Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy
Monday: Deuteronomy 1-5
It’s been 40 long years in the desert. A lot of stuff has gone on. People have died, babies were born and the Hebrews learned what it meant to have a God that was faithful. The Book of Deuteronomy opens now a month before going into the Holy Land. Moses is a very old man by now, but the fire that first was ignited by the burning bush is still burning inside of him. These first five chapters are a sermon. A sermon about the unfaithfulness of the nation of Israel and about the faithfulness of a loving God. It’s a retelling of God’s mighty acts of salvation throughout history. It’s a sermon about undying love and a hope for the next generation. A sermon that we still all need to hear today.
Tuesday: Please read Deuteronomy 6-12
We go from a sermon about love and hope to a sermon about love and hope. Starting in Chapter six we see where the covenant between God and the people is once again renewed. The Ten Commandments are stated again and reaffirmed to the new generation. All of the older generation that heard God utter the words outlining the Ten Commandments have passed on. The younger generation didn’t hear those words from God and Moses need to tell them that the covenant made with their parents will continue with them. God is still their God and they are still God’s people. They needed to hear once again that love, mercy and hope are the centerpieces of the covenant God made with them.
Wednesday: Please read Deuteronomy 13-19
Words of encouragement have been said. Sermons of hope have been delivered. Now, it’s time to get down to brass tacks. The nuts and bolts of what’s to come. For 40 years, they’ve spent wandering the desert together. Now they are about to be split apart as they go to fulfill their destiny in the Land of Milk and Honey. When they split apart, they will lose that sense of accountability. They will be tempted and swooned by the world. They needed some more instructions on how to be holy.
One of the themes in this section is how people are to remain thankful for what they have by giving an offering to God for the blessings. It didn’t matter if it was an abundant harvest or a lean year, holiness meant that you still gave a tithe to God.
Thursday: Please read Deuteronomy 20-28
We talked this last Sunday about how sometimes the Bible has a tension about it. It talks about how the world should be, but it also talks about how the world really is. In these chapters we see a little bit of both prescriptive and descriptive texts. This was a different world, but yet not so different than the world today. A world where violence was the normal. And in the midst of this world, God gave them a word that is repeated over and over again. That word is purity. Stay pure in your motives. Stay pure in your relationships. Stay pure in your marriage. Stay pure in your religion and stay pure in your thoughts. The temptation to do things we know is wrong is strong! But if we stay pure, our lives will stay close to God.
Friday: Please read Deuteronomy 29-34
Deuteronomy is a series of sermons. This is the third and last sermon we hear from Moses. And it’s a doozy! The theme of the first was covenant and hope. The second was purity. Now this theme is all about faith, and restoration. In these chapters, Moses talks about falling away from God and the bad things that can happen in life, when we choose sin over holiness. But even if you drift away, God’s covenant still stands. God is still your God. God is constantly working to bring you back to holiness. The Covenant doesn’t ever change. The promises never go away. Moses’ life ended with a song and a blessing. The people who had hated him for 40 years are the same ones he blessed by name. Be strong and courageous.
