Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Deuteronomy 1-3

the word Deuteronomy means 2nd law and this book is the retelling of the Exodus and the 2nd giving of the law that is to be the measure of who Israel is to be to the world including the 10 commandments.  Deuteronomy is the 5th and last book of the Torah, the Jewish books of law and was thought to have been written by Moses about 1400 BC.  It is written in a way that gives you a sense that this is Moses speaking to the people of Israel as they are gathered together on the banks of the Jordan.  You can almost imagine it.....Moses relating the Exodus to them, reminding them of all that God has done for them and all that he wants to yet do for them if they will be faithful to the covenant that God has given them in the 10 commandments.  Moses standing before them proclaiming God's goodness and the land of milk and honey behind him......the fulfillment of the covenant with Abraham......that which their fathers had not claimed because the did not Love God enough to trust that he would be with them in the possessing of the Land.  That sin had sent Israel back into the wilderness for 38 more years until every adult male over the age of 20, except Caleb, Joshua and Moses died in the desert.

You can almost feel Moses' passion has he relates the events of the last 40 years, how God has been faithful to provide them with everything that they needed and how he had made them into a mighty nation, more numerous than the sands of the sea and the stars of the heavens.  Moses speaks of how God has struck fear in the hearts of their enemies.  Moses knows that all is in readiness if only this generation will believe in God and let that belief form an unwavering trust in God.  The failure of the previous generation had been a failure to trust in God's promises.

Do you suppose when we fail or when the church grows stagnant and wavers in its ministry that it is the result in a lack of trust?  That somewhere, sometime the church and its leaders have said, "our God is not big enough for us to win this battle."  And the result of that failing is another generation in the wilderness.  Perhaps we sit at the banks of the Jordan and God has prepared us to win over this part of Eastern Jackson County.  Are we ready to step into the waters?  Do we love God enough to believe that his promises are for us too?

Final thought for today.....Moses goes up to Mt. Pisgah where he can see the promised land.  Have you ever walked so close to Jesus that you sensed that he was about to reveal something supernatural to you?  Have you ever been in the presence of the Holy Spirit and you felt like you could almost taste heaven?  I believe it is possible for the Kingdom of God to be so close that we can see what God has promised if we only walk faithfully.  I pray that this generation will enter into God's promise and that the world will be forever changed by our faithfulness and love.

P.S. Say a prayer for Janet Ek and her family as they prepare for a memorial service for Janet's mother.  It will be here at Faith on Friday morning at 11:00. 

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