Therefore
Only people who can rightly interpret their past can sustain themselves long-term in their future.
For several chapters in Deuteronomy Moses has been unpacking the long tortured history of Israel. He has reminded them of their stubbornness, God's mercy in spite of it and how to this day they have struggled to fully trust and fully obey God.
We come to chapter 11 of Deuteronomy and it opens with a BIG "therefore."
Deuteronomy 11:1–7 (ESV) “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2 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, 3 his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4 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, 5 and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6 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. 7 For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.
What is the purpose of all this historical recollection? History needs proper interpretation if we are to move forward in the future. We need to understand who we are and what God has done in the story of our redemption so that we continue moving forward with God. It is the absence of properly interpreted data that leads to faulty conclusions.
Ultimately this is what Moses is doing in Deuteronomy. He is recounting the ways of God with the people of God for their preparation. He is preaching and reminding, preaching and reminding, admonishing the people to recall the great work of God in their midst that did NOT rely on their faithfulness.
First they are to remember that they were the problem. This is important. Their history was fraught with disobedience, denial of God's purpose, doubt, fear, consternation, idolatry and going with their feelings. Time and again God "disciplined" them along the way to show the error of their hearts.
They are to remember that God, not themselves were the source of blessings. This is repeated so often in Deuteronomy it almost gets tiring until you consider yourself and how often your heart deceives you. The hardest truth to accept is that we are often our own worst enemy. We want things on our terms and in our way and we doubt God is really up to anything good for us. We have been running and hiding from God since the garden of Eden. God is shaping Israel to trust Him and not themselves.
Ultimately there's a greater danger ahead of Israel than there was behind them. The greater danger is prosperity. Notice how Moses warns them:
Deuteronomy 11:15–17 (ESV) And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
For several chapters in Deuteronomy Moses has been unpacking the long tortured history of Israel. He has reminded them of their stubbornness, God's mercy in spite of it and how to this day they have struggled to fully trust and fully obey God.
We come to chapter 11 of Deuteronomy and it opens with a BIG "therefore."
Deuteronomy 11:1–7 (ESV) “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2 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, 3 his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4 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, 5 and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6 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. 7 For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.
Ultimately this is what Moses is doing in Deuteronomy. He is recounting the ways of God with the people of God for their preparation. He is preaching and reminding, preaching and reminding, admonishing the people to recall the great work of God in their midst that did NOT rely on their faithfulness.
First they are to remember that they were the problem. This is important. Their history was fraught with disobedience, denial of God's purpose, doubt, fear, consternation, idolatry and going with their feelings. Time and again God "disciplined" them along the way to show the error of their hearts.
They are to remember that God, not themselves were the source of blessings. This is repeated so often in Deuteronomy it almost gets tiring until you consider yourself and how often your heart deceives you. The hardest truth to accept is that we are often our own worst enemy. We want things on our terms and in our way and we doubt God is really up to anything good for us. We have been running and hiding from God since the garden of Eden. God is shaping Israel to trust Him and not themselves.
Ultimately there's a greater danger ahead of Israel than there was behind them. The greater danger is prosperity. Notice how Moses warns them:
Deuteronomy 11:15–17 (ESV) And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
The only thing more dangerous than want is fulness. Fulness is what can more often drive us from God. How do we avoid this danger? By remembering that no matter how blessed we may become, ultimately we are simply people saved by God's grace. We have received His favor. Our heart is not trustworthy. God is. Look back over the course of your life and learn the same lesson Israel is being asked to learn here. Do not trust what you think, feel and see. Trust the God who is over all of it.
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