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.
If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?" But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction. Deuteronomy 7:12-26
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
“…for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.”
These words from verse 21 resonate across this passage and across the landscape of our every day lives. Where would we be without the great and awesome God who created us and this universe we live in? It’s enough of a gift that we even exist but we have so much more than this through the majesty of the Lord. Consider the following things He brings, all highlighted in today’s scripture:
1. He loves. Moses reminded Israel, “If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you.” Truly, God loved Israel…and He loves us as well. Consider these words from the Psalms:
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:8-12
Truly, there is no limit to the love of God. It reaches to the highest heights and the lowest lows…and spans from the east to the west. Thanks be to God for His love…for we only know how to love ourselves because He first loved us.
2. He blesses. God had blessed Israel and would consider to do so. Again from Moses:
“He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young.”
As long as Israel remained obedient, life would be good for them and they would experience the abundant provision of their great and awesome God.
Consider all you have in life and don’t simply account for the tangible. That’s how the world gauges blessings…on how much stuff they have. As Christians, we see the greatest value in the intangible. Just having life itself is such a rich blessing and one we should always give thanks for. Truly, God blesses abundantly. Thanks be to God for goodness.
3. He heals. We serve a Great Physician. For Moses tells Israel, “The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.” One could say that the power to administer disease is in the domain of man and they would be correct. There are all kinds of diseases in laboratories that could be unleashed by man. But the power to keep people free from disease? That is solely done by a great and awesome God.
Truly, God is capable of doing anything He wills to do to include healing. An obedient Israel could expect to be free from affliction. Too bad they didn’t hold up their end of the bargain because we will see Israel not remain obedient. They learn that the only way to live a God-blessed life is to comply with God’s expectations.
As we face afflictions, we should remember the awesome, healing power that God holds in His hands. Remember He assured us that nothing is impossible with Him. (Luke 1:37) What an incredible promise that is!
4. He protects. Israel would face adversaries in Canaan. God sends these words of assurance from Moses to Israel:
You may say to yourselves, "These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?" But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt… the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished…The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.”
Israel didn’t have to be worried on how they would fare against stronger nations in Canaan, for those stronger nations lacked on important thing that Israel didn’t. They didn’t have God on their side.
Question: What adversaries do you face every day, especially as you go forth to carry out the command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations? Do you ever forget that we serve a great and awesome God…One who is always with us and will help us overcome our enemies just as He did for Israel. We only need trust Him and believe in Him.
5. He delivers. Moses tells Israel, “The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them.”
God promised to and did drive out the nations before Israel. He delivered the nations of Canaan into the hands of Israel just as He promised He would. And no one was able to stand against Israel because God was with them.
No one can stand in opposition to us either if we keep the Lord first in everything in our lives. He will rise up and help us when we face trials. He will allow us to stand firm in the midst of adversity, not by our own strength but by His strength living within us.
Finally…
6. He works miracles and wonders. “…remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out.” Truly, Israel’s emergence from Egypt was not a typical exit. After all, how many people can say that they walked across a dry sea bed while the sea was divided in two and suspended in air so they could pass safely? Israel could. They could confess first hand that their great and awesome God was a God of miracles and wonders.
And He does them in and around us still today. Look at the news closely enough every day and you can discover evidence of the miracles and wonders of the Lord happening all over the world. For God never takes a break, except on the Sabbath. Outside of that, He’s always busy amazing and astounding us…performing acts we can’t see possible…but remember, we serve a God through which all things are possible.
Have you stopped lately to ponder this great and awesome God we serve? Have you fully appreciated His love, His blessings, His healing power, His protection, His deliverance and finally the miracles and wonders He provides…and He provides them each and every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Somewhere in the world as you read this, God is performing a miracle. Believe it…because He is God…a great and awesome God. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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