“And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭

 

Deuteronomy tells a story of God‘s heart for His people. In reading this beautiful book, the sense that God deeply wants to bless them is so evident. Time after time, Moses pleas with them to love the Lord your God and you will prosper. There are equally as many warnings that disobedience leads to destruction of life.

 

This promise is so true for us today. If we walk that straight and narrow path Jesus calls us to, we will live a full life. If not, death awaits. Maybe not a physical death, but a death to relationships, finances. Even worse, an emotional death. Separation from God leaves us feeling emotionally empty. A void that cannot be filled with anything else. Moses says this in Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭19-20, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

 

Deuteronomy. A love letter from God to His people. Maybe it is better called a “how to” love me letter. Moses told them, this is how you do it.

 

Don’t worship idols or other gods. Don’t even ask the neighboring people you conquer about the gods they serve. Don’t even think about it. Don’t tempt yourself. God says you will be so blessed if you listen to me. You will be blessed by the land you did not work. You will live a life of bounty because of the hard work of the people you conquered.

 

““The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.”Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭

 

God gave them the recipe for success. To the skeptic it may seem that God was being too hard on the Israelites. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it said that the God of the Old Testament was a hothead. Rash. Killed at the drop of a hat. In reality, it is difficult to read Deuteronomy without hearing the plea from God to His people to obey. Obey and live! For the sake of your lives and the lives of future generations, obey. In both the Old and New Testaments God deeply loves. His IS love according to 1 John 4:8.

 

In the end though, God knew that the Israelites would fail. They would fall away from Him. They would serve other gods. He told them through Moses that when they do, He would wholeheartedly take them back. He would return to them all that was lost if they would repent and return to Him.

 

““In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions. If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors! “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live! The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you. Then you will again obey the Lord and keep all his commands that I am giving you today. “The Lord your God will then make you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests, for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your ancestors. The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.”Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭1‬-‭10‬