Breakfast inspired by today’s reading on She Reads Truth for Deuteronomy.
*Yogurt, figs, raisins, and oat bran, drizzled with local honey*
Deuteronomy 8:6–8 (NAS): Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
7 “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;
8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;
(My pomegranates aren’t ripe yet, so I had to leave them off, but that would have been even yummier!)
I haven’t counted yet, but so far in these first 8 chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses has commanded the Israelites to follow God’s commands and ordinances to the letter at least 10 times, and reminds them God will bless them and protect them. We know that when something is repeated in Bible, it is incredibly important to pay attention to.
He also reminds them that if they don’t do these things, it won’t go well for them. We learn so much about God’s character from this book! He is a loving, caring, compassionate God - He has chosen Israel and made them a nation, even though they didn’t deserve it. He gave them “second chances” time and time again - yes, He allowed them to wander around in the desert for 40 years, but He could have totally obliterated them and started over, or let the Egyptians wipe them out.
BUT, He is the Creator of the Universe, Sovereign over all that He has created, and He is holy and perfect. Sin cannot be near Him. Therefore He is a righteous and just God and must correct sin and disobedience.
Deuteronomy 8:2–6 (NAS): You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3 “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
4 “Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.
5 “Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.
6 “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
Part of God’s discipline was that Moses and His generation would not see the Promised Land. But here, God, through Moses, is telling this next generation to be obedient and mindful of God’s ordinances and promises because they are about to reap the fruits of the last 40 years of wandering - they are about to enter the Promised Land - a land of abundance!
Just like the rewards promised to the Israelites, we too are promised abundance and good things through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ - our Promised Land is in heaven, our reward is eternity with Christ in the presence of our Father.
So we need not fear anything, just like the Israelites were not to fear the tribes they were about to fight for the land. God promised to go before them and win the victory, and Jesus is with us and has won the victory over sin and death for us! The battle belongs to the Lord, and the BIG battle is already won!
VICTORY is our battle cry. Do you believe?
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