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throats like the stars

Deuteronomy 10:20-11:1

Deuteronomy 10:20 You are to fear Yahveh your God and worship him. Remain faithful to him and take oaths in his name.

Deuteronomy 10:21 He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen.

Deuteronomy 10:22 Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy throats in all, and now Yahveh your God has placed you here – numerous, like the stars of the sky.

Deuteronomy 11:1 “Therefore, care about Yahveh your God and always watch his mandate and his prescriptions, rules, and commands.

throats like the stars

When I meet people and tell them that my wife and I have seven grandchildren, most are amazed that we have that many, and look so young. I tell them that the families that make up our family are a blessing from our Lord.

In today’s passage, Moses encourages the Israelites to consider their great number in the same light. They started out as seventy throats. Now their number is like the stars if you could count them.

Any time that we are blessed by God in any way, we should consider the blessing a challenge to live up to his standards, not a guarantee that we are already doing so. It is in God’s nature to empower his children, but it is unfortunate that often we who are more empowered tend to view that empowerment as endorsing our behavior. In fact, our loving God tends to bless first, then sit back and see if we can respond in obedience due to appreciation.

Lord, thank you for the blessings you have given us. May we be wise enough to recognize those blessings as a challenge to obey Christ.