Deuteronomy 27
Today's Passage: Deuteronomy 27
Moses and the elders had seen the blessings that came from obeying God. The foremost blessing being the close, dependent liberating relationship they had with God when they left slavery in Egypt.
The elders had also experienced the curses of breaking God’s law. They saw first hand the destruction and broken relationship with God that came from their disobedience.
So now, they are leaving commands to the Israelites as they near entering the Promised Land. They begin with the command to “Keep the whole commandment.”
In order to keep the law, the Israelites would need to know and remember the Law. They were about to reach a time where they could no longer rely on Moses and the elders to teach them how to follow God, they would need to set the law at the forefront of their minds themselves.
So Moses gave them instruction on how to do that: by building a solid statue to see, remember, and worship God.
This statue would be the first permanent structure that they would create in the Promised Land.
At this point, the Israelites had never had something that was permanent. They had been traveling through the desert following God all of their lives. They pitched tents and broke them down whenever the presence of God would move.
God was now leading them to the home He had promised them. A home where they would be commissioned to live out the law in worship to God and love of others in their daily lives.
That leads us to the second portion of our text today when Moses and the elders declare the curses to the ones who break God’s law. This list is filled with examples of sin and echos that God will justly deal with the sin of this world.
This list of curses ends with the declaration, “Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.”
There is no escaping the fact that we are all guilty of breaking God’s law. There is no escaping the fact that our sin deserves the just curses and punishment that God pronounces. But just as God loved His people enough to give them the Law, He loved us enough to give us a more permanent solution for our sin.
Jesus perfectly obeyed the law and He offers us forgiveness for our sins through His death and resurrection. Though we deserve death, God offers us life. When we come to Him, He gives us His Holy Spirit so that we may not just know the word but that we will do the word joyfully as an act of worship to God.
Written By: Paulette Black
Moses and the elders had seen the blessings that came from obeying God. The foremost blessing being the close, dependent liberating relationship they had with God when they left slavery in Egypt.
The elders had also experienced the curses of breaking God’s law. They saw first hand the destruction and broken relationship with God that came from their disobedience.
So now, they are leaving commands to the Israelites as they near entering the Promised Land. They begin with the command to “Keep the whole commandment.”
In order to keep the law, the Israelites would need to know and remember the Law. They were about to reach a time where they could no longer rely on Moses and the elders to teach them how to follow God, they would need to set the law at the forefront of their minds themselves.
So Moses gave them instruction on how to do that: by building a solid statue to see, remember, and worship God.
This statue would be the first permanent structure that they would create in the Promised Land.
At this point, the Israelites had never had something that was permanent. They had been traveling through the desert following God all of their lives. They pitched tents and broke them down whenever the presence of God would move.
God was now leading them to the home He had promised them. A home where they would be commissioned to live out the law in worship to God and love of others in their daily lives.
That leads us to the second portion of our text today when Moses and the elders declare the curses to the ones who break God’s law. This list is filled with examples of sin and echos that God will justly deal with the sin of this world.
This list of curses ends with the declaration, “Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.”
There is no escaping the fact that we are all guilty of breaking God’s law. There is no escaping the fact that our sin deserves the just curses and punishment that God pronounces. But just as God loved His people enough to give them the Law, He loved us enough to give us a more permanent solution for our sin.
Jesus perfectly obeyed the law and He offers us forgiveness for our sins through His death and resurrection. Though we deserve death, God offers us life. When we come to Him, He gives us His Holy Spirit so that we may not just know the word but that we will do the word joyfully as an act of worship to God.
Written By: Paulette Black
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