September 24, 2013
WHAT ARE YOU REALLY YEARNING FOR?
Deuteronomy 10:1-11
Sarah Barnes
Central Truth
"To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement." -- St. Augustine
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 10:9
Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, just as the LORD your God spoke to him. (Deuteronomy 10:9)
Deuteronomy 10:1-11
New Tablets of Stone
1 At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments 1 10:4 Hebrew the ten words that the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark that I had made. And there they are, as the LORD commanded me.”
6 (The people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan 2 10:6 Or the wells of the Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with brooks of water. 8 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD to stand before the LORD to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day. 9 Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him.)
10 “I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, and the LORD listened to me that time also. The LORD was unwilling to destroy you. 11 And the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 10:1-11
How many times do we think we deserve something because we've lived a good enough life? Watch out, you're giving yourself a title. What a great wake-up call this verse is to shake us out of our entitlement.
So often we forget how much God has truly done for us; that He is ALL that we need. Instead, we chase after the fleeting "treasures" of this earth. Psalm 103:10 serves as a reminder that we deserve death, but by His extravagant grace, He does not treat us according to our iniquities. That's right. We deserve nothing more than death. To think we deserve, or even own, our possessions is crazy. Nothing belongs to us! (Psalm 50:10) How thankful we should be, knowing He is our deliverance from such a fate; He is our gift of eternal grace made new every morning! So what if all you had today was what you thanked God for yesterday?
Unfortunately, we confuse the gift of God and the gift of heaven all too often. We wonder if we will go to heaven if we've made a wrong decision or don't follow the Bible to the point. Key word: Heaven. We have become so focused on heaven rather than on receiving and loving our mighty King and Savior. King David recognized this distinction in Psalm 27:4 "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD . . . ." Our heavenly home is a love call from the One who desires us the most. Notice David yearns to dwell in God's presence, making his motivation clear: to be with his almighty Father.
God is not just a "free, get-out-of-hell" pass, though we like to treat Him like that. He is our inheritance! We obtain the only true comfort and love because He encompasses all that is good and just. It is so humbling and reassuring to know that He fulfills our needs by giving us Himself.
Discussion Questions
1. "What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" -- A.W. Tozer. What are some of the first things that pop into your mind when you think about God?
2. What does a grateful heart truly look like? How does it help transform your thinking?
3. To what do you feel entitled, and how do you overcome it?