Devotionary

God Is Faithful. Are You?   With the close of chapter 28, Moses is officially done with his recitation of God’s law and his declaration of God’s blessings and curses. Now, it’s time for the people to recommit themselves to keeping God’s law. They had made a covenant with God some 40 years earlier. Actually, it had been their parents who had ratified the covenant that God had made with them. But they were long gone, having died off in the wilderness because of their refusal to trust God and enter the promised land. But despite their departure, God’s covenant was still valid because God had kept His part of the commitment. And He was expecting the next generation to their part. He had proven Himself to be faithful, but would they do the same? Here they were, some 40 years later, standing on the eastern bank of the Jordan, waiting to enter the land God had promised to give them. They knew God’s law and they were painfully aware of the curses and blessings that accompanied either disobedience or obedience. Now, w

Deuteronomy 28 is a long chapter and it contains its fair share of depressing news. A great portion of its 68 verses have to do with the curses God warns He will bring upon the nation of Israel should they prove to be unwilling to keep His law and to faithfully worship and serve Him alone. And in verses 58-68 Moses wraps up his lengthy list of curses with the grand finale. If the people remain obstinate in their rebellion against God, He will see to it that they end up right back where they started: As slaves in the land of Egypt. Not only will they experience some of the same plagues that God had brought upon their former taskmasters, but they will find themselves living in the same abysmal conditions their ancestors had experienced. It will be the exodus in reverse. And their return to Egypt will be marked by the absence of rest, a lack of abundance, and a loss of the peace that accompanies God’s presence.                

Deuteronomy 28:52-57 is one of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture. In it, Moses explains to the people what will happen if they choose to disobey God. He has already warned them that God will bring curses upon them, but these verses describe something that would have sent chills up their spines. The judgment of God was going to be so severe and the ramifications of it, so intense, that they would end up committing atrocities that were beyond their ability to comprehend. Moses tells them that, when the city of Jerusalem comes under siege by the Babylonians, the people will end up starving and then resorting to cannibalism in order to survive. The self-destructive nature of sin was going to run its full course, producing a kind of barbarism among the people of God that was unthinkable, yet unavoidable. Failure to remain faithful to God was going to prove deadly, in more ways than one.              

hen Israel finally made it into the promised land, they would end up living life in 3D. And those 3 Ds would be disobedience, discipline, and destruction. While God had promised them an abundance of blessings if they would simply obey His commands, they were going to choose disobedience, which would eventually bring the loving discipline of God. That discipline was designed to bring repentance. But when the people of Israel failed to repent, the end result would be their ultimate destruction, brought upon them by God. In Deuteronomy 28:36-51, Moses continues to warn the Israelites about the very real consequences that will accompany their refusal to remain faithful to God. Things will go from bad to worse. Their rebellion against God will force Him to fulfill His promise of judgment. And it will not be a pretty picture when it happens. In fact, their disobedience will result in their ultimate destruction.             

How would you like to have been in Moses’ sandals, forced to deliver a less-than-appealing message of doom and gloom to the people of Israel? He was having to deliver some significantly bad news to the nation, warning them of what was going to happen should they choose to disobey God’s commands. And it wasn’t a pretty picture. In Deuteronomy 28:25-35, Moses continues to describe just how bad things were going to get in Israel should they decide to ignore God’s law and live in rebellion to His clearly communicated code of conduct. Moses presents a prophetic description of the future, complete with the defeat of Israel before her enemies, a plethora of devastating plagues, financial loss, destroyed homes, and domestic ruin. Things are going to go from bad to worse. And all because the people of God will refuse to obey the word of God.         

Moses has given the people of Israel the good news. If they obey, they will be blessed. But now, in Deuteronomy 28:15-23, he delivers the bad news. If they choose to disobey God, they will a experience a long list of curses that will come in a wide variety of forms, but all extremely negative and uncomfortable. The list is designed to stand diametrically opposed to all the blessings God promised if the people will only obey His commands. They have a clear choice to make. And to make their decision easier, God provides a black-and-white contrast between the two options facing them. They can obey and experience the blessings of God. Or they can disobey and feel the full weight of God’s wrath in the form of very tangible curses. You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out. But the people of Israel weren’t the brightest bulbs in the box. In virtually no time at all, they would make their choice known and experience an unfortunate, but unsurprising reversal of fortunes.         

The warning about the curses came first. But Moses quickly follows it up with a list of blessings that will accompany obedience. If the Israelites will simply do what God has commanded, they will experience a life beyond their wildest imaginations. They will be blessed beyond belief. Even the pagan nations will become jealous when they see all that God does for His chosen people. But as Deuteronomy 28:1-14 makes painfully clear, they would have to obey God if they wanted to be blessed by God. Hearing was not enough. Familiarity with God’s laws was not going to cut it. He was expecting His people to hear and obey. Not only that, He was demanding that they love His laws as much as they say they love Him. As Jesus told His disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:14 ESV). Obedience is an expression of love. And God loves to reward those who prove their love for Him by obeying Him.    

Moses has spent a great deal of time telling the people of Israel what God expected of them. He has given them a lengthy to-do list and now, he’s going to tell them what will happen if they choose not to follow God’s commands. In Deuteronomy 27:11-26, we have the first of the curses that God warns will come upon the people of Israel should they decide to disobey His laws. And, as we’ll see, the list is lengthy and highly specific. It seems that God is quite particular about the behavior of His people. He didn’t simply command them to “be holy.” He told them exactly what holiness was to look like in daily life. And to ensure that they took His commands seriously, He attached to them some extremely serious-sounding curses. Holiness was going to be non-optional. Oh, they could choose to live unholy lives, but they would soon discover that to do so would cost them dearly.      

Israel’s status as God’s chosen people was not something they were to take for granted. They enjoyed a privileged position unlike any other people group on the planet. And as they prepared to enter the land promised to them by God, Moses commanded them to construct a stone monument that would serve as a memorial to God’s holiness, as reflected in His law. Their relationship with God had been His doing. They had done nothing to deserve His goodness and grace. But now, as they prepared to enter the inheritance He had provided for them, they were going to be expected to live up to their status as His precious possession. In Deuteronomy 27:1-10, Moses calls them to live up to their identity as the people of God by willfully obeying the commands of God.     

Love for God. Love for others. Both of these things were to be considered non-negotiables for the people of God. And as Moses prepared the nation of Israel for their imminent entry into the land of Canaan, he wanted them to understand just how important it was that they care for the needy among them. To claim a love for God while ignoring those less fortunate in their community, whom God had made, was nothing less than hypocrisy. Deuteronomy 26:12-19 contains a powerful reminder regarding God’s law concerning the offering for the Levites, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. These individuals had been designated by God to be the recipients of a special offering that was to be collected every third year and distributed on an as-need basis. The neglect of these four groups would be viewed as a personal affront to God. They were near and dear to Him and He had provided for them by blessing the rest of the community with more than they needed.

The recitation of rules and regulations is finally over. All of that had been intended as a preface, preparing the people of Israel for the moment when they would finally cross over the Jordan and enter the land of promise. And in Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Moses provides them with instructions concerning the offering of the first fruits. One of the very first things they were to do when they set foot in the land was to present an offering of praise and thanksgiving to God – made up of the first fruits of the very first harvest they gathered. This wasn’t a matter of if, but when. There was no doubt in Moses’ mind that God was going to get them into the land and bless them with a bountiful first harvest. And when He did, Moses expected the people of Israel to show God the gratitude He deserved for all that He had done for them. This offering would be an expression of thanksgiving for all God had done, and a declaration of faith in all that He was going to do.                    

The various scenarios that Moses presents in Deuteronomy are almost comical in nature. His seemingly endless list of strange situations and the particular laws that apply to them is truly amazing. But it just goes to show how deeply God cares about the holiness of His people. He leaves nothing to chance. And in Deuteronomy 25:11-19, Moses deals with three seemingly dissimilar and disconnected scenarios that appear to have little in common. But, in reality, they all deal with personal holiness as exhibited in the day-to-day interactions between the people of God. Their status as God’s chosen people was intended to make a difference in the way they lived their lives. Interpersonal relationships are so important in God’s family. The proper care and concern for each other’s well-being was mandatory. And all those who treated Israelites poorly were to be dealt with severely.                       

All of creation is the handiwork of God. And He chose to place mankind as stewards over all that He made. So, as Moses delivers to the Israelites God’s rules for regulating their behavior, he includes instructions regarding their care of domestic animals. But, oddly enough, he sandwiches it in-between rules about the proper punishment of criminals and the care of widows. All stewardship, whether of laws regarding the punishment of criminals or those regulating the proper care of widows, was important to God. He expected His people to watch over all the He held near and dear, including everything He had created and placed under their care. The actions of God’s people reflected back on Him as their Creator and Father. They could either honor or dishonor Him by the way they lived their lives. He had set them apart so that they might be holy as He is holy. And when they lived according to His will, everyone and everything stood to benefit.                        

We hear a lot of talk about justice these days. And rightfully so. God cares about justice and so should we. But it is important that we define justice according to God’s terms and not those of the world. So, in Deuteronomy 24:14-22, Moses continues to outline God’s expectations for the people of Israel concerning their treatment of one another. These verses concentrate on the needs of the less fortunate and the under-represented who were part of the family of God. These individuals, whether they were widows or hired workers, had few rights and were dependent upon the goodness of others to survive. In God’s grand scheme, everyone deserved to be treated fairly and justly, regardless of their social status or ability to contribute to the well-being of the nation as a whole. Caring for the needy, the downtrodden, and the underdogs of life was critical to the nation’s spiritual health. No one was a second-class citizen. Everyone had value in the eyes of God.                  

Individuality and community. Both are important to God. And nowhere is this made more clear than in Deuteronomy 24:5-13. In these verses, Moses outlines some very specific rules and regulations regarding life within the corporate community of Israel. This collection of individuals was made up of people all ages and from every walk of life, but they shared a common faith and the very same ancestry. They were to function as a unified whole, but never at the expense of the individual. Membership in the community of faith did not obliterate the rights of the individual. And in these verses, Moses reminds the people of Israel that a big part of life within the community is based on extending one another common courtesy. People matter to God. And He expects His children to love one another and to dwell together in unity. For God, protecting the rights of the individual while maintaining the health of the community was non-negotiable.                 

Moses spent a great deal of time elaborating on a host of “what-if” situations that might occur within the nation of Israel. It wasn’t that he doubted that these scenarios could or would take place, he was simply covering any and every imaginable circumstance that might result in the people of God committing sins and blaming their actions on ignorance. He wanted them to know that God had an interest in every area of their lives and had provided them with rules and regulations to govern all their behavior. And in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Moses outlines God’s laws concerning divorce. But, in this case, he gets very specific, dealing with a very particular issue regarding divorce that, at first glance, seems unlikely to be a major problem. But God knew better. He knew the hearts of His people and so He provided detailed restrictions that covered even the most unlikely of circumstances. If a sin could be committed, the Israelites would figure out a way to do it.               

It would be a rare occasion for an Israelite to encounter a situation where he had to ask the question: What would God have me do? That’s because God had provided His people with a very detailed and comprehensive list of rules and regulations for life. And Deuteronomy 23:15-25 contains yet one more compendium of commands that cover a wide-ranging set of circumstances. These were essentially regulations for real life that covered virtually every conceivable situation they might encounter along the way. From how to treat a runaway slave to the making of vows. Everything was important to God, including the lending of money, the moral integrity of children, and care of the less fortunate. So, He made sure that the people of Israel had a comprehensive list of clearly understood instructions that left no room for speculation or confusion. The topic of holiness was too important to leave to chance.           

Purity was to be a high-priority for the people of God – in every area of their lives. There was no place or potential circumstance where the pursuit of holiness was either unnecessary or failed to apply. And as we’ll see in Deuteronomy 23:9-14, even the front lines of battle were to be considered holy unto the Lord. These verses provide the men of Israel with God’s clear instructions regarding times of war. When they were called to assemble for battle, they were to remember their status as God’s chosen people – set apart for His glory and tasked with honoring His holy name. And, as always, God gets very specific, providing them with detailed instructions regarding their personal holiness and hygiene during wartime. The battlefield was not to be used an excuse for spiritual apathy or moral laxness. The priority of personal and corporate holiness took precedence over everything, including war.          

The worship of God is serious business. And not everyone is worthy to enter into His presence. When God set apart the nation of Israel as His chosen possession, he also provided them with His law. Those decrees and commandments were intended to regulate their behavior, so that they could remain unstained by sin and capable of worshiping alongside the rest of the assembly. And the sacrificial system was the God-ordained means by which those who committed sins could receive atonement and cleansing – once again, making it possible for them to worship God in the manner He deserved. But in Deuteronomy 23:1-8, Moses provides the people of Israel with additional rules designed to restrict the access of some from the God-ordained times of corporate worship. This has less to do with the unworthiness of those who were restricted and more to do with the holiness and worthiness of God.     

Moses isn’t done dealing with the topic of marriage. In Deuteronomy 22:22-30, he provides further rules and regulations governing the institution of marriage among the people of Israel. Their view on marriage was to be radically different than that of the pagan nations around them. For them, marriage was to be a living illustration of their covenant relationship to God. If they couldn’t remain faithful to their marriage partner, how in the world could they hope to remain faithful to God. So, Moses provides them with a series of scenarios designed to illustrate just how serious God was about the sanctity of the marriage covenant. What was considered acceptable behavior among the pagan nations occupying the land of Canaan was to be off-limits for the Israelites. There was no point at which adultery should be justified or rape be treated as normal behavior. Acts of wickedness had no place within the covenant community of God’s people.