Become the people of God

 Jeremiah 29:11 written on stone - Salt Spring Island Pentecostal Church

Photo © 2012 by V. Nesdoly

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Deuteronomy 24-27; Psalm 61

TO CHEW ON: "Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, 'Take heed and listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of the Lord your God…' "- Deuteronomy 27:9.

The book of Deuteronomy is a collection of Moses' final instructions to Israel, the nation he has led for 40 years. At last they are about to enter Canaan.

We discover today that this anticipated move is not only a natural migration but very much a spiritual event. In the segment we read today he reminds the people:

- They are God's "special people" and "holy" i.e. set apart - Deuteronomy 26:18,19.

- They are to have a heart-mind-spirit connection to God. Notice the verbs used to describe how they are to seek God and His laws: observe, walk in His ways, keep, obey, write, take heed, listen.

What interests me especially in this passage is the variety of modalities God uses to help them grasp and pass on the reality of their connection to Him:

- Obey from the core of their beings: "observe with heart and soul" - Deuteronomy 26:16.

- Speak of their beliefs - "proclaimed" - Deuteronomy 26:17.

- Listen to God's affirmation of them, delivered by Moses - Deuteronomy 26:18,19.

- "Keep" these commandments, as in habitually, not just once - Deuteronomy 27:1.

- Choose and prepare physical stones, then write God's laws on them to remind them and their children of their spiritual connection to God and the spiritual basis of their land ownership - Deuteronomy 27:3,8.

I believe there are lessons for our lives from this reading;

• The things that occur in our lives have more of a spiritual component to them than we realize. A move to another home, a change in jobs etc. are spiritually significant things. Let's be sensitive to the spiritual aspects of our apparently natural circumstances.

• We can use many modalities to help us know God and live in ways that please Him: listen, speak, obey, write, display these writings where they remind us and our families of whose we are and how He wants us to live. Let's be creative in how we nourish our faith and pass it on to others.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to acknowledge and honor You through the many inputs and outputs of my being. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 61

The Bible Project VIDEO: Deuteronomy (Torah Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.