“You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north,” Deuteronomy 2:3
By way of Introduction, today I begin the 5th Book of the Bible (the Pentateuch), which is Day 47 in my Daily Bible Reading!
I say this to encourage those of you, that reading through the Bible in a year,…Can Be Done! Deuteronomy is one of my favorite Old Testament Books. It is rich with Admonition and Reminders. It gives us Moses Reflections on the past in preparation for the Future. In many ways, it gives us what we need to face today, and the days ahead!
As Moses begins the Book of Deuteronomy, he rehearses to Israel the events that took place after leaving Egypt. In Chapter 1, he summarizes what took place during the previous 40 years. In Today’s Verse, he encapsulates that sentiment. Basically, you have a Million people circling a mountain for 38 years for disobeying God’s Word. What Severe Consequences! The entire generation (except Joshua and Caleb) would die off. That’s a lot of graves to dig and a lot of people to bury! If we fail to see this, we fail to understand “why” this Story is included in our Bibles; “for our Instruction”. Paul tells “both” Churches at Rome and Corinth, “whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction”.
What Lesson can be drawn from this? Obedience to God’s Word is PARAMOUNT! Over a Million People came under God’s Judgement because of this! It doesn’t get any more Sobering than that! However, this Obedience does not come entirely by Our Effort and Our Labors. It is a Work of Grace! What do I mean by this? God’s People today live in another Time, in another Era; and not because of our Surroundings or Culture, but because of the New Covenant. We are no longer under the Old Covenant, one that has Commandments but No Grace or Power. Today, as Hebrews tells us, we are under a Better Covenant, one that changes hearts to embrace His Word. These Changed Hearts are what makes the difference. God is the same, the Commandments are the same, but Today, God’s People’s Hearts are changed to embrace and love His Law!
How glorious is that?