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March 20th
The Bible reading for today is in Deuteronomy chapters 28 and 29.
One more sermon point on God’s seriousness about Blessing Israel’s faith and Cursing of Israel’s unfaithful. We all want to hear of God’s blessing upon His children. But what will it sound like to us to hear of God’s delight in cursing unfaithful Israelites?
The “unfaithful” ...who are they? They are Israelites in name...but not in heart. They are part of the new national entity called Israel, but their hearts are far from the God who delivered them from Egypt.
There were bound to be faithful Israelites in the army that was about to invade and possess the land of promise. They needed to hear their leader praise God and prophesy of God’s victories to come and His blessings to follow. LIKE...
Genesis 48...when Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel...lay dying, he spoke to Joseph, his son...saying, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan, and blessed me and said to me, “Behold I will make you fruitful and multiply you and give this land to you and your offspring for an everlasting possession.”
Oh, how those boys must have cheered with confidence and courage and great faith in the Lord their God...the same way that their forefathers of faith, most assuredly responded to crossing the Red Sea on dry ground before a charging enemy of horses and spears and chariots...and then seeing God destroy the mighty Egyptian army in the deep waters of the sea.
But apparently there were many in the 600,000 Israelite army who talked one faith and lived another. Moses prophesied to them what God was going to do in response to their unfaithful lives.
Consider in your soul how the unfaithful sons of Abraham...those that did not want to believe and serve the God of their fathers...would awkwardly listen to Moses’ sharp contrasting of the faith that inspires and eagerly obeys God and the willful disobedience of their own hearts toward anything spiritual and anything God.
Per Deuteronomy 6. “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession out of all the people who are on the face of the earth.”
“Me His treasured possession...I don't think so. He led my parents and grandparents in circles in the wilderness until they died.”
Genesis 15...”Abraham believed the Lord and God credited that to him as righteousness.”
“This I've never understood. Frankly, I'm as good or better than anyone in this camp. If anyone should deserve the promised land it’s me. I've worked for it my whole life.”
Then Genesis 17...God saying to Abraham, “I will establish my (faith) covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God.”
What does it mean to me when God says that He established an everlasting covenant with father Abraham and his descendants? I'm an Israelite by birth. I deserve my place in the land of promise.”
Now from Romans, 9...the apostle Paul saying...”It is not as though the word of God has failed for not all who have descended from Israel belong to Israel. And not all are children of Abraham...for it is not the children of the flesh that are the children of God, but only the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
In other words, just being born Jewish doesnt make one an heir to the promise...but rather, it could be Jewish by birth and the necessity of a “genuine faith” that desired to live in harmony with the God of the promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob...the promise that reached all the way to the Jewish born Messiah...Jesus...1500 years into their future.
In todays reading we learn of a most terrible list of curses that God promised to bring upon the Israelites if they broke His covenant and forsook Him...Moses continued his sermon to the young generation about to enter the promised land...Deuteronomy 28:63...”As the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession
I wonder what percentage of the congregation was shocked? I wonder about the whispered conversations that went through the camp after this part of Moses’ message.
...”for to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to percieve...and that’s the rest of the story.
Have a great day
