LIVE LONG AND PROSPER

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Moses summoned all Israel and said:

“Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our fathers that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leading men of your tribes and your elders came to me. And you said, ‘The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer. For what mortal man has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says. Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.’

The Lord heard you when you spoke to me and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

Go, tell them to return to their tents. But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.’

So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” Deuteronomy 5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks are to God.

Much of what we have seen in Deuteronomy is Moses providing a refresher of God’s commands and expectations for them before they cross over the Jordan into Canaan. In Chapter 5, Moses places his focus on the Ten Commandments, repeating everything that God had told him to pass onto the Israelite people as they met on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 20).

As I wrote through Exodus, I sent a great deal of time addressing each individual commandment so I will focus this devotional on what God said after the commandments were reviewed and repeated. For after the commandments were delivered, we read where there were a series of exhortations given…exhortations that could be summed up through these words from God: “live long and prosper”. Let’s look at the main points behind the exhortations:

1. The Almighty God we serve wishes to partner with us.

Part of the way God helps us live long and prosper is to partner with us. We don’t serve a God who is inpersonable and unapproachable. No, as Israel learned and professed:

“The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.”

In Moses, Israel saw that God was willing to partner with someone and that person would not perish but live. There was hope and encouragement there. And although they felt that this privilege was only reserved for Moses and asked him to continue in his capacity to speak to God and then deliver God’s message to them. We have seen where God is willing to partner with anyone who places their full faith and trust in Him. And accordingly, we, like Israel, should recognize those who God is speaking to, listen to the message they are sharing and obey if they are being led into action by the Holy Spirit in response to the words.

One last note on this. It has never ceased to blow me away how God does choose to partner with us. After all, we’re sinners that fall so far short of His glory and grace. And God is an Almighty, Powerful Creator of all things. Everything we know is from His hands. He can do anything on His own. He doesn’t need anyone. And yet, He still chooses to use anyone who He chooses to call to service in His name. Truly, what an awesome God we serve.

2. The Almighty God we serve wishes for us to be obedient so He can give us His best.

Oh how God must get so discouraged when we willingly choose to fail and fall. He sent His Only Son Jesus to die for us so we might not perish from our sinfulness and in return we only continue to sin. To say, we can’t help it just doesn’t cut it with God. It’s a resignation and cop-out that says we don’t trust Him enough to help us keep from failing and falling. All we need to do is stay in touch with Him through the Holy Spirit, read and obey His word as found in the scriptures and submit our will over to Him so that His will dominates everything that we are. If we do all these things, we will live a life that is blessed beyond belief and God can see that all goes well with us and our children forever. In other words, we will live long and prosper.

3. The Almighty God we serve wishes for us to walk the straight path of righteousness.

In our scripture from Deuteronomy, Chapter 5, Moses told Israel:

“…be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”

Now recall these words from Jesus:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

The point is that there’s no latitude to stray from the straight path that God expects us to walk…the path that He keeps us on through His word and Holy Spirit. Stray from that path (turning to the right or left) and destruction awaits. Keep on the narrow path and you will find your way to life…and not just life in the here and now but eternal life.

Or in other words, you will live long and prosper…forever. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com