Statutes – Praying Pint

52.x. Wilderness – 17.c. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today”

Deu 30:11-20 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

It is an intentional choice of the heart and mind and soul to continually follow, trust, rely on, obey, and have faith in Jesus Christ. There is no middle ground. It is all or nothing and it is an intentional choice. We choose to humbly serve, honor, and obey in every aspect of our thoughts, words, and actions so that Jesus Christ is honored and glorified. If we give partial nods toward this absolute, we are not committed, nor have we chosen to give our whole self and all we think, say, and do to honor and glorify Him.

Being lukewarm is a denial of His worth to be honored and glorified and praised and worshipped. What kind of commitment is this to the one and only Son of God who willingly left heaven and came to earth to be beaten and nailed to a cross for our sins? Neglect of God’s Word will lead to being lukewarm at best. Neglect is an intentional choice. Neglect happens when we allow the busyness of life or sin to rule over our commitment to Him.

Our growth in the understanding and knowledge of God comes through His Word and the application of it through the Holy Spirit’s leading. If there is a lack of His Word in our lives we deny the importance of it and are intentionally choosing not to get closer to God. It would seem we fail to understand this principle. Can a person spend too much time in God’s Word? No. Can a person be affected by the lack of His Word in their lives? Yes

Take some time to look into your time in His Word. If you would be embarrassed should anyone know, then you have answered the question. It should be out of humility that we do this and not with pride. The more time we spend in His Word the more we will understand of His grace, mercy, and love. This understanding will humble you in ways that lead to reverence and the want to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions continually.

Spend time in His Word with an open heart and mind. Ask Him to fill you with understanding, knowledge, and wisdom.

52.w. Wilderness – 17.b. “When you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul”

Deu 30:1-10 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Of course, this was fulfilled in part by the return of the Babylonian exiles during the times of Ezra and Nehemiah. But the ultimate fulfillment of this would await the Twentieth Century, when God would regather Israel in the Promised Land. This modern regathering is a larger, broader, more sovereign, and more miraculous restoration than that recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah. The modern restoration of Israel more accurately fulfills this promise than the return from the Babylonian exile. Today, Israel is populated from Jews from virtually every country in the world. This promise is fulfilled only in the modern restoration of Israel, not in the return from the Babylonian exile. In the days of the return from the Babylonian exile, the Jewish community was small, weak, and poor. But today, under the modern restoration of Israel, the state of Israel does indeed prosper and the promise to multiply you more than your fathers is fulfilled. Israel, as a nation, is larger, stronger, and richer than at any time in Biblical history.

As remarkable and as prophetically meaningful the modern restoration of Israel is, it is incomplete. The spiritual dimension of the restoration has not yet been accomplished. Today Israel is a largely secular nation. There is respect for the Bible as a book of history and national identity, but there is not, and has not been, a true turning to the LORD God, particularly as a nation. But God’s promise still stands. As the final aspect of the promise to restore Israel, God will restore them spiritually. He promises to circumcise your heart. This is an idea repeated in the promises of the New Covenant, in passages like Ezekiel 36:26-27: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Indeed, Paul promised that all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26). Jesus said that He would not return until Israel embraced Him as Messiah: For I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” We regard the modern restoration of Israel as a remarkable sign, and an extremely significant – but thus far only partial – fulfillment of these prophesies.

In part, these prophecies are fulfilled now in the modern restoration of Israel. But perhaps their ultimate fulfillment will happen in the millennium, when Israel has restored as a people truly turned to the LORD and His Messiah, Jesus. (Guzik)

Note how Matthew Henry (18 October 1662 – 22 June 1714) wrote on this passage compared to those who have written in the nearer future. “In this chapter is a plain intimation of the mercy God has in store for Israel in the latter days. This passage refers to the prophetic warnings of the last two chapters, which have been mainly fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and in their dispersion to the present day; and there can be no doubt that the prophetic promise contained in these verses yet remain to come to pass. The Jewish nation shall in some future period, perhaps not very distant.”

Israel became a nation May of 1948. You can see how Henry was looking forward to it happening and Guzik was looking back as it had already happened.

We live in a time where we see historical fulfillment of God’s Word. How much closer are we to the return of Jesus Christ? Are we ready? Are we looking for His return? Are we living as those with the eyes of our hearts always on an expectant return today?

Jesus is coming – will He find you watching and waiting for His return or find you going about the busyness of life without a thought or care for it?

Let Him find you ready with a shout of rejoicing upon your mouth at His return.

52.p. Wilderness – 16.v. “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart”

Deu 28:21  The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed. “The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.  The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.

Deu 28:34  so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see.

Deu 28:37  And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.

Deu 28:45  “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.

Deu 28:47  Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

Deu 28:58-59  “If you are not careful to do 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 on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.

Deu 28:61  Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the LORD will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.

Deu 28:63  And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you.

Deu 28:66-67  Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see.

The same variety of expression is used in these terrible curses, as in the preceding blessings, to intimate every kind of prosperity or adversity, personal, relative, and public.

If we do not keep God’s commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which includes all misery, as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, or for some light cause. The extent and power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes, the curse of God follows; wherever he is, it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse. All his enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in them, for the wrath of God mixes itself with them. Many judgments are here stated, which would be the fruits of the curse, and with which God would punish the people of the Jews, for their apostacy and disobedience. We may observe the fulfilling of these threatenings in their present state. To complete their misery, it is threatened that by these troubles they should be bereaved of all comfort and hope, and left to utter despair. Those who walk by sight, and not by faith, are in danger of losing reason itself, when every thing about them looks frightful. (Henry)

Oh that our hearts and minds would grasp the holy blessings of God in light of the wrathful curses. Sin has a way of blinding us to only see blessings from God. Sin blinds us to the holiness of God. Neglect of His Word deafens our ears to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin.

May the Word of God open your hearts and minds to His holiness and give you a deep desire to honor and glorify Him more and more each day. We do not honor and glorify Jesus christ for the blessings we receive, but for who God is.

52.o. Wilderness – 16.u. ““But if you will not listen to Me”

Deu 28:15-20  “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. “The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.

Leviticus 26:14-16    “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,  if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you:

I will set my face against you

I will visit you with panic

I will set my face against you

I will discipline you

I will break the pride of your power

I will continue striking you

I also will walk contrary to you in fury

I will bring a sword upon you

I will send pestilence among you

I break your supply of bread

I myself will discipline

I myself will devastate the land

I will unsheathe the sword after you

I will send faintness into their hearts

“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity, I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers

I am the LORD their God.

Isaiah 3:11     Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Daniel 9:13    As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.

Malachi 2:2     If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

Romans 2:8-9     but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.  There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek

Galatians 3:10    For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

We enjoy and turn our ears toward scripture where grace, peace, love, joy, hope, refuge, eternal life, salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are found. Our ears open up and our hearts are encouraged by them. And they should be, for in them we find eternal hope and reasons for living to the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.

I fear we stop short of our understanding of the holiness of God though. We truly enjoy hearing about the blessings of God but much of the time we skim over or deafen our ears to the warnings and curses of God. When we do this our understanding of our fleshly desires, sinfulness, and worldly temptations get watered down. We live in a make believe mindset that views God as a blessing giver and all we have to do is to the God-ATM and withdraw a blessing when we are running low. It is as though we keep a ledger book of the good works we do in the hope they will over shadow the wrongs, and thereby, add blessings into our account. It is as if we don’t even consider the need for confession and repentance because our minds are set on receiving blessings. Many times the blessings we seek are worldly and not of God. Other times we seek blessings while we are openly walking in sin.

A weak understanding of the curses, which points out the sinfulness of our hearts and minds, severely hinders our understanding of God’s grace, mercy, and love. Without this understanding of our sinfulness and the greatness of God’s grace, mercy, and love we live blinded to worldly and fleshly lusts and unable to discern between Godly and worldly. It is through His Word and the Holy Spirit that we are able to examine our hearts and minds of worldly and fleshly desires.

How can we be careful to do all the Lord commands without knowing His Word? How can we know the fullness of God’s grace without knowing the full extent of our intent to disregard holy living? God is not mocked. If we sow neglect to His Word we will harvest the rotting flesh of the fruit of neglect. If we sow desires for what this world has to offer we will harvest nothing that will satisfy our hungering soul. If we sow the busyness of life we will harvest nothing that gives us peace, joy, or rest.

The whole Word of God is given to us so that we will grow and mature in our understanding of His holiness, grace, mercy, and love. It is in this understanding that we continue to grow and mature in our desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions every second of every day.

52.j. Wilderness – 16.p. “Walk as children of light “

Deu 27:9-10  Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the LORD your God. You shall therefore obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”

Romans 6:22    But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11    Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 5:8-9    for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of light is found in

1 Peter 2:10-11    Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

If the LORD is our king, then it is fitting that we obey Him this way. Moses, and all the leadership of Israel simply declared a fact that was obvious to everyone. (Guzik)

“You have become the people of the Lord your God”. As children of the King of Kings, we are blessed beyond all measure. Through God’s grace, mercy, and love we have been redeemed and born again through faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus suffered beating, ridicule, whipping, and nailed to the cross. He did this to redeem and save us from the corruption within our souls. What manner of children should we be in light of this?

Should we:

Give into worldly pleasures and lusts?
Give into greed, pride, fear, anxiousness, hate, jealousy, worry, etc…?
Give into the busyness of life?
Give into neglect of God’s Word?
Give into being babes in our knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and things of God?
Give into being lukewarm in our commitment?
Give into gossip?
Give into blind eyes and deaf ears to the leading of the Holy Spirit?

We are a child of God, the King of Kings, Creator of all there is, our all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present Heavenly Father. What manner of children should we be? What witness in your life brings recognition, honor, and glory to Him alone?

52.d. Wilderness – 16.j. “You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD”

Deu 25:13  “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.

Proverbs 11:1   A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.

Proverbs 16:11    A just balance and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work.

Proverbs 20:10     Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

Micah 6:11-12    Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?  Your rich men are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

Deuteronomy 6:18     And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you

Deuteronomy 5:33  You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you

Deuteronomy 4:40  Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days

Ephah was the common measure among the Israelites, by which all the others were made and adjusted. They are not only forbidden to use divers weights and measures, one large or heavy to buy with, and another small and light to sell with, but they were not even allowed to keep such in the house. It is observable also, that these too common but dishonest actions are branded as “an abomination to the Lord,” equally with idolatry, and other scandalous crimes.

Dishonest gain always brings a curse on men’s property, families, and souls. Happy those who judge themselves, repent of and forsake their sins, and put away evil things, that they may not be condemned of the Lord. (Henry)

Integrity, doing right, is something that seems to have lost much of its meaning in our societies. I was talking with a guy who was telling me about how proud he and his son were of the fact that a cashier at a tile store did not charge the correct amount. Instead of charging for 14 cases of tile, she charged for 14 individual tiles. The difference was over $1,000. He was very proud of this accomplishment. Integrity has nothing to do with getting away with something no one can know but you. It has everything to do with doing what is right in the eyes of God, who sees all. Now before you jump on the bandwagon to condemn the actions of this man and his son, which was clearly wrong, how many times do we do what is right in our own eyes and not give thought to what is right in the eyes of God? We might not brag doubt it to others but it is being done either on purpose or out of ignorance.

The devil is always there tempting us to discount things of God. He will give us justification to neglect the Word of God. He will tempt us with the busyness of life as a true and just reason for it. Don’t buy into this. Recognize it as what it is – a temptation to limit the Holy Spirit speaking into your life, and making you ineffective in your witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

One sure way to be a tool for Satan is to neglect the Word of God. We may not see this as very important because we have not determined within our hearts and minds to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions all of the time. When we don’t see the importance we don’t see the need to repent of it. If we don’t repent of it we are blind and deaf and do not hear the Holy Spirit speaking into our lives. Certainly, we do not honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Where is the integrity of our hearts, minds, and souls when we neglect God’s Word? Are we not using a small measure to weigh our standing before God?

Use the full measure of God’s Word. Grow in it. Cherish it. Feed on it. Rely on it. Trust in it. Hold fast to it. Claim it. Believe it. Never let it be said that a day goes by when your thoughts are not feeding on it.

51.k. Wilderness – 15.q. “He shall read in it all the days of his life”

Deu 17:14-20 “When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

God looked forward – some 400 years forward – into Israel’s future, to the time when they would demand a king. God warned them to set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, and that person had to be an Israelite and not a foreigner. It is interesting to consider whether or not God wanted an earthly king over Israel. 1 Samuel 8:6-9, the record of Israel’s demand for king, puts the request for a king in a negative light. One might ask if God really did want Israel to never have an earthly king, and if He wanted them to recognize Him alone as king. It is a debatable issue; but consider that Israel’s history without a king (the time of the book of Judges) was not a period of national glory. Perhaps we can say that God wanted Israel to have a king, but of His choosing, and at His timing. Saul is a perfect example of a king out of God’s will, chosen by the nation and at their timing; David is a perfect example of a king chosen by God and in His timing.

The future king of Israel must not put undue trust in military might.

The future king of Israel must not put undue emphasis on physical indulgence and personal status.

The future king of Israel must not put undue emphasis on personal wealth.

Each of these issues is a matter of balance. The king had to have some military power, but not too much; one wife and certain comforts, but not too much; some personal wealth, but not too much. Such balances are often the hardest to keep. Solomon was a notorious breaker of these commands. He had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots (1 Kings 4:26), and Solomon had horses imported from Egypt (1 Kings 10:28). He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart (1 Kings 11:3). He surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches (1 Kings 10:23). et, all along, we might see Solomon knowing the commands of Deuteronomy 17, yet deceiving himself by asking the self-justifying questions, “How much is ‘multiply’? I can handle this. I haven’t gone too far.” It might seem self-evident that 700 wives and 300 concubines is multiplying wives to yourself, but one should never underestimate the ability of the human heart to deceive itself in such situations.

Each of these three areas reflects the places where many modern Christian leaders fall: In regard to power, pleasure, or money. God’s commands for leaders have not changed; and neither has the need to be on guard against the self-deception in these things which felled Solomon.

It is striking to think of the king of Israel, laboring over parchment with a pen, making a personal copy of the law of Israel. This shows how greatly God wanted the word of God to be on the hearts of His rulers; God wanted every king to also be a scribe. The word of God was to be constant companion of the king of Israel, and something he read every day. All need the word of God; but the greater our responsibilities, the greater our need to depend on the truth of God’s word. Staying in the word of God was intended to build a reverence for God and a holy life in the king.

It is striking to consider that reading a book – the Great Book, the Bible – can keep a person from sin. We may not understand all the spiritual work behind the word of God, but staying in the word will keep one from sin. It has been well written in many Bibles: “This book will keep you from sin. Sin will keep you from this book.”

Staying in the word of God would keep the king properly humble and help him to not think of himself as above those he ruled over. (Guzik)

“The Scriptures, diligently read and studied, are a powerful and probable means to keep him humble, because they show him that, though a king, he is subject to a higher Monarch, to whom he must give an account… sufficient to abate the pride of the haughtiest person in the world, if he duly consider it.” (Poole)

In all cases, God’s choice, if we can but know it, should direct, determine, and overrule ours. Laws are given for the prince that should be elected. He must carefully avoid every thing that would turn him from God and religion. Riches, honours, and pleasures, are three great hinderances of godliness, (the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life,) especially to those in high stations; against these the king is here warned. The king must carefully study the law of God, and make that his rule; and having a copy of the Scriptures of his own writing, must read therein all the days of his life. It is not enough to have Bibles, but we must use them, use them daily, as long as we live. Christ’s scholars never learn above their Bibles, but will have constant occasion for them, till they come to that world where knowledge and love will be made perfect. The king’s writing and reading were as nothing, if he did not practise what he wrote and read. And those who fear God and keep his commandments, will fare the better for it even in this world.(Henry)

51.f. Wilderness – 15.l. “And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God”

Deu 16:9-12 “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Here we have the Feast of Weeks and tribute of a Freewill Offering. The Passover remembrance was commanded by God to the Israelites so that they might always remember His mighty hand, works, signs, and wonders that delivered them out of bondage. The Feast of Weeks was to remind them of God’s continual blessings.

The Passover, the sacrifice of a lamb, and the sprinkling of the blood on the doorposts of their homes was given before the exodus, or the parting of the Red Sea, or the 10 commandments were given. The sacrifice was before the commandments them all! This was all in line with the covenant God made with Israel.

When Jesus came, was crucified, died, and rose again, He was the sacrificial “Lamb of God” given before the New Covenant (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) was fully manifested through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and proclaimed by the Apostles. The old covenant was taken away and a new covenant was given. Where the Passover was remembered and celebrated once per year, the bread broken and the wine (Communion) was not limited to once per year but “as often as ye do it in remembrance of Me”. Remember your salvation, redemption, eternal life, and deliverance from the bondage of sin.

The Feast of Weeks was a freewill offering, a remembrance of God’s blessings. How many days go by where we are not thankful, grateful, and in awesome wonder of God’s blessings? Do we think they happen because of chance, or hard work, or luck? No, they are blessings from God. They are to be remembered and be thankful for. They are to be shared. They are to be a Feast with rejoicing and thankfulness. We have Thanksgiving in the US and it can be a time of thankfulness but many times if we are not in the right mindset to rejoice and be thankful it becomes a time of celebration of a family get-together without remembrance of God’s Blessings.

It is good for us to always be in the mindset of rejoicing and thankfulness to God. It keeps us grounded in our Heavenly Father. It keeps us from thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. It places all we have in the One who gave them. It reminds us of who is in control and watching over us. It keeps us desiring to honor and serve Him, not because of what He will do but because of who He is and what He has already done.

How can you taste the living Word of god and drink in the living water of Christ and not be consumed by the sense of thankfulness, worship, praise, joy, and repentance?

50.x. Wilderness – 15.c. “Blessing and a Curse”

Deu 11:26-28 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.

Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Galatians 3:13-14 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Deuteronomy 30:1 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,

Deu 11:32 you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.

The three great elements to the Old Covenant were the law, the sacrifice, and the choice. Israel had a choice – to obey and be blessed, or to disobey and be cursed. It was a cause and effect relationship with God. It was up to Israel. If they wanted to be blessed, then they should walk in obedience (as they were in the days of David and Solomon), but if they disobeyed, they would be cursed (as they were in most of the days of the later kings) A choice was required. There was no neutral ground. God wouldn’t just “leave them alone.” It would either be blessing or cursing. Inherent in Israel’s disobedience was idolatry. Whenever we walk in disobedience, we exalt ourselves against God – and declaring that our rules, our standards, our desires, are all more important than His. This is idolatry in its most base – and common – form. (Guzik)

Moses sums up all the arguments for obedience in two words, the blessing and the curse. He charged the people to choose which they would have. Moses then appointed a public and solemn proclamation of the blessing and curse, to be made upon the two mountains of Gerizim and Ebal. We have broken the law, and are under its curse, without remedy from ourselves. In mercy, the gospel again sets before us a blessing and a curse. A blessing, if we obey the call to repentance, to faith in Christ, and newness of heart and life through him; an awful curse, if we neglect so great salvation. Let us thankfully welcome these glad tidings of great joy; and let us not harden our hearts, but hear this voice of God while it is called to-day, and while he invites us to come to him upon a mercy-seat. Let us be diligent to make our calling and election sure. (Henry)

We don’t think in terms of blessings and curses. We think in terms of “Blessings” and what can we get from God. Very seldom does the thought of curses cross our minds. Why? Jesus bore all the curses we deserved upon Himself on the cross. The perfect sacrifice. For those who believe, repent, follow, obey, trust and rely in and on Jesus, they receive endless blessings.

Forgiveness, Fellowship with Jesus, In-filling of the Holy Spirit, Eternal life, and the Promise of resurrection

Peace, Joy, Love, Kindness, Gentleness, Hope, Ever in the presence of God

Discernment, Wisdom, Courage, Encouragement, Power for each day, Boldness, and Peace that passes all understanding

Though this is true, it does rely upon our intentional choice to believe, repent, follow, obey, trust, and rely and on Jesus. We are justified (made right, and clean, and our sins are forgiven) through what Jesus did and endured on the cross (redemption). Sanctification – is a never-ending growth and maturity in our knowledge, understanding, and obedience to following, obeying, relying, trusting, honoring, and glorifying Jesus Christ this side of eternity. There are continual blessings in this growth and maturing. And yet, it is an intentional choice to grow and mature.

(2 Timothy 2:15. Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.)

What blessings do we forfeit when we become complacent and neglectful? Will we not experience any of the list above? We may think we do as we substitute things of this world as we try to find satisfaction, purpose, and meaning in our lives. What are the signs of being lukewarm and complacent?

No growth, No awareness of sin, No repentance, and Unable to discern the Holy Spirit’s leading

Little to no thoughts of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ and Little to no time in God’s Word

Fear. Confusion, Pride, Greed, Boastfulness, Arrogance, Anger, Hate, Jealousy, and Coveting

Busyness in the things of this world, No Godly satisfaction, Little understanding in the Things of God, and False purpose and meaning for your life

We will not find blessings in our lives apart from total surrender and devotion to humbly serving, following, growing, maturing, and relying more and more upon Jesus Christ. This requires us to make an intentional choice every moment of every day of our lives. It is a choice to deny ourselves and the influences and temptations of this world. This world, society, and culture will offer satisfaction in many different ways. Each of them promises to fulfill your desires and wants. The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are full of examples of this. How are we even able to discern what is of this world and what is of God apart from diligently searching and desiring to know? We won’t.

The Word of God is more readily available than it ever has been, and yet, it is more and more greatly neglected. It is nourishing food for our hearts, minds, and souls. It fills us to overflowing with an awe of God. It opens our eyes to His power, might, love, grace, mercy, and blessing.

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

50.t. Wilderness – 14.z. ” For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.”

Deu 11:1-7 “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.

God commanded Israel to love Him. Love is not a matter left entirely up to our impulse or our feelings. We choose to love the LORD or not. Additionally, this reminds us of what the LORD really wants from us – our love. We could give Him a hundred other things, but none of it really matters unless we give Him our love. As Jesus said to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2:4: Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. If we lose love, we lose all. Love for God never goes against His word. Some people think their so-called love for Jesus allows them to disregard His commands, but this isn’t real love at all. Real love for Jesus always translates into obedience. Moses addressed the generation which saw the works of God among Israel, both in blessing and chastening. He spoke to the generation that should know and remember. Moses called Israel to remember what God did in their history. Most of history – both official and personal – is simply concerned with what man has done. But God wants us to look at history and see what He did. We learn far more, and are far more benefited, by looking at what God has done, rather than looking at what man has done. (Guzik)

Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge—The reason for the frequent repetition of the same or similar counsels is to be traced to the infantine character and state of the church, which required line upon line and precept upon precept. Besides, the Israelites were a headstrong and perverse people, impatient of control, prone to rebellion, and, from their long stay in Egypt, so violently addicted to idolatry, that they ran imminent risk of being seduced by the religion of the country to which they were going, which, in its characteristic features, bore a strong resemblance to that of the country they had left.Moses exhorts them to obedience by rehearsing God’s works, Deu 11:1-9, and by the excellency of the land they were to possess, Deu 11:10-12. A promise of blessings to their obedience. (Brown)

What is it that allows us to forget? How do we go from sincere obedience, trust, and reliance to floundering like a fish out of water? How does this happen without our ability to recognize it? The answer can be hundreds of reasons but it boils down to our want and desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Not wanting to forget the greatness of God. Wanting to please God. Intentionally choosing to always be close to God. Not living a single moment without praise and worship of God in your heart and mind being filled with the Holy Spirit and spending time in His Word so that you can discern right from wrong, good from bad, and holiness from sinfulness. It is an intentional life set apart from this world and sins of the flesh in reverent service to God.

There are many things that draw us away from this. Basing our life style on that which we see in other christians. Normally we pick out the weakest and shallowest example. Would anyone be drawn to the God you proclaim to serve by the life you life and what you say? Think about this and ask God to reveal your heart and mind to you so that you can honor and glorify Him in all you think, say, and do.