Category Archives: Devotional

These Are The Words

Throwing my graduation cap in the air, my heart and mind were filled with excitement and the anticipation of what lay ahead. Celebrating the end of my studies, I looked forward to the beginning of a new adventure in the working world. With only a loose plan of how to find a job, I moved four states away from my childhood home.

I was excited, yet terrified at the same time. What would the future hold? Would I find success or failure? What would my life after college look like? Even though I had so many questions, the future seemed to hold unlimited possibilities.

Anticipating Change in Deuteronomy

In Deuteronomy, Moses and the Israelites were camped at the banks of the Jordan anticipating what lies ahead of them. For forty years they had lived in the wilderness between Egypt and Canaan. It was now time for them to leave the wilderness and enter the land God promised to give to them. It’s likely they were both excited and terrified, wondering what their future would look like, just as I was.

Deuteronomy’s first sentence begins with, “these are the words that Moses spoke.” In Hebrew tradition, Deuteronomy is called the “Book of Words” from the first two words in the Hebrew text – “these words.” We know the book as Deuteronomy for its Greek title in the Septuagint, translated “second law.” It is not another law, but the second recounting of the law that was given throughout Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, thus the second account of the law in the Pentateuch.

With a pastoral heart, Moses aims to prepare the Israelites for the future by reminding them of their past experiences over the last forty years. It was time to put into action the wisdom of the Torah, the law that God gave them at Mount Horeb while in the wilderness.

Torah as Instruction

Although “torah” in Deuteronomy 1:5 is translated “law”, the nuanced meaning of the Hebrew word “torah” is closer to instruction or teaching. Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) law was not legislative as we think of law today. We see law as prescriptive, where the expected response is obedience and conformity. ANE law was viewed as descriptive where comprehension of a principle was expected. The ANE laws contained descriptions of scenarios based on traditional wisdom which were used to judge cases brought before a ruler.

Facing the Future

Have you been on the brink of a new change in your life that left you wondering about the future? Like the Israelites, as we embark on new endeavors, we are called to put into practice all the knowledge and wisdom we have learned in the past about walking in faith under God’s direction. We can reflect on God’s words in the Bible to remind us, teach us, and guide us as we journey through life.

As Paul encouraged Timothy to “continue in what he has learned and firmly believed,” he reminded Timothy that “all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14, 16-17)

Come, consider how God’s word teaches, corrects and trains you for the work set before you today.

References:

Daniel I. Block, Deuteronomy: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2012) 25.

John H. Walton & J. Harvey Walton, The Lost World of the Torah (Downers Grove, IL, Inter Varsity Press, 2019) 18-22.

His Provision Covers Us

Temptation entices us like an irresistible dessert promising delight and satisfaction. Only after succumbing to the temptation do we realize that our immediate desires were only temporarily satisfied, yet the long term affects come with a price. Regret or shame may follow such indulgences. Remorse then motivates us to quickly cover up our poor choices. Our efforts to cover up our actions never fully remedy the situation.

Adam and Eve suffered the same temptation in the garden. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil their eyes were opened and they saw that is they were naked. They quickly covered themselves with loincloths made from fig leaves. (Genesis 3:7) 

Shame that comes from sin

When Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking in the garden, they hid themselves from him. Yet God sought them out, calling to Adam “Where are you?” In their shame, Adam blamed Eve for their transgression and Eve blamed the serpent. From their disobedience, life became harder for all mankind. The tending of the earth became difficult, child-bearing would include pain, and mankind would return to the ground as dust through physical death. (vs14-19) Only God could set right the wrong that had been done through Adam and Eve’s disobedience. 

God still pursued a relationship with Adam and Eve despite their sin. He prevented them from eating of the Tree of Life by removing them from the garden so that they wouldn’t remain in a state of sin for eternity. God also gave them a promise of future redemption from their sin (v15) and then provided for their immediate need of adequate clothing. What Adam and Eve could not do, God did in and through His persistent and steadfast love for them (v21).

The contrast between Adam and Eve’s efforts to clothe themselves and the garments God made for them illustrates so well the abundant love and provision of God! At best, Adam and Eve made their coverings without lasting thought, of temporary material, only covering the most intimate parts of their bodies – fig leaves tacked together for loin clothes. But God made durable garments for them – tunics covering their whole body crafted from long-lasting animal skins. 

A long-lasting, full-coverage solution

Just as Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness, our efforts to cover our sin and shame will never be enough. But God’s provision for our transgressions is complete. God sent Jesus into the world – to live, to die for our transgressions, and to rise again – in order to provide the means by which each of us may be reconciled to God. (John 3:16) When we put our trust in Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we are covered with his righteousness. (1 Peter 2: 24)

Resist the temptation cover up your transgressions by your own strength. God has provided a long-lasting, full-coverage solution. Confess your sins and place your trust in Jesus’ death on the cross. Receive God’s perfect and complete provision through Jesus and be reconciled to him. 

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:7-8)