The Wisdom of Obeying

In chapter 11 of Deuteronomy we find Moses reminding the adults (who were children when they left Egypt and had experienced their parents’ rebellion and the consequences of the 40 years in the desert) to “love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments and His commandments always.” (see v 1 and again in v 13)

In verse 14 Moses continues to tell them the blessings (which are also consequences) of the people who “earnestly obey My commandments” (also see v 13)

In verses 16-17, we see the consequences of not obeying.

Verses 18-19 “you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking to them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

And today? Are these commands only for that time? Or should we not heed these words and obey with a willing heart?

“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. (Deut 11: 26-28)

Is this where some Christians come up with people who are suffering have sin in their lives or are the consequences thereof? But we must go to the New Testament teachings and understand what Jesus taught concerning pain and suffering.

Just read James 1 to grasp why God allows difficult times in our lives. As much as those times cause great suffering, it is allowed for us to draw upon the strength of Christ Jesus as we persevere towards completeness in Him alone.

The Old and New Testament go hand in hand and must be read together to understand the wisdom our Heavenly Father is showing us and we grow towards that day when we will be complete in Him before the throne.

A nation without moral law becomes a nation of fools who reject God and His word. For how can we know what morality is unless we have a set standard? And praise be to God, He has given us such a standard, the Holy Bible. But unless we read it, it is useless and we do become fools. As you read Proverbs, you will see that being a fool is a huge disgrace and a slap in the face.

Deuteronomy 8:8 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments…” We are there! We have forgotten and are suffering the consequences. When will we wake up, repent and turn from our wickedness? Surrender is so difficult for many but for those who surrender their lives to Jesus, eternity is something to look forward to.

"The Law and the Prince"

The following was written by David Moon and is used with permission. I was honored to be friends with his wife and him while we were missionaries in Moscow, Russia. Since his retirement, he seems to have taken up writing with a purpose. Please ponder these words of wisdom.

Lex Rex was a landmark book written in 1644 by the Scottish minister Samuel Rutherford. It was written during during the Scottish struggle against religious and political tyranny in the 1600s. Its subtitle is "The Law and the Prince."

The title Lex Rex is the Latin for the "Law is King," as opposed to the usual practice of Rex Lex - the king is law.

The book makes many able arguments for the limiting of governmental power and having government under the law and not just the common people. It has many lessons geared to godly and good governance.

This book had great influence on the Princeton educator John Witherspoon, who passed on its wisdom to several of his students who were later Founders of the United States.

I doubt any of our governing politicians have read this book or even heard of it. They're mostly operating only on the level of power and perks. Statesmen and statewomen are virtually non-existent today.

The ideas in the book, if adhered to, would go far in promoting true liberty and good government in this country.

* Limited government - even the king must be under the law. This restrains the abuse of power and restrains bad judgment. Any authority given by God to a civil official is necessarily limited and conditional.

* Constitutionalism - the form and function of government should be structured by set laws both people and government must submit to. This protects the rights of the people, the rights of the minority, creates order and prevents government by whim.

* The supremacy of God over the world and He is the One Who instituted human government. He ordains and places civil officials in power for the purpose of protecting the good and punishing the bad. Civil officials are responsible to God and will be held accountable to Him.

* The book defends the "Two Kingdoms" view of Church-State relations, which advocates for distinct realms and roles for church and state; a separation of church and state, but not a separation of God and state.

Our ruling politicians are not students of history and government. They ride roughshod over law and best practice. This has, and is, working to the great detriment of this country.

The current policies, trends and ideology of the deeply flawed ruling elites, are a disaster. A people who are uneducated in the lessons of history and the history of how our institutions developed have enabled the ruling elites and eased their way.

Just a month and a half of the new administration makes it clear that this country is committing suicide. We see the madness on all levels: national, state and local.

"An evil king is God's judgment on a nation." (John Calvin)

Day 215 God's Favor

As we have seen through our reading today, the nation of Israel was not living as the Lord had declared. They had turned from the Lord and worshipped other gods, they had done things their own way and forsaken the Lord. Yet, He is now giving these same people hope, knowing that they will turn away from their wicked ways and he "will look on you with favor" (Eze 36:9b NIV). "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Eze 36:26 NIV).

Even today when so many have fallen into doing their own thing, doing what is right in their own eyes, we must remember that God allows pain and suffering for a purpose. That is, to draw us closer to Him. But once again we are reminded that we must be careful to follow His decrees and laws. (see Eze 37:24) He longs to show Himself holy through us, His people, who have surrendered to Him. We are here to bring glory to Him, not for our own pleasure. We are here to bring His love to the people around us, not what we can get from those around us. He longs for us to open our hearts to Him and to do what He has called each of us to do.

Read: Ezekiel 36-39 Taken from "Faithful Promises of God"