| Passage: Deuteronomy 11-13 On Tuesday, March 12, 2013 (Last Updated on 2/29/2020), Yujin wrote, You shall therefore love the Lord your God, and alwayskeep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments (Deuteronomy 11:1). Oftentimes loving the LORD is distinguished from obeying the LORD, even though the Bible consistently teaches that loving the LORD means obeying the LORD. In no uncertain terms, Jesus taught, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15). This connection between love and obedience was not simply for the Twelve but for everyone in the world. Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me (John 14:23-24). In the great shema ("Hear!") passage of the Old Testament, which is part of a daily recital by orthodox Jews, Moses wrote, Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Do you notice that right after the great command to completely love the LORD, the very next command was to keep the commands of God on their heart and to teach them diligently to their childrenl. These commands are in parallel, so that one command explains the other. How can they totally love God? They can do so by obeying God's commands from the heart and teaching their children to do the same. Yet, some people think that loving God means crying and shouting and swaying one's body back and forth in a dark auditorium with entrancing music for hours on end. As if this were not enough, some people think that they have to utter bizarre sounds, whether it be ecstatic gibberish or the imitations of certain animals. These days, the testimonies I hear from some are not about being convicted by the heart-exposing truth of God's Word but about how they "feel closer to God than ever before". By this they reveal that what really matters to them is not obeying God's Word but rather how they feel about God. And when they are challenged about this, what do they consistently say? They say that it is the Holy Spirit that gives them these feelings and experiences, and, therefore, it is right. Friends, it is for this reason that the Bible says, "Test the spirits." (1 John 4:1) It never says to test the Word of God. Why? It is already tested and proven true. But not every spirit is the Holy Spirit. And we can only know if it is the Holy Spirit by how the spirit leads with respect to God's revealed Word. Just as there is no loving God apart from obeying God. Even so, there is no Holy Spirit leading apart from the truth of God's Word. It is the departure from these fundamental propositions that much error and many cults have been born. |
| Passage: Deuteronomy 11-13 On Monday, March 12, 2012 (Last Updated on 3/12/2013), Yujin wrote, "Strike the first blow yourself..." (Deuteronomy 13:9) This command is in the context of someone enticing another to worship other gods. The larger context reads, But do not give in or listen. Have no pity, and do not spare or protect them. You must put them to death! Strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in (Deuteronomy 13:8-9). In Ecclesiastes we read, While I was still searching In Jeremiah we read, Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, As a prelude to destruction, Ezekiel writes, I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one (Ezkiel 22:30). The tendency of people is not to stand out from the crowd but to stand with the crowd. Yet, the LORD is looking for stand-out persons. As it is harder to swim against the current than with the current, so also it is harder to resist the will of the majority. Yet, Jesus says narrow is the way to life and few that find it. Many people mistakenly think that it is easier to trust in Christ than to find your own way. No. It is harder to trust in Christ. Otherwise, most people would be saved. But as it is only a few are saved. In our text, the person who is enticed into idolatry is commanded, "Strike the first blow yourself..." In other words, don't wait for someone else to take the lead in doing what is right. You do it! You be the first! Those who wait for others will fall into sin. Those who take the initiative will receive God's favor. Phineas struck the first blow against the worshippers of Baal, and he and the generations after him were commended by God. There are plenty of leaders in doing the easy thing and the wrong thing, but very few that lead in what is right. It is easy to be promiscuous but hard to be pure. It is easy to just do what is required of us at work, but it is hard to go above and beyond. It is easy to eat junk food but hard to eat what is healthy. It is easy to serve when praised or paid for doing it, but it is hard to serve when there is no one to acknowledge it. Yet, it is consistently the hard things the LORD calls us to do. And in doing these things we receive our praise from God, and God receives the highest praise. Strike the first blow. This was a command in the Old Testament to Jews in the face of temptation to worship idols. The principle is echoed in the New Testament: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Before we lead others, let us remember to lead ourselves. Let us strike the first blow in our pursuit of godliness, holiness, and purity. Let us strike the first blow in the disciplines of righteousness. Know for certain that only a handful of people, if that, come out to regular Bible study meetings and only a handful come out to regular prayer meetings. Yet, many will come out to be entertained by an eloquent speaker or to engage in self-affirming fellowship. Yet, the former will produce a greater harvest of blessing than the latter. You are sensible. Judge for yourselves which will bring a greater and most enduring benefit. |
| Passage: Deuteronomy 11-13 On Saturday, March 12, 2011, Unmi wrote,
Deut 11:10-12, This is an interesting aspect of the Promised Land, instead of farming by irrigation, the LORD says that he will provide rain from heaven. While Egypt's source of water was from the Nile River, Israel was to be completely dependent on God for water in the form of rain.
In Leviticus 26:4, As a reward for obedience, God promised to "send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit." This is again repeated in Deut 11:13-14 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil.
In 1 Kings 8:35, Solomon associates lack of rain to the sin's of the people. “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you..." During the time of Elijah, because of the nation's sin of idolatry, the Lord withheld rain for 3 years. (1 Kings 17:1, 1 Kings 18:1)
In Israel today, the main source of water for the nation is through irrigation. A huge national water pipeline was built that carries water from the northern part of the country to the south. "The climate of present-day Israel is strongly affected by the proximity of the desert to the south and east. Most of Israel's territory is classed as arid (60%) or semi-arid. Rain falls only in the winter, mainly between November and March. Average annual rainfall ranges from 400 to 800 mm. in the northern and western parts of the country and declines sharply toward the south and east. A dry season with practically no rain prevails from about the beginning of April to the end of October." This data is from the Israeli government website. A land that was supposed to be cared for by God himself has fallen into the hands of men who believe more in the ingenuity of mankind than in the grace of God.
But there is hope, In Isaiah 30:18-26, after talking about how obstinate Israel is, he tells them "in that day", the LORD will be gracious and send rain to the land and streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. At the end, God wants to bless, He wants to give abundant rain, but we are the ones who remain obstinate toward Him. Lord, we thank you that although we are undeserving, unfaithful, you long to be gracious to us.
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| Passage: Deuteronomy 11-13 On Saturday, March 13, 2010, Fernando wrote, james ch 1 says that let no one who wants to do evil say that the lord is tempting me for lord doesn't temp. correct me if i'm wrong but i thought this to say God doesn't place things before you that could cause you to stumble... but is it really saying he won't place the evil desire within you? i figured these kind of things were the devil's doing, and the desire was my flesh. 13:3 says that God will not only send a decieving person, but one that can Perform!(miracles or whatever)(now that i read this again, this sounds EXACTLY like the devil) this touches on, really trusting the in the Word of God EVEN OVER OUR EXEPRIENCES HERE. God Must have absolute control/sovereingty over what was written in these books. |
| Passage: Deuteronomy 11-13 On Friday, March 12, 2010, Fernando wrote, Matt's comments filled the cracks for me. in ch 12 it says (paraphrase) " right now you worship freely without much restriction or directive. just 'as you wish. but this because you have yet to cross the jordan. there you will worship when you are told, Where you are told, and How you are told." i was comparing thet life to now. we have no law. no rules for ceremony, just worshiping freely. and imaging that when the millenial kingdom is established and beyond it ill not be so. i started thinking what kind of mindset would a good jewhave working. Matt's comment answeered tha. i imaging this jew would work jard to give not only the best of his crop but to make his crop the best in town, for God! his work would be to please God!... then i caught myself. " that pertains to me NOW." i should love the lord with all my heart and with all my works, which are to be an offering to Him who is worthy of it all! |
| Passage: Deuteronomy 11-13 On Sunday, March 7, 2010, Matt wrote, The phrase "Love the Lord your God" is repeated three times in chapter 11 (v. 1,13,22). Each time the context in which this phrase is repeated points to if we do so then God will take care of us. I take it as God boiling the Bible down to this one phrase. Doing so yields everything else. So that's it? Not quite. How do we love him? The details are in the text. Love your neighbor (Lev. 19:18, Mat. 5:43, 19:19, 22;39, Mk. 12:31, 12:33, Lk. 10:27, Rom. 13:9, and especially Gal. 5:14). How do I love my neighbor? Serve him . How do I serve him? Put him before yourself. By doing so I think we start to understand the heart of God. Until we can do so as a lifestyle we may just be doing them for a reason that doesn't necessarily glorify God. I know I need to start serving myself less and serving others more. |