Scripture: Deuteronomy 11:26—12:12 (NKJV)
11:26 “Behold, I set 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 which I command you today, to go after other gods which
you have not known. 29 Now it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you
into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount
Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not on the other side of the
Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the
plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? 31 For you will
cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is
giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. 32 And you shall be
careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.
12:1 “These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to
observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to
possess, all the days that you live on the earth. 2 You shall utterly destroy
all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods,
on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 And you
shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden
images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and
destroy their names from that place. 4 You shall not worship the LORD your God
with such things. 5 But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God
chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and
there you shall go. 6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your
sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed
offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7 And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in
all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD
your God has blessed you. 8 You shall not at all do as we are doing here
today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes—9 for as yet you have
not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you.
10 But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your
God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round
about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then there will be the place where the
LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I
command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave
offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the
LORD. 12 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and
your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within
your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.”
Devotion
This week’s devotions from Deuteronomy are a continuation of a discourse of
Moses as he is about to leave this world and the Israelites are finally getting
ready for their entrance and possession of the land promised to their father
Abraham many centuries before. So what does the Lord God have to say to the
people of Israel? He offers blessings and curses. The blessings are for the
people of the Lord God who believe His promises and follow Him diligently. The
curses are for the unbelieving people of Canaan who have ignored His existence
and have chased after other gods since before the time of Abraham.
What does the Lord say? “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the
nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and
on the hills and under every green tree.” In other words, all false worship and
idolatry should be utterly destroyed and removed from their midst. Not only so
that it will not become a stumbling block and temptation to His people, but
because this destruction is God’s judgment against Canaan for their unbelief.
This was the curse from God against those who do not believe in Him.
However, the Israelites, those who put their faith in God, receive the
blessing. “But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the
LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your
enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place
where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide.” The blessing is that
they can continue to worship the God Who grants them all the promises He made
to them.
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
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