OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 34

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

We have followed Moses since his birth in Egypt. God protected this little orphaned baby, drew him from the water and made a way to return him to his family (literally and spiritually). Moses was reluctant to take the position as leader of the children of Israel. He felt incapable and unworthy for a myriad of reasons. When Moses finally trusted God, God established him as a prophet who would never be forgotten. Moses did not believe in himself and maybe you do not believe in yourself. The good news is that we only have to believe in God. To trust in God. He will make us able. He will restore every broken and fearful part of us. 

34:1-4 Moses views the promised land from a mountain top. Following God's leadership, he has led the Israelites to the destination but he will not be the one to lead them into it. 

This is the land God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God remains faithful to His promises, which is a generous blessing for us because this Bible is full of promises. The New Testament is an echo of the Old Testament; God continues to lead us into our promised land. Here and after earth.

34:5-7 Moses passes on from earth and is said to have been buried by God. At 120 years old, Moses is described to have been in excellent health, physically and spiritually. The point here is that when we enter into a covenant with God, our time on earth is purposeful. God determines the culmination of our lives here, not our bodies or anything else. Moses' purpose was completed and therefore he was able to into spirit. 

34:8 The Israelites mourned Moses for 30 days. After all, they would miss the man who connected them with our beautiful God. At this point in time, the Israelites have followed Moses to join with God in spirit.

34:9 Joshua was chosen by God as the new leader of the Israelites because of his fervent and unyielding faith. Joshua is explained to be full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses did as God instructed and appointed him. When we begin our spiritual purpose, God equips us with the tools and materials we need. The endurance, the wisdom and the way. 

Joshua had enough faith to take responsibility for this fickle and troublesome group. Joshua personally witnessed how difficult Moses' position as leader could be. The Israelites are (like most humans) stubborn, inconsistent, grumpy, selfish, ungrateful... anyone who would take responsibility for them would have to have great and selfless love in their heart and spirit. 

God knows our hearts, Jeremiah 17:10, and chose Joshua for the quality of his. 

34:10-12 Moses had a unique position as prophet as he is the only one who met with God face-to-face, so to speak. His connection with God was unprecedented. Through Moses, God brought miracle and wonder to the earth. Glorious displays of Spirit in order to remind us of our deeply good Creator. 

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 33

Deuteronomy 33:1-29

33:1 Moses' final blessing of each of the tribes comprises this chapter.

33:2-3 To the entire group Moses recounts that God came to the children of Israel as a rescuer and mighty Leader. God brought a passionate law and set of commandments to guide them through life.

Moses reminds them of God's love for them. Remember John 1:1, in the beginning was the word. This philosophy has been alive since before the foundation of the earth and universe. The Word has been with God eternity and the word came alive in Jesus Christ, Immanuel. The earth belongs to Jesus, the word and all things on the earth belong to Him and are under His authority. 

God did not deliver a random, meaningless philosophy to the children of Israel. He handed them life. The story and meaning of life. The ability to retain life. To understand life. Moses' final speech is a reminder of the weight and purpose of the Bible. 

God did not stumble upon humanity. He came to us, purposely. Compassionately. Moses implores them and us to not toss this philosophy aside because it matters.

33:4-5 "Jeshurun" is an affectionate nickname for the children of Israel which means: Uprightness. 

33:6 Moses' blessing on the tribe of Reuben: live long and thrive.

33:7 To Judah: be heard by God, defended by God, remain together, and be able to support itself by the work of its (faithful) hands. 

33:8 To Levi: continue to passionately organize, lead and teach the word of God. 

33:9 To Levi: remain faithful to God as the ultimate Father.

33:10 To Levi: teach the word to the tribes of Israel, organize worship of God.

33:11 To Levi: be blessed by God in the faithful work of their hands. Be protected by God against people who challenge and threaten the faith.

33:12 To Benjamin: be protected by God, kept between His mighty shoulders.

33:13 To Joseph: to be blessed in the land, surrounded by the Spirit of heaven.

33:14 To Joseph: in possession of healthy produce (spiritually and literally).

33:15 To Joseph: blessed in their natural surroundings. 

33:16 To Joseph: blessed with abundance and the precious things of earth.

33:17 To Joseph: strong and powerful multitude. 

33:18 To Zebulun: declared as righteous, mountain-dwelling people. 

33:19 To Zebulun: Livelihood cultivated from the sea.

33:20 To Gad: Strong against enemies.

33:21 To Gad: Righteous justice system.

33:22 To Dan: A military nation. 

33:23 To Naphtali: Given the west and the south. Full of blessings from God.

33:24 To Asher: Favored for their faith.

33:25 To Asher: Strong.

33:26 To Asher: Has God's protection. 

33:27 To Asher: God as eternal refuge and protection.

33:28  Israel will dwell safely and live with abundance as long as they remain with God.

33:29 Those who allow God to save them and remain with God will be filled with joy. God will be the shield and the sword, protecting and defender His children. God promises to help His children achieve and rule over their enemies.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 32

Deuteronomy 32:1-52

We learned about the Song of Moses in the previous chapter. This song was written by Moses to explain not only the Israelites history from beginning to end, but also humanities. The song of Moses explains God's beauty and power, love and generosity. The song explains that although God has always been faithful to us, we have frequently broken our end of the covenant. Our separation from Him always leads to suffering. Yet the song also explains that God's most faithful children will recognize Him when He returns to earth, at the culmination of our sojourn here.

Revelation 15:3 prophesies to us that upon our defeat over the root and the existence of evil, God's most faithful, most vigilant children will sing the Song of Moses:

1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. 

2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 

3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

“Great and marvelous are Your works,

Lord God Almighty!

Just and true are Your ways,

O King of the saints! 

4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?

For You alone are holy.

For all nations shall come and worship before You,

For Your judgments have been manifested.”

This song will take place immediately after the end of the false-christ's temporary reign. Those who were not deceived by him, because they read and knew of the warning of his coming deception will sing. This is the song the children who studied and knew the whole picture, through learning the whole scripture, will sing. They (we) will rejoice because we will personally witness the fulfillment of all of God's prophesies as well as His ultimate triumph over evil.

The Bible repeatedly warns us of false-gods, false-prophets and false-messiahs. Only those who know how to recognize their true God will emphatically, naturally know the words to this song of joy. The song of Moses is our spiritual journey of redemption, our love story.

The Song of Moses:

1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 

2 Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As raindrops on the tender herb,
And as showers on the grass. 

3 For I proclaim the name of the Lord:
Ascribe greatness to our God. 

4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He. 

5 “They have corrupted themselves;
They are not His children,
Because of their blemish:
A perverse and crooked generation. 

6 Do you thus deal with the Lord,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your Father, who bought you?
Has He not made you and established you?

7 “Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations.
Ask your father, and he will show you;
Your elders, and they will tell you: 

8 When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations,
When He separated the sons of Adam,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
According to the number of the children of Israel. 

9 For the Lord’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

10 “He found him in a desert land
And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him,
He kept him as the apple of His eye. 

11 As an eagle stirs up its nest,
Hovers over its young,
Spreading out its wings, taking them up,
Carrying them on its wings, 

12 So the Lord alone led him,
And there was no foreign god with him.

13 “He made him ride in the heights of the earth,
That he might eat the produce of the fields;
He made him draw honey from the rock,
And oil from the flinty rock; 

14 Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock,
With fat of lambs;
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the choicest wheat;
And you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.

15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
You grew fat, you grew thick,
You are obese!
Then he forsook God who made him,
And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 

16 They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
With abominations they provoked Him to anger. 

17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods they did not know,
To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear. 

18 Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful,
And have forgotten the God who fathered you.

19 “And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them,
Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters. 

20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end will be,
For they are a perverse generation,
Children in whom is no faith. 

21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God;
They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols.
But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. 

22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And shall burn to the lowest hell;
It shall consume the earth with her increase,
And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 ‘I will heap disasters on them;
I will spend My arrows on them. 

24 They shall be wasted with hunger,
Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction;
I will also send against them the teeth of beasts,
With the poison of serpents of the dust. 

25 The sword shall destroy outside;
There shall be terror within
For the young man and virgin,
The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
26 I would have said, “I will dash them in pieces,
I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,”
27 Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
Lest they should say, “Our hand is high;
And it is not the Lord who has done all this.”’

28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
Nor is there any understanding in them. 

29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they would consider their latter end! 

30 How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had surrendered them? 

31 For their rock is not like our Rock,
Even our enemies themselves being judges. 

32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom
And of the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of gall,
Their clusters are bitter. 

33 Their wine is the poison of serpents,
And the cruel venom of cobras.

34 ‘Is this not laid up in store with Me,
Sealed up among My treasures? 

35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things to come hasten upon them.’

36 “For the Lord will judge His people
And have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their power is gone,
And there is no one remaining, bond or free. 

37 He will say: ‘Where are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge? 

38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise and help you,
And be your refuge.

39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me;
I kill and I make alive;
I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. 

40 For I raise My hand to heaven,
And say, “As I live forever, 

41 If I whet My glittering sword,
And My hand takes hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance to My enemies,
And repay those who hate Me. 

42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood,
And My sword shall devour flesh,
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.”’

43 “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people;
For He will avenge the blood of His servants,
And render vengeance to His adversaries;
He will provide atonement for His land and His people.”

32:44 Upon finishing the song, the story of our lives, Moses stands with Joshua. Joshua will take over Moses position as prophet and will lead the children of Israel into the promise land. At the culmination of this earth age, God will lead us into our spiritual-promised-land.

32:45-47 Moses implores us to take these words into our hearts. For these words are alive. They are not futile, as Moses explains, because they are the path that leads us to our spiritual Home. 

32:48-52 Although Moses will not enter the promise land, God enables him to view it from Mount Nebo. Moses is about to enter in Spirit, having fulfilled his purpose on earth. God enables Moses to see the final product of all of His good-fruit, all of his works here on earth. Remember that faith without works is dead, James 2:14. All of the prophets, even the messiah, came as workers. At the culmination of your life, give God the opportunity to show you all the ways you changed the world for the better.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 31

Deuteronomy 31:1-30

31:1-2 Moses informs the Israelites of his impending departure; he is 120 years old. Moses' time on earth comes to close, however, not because of his age but because God has determined the end of his purpose here. It is a reminder to us that we have no limitations when we journey with God; he ensures our time here will last as long as our purpose takes.

31:3 Joshua will take over as prophet and God will remain as the leader. God will continue to swipe and keep the enemies away. Our relationship with God is not dependent on an intermediary. Nobody has to stand in on our behalf, Jesus united our spirits with God's. As for the Israelite's God will continue to lead them through prophet after prophet until they are ready for the direct and personal connection we have now.

We can understand that this would be somewhat of a frightening time for the children of Israel. They do not yet trust God; they have relied on Moses' faith. Now that Moses is leaving them, they will have to deepen their own faith and trust God more than they ever have before.

31:4-5 God promises to remain productive and faithful. The reassurance is for Joshua and the Israelites. Other than Moses' departure, nothing in their lives should change. As long as they retain their faith, they will continue to walk toward blessing under God's protection the entire time.

31:6 This should be the truth we carry with us in every moment: Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

The children of Israel were a nomadic camp that faced powerful nations with armies. On the surface, they were underdogs. There are many times in our own lives when we feel like underdogs. God wants them and us to know that no matter what the situation looks like, with Him, we are always on top.

Joshua was about to lead the group: a monumental task. Yet just as he always did, he trusted God would enable him and prepare him for the job. Joshua had to follow God on pure faith; he would have never been able to lead with group without him. No land. No resources. No mentor (as Moses was about to leave).

Joshua's faith, like Abraham's faith, is worthy of emulation. If God were to command them: "Jump!", they would have said: "How high?" Instead of asking: "Why?" they would have just trusted that he knew best. As a concept it is easy to understand... it is more difficult to implement. Trust must be developed, which is why Moses spent so much time encouraging us to establish and maintain our relationships with God.

31:7 Moses gives encouragement to Joshua: be strong and brave in faith. Joshua was inheriting this group and an incredible amount of responsibility. Moses informs Joshua that he will be the one to lead this group into the promise land. One tiny person leading a massive group into enemy territory!

31:8 Moses pours reassurance into Joshua with the reminder that God will go before him into any place. As long as we are following God, there is no place we can go that He hasn't already made safe for us. There is no place we can go that He has not already prepared us for. And once we get there, He never leaves us. We are never alone.

That promise would only be comforting to a faithful child of God. As Joshua steps into his role as leader, be grateful for the lesson his faith teaches us. Without knowing the how, Joshua moved forward. There are so many instances in our lives when we pray for something or wish to accomplish something but let not knowing the how stop us from receiving and doing.

God takes care of the how. We just follow, listen and learn. Joshua understands that and is therefore worthy of this great responsibility. Since Numbers 14, we have witnessed Joshua's bold and steadfast faith in God.

31:9-13 Moses has prepared Joshua, now he prepares the Levites (those appointed to organize and maintain the group's faith). The Levites are told to read these commandments at least every seven years. Our relationship with God is dependent on the time we spend with him. He cannot teach us when we are away from Him. Moses wants to ensure that the group is going over this philosophy frequently.

31:14 Moses prepares to inaugurate Joshua. Joshua's position was appointed by God in Numbers 27 and is not coming into fruition.

31:15-18 The presence of God comes to the camp and makes known the Israelites' future. God already knows that their faith will be abandoned and that they were live in opposition to Him. God explains that their evil behavior will ruin their blessings and stunt them altogether. God promises that He will not be present with them in their corrupt behavior.

31:19-21 The next chapter will give us the song of Moses. In these verses, Moses tells the children of Israel to learn to song so that the Israelites' descendants will understand their journey from beginning to end. God already knows that this group will break their covenant with Him. Yet as we live in our own generation, we do not understand our present reality as directly subsequent of our ancestors' actions. Because God sees all, He knows and therefore writes this song which explains the whole story.

God as lead the children of Israel to a beautiful land, abundantly filled with resources and blessings. Yet because the children of Israel will turn to corruption, their children will not be born into the great and safe land. The song in the next verse will explain that.

31:22-23 Moses writes the song (read in: Deuteronomy 32) and inaugurates Joshua.

31:24-27 Moses brings the commandments to the Levites and tells them to keep the law with the ark of the covenant. Moses knows the Israelites' faith is weak and he does everything he can to encourage them to strengthen it. Keeping God's word close, might encourage us to actually read it, and reading it keeps us tethered to His principles.

31:25-29 Moses speaks to the leaders of each tribe and implores them to keep the faith alive. Remember, Moses taught them (and us) to choose a side in Deuteronomy 11: curse or blessing? Our future is in our own hands. Following God delivers us right into blessing. 

31:30 This verse an introduction to The Song of Moses, which we will read in the next chapter.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 30

Deuteronomy 30:1-20

30:1-3 God has a reputation in the Old Testament for being different, more stern than He is in the New Testament. The truth is that God is equally committed to justice here as He is throughout the Bible. God is equally loving and generous as He is on the first page as He is on the last. He is as strict on the first page as He is on the last. He is serious about ridding the earth and spirit of corruption. He has zero tolerance for evil. He is bold about proclaiming that.

Our God is all-powerful. More powerful than we could ever imagine. He uses that consuming power to overwhelm us with love. Enough love to spill over our cup, shake us, make us weep with joy. That same power is differently utilized against evil. It is enough to shatter a cup of corruption, shake it, make it wail in shame.

Finishing up many verses of caution and warning, we reach a point of proffered redemption and restoration. Because promises that no matter how far from Him we wander, He is always willing to lead us back. We are made in His image, we understand His emotions. He goes from heated disappointment and frustration to calm, forgiving and loving. Because He that is His default: generosity.

30:4 "If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you." God will go to extreme lengths for you. To the edge and back a thousand times. A million times. As many times as it takes to bring you home for good. Does that sound like an angry God? God is gentle throughout the Bible, throughout your life, throughout eternity.

30:5 God will bring you back and He will bless you with everything He promised from the beginning. He will give you a clean slate... and on it He will place a feast of blessing and love. As if you never turned away from Him! He is so empathetic, so forgiving. 

30:6 Every time you return back to Him, in love and faith, He will restore you. He will reestablish you, re-outfit you in your spiritual garments. He will personally, perfectly tailor them to your body, your soul, your spirit. He will become your Teacher once again, loving you from the chalk board as He teaches a better way. 

30:7 He will restore that sphere of protection around your life once again. Enemies will be thrown own and barred from re-entering. 

30:8 As we step further into obedience, we step deeper into faith and blessing.

30:9 God does not just restore your protection and lessons of love... He rebuilds your abilities: He enables you to excel in a way you were unable to before. He will enable you to abound, to increase in production and accomplishments. From a tiny, fruit-less tree you become an oak. Unmovable. Towering. Strong. A fortress of love. He transforms you from being able to only host your individual self... to being able to host a population, a community to an ecosystem, a biome to a biosphere. He enables you to become a host for life and love and opportunity. A home, a haven, a beacon for those around you.

You are a planet. A galaxy. A universe. Through you, God will bring inspiration and miracle. So just stay with Him. No need to stop and restart. Listen to Him and follow Him, become all that He has planned for you.

30:10 With all your heart and all your soul obey. Humans have made the word "obey" into a harsh word. But God's commandments are for us to LOVE. LIVE. LAUGH. EMPATHIZE. God asks us to obey the natural order of love and wisdom and justice. If we follow those guidelines, He promises we will abound in blessing.

30:11-14 God makes this philosophy attainable. We do not need to climb the mountain to find Him, we need to find Him to climb the mountain.

God does not play games with us. He is transparent and helpful at all times. If we cannot swim, He will teach us or He will fly us over the sea. If we cannot fly He will build us a boat. He wants us to hear and to understand. He wants us to choose to come Home to Him. He has gone through great lengths to get our attention, to inspire our love, to keep our commitment. 

30:15 Through Moses, God presented the two paths: LIFE and GOOD v. DEATH and EVIL. We want to ensure that our actions fall into the right category, for we want to ensure that we as progressing forward on the right path.

30:16 Moses implores us to love God for He is restoration and order, compassion and wisdom. He is the entity which exponentially increases joy.

30:17-18 God wants you to live and thrive by His love. But a host of corruption will perish; it brings about its own death.

30:19-20 Let's turn these last two verses into a closing prayer, meditate on the love and life that is packed into these words:

19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 

20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Hallelujah, amen. 

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 29

Deuteronomy 29:1-29

29:1 This chapter opens with the statement of the covenant renewal. Rather generously, God continually enters into new covenants with each of us. Although humanity is unfaithful to Him, He remains faithful to us. Each new covenant is a personal relationship between God and an individual, a relationship which God promises to bless abundantly.

The children of Israel have spent 40 years in the wilderness. Along the way, children have grown into adults, babies have been born, some have left the group due to unfaithfulness. Through Moses, God brings covenant renewal to those who were too young to receive it the first time and reestablishes it for those who still remember.

29:2-4 The Israelites have been moved and led and blessed by God for much of their lives now. Yet their obstinacy has inhibited them from understanding. They have continued to throw tantrums, doubt God and even abandon Him. Sometimes God helps us to stay ignorant. He does this because once we are given spiritual wisdom and understanding, we are responsible for our actions. The children of Israel have no been spiritually mature enough to have their eyes opened, figuratively.

This is a tool God continues to utilize: 2 Peter 2:21, Romans 11:8. Out of compassion, God gives us a built-in opportunity for redemption. Once we do know better, we have a second chance to be better. Every atom of every matter here on earth is an intricate miracle, if we were all completely spiritually awakened, we would never get anything done... we would be too amazed to focus our attention on anything but the miracle we exist within.

Instead, we a population of polluters. Rushing to places that do not matter, oblivious to the fact that we are rotating at an incredible speed on a planet, in a solar system, in a galaxy, in a universe no mortal can explain.

29:5 The children of Israel do not even realize how blessed they have been: their clothes have not worn out, neither have their shoes or their bodies. They've been nomads for forty years! It is incredible that they did not realize this miracle. Yet we are the same. We are surrounded by God's protective and creative hand and we neglect to see how busy and generous He has been.

29:6 God has sustained the children of Israel by faith alone: they've eaten of His spirit and they've quenched their thirst with His holy water. This is a metaphor for us to benefit from! When go to Him only as our source of provision, we are perfectly sustained. 

29:7 When we establish God as our defender, no enemy breaks through our barrier: we win all of the wars, as long as we are studious and faithful to Him during the battles.

29:8 Evil is removed and goodness is established in its place. Enemy is removed and we are established in its place. God uproots corruption and plants us soundly, deeply in His soil.

29:9 Therefore, Moses pleads, enter into a personal covenant with God and remain faithful to it.

29:10-11 God is rebuilding a family. A community. A kinship. Every member with their specific personality and talent and purpose.

29:12-13 God is gathering all of the Israelites, all of us, together so that He can restore the spiritual family which never should have been torn apart in the first place. He is bringing us together without the corruption. Eternally. 

The first of the covenants God made were with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet His plan to bring us all back under His wing existed before any of us were even born, Ephesians 1:4. He continues to implement the plan and encourage us back toward Him. Toward Home. The Israelites were represented by a prophet, we are represent by Jesus Christ. We have been gifted the opportunity for personal relationships with God. Your hand in His, He will lead you back on your own specific path of healing, wisdom and love.

29:14-15 God makes this covenant with whomever will receive it. 

29:16-17 Moses explains to the Israelites that they have personally witnessed and experienced the cruelty of their generation. Similarly, we have witnessed the flaws and unkindness of our own generation. We can each understand why God so vehemently proclaims His philosophy: we need restoration.

Throughout humanity's time here, we have made idols of wood and stone and money and power and vanity. All of it has lead us into corruption, discontentment, aimless wander. God's philosophy is the by which to restore order, peace and purpose. Love. Justice. Wisdom. Eternity: that which does not corrode.

29:18-19 Moses encourages us to get to a point - as a generation, a population, a species - where we realize that any path other than God's path will lead us astray. Moses teaches us that we will remain feeling unfulfilled and meaningless until we step into the rightful, righteous order. 

29:20-22 Neither evil, corruption or selfishness can exist in Spirit. Therefore any host, vessel or voice of evil, corruption or selfishness is stifled. Blotted out. Removed from existence. Our time on earth is our opportunity to start adjusting to the climate of Spirit. If we are not equipped with a properly restored physiology of the soul (compassion, truth, wisdom, love), we will be unable to survive or even enter Spirit.

29:23-24 Because God will not allow evil to thrive. He will fully extinguish even its ability to spark. 

29:25-28 Moses promises that if the children of Israel abandon or oppose God, they will be history. A population the rest of the world knows was wiped out for their evil actions.

29:29 We are welcomed into understanding and wisdom. If we enter into a covenant with Him as children and rapt students He fills our classroom with wonders and truths. He reforms our life into a miraculous adventure, opportunity for fulfillment of purpose, playground and place of rest.

God keeps no secrets. His doors are wide open. All that He is, knows, and does is transparent. Jesus reiterates that we are welcomed back into the family as equals, knowing all things: Mark 13:23.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 28

Deuteronomy 28:1-68

28:1 Let's look at this verse and highlight the key word:

"Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth."

Our greatest asset in life is our diligent faith. God raises, encourages and instructs His children to be meticulous, observant, hard-working and perceptive individuals. For God teaches us to understand that our time on earth is limited but that the impact we can make while here is not. Love, justice, truth and even life is infinite and so is the spiritual child. 

The children of Israel are about to enter into a new land, a promised land, a Garden of Eden part II in a sense. God has a plan, a philosophy which, when applied to life, will keep the land pure and safe. To be diligent observers of the faith, the Israelites need to keep God's will in every action, interaction and thought. Moses implores them to keep righteous intention at the forefront of every thing that they do.

If we truly wish to walk by faith rather than sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7, we cannot do so with one (figurative) eye open. Either we are committed or we are not; diligence in our lifestyle defines how committed we are. And we do, indeed, want to walk by faith rather than sight because we can read it here, God delivers: the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 

28:2 Moses prophesies over the Israelites and over anyone who will have this diligent faith: God's blessings will come to you and overtake you. He will pour blessings into your life, so many that you become overwhelmed by them. Consumed by His love. Not only that, God's love will overtake you when something else tries to. When something else tries to claim you or consume you, God's love will tear you away from that thing. Nothing has control over you: not fear, not enemy, not tribulation because God has overtaken you.

28:3 God's blessings are comprehensive and the abound. They echo and increase in a continuous flow. God protects you, your family, your home, your city, your country. God's blessings in your life will be more concentrated because your faith is concentrated. Perhaps your family, your city or your country's faith is not as concentrated as yours... He still sees every detail. He's working it all together for your good, Romans 8:28.

28:4 God is blessing every detail. Through your diligent faith, the faith you apply to every aspect of your life, God ensures that you produce good fruits. The work of your hands will be good. What you produce in the world will be good and will yield good returns, abundantly.

28:5 You think a God who has counted every hair on your head (Luke 12:7) and named every star (Psalm 147:4) cannot see the details of your life? He is blessing your basket and bowl, your sowing and your reaping. Once you have entered into a committed and diligent relationship with Him, He is blessing every detail. 

28:6 He is orchestrating everything that comes into and out of your life (sometimes blessings are not something He gives but something He takes away). Every step you take is cherished by Him, because He knows you endeavor for good. We declare that we are endeavoring toward good when we walk along His path. He has laid the cobblestones and set the direction, we need only walk, live in His name.

28:7 God's love over you will send enemies scrambling away. The irony is that in order to have that fierce protection, you need only be a gentle soul. God does the heavy-lifting, when we do the diligent listening and following. He is our shield. He's like an electric mosquito wand... zap, zap, zap as soon as they enter our sphere.

Do we trust Him? Because sometimes God starts zapping something, someone, or some situation and we grip onto it/them. If God is sweeping the table, let the table be cleared. Trust that He sees something you do not.

28:8 There are no limitations to His blessings: "The Lord will command the blessing on you... in all to which you set your hand." The doorknob to our home. The handle to our refrigerator. The skin of the fruit we eat. The hands we shake. The children we hold. The water we wash with. You do not have to imagine God in all of those places and moments because He is present already in each of them. Or at least He will be, as soon as you enter into a diligent relationship with Him.

28:9 God is faithful, diligent and committed to His children. He is never the one who backs out or changes the plan. He is never the one who loses focus. He is never the one who falters. He never doubts. He never fails. God established with covenant with the Israelites and He offers it to you, through Jesus' teachings read of this in the New Testament. He wants to enter into a relationship with you... one in which He provides everything even though we provide so little or nothing at all. He only asks for our diligence. He only asks for steadfast diligence in faith.

28:10 You are a walking testimony of His love. Through your steadfast, diligent faith, the rest of humanity can see His workings in you. The exuberant joy and hope He pours into you will shine and declare the goodness of His love. Enemies will fear the holy shield around you and others will be awestruck. 

God's children are representations of Him; it is only fair that we represent Him well and honestly. In order to do that, we need the diligent faith which creates patience, justice and compassion inside of us. The blessings in our lives will draw others toward Him -- that is the most precious gift we could ever give God: through our love of Him, bring more of His children home.

He longs to gather each of us back into His hands: 

Luke 15:1-7 Parable of the Lost Sheep + Luke 15:11-32 Parable of the Lost Son

God goes on an elaborate, passionate journey to find each child. He is so in love, so devoted to each soul that he seeks after us. We read throughout the Bible that we must knock for Him to answer. We learn from Revelation 3:20 that God is knocking at our door, too. Actually, He's banging on the door... He's hoping you will answer. His love for you is not passive, it is alive. When you open the door, the whole world will be able to see the Light that is shone into your life.

28:11 Plenty. Increase. Produce. Circle these words, underline them, highlight them... not just on the pages of your Bible but on your heart. God will fill your life to the brim, your blessings will spill over in abundance. God's blessings propel us toward more blessings. God's blessings enable us to produce more blessings intended for others.

28:12 "The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand." Diligent faith in God will peel away the barrier around your life and expose you to the produce of heaven. To the figurative rains which bring relief and possibility to our desert wilderness. 

God becomes the source of all that we need. Under His wing and direction, we need never borrow anything from anyone because it has already been provided by Him.

28:13 God will establish you as a leader rather than a follower. Examine Moses himself: Moses thought the idea of himself as a leader was ridiculous. Not only did he not believe in himself, he had no particular yearning to lead. God has a perfect way of transforming us; tailoring us and our circumstances and changing our direction, our purpose and our abilities for influence we never even dreamed of. But we must take His direction diligently.

28:14 Reading these pages of times long ago, we forget that this is a man speaking. A human, just like us. We can imagine Moses coming to the end of this discourse with a softened, pleading voice. As if he just took in a breath and released and softly spoke this last verse: So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Moses has given ample reason and blessed encouragement for us to follow God. Steadfastly. Diligently. Moses is invested in our potential to follow Him. God is invested in our lives; He makes bold promises because He has bold love and belief in us. Return that bold love and belief -- after all, He's earned it. He's earned and we have not... yet He still gives and gives and gives.

28:15 Having spoken of the glory God's blessings can bring to your life, Moses now begins to speak about discipline. Moses has dedicated time to speak about diligent obedience and now he will take time to speak about obstinate disobedience. God is our parent and therefore, He parents us. He uses tough-love discipline to teach us to follow His philosophy of life. In order to show us the right way, he allows us to go the wrong way... and to experience how desolate and tiresome that path is.

28:16 Evil actions corrupt city and country. A nation cannot thrive if its principles are in opposition to God. Remember that God's commandments are for us to be kind, just individuals. He does not ask too much of us; He only encourages us to be fair and good.

28:17 Just as our good fruits were a good harvest, our bad fruits are a bad harvest. Evil begets evil. Injustice never brings forth good fruit. Moses' admonishment teaches us that no matter how manipulative or clever we think we are, we will never be fruitful while in opposition to God. The stove is always going to burn when you touch it. It doesn't matter how clever or sneaky you are.

God does not ask us to follow Him for selfish reasons. God asks us to follow Him because He loves us and it hurts Him to see us get burned.

28:18 Anger is a poison, a toxin which ruins the vessel which contains it. Moses explains that a life of evil and deceit will internally corrupt a person as well. The body thrives in light and goodness, so does the soul. But both body and soul perish, slowly, in an atmosphere of evil.

Moreover, God is a balm for our fear and anxiety. Without a way to dissipate that negativity, it festers in and enfeebles the individual. God does not want that life for you... but He is still going to allow you to choose. Every day we are Adam and Eve. Every day we stand before the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Every day we make the choice... which tree will I eat from?

The tree of knowledge of good and evil is a temptress. It prods us to choose cleverness, manipulation, vengeance, control. But the tree of Life prods us to choose wisdom, submission to nature's good and perfect way, spiritual justice. The tree of life prods us to give control over to God, the One Entity who is able. Because we are deficient. We cannot control everything, not even ourselves or our own thoughts. But God can orchestrate galaxies and worlds and atoms and every detail of your life concurrently.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil seeks control. Control creates disorder, it uproots order and places things and people where greed wants them to be rather than were they should be.

The Tree of Life seeks natural order, organization. Eat from this tree, let God's philosophy be the roots of your life. The source from which you receive nourishment. God puts everything into place.

28:19 Absent of a diligent relationship with God, our coming and goings are unprotected. Our steps are uncharted, our path haphazard and even hazardous.

Moses' imploration on God's behalf is this: This (28:1-14) is how you walk into blessing. And this (28:15-69) is how you walk out of blessing and into desolation. It's that simple.

28:20 To forsake God is to forsake life. To forsake life is to choose death. God puts evil to its death, always and inevitably. Evil has no choice but the be extinguished. A selfish lifestyle, a greedy lifestyle, has no purpose in this life or the next. Not only is it regressive but it is damaging.

28:21 Interestingly, when we cling to God, our enemies are afraid of the fierce power of protection shielding us. But when we expose ourselves by walking out of God's shield, plague clings to us. Evil laughs and delights in how foolish we are to leave the Almighty when it is such a blessing to have Him.

28:22 Whatever means it takes to bring evil down, it will be done. Sometimes God's tough-love lessons are generous warnings. Fix your behavior, heal your soul with goodness and the plague will be taken away. What do these plagues look like? They look like the conditions with ail our bodies due to stress, deceit, anger and injustice. A discontented soul.

Some of us suffer from ailments for other reasons, the earth is imperfect and out of order after all. Our air is polluted, our water and even our food. Corrupt nourishment ails us like corrupt action does. But Heaven is not polluted. Heaven reaches down to use our ailments to teach us to draw closer to God. Reach back!

28:23-24 Do not let yourself be trapped outside of the glory of our Abba. No matter who you are, your soul is thirsty for Him. Stop feeding your soul with ash and drink from His living waters, John 7:38.

28:25-26 Without God, we are dependent on our weak and feeble bodies. Without God we are dependent on our limited and tainted perspective. Our enemies and our tribulations without consume us because we render ourselves vulnerable.

28:27-28 If you choose to be weak, God will allow your decision. God's children are equipped by Him with eyes to see and ears to hear. God's children are enabled to view heaven and earth from perches of wisdom and justice. While God's children are excelling through the academy of life, His opposition is corroding and crumbling.

28:29 If the cry in our heart is ever that we do not understand or that we feel overwhelmed by evil, we have not invited Him far enough. For God presides. God prevails. The war is already won, depression is shattered by His triumphant Light.

Do not walk around in darkness and without sight. There is purpose and order here; if you do not see it, it's time to welcome Him deeper into your soul.

28:30 Every relationship, social, familial, romantic, spiritual.. every single relationship we enter with an unfaithful heart will only ever return unfaithfulness back to us. A divided house cannot stand, Matthew 12:22-28. Every thing you do with corruption in your heart will only yield corruption in your home.

If you are divided, unstable, unfocused you cannot possibly stand. God wants you to understand that. Moses does not highlight our weaknesses to demean us or to discourage us... Moses highlights our weakness to present to us our need of God. He is the strength for our frailty.

28:31-32 Your family, your livelihood... all that is yours will suffer because of evil actions. Only that which is under the wing of God can be shielded. Life selflessly: be your best, if not for yourself or your neighbor then for your family.

28:33 Before the Israelites enter the promised land, God has their enemies building and tending to their cities, farms and livestock. Ironic, right? It is written here: if you treat life with injustice, life will treat you with injustice.

28:34 The discontentment and anxiety that comes with injustice will taunt and destroy. Some people spend their entire lives on chasing new wealth, new material, new power, new beauty... and none of it ever satisfies. And even a fool, who convinces themselves that their wealth makes them happy, suffers when this world is revealed to be temporary habitation.

While we are busy accumulating and storing our treasures here on earth, we are leaving our coffer empty in heaven. This is problematic because Matthew 6:19-21 explains that only the treasures we store in heaven are kept and protected. Mark 10:25 explains that material wealth cannot even be brought into heaven. The only thing we can bring to heaven are the good fruits we produced while on earth. The joy we created is pumped into us, surrounding us, in heaven. The smiles we inspired are given back. The laughter and companionship and truth and compassion. Those are the treasures we bring to heaven.

So do not be driven mad by need for material wealth and power... none of it matters anyway.

28:35 You will not even be figuratively ambulatory when in opposition to God: you get nowhere! You make no progress. Your path is regressive. Your path, your steps, your mind... all of is it distracted and halted.

28:36 In this verse Moses begins to prophesy the Israelite's journey: they will turn away from God. The children of Israel will become discontented with a spiritual King and will request a human, man king. From there, they will begin to idol worship.

28:37 The turn away from God will cause the children of Israel to become a cautionary tale of what happens when one starts living in opposition to God.

28:38-39 Their efforts will not be productive outside of God. This verse is a predecessor to Luke 8:4-8.

The Parable of the Sower 

4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.”When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

28:40 That which is not planted in God's metaphorical soil will wither. Inevitably. What is produced will be vulnerable to other corruption. Those who live in opposition to God are unable to be anointed by Him, blessed and sent out on a guided, protected journey.

28:41 The children of Israel, through their abandonment, will also abandon their Safe-Keeper. They will make themselves vulnerable to enslavement again. Figuratively, by not gripping onto God and His philosophy, we make ourselves vulnerable to enslavement. Our desires and fears and worries become our slave-keepers.

28:42 God gives an inheritance to His children, one that cannot be taken away by any enemy. Outside of God, locusts, enemies, tribulations will rob what belongs to an individual.

28:43 The children of Israel will lose their position as leaders and instead will become followers of others.

28:44 The children of Israel will lose their position as lenders and instead will become dependent on others.

28:45-46 And these events will destroy the Israelites, and any individual, eventually. The children of Israel have a reputation for having a strong God, their poor behavior will cause outsiders to question His validity. But remember, life does not have to be this way. There is clarity, healing, strength and love on God's path.

28:47-48 When we neglect to have joy and gladness of heart for the abundance God is able to bring into our lives, we leave that abundance vulnerable to a vacuum. It all goes away. Without His protection and boundless source of provision, we run out.

28:49-51 Without God's barrier of protection, we are completely bulldozed by the outside world. Under His wing of compassion, we ensure that our friends, family and even nation is secured in kindness and justice in principle. But when we allow other forces into our lives, when we allow anger and injustice and other elements of evil in, they eagerly take control.

28:52-57 These verses go into detail about a desperate and terrible people. Evil begets evil and God promises that abandonment of His principles will allow evil to fester. An unappreciative and unhappy population will consume the Israelites... they will become that horrible nation. But it does not have to be that way.

28:58-63 Moses explicit warns that abandonment of God is self-destruction. When we open our hearts and minds to God's teaching, when we allow His philosophy to fill our soul, so much wisdom can be discovered and utilized. Progress can be made! Purpose can be established and fulfilled. A life separate from God, however, is regressive, destructive and even depressing.

28:64-68 Submission and obedience to God grants us true and lasting freedom. Obstinate opposition to God makes us vulnerable and likely candidates for enslavement. Enslavement to things like fear, anxiety, chaos, confusion, discontentment, insecurity.

We must all stop putting our trust in anything other than God. Only He can accomplish on our behalf. Only He offers protection, pure happiness, and eternal comfort. Only He can offer us LIFE... the kind worth living.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 27

Deuteronomy 27:1-26

27:1 Moses is nearing the end of his speech to the children of Israel. He's speaking now with the elders of Israel to the children who have grown up during the 40 years in the wilderness. It has been a long journey of learning and growing spiritually; Moses is tying the entire journey up with a bow: this is where you were, this is where you are, this is where you are going. Moses speaks to the children of Israel at this fork in the road, and really this fork in the road is present at every point in our journey. As Moses spoke in Deuteronomy 11:26, one way is blessing and one way is curse.

Moses has been commanded by God to explain each way to the children of Israel and to you as you read now. To follow God is the walk the way of blessing. This Bible explains His entire philosophy of life; to follow God is to oppose corruption and death in all of its forms (literal and figurative). The elders of Israel serve as reinforcements who have personally witnessed and experienced the benefits of living by God's example.

27:2-4 Through Moses God commands the children of Israel to write this "law," this life philosophy boldly on stones as soon as they cross the Jordan into their promised land. The stones are to be whitewashed with lime so as to highlight the text. This philosophy needs to be prominent, clear, stark in their lives and in ours. 

The children of Israel are commanded to set these stones with the written philosophy up on Mount Ebal. This calls us each to question where we have placed God's commandments. Have we made Him a priority? Have we faith-fenced-in our hearts, our lives and family with this philosophy? Is our love and trust in God prominently displayed and utilized?

We have to let God be the warrior of our lives. We have to set Him as our border. His temple is within us, 1 Corinthians 6:19; we have to vehemently declare to Him that we will allow Him to protect His own temple. We make that declaration by setting those stones of His philosophy on the mountain of our lives. We do that by letting His will preside over every atom and element of our lives. 

27:5 Those stones are figurative. Stones do not protect a nation. Believing and trusting in what is written on those stones, believing and trusting in Who has created this philosophy is our protection. God therefore proclaims through Moses that belief and trust in God will protect His own temple. He is our salvation and protection. God will establish Himself in you, His holy kingdom in you... will you be a host?

27:6-8 Moses tells the children of Israel to built an altar from which to worship God. This altar is supposed to be simple, created from wild stones. These stones are not supposed to be crafted by an artist, rounded or cut for decoration. This altar is supposed to be a simple, natural, authentic place to praise deeply. The opulence in the love expressed there. The wealth and the beauty is in the reverence not the altar.

The quality of a place of worship is based on the love inside of it, the love for God and the love for each other. A true believer worshiping from a pile of stones or even a cardboard box is precious to God.

27:9-10 Steadfast faith is a characteristic of a true child of God. God has claimed you; if you have claimed Him, observe His commandments. Bring His philosophy to life. It is a blessed and honorable privilege to be chosen by God... to be called by God, to be anointed by God. We have that blessing, that honored privilege that propels us into and through the world with purpose. Life worthy of it. Live in steadfast faith.

27:11-13 So that all tribes understood the difference between the blessing and the curse, six of the tribes were to proclaim the blessing from one mountain and six tribes were to proclaim the curse from another.

Truly those who choose blessing, the love and will of God live on an entirely different mountain than those who oppose. Life and perspective is completely different for each.

27:14 The Levite tribe has the responsibility of shepherding the group and organizing them in faith. The following verses are a list of forbidden actions.

27:15 No idol worship. Pray and love God, our source, our home and our Creator. No thing will ever love or safe us the way that He will. We do not even know true joy until we invite Him in. No amount of material wealth, power, property or fame will even bring us contentment. We may not make carved images anymore but we do put our faith in things outside of Him. We believe that having a certain person or job or opportunity will bring us the delight we long for in our lives. Wrong. Only He deserves our worship because only He is lasting, abundant and capable.

27:16 No malicious treatment of parents.

27:17 No taking or tainting what does not belong to you. No disrupting others' lives.

27:18 No misdirecting people (literally or figuratively). As children of God, we have the responsibility of tending the flock. It is our blessed responsibility to help and lead when the people around us need and request assistance. We must never take advantage of or manipulate others.

We must emulate God's treatment of us. Although He is so much wiser, He does not mock us. He does not play malicious games with our lives or our minds. When we are weak, He is strong for us. When we are lost, He leads for us. 

27:19 Society must care for the widow and the orphan.

27:20 No incest of this kind.

27:21 No corrupt relations with animals.

27:22 No incest of this kind.

27:23 No incest of this kind.

27:24 No malicious actions against neighbors.

27:25 No taking brides to harm others.

27:26 A reminder that to oppose God is to choose a life of difficulty and corruption. Why is that so? Because God's love and will navigates our journey through the wilderness and deposits us in a land of blessing and promise.

And all the people shall say, 'Amen!' 

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 26

Deuteronomy 26:1-19

26:1-2 The Israelites are told by Moses to offer their first-fruits to God. God blesses us with the best of what He has. God does not brush His scraps or overflow off of the table for us to grab for. When we give back to Him, our love, our time, whatever it is... we must give Him our best. By giving the first of their harvest, the children of Israel showed genuine trust in God. When we give God our best, everything we have, we trust Him to give us something even better in return. When we give God everything we have, He gives us anything we want.

26:3 Acknowledgement of our blessings serves as both platform and propellant. Had the children of Israel walked into the promise land with ingratitude or neglect for God, they would have soon found their promised land taken away. Our connection to blessing is our faith; our faith is the landing pad on which God is able to deliver His word, will, and blessing. Without the landing pad, (faith) the tunnel through which blessings flow, there is only desolation.

Moses instructs the children of Israel to proudly and passionately proclaim their faith and identify themselves as children of God. Moses instructs them to remember the journey. Similarly we must remember our sojourn through the wilderness. Each of our "wildernesses" look different but we all have them. God is present even when we are absent. He remembers us in our enslavement, we need only to remember Him.

26:4 God is in the details. Moses recounts the details of their journey because He knows how easily and quickly they might forget. And we do. We so often forget God. We press into Him in times of need but we also press away from Him when we do not trust or understand what He is doing, that He is present.

In good and joyful times, we forget to celebrate with Him... even though He went through, and even carried us through, the entire journey. God does not come out like the light of the stars... which shine and make themselves known only in darkness. God is every light, in every place. He present and flooding us in a spotlight in every moment we acknowledge Him.

26:5 Moses's instruction is for us to remember God in our bones. To remember the journey of our ancestors as part of our own fabric. We all need to proclaim, in an intimate conversation with God, that we acknowledge His presence. 

How many times do we take moments of reflection to say: "I was about to perish and you rescued me."? God has been knitted opportunity into your life since before you were born (in the womb, Psalm 139:13 and before it, Ephesians 1:4). Those quiet moments with God are the times we realize His potential in us. He can tailor the details of our lives to change and confirm our destination. If we do not like where we are, He will teach us to move... and will forcibly move us if we cannot do so ourselves. But we must acknowledge that He has freed us, because until we do, we still believe we are enslaved. To time. To circumstance. To enemy. To deficiency. To fear.

26:6 We have to identify who/what enslaved us and then we must identify Who/What freed us. Before we place blame on God for not existing or not acting we must remember what is actually keeping us in chains. Our own inaction, perhaps. Fear. A vice, a habit, an enemy. Because once we identify the true root of the chaos, God can bring it into order. Can bring us into order. Our lives into order.

26:7 God is looking right at you. His 24/7 spotlight is ever shining on your life and every atom of your body. He sees us in our affliction and He watches closely for the moment we begin to see Him too. He sees our efforts toward faith and compassion. He knows our hearts. If you are making an effort toward Him, He's going to reach out and pull you out of the muck.

26:8 Just as God outstretched His arm for our descendants, so will He do for you. He's going to scoop you right up into His arms. God is indignant on behalf of His children; no one shall harm them. Do you, will you, remember Him when He gathers you into His arms? Creation Itself designates its full time and effort into rescuing you and loving you... do you allow time to be fascinated, humbled, motivated by that?

Moses reminds the Israelites (and us) to remember this Entity Who loves us so much that He will literal pick the world up off of its axis if it means saving us.

26:9 As God leads you into the land of milk and honey, do not let go of His hand. God loves to surprise us. He leads us into blessings and then joyfully laughs as He extends those blessings further than we ever thought possible. He constantly says to us: "Oh, you thought this was the gift?" He gives us the thing we prayed for all of our lives and then explains to us that we have no even begun to scratch the surface. There's more. So much more. Keep hold of your hand... not because you want the gift but because it is such a blessing to be loved in that way.

26:10 No person, no thing could ever love us as much as or the way God loves. His joy is loving us. As humans, we do not even comprehend how purely selfless God's love is. With that in mind at all times, how could we not freely, gleefully give Him our first-fruits? 

Worship Him; Fall in love with the way He loves you. Worship will come pouring out of you naturally.

26:11 Rejoice in every good thing your spiritual father, your Abba, has given. May you see the blessing in everything that you touch, Deuteronomy 15:10, Deuteronomy 28:8. Every good thing in your life He has brought there. Every bad thing He is working to remove. And He is always successful. 

26:12-14 Moses instructs the children of Israel to follow the guidelines God has given them. He instructs them to do what is right and just for all people, especially the poor and meek, orphaned and widowed. Follow the guidelines and then bear your soul to God: this is who I am in You. Trusting. Purposeful. Obedient.

Follow God's guidelines will always bring blessing into your life and into the lives around you. His blessings truly abound.

26:15 In complete honesty and humility, as a laborer in this vineyard, ask God to continue to look upon you and bless you. Ask God to keep the covenant that He made with Abraham with you, also.

26:16 Observe God's philosophy of life with all your heart and all your soul. Full, steadfast commitment to faith will grow your character and your blessings. Be passionate and diligent in this blessed work and purpose.

26:17 Everyday proclaim your participation and commitment to this philosophy of compassion. Renew your relationship with Him everyday; strengthen your faith in every moment and you will move mountains with God.

26:18 Take you place as one of God's special people. His commitment to us is what makes us special. His belief and trust in us makes us special, makes us able to do the impossible. He trusts us to work with Him to change the world, 1 Corinthians 3:9.

26:19 Let God set you apart from corruption. From finality. Let Him restore you in perfect peace, pure truth and eternity. He has spoken that He is taking volunteers, raise up your hand. He will come reaching out for you with His mighty arm.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 25

Deuteronomy 25:1-19

25:1-3 Participation in the justice system is required.

25:4 Out of consideration, an animal used for farming is to be allowed to eat while it works.

25:5-6 If a woman's husband dies, his brother takes responsibility for her. Her firstborn son carries on her late-husband's name and inheritance.

25:7-10 The man who will not take on his brother's widow is disgraced. Remember, this is a time and context when a woman without a husband was destitute (unable to work).

25:11-13 Laws for interfering with disputes.

25:14-16 Do not defraud or deceive others by manipulation. 

25:17-19 Those who oppose God (like the Amalekites) are to be blotted out of remembrance. For to oppose God is to oppose good.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 24

Deuteronomy 24:1-22

24:1-4 The finality of divorce.

24:5 The husband has the responsibility of being with his wife and establishing their home and relationship for at least a year after marriage.

24:6 A millstone was used for preparing food; each family is entitled to have this household necessity. 

24:7 Kidnappers are sentenced to death.

24:8-9 Be careful not to spread leprosy (literally or figuratively); opposition to God is corrosive to the body and Spirit.

24:10-13 The children of Israel are told to lend to their spiritual kin without harassing them.

24:14-15 Be a fair and just employer; do not take advantage of any worker.

24:16 Each person is responsible for their own self.

24:17-18 Be fair and empathetic with the less fortunate; all people deserve just treatment. 

24:19-22 Abundance is to be reserved for the widows, lost and orphans. God always blessed His children abundantly so that the overflow can be shared with those who do not yet know Him, but need Him. God wants them (and us) to always remember that before we found Him, our spiritual home, we were orphaned, widowed and enslaved too.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 23

Deuteronomy 23:1-25

23:1 The assembly of the Lord was the first structure which represented what we think of today as the church. God continues to forbid pagan practices from His holy places.

23:2 People of illegitimate birth may not enter the assembly but we can understand this to mean "people of illegitimate faith." For God welcomes all people into His family, regardless of their parents actions, if they love and follow Him, Jeremiah 31:29.

23:3-6 In Numbers 22-24, the Ammonites and Moabites disallowed the Israelites passage. In the New Testament, Jesus teaches us forgiveness for those who sincerely regret their transgressions against us, Matthew 18:21-22. The Israelites are told to keep separate from those who opposed the will of God. Forgiveness means that we do not seek vengeance but it does not mean we must associate with those who have wronged us.

23:7-8 The Edomites are the descendants of Esau, Jacob's twin brother. God continues to bless the descendants of Abraham, even as they branch off. Esau sold his birthright; as first born son of Isaac and Rebekah, he was to be the one to carry on the covenant, Genesis 25. Instead, Jacob ended up with the blessed responsibility. God still blessed the descendants of Esau.

23:9-14 Instructions on keeping the camp clean, literally and figuratively.

23:15-16 Allow escaped slaves to be freed; give the slave a dwelling place and treat him fairly.

23:17-18 Disallow prostitution. 

23:19-20 Do not charge interest for fellow Israelites.

23:21-23 Keep your oaths to God. If you promise Him something, follow through: Ecclesiastes 5:4, Numbers 30:2, Matthew 5:33-37. God loves you, He wants you to grow in character every day of your life. Growth starts and continues with your ability to remain true to your word.

23:24-25 Do not use your neighbor's or take advantage of their hard work.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 22

Deuteronomy 22:1-30

22:1-4 Lost items and animals are to be returned, not kept.

22:5 The corrupt pagan culture living in the land before the children of Israel had members of society who dressed in the opposite gender's clothing and falsely prophesied. God wants paganism eliminated.

22:6-7 Humans are carnivores: Moses tells the children of Israel not to catch and eat the mother guarding her eggs (as she has sacrificed her life, by not fleeing, to save her children).

22:8 Safety precautions for building a home.

22:9-10 Farming guideline for maintaining vineyards.

22:11-12 The Israelites were not to wear the customary dress of the culture which lived in the land before them.

22:13-30 The Israelites were to value fidelity and honesty in relationships; incest is forbidden.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 21

Deuteronomy 21:1-23

21:1-9 Verses 1-9 establish a procedure for the Israelites to follow if someone was killed but the guilty could not be found. We no longer sacrifice; Hosea 6:6 has rendered this practice defunct.

21:10-14 When the Israelites conquered cities, they could bring the women back to their land. The women had to undergo the process of assimilation to the culture. A period of mourning, signified by the shaved head and trimmed nails, was required to cleanse and move her of her past life. These women were to be treated kindly and fairly, their freedom respected even if they marriage did not work out.

21:15-17 The inheritance right of the firstborn son was to be respected (in this culture of having multiple wives). Although not encouraged, men of Israel were allowed to have multiple wives sometimes because they took on the responsibility of a brother's widow. A child born of love is a child already born into true wealth therefore the "unloved" wife's son was to be given a double portion of inheritance. 

God is always fair. The child born out of a relationship lacking love was already setback; God wanted that child to be cared for as well as the other, more fortunate child.

21:18-21 If two parents end up with an evil son, he is to be dealt with by the children of Israel. Rather than stoning him, the evil inside of him was to be counseled out of him. However any unrelenting evil person was to be put to death.

21:22-23 God does not want the children of Israel to glorify or dramatize death. Evil is the be extinguished and buried. A closed case.

OT: The Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 20

Deuteronomy 20:1-20

20:1-4 Let's read these first four verses before delving into them:

1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 4 for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’"

In the moment when you are looking an enemy or situation in the eye and you feel fear, you must lower your gates and let God flood in. We are all familiar with this type of moment: staring out at the army approaching and feeling more deficient than you have ever felt. Well, God has professed to us that when we are weakest, He is strongest, 2 Corinthians 12:10. So the more negativity that gathers and froths around us, the more powerful God becomes on our behalf. Our great fear is assuaged and defended by our Greater God.

I am with you, always. Jesus tells us that we are supported by the strength, love and presence of Him, God and the Holy spirit: Matthew 28:20. If hearing that God is with you is not enough affirmation here in this book of Deuteronomy... keep reading. Start over. It's written throughout. When you choose God, you will never be alone.

On the verge of a battle, do not be afraid. Do not tremble or be terrified. You are so loved. Lay down your fear. Lay down your weapons. Lay yourself down before the feet of God. Give Him the reigns. Our submission to God releases us into freedom and strength. We are wholly unfit for managing our lives but God is perfect for the job. And He's offering to do it. He sees the whole battle and with a figurative flick, He can send it the other way.

20:5 Exempt from the literal battle would be those who had just purchased and settled into a new home. God places a high emphasis on family; the connections of familial love are always prioritized over war.

20:6 Exempt from the literal battle would be farmers who had been working for years to cultivate a harvest. Farmers are a priority as they produce the means on which the tribes live.

20:7 Exempt from the literal battle are those who are about to undergo a wedding. The unification of two, a faithful connected under God, enabled a family to establish itself.

20:8 Whoever was afraid to enter the battle was not required to go. Only those who had complete faith in God were necessary for the battle. God does not need numbers to win a battle. Through our faith, even one individual, can accomplish the impossible.

20:9 The captains of the armies would then continue on in battle without the aforementioned exempt groups of the able-bodied.

20:10-11 As God's children, we are a triumphant army. Under His command, we win every battle. At the beginning of every battle, the children of Israel are told to offer peace. For God does not engage in war for power or selfish reason -- God's end game, end goal is for peace. If a place and people are willing to negotiate peace without warfare, they are encouraged and invited to do so.

20:12-13 Yet if the offer of peace is rejected, the children of Israel (and we) are given the command to proceed. Our mission is to eliminate evil from all aspects of life, with or without permission from the perpetrators. 

20:14-15 The women, children and goods of a city are not to be taken down in battle. Yet God has declared that those people become the responsibility (like property) of the children of Israel. They are meant to be treated justly and taught to assimilate to the faith. For if God enters a battle with a nation, it is because of evil.

20:16-18 Moses is clear in this verse, however, that the entire population must be removed from this promised land. Remember that this command comes from God because of the cities evil, rather than because of the children of Israel's goodness, Deuteronomy 9:5. Nothing of their lifestyle can remain because God knows that the children of Israel will begin to participate in their corrupt practices.

20:19-20 The children of Israel are told not to destroy the good, food-giving trees of the lands they are conquering. There is metaphor in this, the good is to be left alone. For good-fruit is life-giving. Yet anything bad, any bad tree which does not bear good fruit, can be cut down.