Well, we’ve made it to the conclusion of the Torah. The Book of Deuteronomy which, in essence, is the final message of Moses to the Israelites. It’s final because, as you may know, Moses dies and, thus, never makes it to the Promised Land — he can only see it from a distance.
In this final book of the Torah, Moses reminds the Israelites of their resistance and rebellion in the midst of their four decades of wandering in the desert. His opening remarks were a somber reminder of what happens when we think we can do things on our own — that we don’t need God to direct our lives.
From Bible Project:
And that sets up … Moses’ challenge to this new generation to be different from their parents and to respond to God’s grace with love and obedience. So he reminds them of the ten commandments, like the basics of the covenant, and then he gives them this very famous line: “Listen, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
“Listen, O Israel” he says. This is super important because in the ancient Hebrew context, listening is an act of love — and obedience is a natural outgrowth of love. (Just like we discussed in the Book of John in which Christ says to his disciples, “if you love me, keep my commandments.”)
Then, Moses delivers some sage advice that I think most parents have had with their own children at some point (or in my case, many).
Moses shares with the Israelites the consequences of obedience and disobedience. I think many of us often think of consequences in the negative sense; but, as we have discussed before, there are positive consequences for doing right just as there are negative consequences for doing wrong.
Moses calls this “the blessing or the curse,” and it’s as old as Genesis.
As we finish out this series on the Torah, I think it’s important for us to understand that when we talk about the trials and tribulations of the Israelites, we should know that their story is not unique to them. This is a story about human beings and, indeed, human nature.
We all are in need of redemption; we all fall short of our calling; we rebel; we choose disobedience.
But, thankfully, it is a choice.
All of us can choose to accept God’s calling on our lives to be transformed, to listen and love and obey. It is our desire that you choose this path for your life, and that others may come to know God because his light shines through you.
See you Sunday night!
The Pipe 