February 13 - Deuteronomy 11-13
As Moses continues to recount all of the great acts of God, which the Israelites had seen coming out of Egypt and in the wilderness, he emphasizes the need to memorize all of these words God has commanded him to share and to teach them to the children. That is so important for us today. God's word must fill our hearts and minds in every situation of life for us to stay faithful to Him. The blessing and the curse are set before us. Obedience brings the blessing. Disobedience brings the curse. The reason for this reality is that God's word is absolute truth, and He will not allow it to be violated without consequences.
God's instructions for the Israelites when they come into Canaan are clear. They are to completely destroy anything that has to do with pagan worship. They must not worship God in any of those ways in which the Canaanites worshiped their false gods. In fact, instead of making places of worship, there will only be one place to worship God in the Promised Land. This will prevent any confusion. He did not tell them the place yet, but He wants them to know this, so they can plan to destroy the paganism, and to listen for His directions about His place of worship. The reason for this one place of worship is that God was with His people. He dwelt in the Tabernacle, and later, He would dwell in the Temple. Therefore, He was to be worshiped only in His presence. Today, the Lord lives in each believer, so we can worship Him anywhere. This is one of the big differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
Finally, we see how terrible it is to lead someone away from following God. In the Old Covenant if anyone was found to entice others to worship anyone or anything except God, that person or that group of people was to be put to death. At first, that may seem harsh. However, the result of their actions was to lead people to eternal separation from God, or spiritual death, so why should they not receive physical death. This reminds us of how important it is for us to be good witnesses to those around us. We must not do anything to turn them from God, and we must warn them that they need the Lord, or else their blood will be on our hands in the day of judgment. (Ezekiel 3)
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 14-17.
God's instructions for the Israelites when they come into Canaan are clear. They are to completely destroy anything that has to do with pagan worship. They must not worship God in any of those ways in which the Canaanites worshiped their false gods. In fact, instead of making places of worship, there will only be one place to worship God in the Promised Land. This will prevent any confusion. He did not tell them the place yet, but He wants them to know this, so they can plan to destroy the paganism, and to listen for His directions about His place of worship. The reason for this one place of worship is that God was with His people. He dwelt in the Tabernacle, and later, He would dwell in the Temple. Therefore, He was to be worshiped only in His presence. Today, the Lord lives in each believer, so we can worship Him anywhere. This is one of the big differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
Finally, we see how terrible it is to lead someone away from following God. In the Old Covenant if anyone was found to entice others to worship anyone or anything except God, that person or that group of people was to be put to death. At first, that may seem harsh. However, the result of their actions was to lead people to eternal separation from God, or spiritual death, so why should they not receive physical death. This reminds us of how important it is for us to be good witnesses to those around us. We must not do anything to turn them from God, and we must warn them that they need the Lord, or else their blood will be on our hands in the day of judgment. (Ezekiel 3)
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 14-17.