Living Life to the Full . . .

 

 

READ Deuteronomy 25–29

Even though Christians are not under Law but grace, there are principles from the OT Law that apply to my life. For instance, when my relationship with God becomes clouded by busyness or indifference, my daily life and plans become confused and fruitless. When I become stubborn in wanting my way, His joy leaves me. It is not that salvation is for those who obey, but it marks those who are genuine and also keeps me in a state of being able to enjoy His blessings. When I disobey or resist God, I experience His loving discipline, not because He is angry with me but because His purpose for me is that I am like Jesus — all that He created me to be. Any disobedience means I’m not living up to my potential.

In those days, God’s people had the Law written on tablets of stone, on rocks covered with plaster written very plainly (Deuteronomy 27:2–8). They were cursed for not confirming to God’s Law and blessed for obedience. These blessings covered every area of life, including their reputation in the world, the fruitfulness of their work, their ability to defeat their enemies, their families, their health, and even the weather. However:

“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. (Deuteronomy 28:15)

The curses were as extensive as the blessings as the “Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.” This included their health, defeat at the hand of their enemies, diseases that cannot be healed, madness and blindness and confusion of mind, oppression and not prosperity, no one to help them, ruined reputation, enslavement to other gods and lack of love for one another. He said to them:

“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. (Deuteronomy 28:20–60)

They would become “few in number” and even brought “back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.” (Deuteronomy 28:68)

Moses summoned the people and told them their problem: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.” (Deuteronomy 29:2–4) Instead, those who heard the words of God’s covenant were blessing themselves in their hearts saying, “I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.” This attitude was not blessed by God!

Some would understand. When all the nations would say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. (Deuteronomy 29:24–26)

Today’s reading suggests what experience shows me; living by grace does not give me license to take God for granted and think I can do whatever my sinful self wants without consequences. He saved me and reveals truth to me so I will obey Him:

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)

Christ died to pay my penalty, forgive my sin, and set me free from the bondage of sin. The NT even says that those without the Law have it written on their hearts (Romans 2:15) and it teaches us the will of God. His will is for my very best, not to restrict me but to be glorified in me. This means the OT isn’t just a bunch of rules but reveals the heart of God that I might live life to the full.