Scripture: Deuteronomy 29:1-29 (NKJV)
1 These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make
with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He
made with them in Horeb. 2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: “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—3 the great trials which
your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 Yet the LORD has not
given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very
day. 5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not
worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. 6 You have
not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know
that I am the LORD your God. 7 And when you came to this place, Sihon king of
Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered
them. 8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to
the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh. 9 Therefore keep the words of
this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
10 “All of you stand today before the LORD your God: your leaders and your
tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little
ones and your wives—also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who
cuts your wood to the one who draws your water—12 that you may enter into
covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath, which the LORD your God
makes with you today, 13 that He may establish you today as a people for
Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just
as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
14 “I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who
stands here with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with him who is
not here with us today 16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and
that we came through the nations which you passed by, 17 and you saw their
abominations and their idols which were among them—wood and stone and silver
and gold); 18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or
tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the
gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing
bitterness or wormwood; 19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of
this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace,
even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be
included with the sober. 20 The LORD would not spare him; for then the anger of
the LORD and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is
written in this book would settle on him, and the LORD would blot out his name
from under heaven. 21 And the LORD would separate him from all the tribes of
Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are
written in this Book of the Law, 22 so that the coming generation of your
children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land,
would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the
LORD has laid on it: 23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is
not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow
of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger
and His wrath.’ 24 All nations would say, ‘Why has the LORD done so to this
land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ 25 Then people would say:
‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers,
which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt; 26 for
they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know
and that He had not given to them. 27 Then the anger of the LORD was aroused
against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. 28
And the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great
indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’ 29 The secret
things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong
to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Devotion
It is common for the Lord to use events in time to teach people about His holy
eternal things. Today’s lesson speaks about how the clothes and sandals of His
people did not wear out during their forty years in the wilderness. This
wondrous occurrence illustrates the fact that God’s promises do not fail. He
miraculously shows what Psalm 118 proclaims: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for
He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
Even though the sins of man cause trials and difficulties, He does not fail to
bless and keep His people. Our Lord Jesus says in Matthew 6, “Therefore do not
worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we
wear?’…But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added to you.” Through faith He clothes us with Christ’s
righteousness, which will never wear out or pass away. With the gleaming
garments of salvation we will enjoy the unending blessings of the resurrection
and life everlasting that comes to us through Christ crucified.
We pray: Lord, keep us steadfast in the one true faith so that we may enjoy
forever the blessings that You promise to give Your faithful people; through
Jesus Christ. Amen.
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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