Tag: led you

52.r. Wilderness – 16.x. “Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them”

 

 

Deu 29:1-9   These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.  And Moses summoned 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, 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. I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.  And when you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

This was not a new covenant in addition to that made at Sinai, but simply a renewal and reaffirmation of that covenant. At Sinai the covenant was, properly speaking, made; sacrifices were then offered, and the people were sprinkled with the sacrificial blood, whereby the covenant was ratified, but on the occasion here referred to, no sacrifices were offered, for this was merely the recognition of the covenant formerly made as still subsisting.

Some 40 years before this, at Horeb (Mount Sinai), Israel made a covenant with God: Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” For the most part, the people who had the blood of the covenant sprinkled upon them had died in the wilderness. The generation of unbelief had died, now it was an opportunity for the generation of faith. So, Moses will reconfirm the covenant with the new generation.

Israel saw great wonders from the hand of God since coming from Egypt. They saw the plagues, they saw the death of the firstborn, they saw the Red Sea parted, they saw the Egyptian armies destroyed, they saw victories won by prayer, they ate the manna, they drank the miraculously provided water, and they saw miracle after miracle. Some people today think the greatest help to evangelism would be to see more miraculous events. After all, who could not believe in the face of such displays of spiritual power? But seeing great wonders accomplishes nothing apart from a supernatural work of God in someone’s heart.

During their forty years in the wilderness, their clothes did not wear out, their sandals did not wear out, and though they had no bread to eat or wine to drink, their needs were provided for. Israel conquered over their enemies, and they took their land.

Plainly, these are remarkable miracles. Clothes and sandals simply do not last 40 years of hard marching in the wilderness apart from a miracle. The wilderness does not provide enough food and water to meet the needs of some two million people apart from a miracle. A nation of slaves for 400 years does not conquer standing nations and take their land apart from a miracle. Seeing these great works of God, there is one logical response. Knowing the greatness of God’s love and power should make Israel more committed than ever to His covenant. (Guzik)

 Both former mercies, and fresh mercies, should be thought on by us as motives to obedience. The hearing ear, and seeing eye, and the understanding heart, are the gift of God. All that have them, have them from him. God gives not only food and raiment, but wealth and large possessions, to many to whom he does not give grace. Many enjoy the gifts, who have not hearts to perceive the Giver, nor the true design and use of the gifts. We are bound, in gratitude and interest, as well as in duty and faithfulness, to keep the words of the covenant. (Henry)

16.o. “That he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart”

Romans 8:28–30   “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified”.

Jeremiah 24:6  I will set my eyes on them for good,

Psalms 46:1-2   God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

Genesis 50:20    As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good,

Deuteronomy 8:2-3    And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

 

The sovereignty of God is defined as God’s complete control of everything in the universe. Although humans can make genuine choices that have real consequences, ultimately those choices are either caused or allowed, by God to accomplish His divine, perfect will. Even though the sovereignty of God is often the subject of theological debates and contentious ones at that, the doctrine of God’s sovereignty is a practical one that has a significant impact on our daily lives.

The sovereignty of God has a tremendous impact on everyday life in that it removes all cause for worry. When all around us seems to be in chaos and turmoil, it is immensely comforting to know that our powerful and loving God has it all in hand and that nothing happens that is out of His control. Even seemingly terrible things happen to fulfill God’s perfect plan and purpose, and everything happens for the good of those who love and trust Him.

81. That he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart,

Judges 2:20  Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.”

Exodus 24:3-8     Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.”

Deuteronomy 29:10-13    “You are standing today, all of you, before the LORD your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel,  your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,  so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the LORD your God, which the LORD your God is making with you today,  that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Deuteronomy 8:2    And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

What is it that would test your heart, mind, and soul for God?  What is it that you keep or allow time in your heart that is not in line with honoring God?  How is a person to know if what is in their heart is pure and not just head nod words without commitment, fruit, action?  Serving God, living for Jesus, and being filled with the Holy Spirit comes from a heart and soul that has been opened to the word of God and has intentionally chosen a life of obedience and reliance.   Staying in His word each day gives our heart and mind foundational reinforcement (everlasting food) and confidence in Jesus today with hope for tomorrow.  When our heart, mind, and soul are not nourished with the word of God what is it that fills that void?  Could it be job recognition, coveted lifestyle and all that goes with it, more money, more stuff, busyness, sports, work, family, friends, and anything else that can occupy time alone with God’s word (commitment), being attentive to what it is saying to your heart (seeking/listening), and being willing to humbly act in line with His word (obedience).  Time away from His word allows our heart, mind, and soul to be filled with that which does not honor and glorify God.

It is a choice….

Exodus 16:4   Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 8:2     And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Joshua 24:15     And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

It is a choice to make between serving God and serving self.  It is a choice to be humble when pride is knocking at your door.  It is a choice to seek God first when everything in you says to handle it yourself.  It is a choice to wait on God’s perfect plan and purpose when timing of our trial/trouble is weighting us down.  It is a choice to trust in, rely on, and cling to God when chaos fills our lives.  It is a choice to desire Him rather than a fix to our problems.  It is a choice to want to spend time in His word and hear Him speak to our heart when we seem to be burdened with busyness.  It is a choice to not grumble.  It is a choice to keep unity.  It is a choice to allow yourself to be wronged.  It is a choice to forgive others.  It is a choice to be joyful.  It is a choice to say no to things of this world that replace God in our lives.  It is a choice to do what is right even when others are not.  It is a choice to make disciples.  It is a choice to share the Gospel.  It is a choice to be kind.  It is a choice to be generous.  It is a choice to praise and worship God.  It is a choice to dwell on things of God.  It is a choice to be thankful.  It is a choice to encourage others.  It is a choice to find refuge in God.  It is a choice to used by Him.

Choose this day whom you will serve.  But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart

“For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Exodus 15:22   Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

Exodus 16:4    Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

Deuteronomy 8:2    And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 8:16    who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.

Judges 2:22     in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.”

Psalms 66:10     For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

Proverbs 17:3    The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.

Jeremiah 9:7    Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and test them,

1 Peter 1:6-7     In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,  so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Do you ever wonder why we face trials and trouble this side of eternity?  Sometimes it is because of the consequences of others, sometimes consequences of our own doing, but in all things, it is allowed by God.  God can do this to test our faith (genuineness), to refine us, to humble us, to teach us, to see if we will remain true, and to allow us to see what is in our heart.

Being tested is good for us.  When we have been through a trial we can be vengeful, hateful, hurtful, prideful…. or we learn to be humble, hopeful, reliant, and thankful to God.  We find what He means when He speaks of never leaving or forsaking us, for being our refuge, our strength, our shelter, our road and fortress, our hope and peace.

It is good to be found worthy of being tested and refined.

You will seek me and find me

Psalms 107:4  Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;  hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

 Deuteronomy 8:15    who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock,

 Deuteronomy 32:10     “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

 Ezekiel 34:12     As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

 Numbers 14:33    And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.

 Judges 15:18-19     And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the LORD and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”  And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.

 Lamentations 2:19     “Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.”

 2 Corinthians 12:8-10    Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 Jeremiah 29:12-14     Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

 2 Corinthians 1:8-10    For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

There is no changing in God.  He remains the same, creator, mighty, awesome in power, steadfast love, grace, mercy, and long-suffering toward His creation, mankind.  Life would tell us there is little that changes for mankind as our nature would experience – pleasure, pain, purpose, satisfaction, toil, trouble, sickness, death, life, joy, anger, pride, humbleness, laughter, bitterness, praise, judgmental, forgiving, and crying.   We try to find much of our way in this life apart from God.  Apart from trusting in, relying on, clinging to, and giving thanks to Him.  Even when we think we are walking each day with Him, we limit what we think He can do.  Scripture has been given to us so that we might know Him more, understand Him more, love Him more, rely on Him more, trust in Him more, run to Him faster, listen to His quiet whispers of guidance more, seek Him more, and believe in Him more.  He never changes.  He is the same today and forever.  Spend time in His word. Seek Him and you will find Him.  Sometimes we need someone to just encourage us to run to Him.  It seems so obvious but many times it is the last thing we do.