September 27, 2013
HAVE GOD'S WORD, WILL TRAVEL
Deuteronomy 11:13-32
Colin Lindahl
Central Truth
Obeying God's commands leads to blessing in our lives.
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 11:18
"You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul . . . ." (Deuteronomy 11:18a)
Deuteronomy 11:13-32
13 And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he 1 11:14 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew I; also verse 15 will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
18 You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to 2 11:24 Hebrew and the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The LORD your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.
26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. 29 And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oak 3 11:30 Septuagint, Syriac; see Genesis 12:6. Hebrew oaks, or terebinths of Moreh? 31 For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32 you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 11:13-32
When I head into a new situation, whether it be a new job (I've had several!) or a new city/country in which to live (10+), I get excited by the changes. I like a changing landscape, and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to navigate a new environment, how to reestablish myself, and how to adapt to my new surroundings. But I am also prone to wander and to chase the new gods and distractions in a new environment.
The various jobs and new addresses I mentioned all stabilized 15 years ago when I moved to Dallas and began a steady career in the same field. Predictably, I grew restless and bored. Although I had the nagging suspicion that all the excitement from bouncing around kept me from sitting still and really digging into my sin struggles and building my relationship with God, I was hesitant to make the effort. It took an unintentional act of sitting still, namely sitting on my couch for six weeks with a seriously injured knee (it wasn't pretty), to finally wake up and realize that I had been ignoring the most important relationship in my life -- my relationship with God. Fortunately, He patiently pursued me through the years, and things haven't been the same since!
Like me, the Israelites' hearts were prone to wander. As they were on the cusp of finally entering the Promised Land, God gave them a clear choice: 1) Keep His commandments close to their hearts and obey them, and He would bless them abundantly; or 2) disobey and the curse would follow. This choice is as stark and compelling today as when it was given to the Israelites on the outskirts of the the Promised Land. As Jesus taught us, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15, NIV 1984).
God's plan for dealing with a changing environment is simple: when we prepare to enter a new environment, bring His Word with us, already written on our heart, mind, and soul. Don't go to a new place seeking the distraction of new gods that might await us.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you have God's commandments impressed on your heart and soul? What are some practical steps you can take to make that happen?
2. God tells us to teach His Word to others (verse 19). Are you actively seeking opportunities to do this? If not, will you?
3. God offered the Israelites an incredible blessing, the Promised Land. What incredible blessings does the Lord offer us today?