Today’s reading includes Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20, Luke 11:37-12:7, Psalm 78:1-31, Proverbs 12:19-20
Though we have moved on to Deuteronomy 29, my thoughts are still back in chapter 28. Yesterday we talked of the blessings of obedience to the Lord. What joy we experience, what fulfillment is ours when we walk in obedience. Of course, we do not always walk in obedience. We do not always choose God and His way. What are we to do? We are to remember that Jesus is the bridge between a holy God and an unholy people. We walk that bridge of faith, walk boldly upon the scarred back of the One who took our curse. Then we are redeemed. Then we are blessed. And how sweet those blessings are!
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses[a] and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:21-23
But what if we choose a different path?
What if we are indifferent to the ways of the Lord?
What is our lot in that case?
Today’s reading shows us a sobering truth, a great warning, and a sad description. It culminates in the following passage.
64 Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.67 In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. 68 The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.
Deuteronomy 28: 64-68
The consequences of disobedience are revealed in many ways. But what caught my attention is this: “an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread…never sure of your life.”
What a sad description! And yet, I have experienced those feelings at times in my life. Have you? Thankfully, it did not last long, but I know of dear ones who live in that place of suspense and anxiety and fear. And what occurred to me is that we do not have to stay there. If Jesus has taken the curse, we do not have to live in that space of anxiety and despair and uncertainty. And yet, many of us still do. We have offered ourselves into slavery again, experiencing a journey God does not intend for us, the Redeemed. This is not our inheritance, this is a lie from the enemy of our souls. Satan knows we are redeemed. He knows we are set free from the curse of sin, from the inability to obey. He just works very hard to make sure we don’t know it ourselves. If he can keep us believing that this is our lot in life, he can keep us focusing on our fear, focusing on ourselves. And though he cannot keep us from ultimate salvation, he will try to keep us stumbling along, without the energy to bring others along with us. Dear friends, Jesus paid the price for you. Will you trust Him to redeem you? Will you trust Him to make your path straight? Will you trust Him with your anxiety, despair, and uncertainty? He is waiting for you.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36
