Burunche’s Blog

Deuteronomy 5:22 – 33 “The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

And when you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me, and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.

But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer. For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived?

Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.” And the LORD heard the words you spoke to me, and He said to me, “I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever. Go and tell them: ‘Return to your tents.’ But you stand here with Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and statutes and ordinances you are to teach them to follow in the land that I am giving them to possess.”

So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left. You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”

It’s a scene like no other! A mountain full of fire and smoke, the earth shaking as God speaks out of that fire – no wonder the Israelites are terrified! And they make a good start by designating Moses to delegate for them and to bring back the commandments God wants them to follow. At this point, it seems that nothing can go wrong. Everybody is in agreement. Moses is probably heaving a sigh of relief as he climbs further up the mountain to hear from the Lord.

The key to the entire scene is God’s comment to Moses: “If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.” While Moses thinks all will be well, God already knows what is going to happen while Moses is up on the mountain. The same people who have sounded so respectful will very shortly change their minds, become impatient, and force Aaron to make a golden calf.

APPLICATION: Ever wonder what God’s plan for your life might be? You actually can find out. How?

1. Study God’s Word, the Bible. God is never going to go against His Word. Pray before you read that God will open your mind to the things He wants to teach you.

2. Look at the opportunities that God has built into your life. Sometimes we fail to take advantage of God – given resources because we are waiting for something big and dramatic. Many times, God works in small things as well as in big ones. If we are not faithful in the small things, why should God give us anything more?

3. Assess your abilities and your personality and interests. God does not make cookie cutter humans; He has given you special abilities that will fit His plan for you.

4. Don’t become impatient! Many times, our prayer is “God, give me patience and give it to me NOW!” But some things can’t be rushed. While you are waiting for something new to happen, make sure that you have already taken advantage of everything in your current situation.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to realize how much You love us and care for us. Help us to realize that You have already built incredible opportunities into our situations if we will only take advantage of them. Thank You for promising to guide us and help us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 5:17 – 21 “You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

MURDER!!! ADULTERY!!! THEFT!!! SLANDER!!! At first, the Israelites must have thought, “Well, we understand why God is forbidding these things, but what do they have to do with coveting? Can’t I admire my neighbor’s possessions or his wife?”

Both the Mosaic Law and the lex talionis of the Code of Hammurabi stated that the penalty for premeditated murder was death. The Mosaic Law listed six cities of refuge where people who had inadvertently caused someone to die could escape. But murder is the theft of a life and the theft of everything that person might have accomplished for himself or herself, for his or her family, and for his or her community. Murder tears at the fabric of a community.

Theft of possessions equally destroys communities Sixty years ago, in many small towns in America, nobody locked their doors. People felt safe. When people are fearful, they must spend resources protecting themselves, leaving less to build up communities. In areas damaged by conflict, even the land might not recover for decades.

Bearing false witness or slandering someone is also a form of theft. In this case, it is the person’s good name and their reputation that is being damaged. Recently we learned of a situation in which one family member deliberately spread falsehoods about another, both in the family and in the community. Such lies have long legs and are impossible to erase. Again, communities that thrive on gossip are not safe for anyone.

In 1953 Arthur Miller brought forth a play about the Salem witch trials entitled The Crucible. One of the themes of the play was the manner in which good people could be not only slandered, but also killed on the testimony of those who were later found to be deceived or to be lying. Miller wrote this play at the time Joseph McCarthy was conducting anti – Communist hearings in Congress. Even at a distance of decades, it is impossible to tell whose innocent reputations were destroyed.

Yet another pitfall of bearing false witness is the fact that one is purporting to tell the truth before God and men. Falsehood under these circumstances can have eternal consequences.

Even though adultery is tolerated and sometimes even admired today, the fact remains that adultery is wrong. Adultery destroys families. God designed the family unit to have a father and a mother to provide security and to raise children in a safe atmosphere. Adultery destroys relationships and leaves children stranded and confused.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” It is interesting that this commandment, the tenth, actually forms the basis for the sins described in the previous commandments. Murder, adultery, slander – all begin when one person lusts after another’s reputation or possessions or spouse. Deeds begin with thoughts, and sins are born in the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

As we read these commandments, we might feel a bit smug; after all, we have never done anything of the sort! But that tenth commandment is the one that catches all of us. While we might not have acted on our envy of someone else’s reputation or professional achievements, or their house or car or family, at some point in our lives, we have looked at what we have and longed for something else.

All of us suffer from heart disease – the disease called sin. But praise God, there is a remedy. We are not captives of our sins because Jesus Christ has shed His Blood for them and has made a way for us to escape from ourselves. If we will only ask Jesus to help us, He will give us the power to change and to live holy lives. The process of change is a life – long one, but the rewards are peace and joy and contentment.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You for making a way so that we are not trapped in our sins. Help us to confess our sins to You, knowing that You will forgive and will give us the grace to change into Your likeness. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 5:11 – 16 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

APPLICATION: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.” In the time of Moses, calling upon the name of a god amounted to calling heaven and earth to witness that what you were about to say was true. Calling on a god to witness your statements was also a form of worship; you were acknowledging that this god had power over you. To use God’s name to curse someone or to use it carelessly would be an act of anti – worship.

What’s the difference between an act of worship and an act of anti – worship? God promises throughout His Word that worshiping Him will bring blessings. On the other hand, if we scorn God and use His Name as a curse or even as a casual exclamation (OMG!), we are graphically demonstrating that we do not respect God nor do we worship Him. Does this mean that we need to be careful about our language? Yes.

Honoring the Sabbath has gone out of style in the last few decades; however, this commandment was made for our protection. Each one of us needs rest; if our jobs require us to work on a weekend, we still need to have off days some other time during the week. The amazing thing about this commandment was that its provisions extended to children, servants, animals, and even to “the foreigner within your gates.”

God wanted this rest to be comprehensive, knowing that human and animal bodies need time to recuperate. Ignore this commandment and you are headed for burnout. Observing this commandment also constitutes an form of worship and respect for God, both for his act of creation and also for his deliverance.

“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” OUCH! At first, for some of us, this commandment might appear to be impossible. While some families have Hallmark movie kinds of relationships with loving parents and children, others are quite different. What do you do if one or both of your parents were absent (emotionally or physically or both), neglectful, or even physically or emotionally abusive?

You need to recognize the truth of your relationship with your parents. Generally, babies are born with normal affections and normal reactions. You were a normal child; you were not defective. At the same time, parents generally repeat the parenting style they experienced when they were children.

 Some parents may never had had any affection whatsoever and therefore do not know how to be affectionate. Children of such parents are likely to blame themselves, sometimes becoming people pleasers in an effort to gain affection their parents cannot give. Some parents received harsh physical discipline when they were children and know no other means of training a child. Parents who abuse drugs or alcohol may act according to the state of their addiction.

The first step in honoring a difficult parent is to see yourself as a child of God, not just of your parents. Whether or not your parents could give you love, God loves you unconditionally. Because God loves you unconditionally, you can love your parents in the same way. Ask God for help.

The second step is to find anything good that you can think of about your parents. Sometimes this might be nearly impossible; ask God to help.

The third step depends on your situation. Are you still living with your parents? Are you in danger? Are you out of the house, but your parents are trying to suck off resources that you or your own family need? Honoring your parents does not mean that you have to endanger yourself by remaining in an abusive relationship. Again, ask God for help and guidance. If God has given you this commandment, He has a perfect way that you can fulfill it.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to celebrate Sabbaths, even if we have to do it on some day other than Sunday. Help us to find ways to honor our parents, even the difficult or wicked ones. And help us to honor Your Name in all of our speech. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 5:5 – 10 “At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. And He said: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

FIRE! SMOKE! EARTHQUAKES!!! THE DEAFENING SOUND OF A TRUMPET! When God gave His laws the first time, the Israelites were so terrified that they begged Moses to represent them. Once Moses had come down off the mountain, he faithfully taught the Israelites everything that God had told him. But were they really listening?

Even while Moses was up on Mount Sinai, the Israelites already were becoming impatient and demanded that Aaron create a golden calf idol for them. Moses came down bringing the stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments, only to find an orgy in progress! And these were the people who had already walked through the Red Sea on dry land and had watched as God then wiped out the entire Egyptian army. At the very least, these folks were slow learners! And later on, when they might have readily entered the Promised Land, these same people chose to believe horror stories from ten of the spies rather than believe Joshua and Caleb, who believed that God could give them victory. (This might be one of the earliest examples of someone believing public opinion polls; after all, 80% of the spies warned of giants, while only 20% of them believed in God’s power to defeat their enemies.)

Now Moses is dealing with people who have been born during the wanderings in the desert. These people have followed the pillar of cloud by day and rested in the security of the pillar of fire at night. The manna has continued to come, as well as water for all this huge group of people plus their animals. And those same animals have continued to find adequate grazing – no mean feat in the midst of a wilderness. Have these people taken God for granted?

Now Moses is dealing with the second generation of Israelites. As God’s prophet, Moses has a sacred responsibility to do his best to teach this new generation the ways of God. Moses starts by carefully going through the Ten Commandments, the God – given foundation for the new life He wants for the Israelites. Please look at the promises God makes in conjunction with these commandments:

APPLICATION: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.” The One True Living God does not change. He is the same for all eternity. Each one of us has a sin problem that keeps us enslaved just as surely as if we were in chains. Only God can deliver us from ourselves. Why shouldn’t we worship Him as He deserves?

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

When we make anything apart from God our object of worship, we are creating idols. Some of us refuse to acknowledge God in our own lives and then expect our children to make righteous choices. But ” Do as I say and not as I do” has never worked. From the time our children are born, they will pick up our mannerisms, our ways of life, and our faults. If you roll your eyes at your kids, rest assured that eventually those eye rolls will come back to haunt you! Early conditioning can kick in at any moment, whether or not we want it to.

At the same time, God promises to show loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Him and who keep His commandments. Disaster or blessings? The choice is ours. Parenting is a sacred responsibility, but many of us feel lost as to how to go about it. Sometimes our parents never received healthy parenting themselves. Such deficiencies can lead to generations caught in emotional deserts. One friend has come from a family plagued by depression for generations. Facing such burdens, we might be tempted to quit in despair.

Here is the glorious news: If God calls us to do something, He will give us the strength and the guidance so that we can be successful. If God has called you to parent, then rest assured that God is ready to encourage and guide you. Your parents’ choices do NOT have to be yours! With God’s help, YOU can be the change – maker in your family.

How can this happen? God promises in Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you and lead you in the way you should go; I will guide(counsel) you with My eye upon you.” Again in James 1:5 God tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Do you feel overwhelmed? Scared of bad stuff in your family? Worried that you will repeat the mistakes your parents made in raising you? Take courage! God is still the same Miracle Worker who delivered the Israelites and kept them for forty years as they wandered in the wilderness. God wants you to be a wonderful parent, and He is ready to help.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving and caring for us! Lord, thank You that we are not stuck with all the mistakes our parents made but that You can help us create new and healthy ways to parent, whether we are raising our own children or helping others around us. Thank You that You have promised loving devotion to a thousand generations if we will only love You and keep Your commandments. Help us to love You more each day than the day before. And help us to keep Your commandments. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:44 – 49 “This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt, while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.

They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan—the two Amorite kings across the Jordan to the east— extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyone (that is, Hermon), including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah,f below the slopes of Pisgah.”

Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites were history! The Israelites must have been elated. They hadn’t even crossed the Jordan yet and already they were conquering enemies. Even Og, the giant, couldn’t stand before the armies of the Living God. Looking at the land already conquered, the Israelites might have been thinking that conquering the Promised Land was going to be a piece of cake! But while the Israelite soldiers were strutting around and puffing out their chests, they needed to remember that God was the One who had given them those victories.

All the Israelites who had come out of Egypt had died, except for Moses, Caleb, and Joshua. None of those currently camped on the east side of the Jordan had seen the towering walls of water or felt the winds that drove back the water or heard the terrified shouts of the Egyptians as those same waters closed over them forever.

Those who refused to trust God and go into the Promised Land as God desired were gone. Now Moses had to teach the next generation so that they would know the ways of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 5:1 – 3 “Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully. The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.”

At this point, the Israelites might have been scratching their heads and saying, “HUH?” Why was Moses speaking as if they had been present at Horeb? It was the previous generation who had witnessed the spectacle at Horeb/Sinai with fire, earthquakes, and the sound of a divine trumpet. But Moses wants to emphasize something: Just because the first generation to escape from Egypt died does not relieve the present generation from the covenant that was made at Horeb/Sinai.

When Moses came down off the mountain and spoke to the people, the people agreed that they would obey. Exodus 24:3 “When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” That day, the Israelites were cutting covenant with God, an agreement that was binding not only on them, but also on their forever. Since the current generation had never experienced the scenes at Mount Sinai, it was even more necessary that Moses fully explain and repeat all the teachings God gave at that time.

APPLICATION: Moses knew that if he failed to thoroughly teach the Israelites everything God wanted them to know, they were headed for disaster. It’s likely that while some of the soldiers were running around boasting, Joshua and Caleb were standing back and shaking their heads; they knew there were tougher battles coming up.

God assigned Moses to help mold a nation out of a group of slaves. At times, Moses must have been ready to go back to herding sheep; it might have been easier. It was up to Moses to teach the Israelites the commands of God and the way God wanted them to live. God knew that waiting across the Jordan River were tribes who practiced all kinds of fertility rites, who sacrificed children, who committed unspeakable horrors. If the Israelites did not learn God’s commandments and practice following them, they were doomed to assimilation.

God did not want the Israelites to be like all those other nations. God wanted the Israelites to be an example of holiness and righteousness, so that these other nations would see the glory of God and would want to follow Him as well. God had far more in mind than just saving the Israelites.

So many times, we play games with God’s Word or with His commandments. There are many people today for whom the Ten Commandments are merely Ten Suggestions – something to be discarded when they prove inconvenient. But children who are raised without standards find themselves confused without a firm moral foundation for their lives.

What teachings are the foundations for your life? Does your life really have a solid foundation, or does it depend on the shifting sand of public opinion, popular beliefs, or something even less tangible? And what kind of foundation have you given your children for their lives?

Jesus told a story in Matthew 7:24 – 27 about two men building houses. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to follow Your Word and Your Commandments so that our lives will truly have solid foundations. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:41 – 43 “Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save his own life, he could flee to one of these cities: Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.”

Numbers 35:9 – 15 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge. These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.”

REFUGE! Why would anybody need refuge? Both the Mosaic law and the Code of Hammurabi included the law of lex talionis “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” The penalty for murder was death, and that penalty was to be carried out by “the avenger of blood,” generally a close male relative of the deceased. But what if this death was accidental? What if two men are felling trees, and an ax head accidentally flies off and hits one of the men, killing him? The other man has no bad intent; must he die? The list of “What ifs” could be a long one.

God’s answer to this question is “No.” To that end, God appointed a total of six cities of refuge, 3 on the east side of the Jordan River three on the west side. These cities were distributed so that the innocent could readily reach one of the cities in time to save his own life.

What if the manslayer really did intend to commit murder? Number 35:16 – 18 gives us that answer as well: “If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him. Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him, or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him.

But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally, or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him, then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.”

APPLICATION: It was the most terrible dream I had ever had! I dreamt that I murdered one of my co workers, although I did not mean to do so. Waking from my nightmare, I began searching my heart and mind. True, I had recently had a disagreement with this person, but I was more baffled than angry. Surely I was not harboring murder in my heart …. or was I? Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

To this day, I remember that dream and shudder! When I really dug deeper, I found that I was coldly furious with this person. The circumstances do not matter, but I realized that my heart attitude truly was murderous.

Accidents happen. Years ago, my husband was working on an electric circuit box in a factory. The electricity was supposed to be off; yet, when he touched the outside of the box, he got a shock that nearly knocked him off the ladder on which he was standing. An individual who had no idea what was going on saw the switch turned off and chose to turn it back on without checking with a supervisor.

There are times when each of us needs refuge. Live long enough and at some point, you will need a place of peace, a place of rest, an place of refreshing, a place of safety. Those who were granted refuge in the six cities were bound to remain in that refuge until the current high priest died; however, as long as they remained in that city, they were safe.

Where can we find refuge today? While we may not be able to find a physical refuge, we can certainly find a spiritual one. Moses told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 33:27 – 29 “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’

So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew. Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places.”

Psalm 46:1 tells us that “God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble.” The manslayers in ancient Israel had to flee to cities of refuge and hope that the avenger of blood did not catch them on the way. But our refuge is only a prayer away. We can always ask God for help, for guidance, and for protection. “But,” you say, “I’ve done horrible things.” Do you think God does not already know what you have done? God knows more about you than you. But the Bible assures us in 1 John 1:8 – 9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us! We know that we have done wrong things that do not please You; yet, You have promised to forgive us, to clean us up, and to shelter and protect us. Show us the things we need to confess so that there will be no barrier between You and us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:32 – 40 “Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported? Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived? Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?

You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

He let you hear His voice from heaven to discipline you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire. Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power, to drive out before you nations greater and mightier than you, and to bring you into their land and give it as your inheritance, as it is today.

Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

The Israelites made a bunch of mistakes, but the greatest mistake of all was taking God and His miracles for granted. Look at the record:

1. God spoke to the Israelites out of the fire.

2. God delivered the Israelites out of slavery, plucking them out of the most powerful nation on earth.

3. God worked miracles that effectively showed up every major god in the Egyptian religion. The final miracle was the Passover, with the death of every first – born in Egypt.

4. God sovereignly smashed and drowned the Egyptian army, trapping the chariots in the mud while the waters rushed in.

5. God allowed the Israelites to hear His voice and to see His fire and to hear Him speaking.

6. God remembered His covenant with Abraham, even though it took many generations for the fulfillment of that covenant.

7. God miraculously provided manna, quails, and water throughout their journey.

At the time Moses was speaking to his people, God was still accompanying them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Granted, those clouds and fire had been there for forty years, but how could the Israelites have been so callous as to ignore what God had already done for them? But despite everything that God had already done, despite untold miracles, eventually the Israelites still found excuses to wander away into idolatry.

APPLICATION: What miracles have you seen in your life recently? If you are reading this, you are already enjoying the miracles of vision. If you are handling a computer or a cell phone, you are experiencing the miracles of coordination and thought. If you are breathing easily, you are experiencing the miracles of healthy lungs. And if you have been able to eat something today, if you had a safe comfortable place to sleep last night, those things also were miracles.

We are surrounded by so many miracles each day that we fall into the same trap as the Israelites. We begin to take God for granted. But in many parts of the world, food, shelter, a safe place to rest, and clean air and clean water are impossibilities for thousands of people.

What do you do when you begin appreciating miracles? There is only one appropriate response: praise God, who has given us life and all these good things. None of us has done anything to deserve the blessings that we have received; yet, God continues to demonstrate His faithfulness.

“But what about those people who don’t have all these blessings?” you might ask. “Are they bad people? Does God really love them as much as He loves me?” Yes. God loves those people. But look what happened to the Israelites; they turned their backs on God and suffered the consequences. God wanted Israel to be a blessing to the nations, but the Israelites thought their blessings were only for themselves.

God has not blessed us so that we can hoard blessings. Blessings are given to be poured out to others. Begin today to ask God how He wants you to share all your blessings.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You for the blessings You have given us. Help us to share those blessings wherever You lead us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:15 – 31 “So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female, of any beast on the earth or bird that flies in the air, or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish in the waters below.

When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.

The LORD, however, was angry with me on account of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. For I will not be crossing the Jordan, because I must die in this land. But you shall cross over and take possession of that good land.

Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol in the form of anything, doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.

Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.

God is sovereign, but God is also far bigger than anything on our planet earth. The urge to worship is part of human nature; unfortunately, humans are also very prone to want to worship things that they can see, touch, or even hear. When the Israelites left Egypt, they were leaving a culture with a huge number of gods of various shapes and sizes. According to https://www.worldhistory.org/article/885/egyptian-gods—the-complete-list/, there were more than 2,000 gods in the Egyptian pantheon! The Israelites had 400 years in which to become familiar with these deities. Several times, Moses ordered the Israelites to put away their gods, presumably small idols that they had brought with them from Egypt. It’s likely that much of the gold and silver jewelry the Israelites collected from the Egyptians might also have born the images of some of these gods. And there would certainly have been temptations. For example, pregnant women might have wanted to carry the image of Tawaret. The Ancient Egyptian goddess Tawaret, or Thoueris, was the protective goddess of mother and child during pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing.

Here, not only is Moses sternly warning his people against idolatry, but he is also calling on heaven and earth as witnesses. Any Israelite choosing to go into idolatry can expect destruction and slavery in a foreign land where they will be forced to worship worthless idols. But God is also promising that those who will turn away from idols and worship Him will be delivered. No matter how faithless humans might prove to be, God is forever faithful and forever keeps his covenants.

APPLICATION: Who or what is your god? What is the most important thing in your life? If money or your work is most important, or your family, or a pastime such as collecting antique or following your favorite sports team, those things are your gods. Jobs can disappear, and sports teams can fail. If the recent pandemic has taught us anything, it has taught us that sometimes no amount of money, no advanced treatments, may be sufficient when health fails completely.

“But,” you ask, “what is wrong with placing a high value on my family?” There’s nothing wrong with loving and valuing your family. But there are some parents who literally worship one or more of their children for their athletic prowess or their scholastic achievements or for their musical talent or their acting ability. Such worship of an individual is not only wrong but it also puts an undue burden on the person being worshiped. And what if the child star suddenly wants to stop and try something else or has compelling reasons to withdraw from an event?

God specifically refused to manifest Himself as a form that could be copied when He was speaking to the Israelites out of the fire. Years later, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that “God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 Only the eternal everlasting God is truly worthy of worship. Today we should search our hearts and ask ourselves whom we are worshiping.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Help us to give up our idols and to truly worship only You. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 4:1 – 14 “Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow so that you may live, and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.

See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who shall hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

For what nation is so great as to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him? And what nation is so great as to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?

Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren. The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”

You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone. At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you the statutes and ordinances you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

News flash! The ancient Israelites were not the only people to have statutes and ordinances. The Code of Hammurabi was written in Babylonia in 1755 – 1750 B.C. Some of the tenets of that Code resemble some parts of the laws God gave to Moses, particularly, the idea of lex talionis – “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Was Moses a copy cat? Not necessarily. Why couldn’t God make His Will known to more than one set of people? But the difference between Mosaic law and the Code of Hammurabi was the setting in which the laws were given.

When God gave the law to Moses, the Israelites stood at the foot of a mountain “blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.” And the Lord spoke to them out of the fire. That same God continued to demonstrate his constant Presence to His people by accompanying them on their journey as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Moses knows that he will soon die and that the Israelites will go on without him. But Moses also knows that these same people are as willful as a bunch of sheep, wandering after the next tender blade of grass. This is why Moses is practically begging his people to follow these laws and to teach them to their children so that all the surrounding nations will marvel. “Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who shall hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

APPLICATION: A popular song from the 1970’s told us “Teach your children well!” These days many of us are distracted by our jobs, by current events, and by social media. Many parents are leaving their children to get all their values from TikTok, You Tube, and online gaming. While social media posts may inflame our emotions, they leave us without lasting values.

The warnings Moses gave the Israelites still apply to us. If we want our children to know God, we are the ones who must teach them. If we truly love God, we must be willing to tell those around us about Him. The literal meaning of the term “gospel” is “good news.” With all the bad news assailing us, we need all the good news we can get. The good news of the Gospel is that God is just, loving, merciful, all – knowing, and all – powerful, and that He has given good counsel for His people. But if we are to know God, we must read His word and teach it to our children.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Give us a hunger to know You and to study Your Word, so that we will be able to share it with our children and our friends and neighbors. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 3:23 – 29 “At that time I also pleaded with the LORD: “O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant. For what god in heaven or on earth can perform such works and mighty acts as Yours? Please let me cross over and see the beautiful land beyond the Jordan—that wonderful hill country and Lebanon!”

But the LORD was angry with me on account of you, and He would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said to me. “Do not speak to Me again about this matter. Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west and north and south and east. See the land with your own eyes, for you will not cross this Jordan. But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”

So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth-peor.”

Poor Moses! After all the struggles, all the suffering, all the rebellion, death threats, not to mention disappointments and discouragements, after all these things, God still refused to allow Moses to enter the Promised Land. Why did God do this? Why was God so cruel to Moses?

For the answer to this question, we have to go back to Numbers 20. The Israelites had entered the Wilderness of Zin, and there was no water. Per usual, the whole bunch immediately began whining and complaining and insulting Moses and Aaron. When Moses and Aaron went before the Lord, He ordered them to speak to a large rocky outcropping and water would come forth. Unfortunately, Moses was furious and resentful at his followers. Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses stood before the Israelites and said, ““Listen now, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” (Numbers 20:10 – 12)

Forty years of ministry – forty years of attempting to be faithful – forty years of waiting to enter the Promised Land, the goal of all that suffering – Moses and Aaron both lost their chances to set foot on the soil of the Promised Land through a single act of arrogant disobedience. God wanted Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock and not to touch it so that God could do something truly magnificent and be glorified. But God had Moses strike a rock the first time He brought forth water,and Moses was not thinking clearly. Aaron, of course, was willing to go along with whatever Moses did because Aaron was a follower and not a leader. It’s likely that once Aaron and Moses left the Tabernacle, they actually intended to obey God. But on the way to the rock, the Israelites began jeering until all the two men could hear was the roar of the crowd. By the time Moses and Aaron reached the rock, all Moses could think of was all the abuse that Aaron and he had already taken from these people. Moses was furious, and in his fury, he called the Israelites rebels and then acted as though Aaron and he were the ones bringing forth water from the rock, striking the rock with his rod. It only took a few minutes for Moses to lose the chance of a lifetime through his anger. James 1:20 says, “Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

God was merciful to Moses and allowed him to ascend Mount Pisgah and see the Promised Land from there. But once Moses glimpsed the Promised Land, he would die on the mountain. Moses did humble himself and beg God to allow him to enter the Promised Land, but it was too late. Now Moses’s main job was to commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, so that Joshua would be prepared to lead the people across the Jordan and into the Promised Land.

APPLICATION: Psalm 37:8 says, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” By the time Moses made this tragic mistake at the waters of Meribah, he had already taken a huge amount of undeserved abuse. Very few of us would be able to stand the strain as well as Moses did. But Moses’ problem was compounded by the fact that he did not get rid of his anger and that he remained offended. All it took was a crisis to trip the trigger on Moses’ anger.

Ephesians 4:26 tells us, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger…” When we fail to deal promptly with anger and a spirit of offense, we leave ourselves open to spiritual corrosion. The longer we hang onto our anger, the worse things become. Someone who is easily offended can also be easily manipulated; all you have to do is to push in the right direction and boom! that person is off on a tangent. If disappointment is one of Satan’s biggest tools, our own anger is another.

When we fail to face our anger and resentment and to confess them as sin, we leave ourselves open to satanic attack. We are literally handing Satan our heads on a platter. How can we deal effectively with this problem? First, we must recognize that we are angry and offended. We may well feel that we have a right to be angry, that we have been insulted and vilified. But if we truly want to behave as children of God, we must give up our right to be offended. Jesus Christ was insulted, beaten, and crucified; yet, as he was dying on that cross, he begged his heavenly Father to forgive the very men who were crucifying him.

Second, we must ask God to help us forgive those who have hurt us and who are continuing to hurt us. Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves, because those who are offending us generally remain untouched by our anger. Our resentment does nothing but cloud our judgment.

Third, we must keep short accounts; that is, we must train ourselves to forgive as quickly as possible. I have previously told the story of a church leader who sat on a platform while a guest speaker insulted him in front of his congregation. One of the other speakers overheard this leader saying, “I will not be offended. I will not be offended!” That man knew the secret of dealing with anger and offense and was not even waiting until the end of the program because he knew that he would not be able to minister effectively if he did not forgive quickly.

Don’t be like Moses! Moses forfeited his biggest dream because of one act of anger. Ask God to help you, for He will gladly do so.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to learn to forgive quickly and completely so that we are not carrying around toxic emotional waste. Thank You for Jesus, who went to the cross for our sins and who prayed for his tormenters even as he was dying. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.