Adam failed to obey the one command given him, how could the entire nation of Israel ever possibly obey all the commandments and statutes, all the complex instructions for sacrifices and worship, all the laws dictated by God and delivered by Moses? The plain and simple truth is they couldn't, we can't. Moses himself got tripped up on an instruction given him directly by God and stumbled, and received the punishment of being cursed and forbidden from entering the Promised Land himself. History proves the people's inability to follow all the law, and the Bible supplies the record. Their history is cyclic: when times were harsh and dire, they would turn back to God and obey and worship Him, He would relent and bless them again, but then once times were good they would forget God and take Him for granted, leading Him to curse them and punish them once more. The thing is, it is virtually impossible for an individual, much less an entire nation, to fully and completely follow the law of Moses. And even if we could do so, it would not be a guarantee of our redemption from our sin. Salvation is only offered through our faith, not by anything we can do whether it be good works or full adherence to the law. God knows this, but He loves us so much He doesn't want to see us cursed for all eternity. So He sent us His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life (please see John 3:16). This is God's greatest blessing; one we do not nor can we ever deserve. It is given freely, though, by God's loving grace. Follow God's commandments, yes. That is pleasing to God. But believe in Jesus Christ His Son and our Lord. That is our only way to salvation. Amen.
Merciful God, You know we are flawed and cannot faithfully follow all You command us, that we fail in many things You expect of us. Please forgive us, O Lord, when our thoughts, deeds, actions, or inaction displease You. Thank You for giving us another means of salvation. Thank You for giving us Your Son. Thank You for Your undeserved and unmerited grace. In Jesus' name we thank You and pray. Amen.
The trouble is, we are human. We are born in sin and we live in sin. If Adam failed to obey the one command given him, how could the entire nation of Israel ever possibly obey all the commandments and statutes, all the complex instructions for sacrifices and worship, all the laws dictated by God and delivered by Moses? The plain and simple truth is they couldn't, we can't. Moses himself got tripped up on an instruction given him directly by God and stumbled, and received the punishment of being cursed and forbidden from entering the Promised Land himself. History proves the people's inability to follow all the law, and the Bible supplies the record. Their history is cyclic: when times were harsh and dire, they would turn back to God and obey and worship Him, He would relent and bless them again, but then once times were good they would forget God and take Him for granted, leading Him to curse them and punish them once more. The thing is, it is virtually impossible for an individual, much less an entire nation, to fully and completely follow the law of Moses. And even if we could do so, it would not be a guarantee of our redemption from our sin. Salvation is only offered through our faith, not by anything we can do whether it be good works or full adherence to the law. God knows this, but He loves us so much He doesn't want to see us cursed for all eternity. So He sent us His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life (please see John 3:16). This is God's greatest blessing; one we do not nor can we ever deserve. It is given freely, though, by God's loving grace. Follow God's commandments, yes. That is pleasing to God. But believe in Jesus Christ His Son and our Lord. That is our only way to salvation. Amen.
Merciful God, You know we are flawed and cannot faithfully follow all You command us, that we fail in many things You expect of us. Please forgive us, O Lord, when our thoughts, deeds, actions, or inaction displease You. Thank You for giving us another means of salvation. Thank You for giving us Your Son. Thank You for Your undeserved and unmerited grace. In Jesus' name we thank You and pray. Amen.
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