Deuteronomy 7:22-26 – Laying hold of our God-given life

The conquest of the children of Israel was to be a progressive one. While God has promised that they would possess the whole of Canaan ultimately, the land they would attain must be gained incrementally. They would not be given more till they could handle what had already been given to them. God knew if the children of Israel were given the land all at once, they would be overwhelmed. Besides, the areas they could not populate would be inhabited by wild beasts. So in Deuteronomy 7:22, Moses told them that while God had promised them the whole of Canaan, He would only be clearing them area by area progressively. Wisdom dictated that move. They were only given what they could handle so that they would not be overly burdened.  

We see in these verses that conquest of the land must be a divine-human collaboration. God would do His part, but the Israelites must do theirs. He would give the enemies into their hands, but it would be their responsibility to get rid of them. They were expected to annihilate them and leave nothing, especially their graven images which would create trouble for them. More so, they must leave no trace of anything related to the idols. God pointed especially to the silver and the gold that would be used to make those idols. For God knew that anyone who eyed those things could be ensnared by them. Their greed for those things would soon lure them into compromise. God made it clear that idols and anything that was used to make them would be an abomination to Him. His people must have nothing to do with it, much less bring them into their homes.    

Our life is God’s promised land to us, and He wants us to take possession of it. We must aim to take the whole of every dimension of life – the spirit, mind, soul, and body. It is true that we must take hold of each area of life incrementally. In the spiritual dimension, we must always put God first in everything. We need to keep connecting with Him. Through cultivating essential spiritual disciplines we will be enabled to live a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life, nurturing the fruit of the Spirit. For the dimension of our mind, we need to control what we think and muse about most of the time. What captures our mind, captures us! We must constantly remove old worldly values and renew them with the values derived from God’s Word. Then we need to take care of our emotional life. Emotion has to do with feelings and relationships.  Remember we are called to love God as well as to love others. Finally, we must also have the right handling of our physical bodies. Develop proper balance in our activities in life. Have a well-balanced life, rightly handling rest, work, diet, and exercise. Like education, we won’t be able to go to the next level until we have attained the level that precedes it. Until we have a firm grasp of one level, how can we go to the level after it? Our call to wholeness in life cannot be ignored. It must be rightly handled. Be sure to exercise faithfulness and obedience and so have a fruitful and fulfilling journey with God. Develop godly traits in all areas of our life. It is needful!

Deuteronomy 7:17-21 – Let’s put our trust in God

Fear discourages. It petrifies. It always exaggerates problems and makes them look way bigger than they really are. Besides, fear creates self-doubt. Worst of all it causes one to doubt God. What could cause fear?  Fear is always generated by the wrong focus. When we spotlight on self and our problem, fear gets spawned. How should we deal with it? Do not be self-reliant, but also do not allow self-doubt to play tricks on us. The best way to deal with it, is to rely on God. When we place our focus on God and His past deliverances in our lives and trust Him to get us through, our fear diminishes. We will be emboldened to move on with Him. Moses’ call in Deuteronomy 7:17-21 is to put one’s trust in God and not in oneself. The best way to overcome obstacles in life, he assured us, is not to rely on oneself but to trust God.  

Moses anticipated that since he told the children of Israel, they were fewer in numbers than the people in the land, they would doubt their ability to take the land. So here in these verses, he was urging them to refocus. Firstly, he told them in verse 19 to spotlight on the evidence of God’s past deliverance. He asked them to “…remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.” Past evidence is proof that God’s ability will see us through. Therefore, we must remember God’s past wonderful works in our lives.   

Secondly, in verses 20-21, Moses assured them of God’s assistance. Here he reminded them of a few things. First, they must remember that they have a great and awesome God. Second, this God would be present among them in their quest to move forward. Third, this same God would be sending hornets on their enemies to assist in dealing with them. Forth, the hornets He sent would cause confusion and ferret out those in hiding. What was Moses referring to when he talked about the hornets? He was possibly referring to the panic God would bring to the people, as He so often did on their behalf during their journey.

For these two reasons, like Israel, we must trust God and not be overwhelmed by fear. In Christ, God has delivered us mightily from our past and He can do it again in whatever obstacle we have to face. Besides, He will personally be with us to see us through our journey in life. In Him is our sure victory. Whenever we are afraid, we can trust in Him. He is our victory, so let’s put our trust in Him! 

Deuteronomy 7:12-16 - Obedience and blessings go hand in hand

Everyone aspires to have a blessed life. Can that kind of life be possible? If it is, what is the key? Here in Deuteronomy 7:12-16 we are given the key to that aspiration. These verses tell us that obedience will unlock the blessings of God. By being obedient to God the people of Israel would be plugging into the source of the blessings. Figuratively speaking, like the switch that enables a current to flow into a bulb to produce light, their obedience would be like a switch that would enable the blessings of God to flow and light up their lives. This was precisely Moses' point in verse 12. He said, “Then it shall come about because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.”  There is the certainty of blessings with obedience.   

Moses went on to describe the extent of the blessings that would be released into their lives when they obey God. He would not only prosper them but would also protect them.  Spiritually, personally, domestically, they would be richly blessed. Here is a gist of the blessings. They would experience His love individually, their families would be enlarged, their properties increased, their goods multiplied, their nation preferred, their health ensured, and their enemies defeated.

Although God has set obedience as the condition to unlock these blessings, we know that ultimately the blessings of God rest entirely on His faithfulness. Why? It’s because our self-centredness will always come in the way to obstruct our desire to obey. The only person that has perfectly obeyed God was Christ Jesus. His life and death have shown us that obedience is possible. Like Him, we must take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him. How can we do it? Take a closer look at the word obedience. Notice the middle letter of the word obedience is “I”. Together with the letter before and the letter after the “i”, we find the word “die.” If we ever want to build a life of obedience, the “I” in the center must “die.” Obedience is about yielding and surrendering one’s life to the Lordship of Christ. Unless a grain of corn falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But when it falls to the ground and dies, it will grow and become a full-bloom, fruit-yielding tree of blessings. Obedience and blessings go hand in hand. Let’s seek to obey God!    

Deuteronomy 7:7-11 – The blessedness of being God's very own

Grace is a gift from God. Simply put, it is His unmerited favor to us undeserving people. There is nothing that we have done or can do to deserve God’s grace. This was Moses’ message to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 7:7-11. He told them pointedly that they were chosen not because they were greater in numbers. In fact, in terms of population, they were fewer in number than all the people then. God chose them not on the merit of what they had done. They were chosen because of God’s love for them, and His covenant faithfulness to their forefathers, to whom He promised to give the promised land.

The magnitude of His love for them was fully on display in the dramatic deliverance from the hand of Pharoah. By a mighty act, He delivered Israel out of Egypt, the house of slavery where they had been miserably enslaved. He took them out and made them His people. His covenant faithfulness could be seen in how He continued to shower His lovingkindness on them and their children. He promised to do so to many succeeding generations. However, He would not spare those who would spurn and spike His love. For their ingratitude and hatred for Him, such people would be dealt with to the face and be destroyed. Hence, they must be diligent to take heed to His Word, and walk obediently to all His instructions.   

Moses also wanted to impress upon them that the privilege they were given should never be an excuse for them to live as they liked. Instead, their favored position should be a good reason to spur them on to live a holy life, shunning a life of corruption. In just five verses, we see four aspects of the wonderful blessings that God clearly outlined. Firstly, His immeasurable grace poured out upon them to make them His own possession. Secondly, His power was at work to deliver them out of their bondage. Thirdly, His faithfulness was in full display, showing unending mercy to nurture them in their journey. And fourthly, His providence was there to sustain them all the way. 

In much the same way we are the recipient of God’s grace and made the people of His own acquisition. We are also mightily delivered by the power of God through the outstretched arms of Jesus who gave Himself for us at the cross. Furthermore, we continue to experience His faithfulness as we walk with Him. He will guide us with His eye upon us, leading us in the path of righteousness and to streams of living water. And His providence will be experienced throughout our journey to ensure that we make it to the very end with Him. Let us love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength and not spurn His love!   

Deuteronomy 7:1-6 – Living an uncompromising life

As God’s chosen nation, the Israelites were His uniquely set apart people. They must be a holy people to the Lord their God. They were specially chosen out of the world and their covenant relationship with Him had made them His distinctive people. Of all the people in the world, they were chosen to be God’s own possession. No doubt this exceptional relationship would ensure blessings, but God also expected many responsibilities from them. Here Deuteronomy 7 describes what God would do for them as well as what He expected of them.

This chapter opens with the certainty that God would bring them into the promised land. The word used, “When” implies certainty. It did not say “if the LORD your God…” but “When the Lord your God…” The first gave a sense of uncertainty. God even stated that seven greater and stronger groups of people He would clear out of the land for them. Those seven formidable groups listed were, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

God would certainly deliver these seven groups of daunting people into the hand of the people of Israel and they on their part must destroy them utterly. No favor was to be shown and no covenant was to be made with them. Not only should there be no political alliance, but there must also not be any intermarriage between them.  The reason was clearly stated. God did not want them to be so emotionally tied up till they become influenced into following the gods of those pagans. God wanted them to worship and serve Him only. Hence, they must destroy everything that had to do with their pagan worship. Here God even went to the extent of delineating the items He expected the Israelites to destroy, all the religious artifacts, altars, sacred pillars, Asherim, and graven idols. Intense words such as: tear down, smash, hew, and burn with fire suggest how much God detested everything associated with and used in pagan worship. All must be obliterated with intensity. If Israel ever turned to any of those debased things, it would provoke God to extreme wrath, and they would be dealt with and destroyed.

Compromise is always the first step to our spiritual downfall. We need to be vigilant and be alert to areas that can subtly cause us to be unfaithful to God and affect our walk with Him. The word “favor” in verse 2 could be better translated to mercy. Here we see a suggestion that we must not be soft when it comes to dealing with sources of temptation. We must show no favor or mercy to any of those formidable foes. An attitude of no tolerance must be adopted with regard to temptation. These verses challenge us to live a consecrated life, maintaining what has uniquely marked us out as God’s people. We must also do all to preserve pure worship to God alone. Be sure to be committed to God only! 

Deuteronomy 6:20-25 – Testifying for God

Moses anticipated a time would come when a new generation of children of Israel would ask why they must live according to the instructions of the Lord. They would want to know the meaning and even the reason for their beliefs. In these verses, Moses was preparing the existing generation of Israelites how they ought to answer. This would be an excellent opportunity to give reasons for why they must remain committed to God. This presupposes that they need to have experienced them personally. If they did not personally practice them, they would be hard put when the question was asked.

In this passage, Moses gave the guidelines on how they could tackle the question. They must firstly tell their children about their redemptive history of God’s mercy. They must make known how God had miraculously delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. Their children must know that it was God who had brought them out of the land of bondage to bring them into the promised land. And that God’s redemptive plan for them had a purpose. He took them out of their land to give them a new one which He had promised to their fathers. Like them, we have also been drawn out of the world of darkness and planted in the Kingdom of God’s marvelous light. We are to be a people of His own possession to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us to Himself.   

Secondly, the instructions that God had given were for their good to help them survive in the new land.  Living out those instructions of God would ensure their preservation. Bear in mind that Israel would be navigating through a pagan world. They would be encountering many tricky situations. The temptation to follow the pagans would be there. Knowing God’s instruction would help them to survive and prosper in those worldly environments. Hence, it would also be just as needful for the new generation to appreciate and know God’s commandments. It would help them to distinguish between the will of God and the standards of the world. So that they would not be conformed to the world but instead be preserved in God

Thirdly, in verse 25, Moses assured them that it would be righteousness for them if they were careful to do all that God had commanded. God’s commandments, know it or not, are manifestations of  His righteous character.  And obeying them will help us to cultivate His kind of righteousness. Knowing and living out God’s instructions will help us to be just and upright in conduct.

Knowing our past always prepares us for the present. Living well in the present helps us to build our future. As we journey with God, don’t neglect to impart what God has done for us to our children so that they too can experience His goodness. To do that effectively, we must not neglect our own walk with Him so that we will have a proven story to tell. A personal experience is the most effective testimony!

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 6:16-19 – Don’t doubt or test God.

To put God to the test is literally to challenge God to get Him to prove Himself. It stamps from a heart of unbelief. It’s an expression of doubt. This was what happened at Rephidim recorded in Exodus 17:1-7. There was no water in this place where they were camping. Immediately they took it out on Moses. They grumbled and quarrelled with him treating him roughly. In so doing they were essentially grumbling at God. They had forgotten that God had sustained them and kept His promises to them throughout their journey. He had never failed them in any way. Here they were using the lack of water to provoke the Lord. Like spoilt children, they were threatening not to follow God if water was not provided. Moses named this place Massah, which means testing, because of the question the Israelites raised. Their question was, “Is the Lord among us or not?” 

Referring to that incident, Moses warned them against adopting such distrusting behavior as they faced hardship in their forward journey. He was calling on them to be resolute and diligent in keeping the Commandments and instructions of the Lord. He knew that they would face tough times as they sought to possess the land. He wanted them to act rightly even as they confront the enemies in the land whom they were told to drive out. As a reminder, he told them that the land was promised to them. God Himself had already sworn to give it to them. All they needed was to do what was right and trust the Lord as they advance.  

Doubting God, rebelling against Him, and provoking Him are all different variations of putting the Lord to the test. Instead of adopting such negative attitudes, we must instead trust Him to see us through no matter how tough the circumstances we may face in life. These verses tell us the best thing to do in life is to keep and obey the instructions of the Lord given to us. We must seek to obey them diligently, meaning we must be careful, earnest, and consistent in applying God’s Word. The call to do “what is right  and good in the sight of the Lord” in verse 18 suggests that we must rightly respect His Word to us. There is also a promise in verse 18 that if we do what is right and obey God diligently, all will be well with us, and we will surely inherit His blessings. That’s the promise of God!