Our lives are the interweaving of both history and geography, of both time and place. How often we associate places with key events in our lives. My father delighted to show us his boyhood home in Scotland, the schoolyard where he played, even the shop where he purchased his treats. So in the instructions the […]
Read More… from December 22, 2022 — The Place Which The Lord Chooses
The term “iconoclast” today means a belief denier, but originally described an idol destroyer. Just as God gave a review for His people before they faced the tests in Canaan, I think we would benefit from an overview of the secrets of blessing through obedience. First, consistent obedience will be based on love for the […]
If we don’t sow God’s seeds in children’s hearts, the devil will eagerly sow his weeds there. Deuteronomy 11:18-32 revisits the importance of obedience to the Word of God. “Therefore you shall lay up these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul” (v 18). Not only so, but God’s people have a […]
Like a gambler’s winnings, this world often robs one to enrich another. Not so God’s blessings! The Lord explained to His people about to enter Canaan, “The land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, […]
Read More… from December 19, 2022 — The Parable Of Precipitation
Moses gives a two-part portrait of the Son and Spirit who, in spite of our failures, are always for us. Both at the end of Deuteronomy 9 and here in chapter 10, we are reminded of Moses, the intercessor. What a beautiful picture he is of our TWO intercessors. Remember how many times he had […]
The Ten Commandments show us the difference between simple and easy. They’re simple but not easy! It’s time, says Moses, to think again about the giving again of the Law. Remember that’s the meaning of this book’s name: the giving again of the Law. God had made the first tables of stone (Ex 24:12), “written […]
Read More… from December 15, 2022 — Only One Could Fulfill The Law
It’s almost time “to cross over the Jordan” (Deut 9:1), but the Lord has a few things to tell them first. I don’t know about you, but there are some things I don’t like to be told. One is my present weaknesses. A second is my past failures. And the third is upcoming challenges too […]
Read More… from December 14, 2022 — Last Stop: Desperation Station
Remember we talked about remembering? Good! Do you remember what they were to remember? Here’s a pop quiz. What was it that Israel was supposed to remember? Perhaps we can get a checklist for ourselves from this. A checklist is a helpful memory jogger if we want to make sure we don’t forget! And let’s […]
Read More… from December 13, 2022 — Number 1 On The List: Don’t Lose The List!
People who like to think they’re self-made also want to believe this world made itself. What madness! There is a long parenthesis in Deuteronomy 8 (vv 12-16). In it Moses describes what could be an unfortunate result of God’s generosity to Israel. “When you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and […]
Read More… from December 12, 2022 — The Myth Of The Self-made Man