Law – Deuteronomy 26-28

Last week, we talked about all the things God has given us. Don’t we feel that we should be doing something for Him in return?

Unlike man, God does not give us things in the hope that we give Him something in return. Also, He does not want things from us in order to benefit Himself. He being God and we being man, there is nothing that we can give Him that adds to His sovereignty and glory.

Yet, as believers of God, we have the duty to fulfil God’s requirements of us which are entirely reasonable and can be said to be ultimately for our benefit.

Bible Passage:  Deuteronomy 26-28

Gratitude

And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’ “Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. (Deut 24:5-10)

How often do we remember the things God has given us or the things He has done for us?

From the most high profile and extraordinary miracles like the dead coming back to life to the most universal grace of rain, air and even the ability to wake up every day, God’s constant protection and blessings suffuse our lives. This is especially true for us who have received His salvation grace.

Yet, do we bring our firstfruits to Him in gratitude and remember all He has given us each time we make our offerings, whether they are of money, time or energy?

Maybe the next time we want to do something for God, attend service or drop our offering into the offering box, we should also enumerate God’s grace upon us so our offerings truly are given from a heart of thanksgiving.

Effort

And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you. (Deut 27:2-3)

And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. You shall build with whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. (Deut 27:5-6)

And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law. (Deut 27:8)

God does not require flashy and loud service but He does require us to put in effort in our worship.

The Hebrew word used for write in these verses means to ‘engrave’ or ‘inscribe’ so we know it’s not merely using some ink to draw on the stones. Also, because the people were not to use iron tools on the stones they use to build the altar, it would take them effort to search for stones suitable for building the altar.

Today, in the world that promotes quick, easy, efficient and hassle free methods for doing just about everything, have we also subconsciously tried to make our worship of God easy and effortless?

Obedience

But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. (Deut 28:15)

Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. (Deut 28:45)

“If you do not carefully observe 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 upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues-great and prolonged plagues-and serious and prolonged sicknesses. (Deut 28:58-59)

The last chapter of our passage seems rather gloomy and threatening but frankly, do we really believe God wants to curse the people He calls His ‘special treasure’? (Ex 19:5)

While we say God is love, God is also fair. Can we, with a clear conscience, say that the people who disobeyed God by committing all the sins listed do not deserve to be cursed? Do we really dare to think that we are more compassionate and loving than God by questioning His ‘harsh’ judgement?

Sometimes, it all boils down to a simple acceptance that God is GOD.

He created us, He sustains us, He loves us enough to die for us. If we cannot even obey Him without questioning Him, how can we say that the LORD is our God?