not beyond our reach

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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not beyond our reach

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 30:11 “You see, this command that I command you today is certainly not too extraordinary or beyond your reach.
Deuteronomy 30:12 It is not in the sky so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to the sky, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’
Deuteronomy 30:13 And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’
Deuteronomy 30:14 But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.

not beyond our reach

As a modern evangelical, this text is one of the hardest to believe. I am so conditioned to think that the Mosaic covenant was so astronomically complex that the Israelites were doomed to break it from the beginning. Indeed, Deuteronomy assumes that as a nation, Israel would shatter the covenant they were receiving, just as Moses would shatter the first tablets of stone.

But the Israelites did not fail God because he had made obedience too hard. In fact, this passage implies that something deep inside each citizen understood and wanted to obey God, and wanted to succeed with his mission. God had instilled in them a desire to display his glory by obeying his commands.

In the same way, every believer in Christ knows that doing what he said is not beyond our reach. But we still fail him. Christ mercifully calls us back to himself time and time again. His love is far more powerful than our consistency.

Thank you Jesus, for your forgiveness. Lead us to be more consistently faithful to your words, because they are not beyond our reach.

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riches that please God

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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riches that please God

Deuteronomy 30:7-10 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 30:7 Yahveh your God will put all these oaths on your enemies who hate and persecute you.
Deuteronomy 30:8 Then you will again obey Yahveh and follow all his commands I am commanding you today.
Deuteronomy 30:9 Yahveh your God will make your prosperity survive in all the work of your hands, your offspring, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, Yahveh will again delight in your prosperity, as he delighted in that of your fathers,
Deuteronomy 30:10 when you obey Yahveh your God by watching his commands and prescriptions that are written in this book of the instruction and return to him with all your heart and all your throat.

riches that please God

The Israelites learned that there were hundreds of ways to become prosperous, but there was only one way to make their prosperity survive. Returning to the covenant and obeying the commands of their rescuer was the only way to be both prosperous and secure.

This lesson reverberates throughout the scriptures. Prosperity gained by being disobedient does not last. The riches that last are the kind of riches that please God. Those are the kind that he gives to those who follow his commands.

Thank you Lord, for blessing our obedience. Give us the good sense to always seek your blessing, not just temporary prosperity.

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regathered and returned

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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regathered and returned

Deuteronomy 30:4-6 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 30:4 Even if your exiles are at the end of the sky, Yahveh will gather you and bring you back from there.
Deuteronomy 30:5 Yahveh your God will bring you into the land your fathers took possession of, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply you more than he did your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:6 Yahveh your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will care about him with all your heart and all your throat so that you will live.

regathered and returned

This regathering and return speaks of more than just a restoration of Israel to the land. It speaks of a new covenant with circumcised hearts and throats — and a prosperity that is more than that first experienced when they entered the land. All of these promises were given just as the Israelites were entering the land for the first time. God knew that they would fall away, and Moses knew. These words reveal that God would redeem his people again — not from slavery in Egypt, but from exile due to their own rebellion.

Lord, you redeemed us from the consequences of our sin by the death of Christ on the cross. We have covenanted to follow Christ and glorify you by obeying his commands. But we have failed to do that. Regather us and bring us back to the place where we can glorify you.

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full repentance

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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full repentance

Deuteronomy 30:1-3 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 30:1 “When all these things happen to you — the empowerments and afflictions I have set before you — and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where Yahveh your God has driven you,
Deuteronomy 30:2 and you and your children return to Yahveh your God and obey him with all your heart and all your throat by doing everything I am commanding you today,
Deuteronomy 30:3 then he will restore your fortunes, have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where Yahveh your God has scattered you.

full repentance

We Christians are often guilty of casually throwing around the word repentance as if it is a simple thing. But the repentance Moses was talking about was a complicated set of actions and reactions. It involved…

  • …recognizing how good they had it when God was blessing them for their obedience,
  • …recognizing that the tough times they were now experiencing were also signs from God, calling them to change,
  • …returning to God and recommitting to following his covenant (as families),
  • …obeying the commands associated with the covenant wholeheartedly,
  • …patiently waiting in faith for their restoration, and
  • …preparing themselves for God’s promise of restoration.

Repentance is not a simple reset. Just as rebellion against God takes more than a simple act of the will, so recovery will take more than simply admitting one’s sin. It starts with that, but there is much more to it.

Lord, we beg for your forgiveness, and ask you to show us how to walk in full repentance.

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time machine

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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time machine

Deuteronomy 29:26-29 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 29:26 They began to serve other gods, bowing in worship to gods they had not known – gods that Yahveh had not permitted them to worship.
Deuteronomy 29:27 Therefore Yahveh’s anger burned against this land, and he brought every affliction written in this book on it.
Deuteronomy 29:28 Yahveh uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage, and intense wrath, and tossed them into another land where they are today.’
Deuteronomy 29:29 The hidden things belong to Yahveh our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children permanently, so that we may follow all the words of this instruction.

time machine

God not only warned the Israelites of the consequences of rebelling against the covenant, he as much as brought them in a time machine to the land of their future exile, and treated them to a glimpse into that future. This beautiful land they are beginning to experience with all its wonder and joy would be lost, and it would be their fault.

Verse 29 is intriguing. It talks about the hidden things and the revealed things. In this context, the future is not one of the hidden things. It is displayed in all its tragic irony. God did not keep them from knowing their destiny. But his revelation did not stop them from abandoning his covenant.

God loves you and me so much that he wants to covenant with us as well. It’s a different covenant, but the same mission. He wants to draw all the nations to himself through us, as we reflect his glory by our obedience to Christ’s commands. Could we be so stupid as to think that we could enter into covenant with God through Christ’s blood on the cross, and then rebel against that covenant by abandoning the lives of holiness he calls us to? Or, do we think that just this once we can do what the Israelites did and not be tossed into exile?

Lord, thank you for revealing the future of rebellion against your covenant. We renounce any thought of failing you.

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a burning waste

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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a burning waste

Deuteronomy 29:22-25 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 29:22 “Future generations of your children who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant country will see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses Yahveh has inflicted on it.
Deuteronomy 29:23 All its land will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unplanted, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahveh demolished in his fierce anger.
Deuteronomy 29:24 All the nations will ask, ‘Why has Yahveh done this to this land? Why this intense outburst of anger?’
Deuteronomy 29:25 Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahveh, the God of their fathers, which he had established with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

a burning waste

The land was supposed to be a holy land. It was supposed to shine like the sun in dark space, displaying God’s goodness and grace. But when the Israelites rebelled against God’s commands and abandoned his covenant, the land would be the sign of God’s displeasure with them. These words were not a description of the land as it was. When Moses first spoke these words, the land was a promised land — flowing with milk and honey — ready to be entered and enjoyed. But it would not be enjoyed for long, because God’s grace was extended to the children of Abraham for a purpose. When the purpose is abandoned the blooming garden will become a burning waste.

Can I ask you, Christian, where are you right now. Are you confidently prancing around a beautiful garden, enjoying God’s grace, or are you scouring the countryside for your next meal? I’m not asking you to ignore your surroundings, I want you to notice them. Because the condition of your land is often a sign of your current relationship with God.

If you do find yourself in a burning waste land today, there is still hope. The God who rescued you by his grace can return you to the garden he promised. Return to the covenant you have abandoned.

Lord, show us how to reconnect with our covenant with Christ, and return to the life you promised.

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faith and reality

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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faith and reality

Deuteronomy 29:19-21 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 29:19 When someone hears the words of this oath, he may celebrate himself, and this is what he says: ‘I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart.’ This will lead to the destruction of the well-watered land as well as the dry land.
Deuteronomy 29:20 Yahveh will not be willing to forgive him. Instead, his anger and jealousy will burn against that person, and every oath written in this scroll will descend on him. Yahveh will blot out his name under the sky,
Deuteronomy 29:21 and Yahveh will separate him for harm from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the oaths of the covenant written in this book of the instruction.

faith and reality

Some people view religious faith as a kind of stubborn insistence on being at peace in spite of everything going on around them. They think of God as for them no matter what they do. This is not the faith the Bible proclaims. It is religious presumption.

Gospel faith comes only to a heart that recognizes one’s own failure, and asks forgiveness. Gospel faith seeks not to ignore or redefine reality but to reconcile with a holy God.

Ironically, those people who saw faith as a celebration of the self were setting themselves up to be recipients of all of the curses of Mount Ebal. They would be separated for harm from all the tribes of Israel.

Lord, keep us from religious presumption, and keep us near your altar, seeking forgiveness.

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poison roots

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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poison roots

Deuteronomy 29:14-18 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 29:14 I am establishing this covenant and this oath not only with you,
Deuteronomy 29:15 but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of Yahveh our God and with those who are not here today.
Deuteronomy 29:16 “Indeed, you know how we stayed in the land of Egypt and passed through the nations where you traveled.
Deuteronomy 29:17 You saw their detested things and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which were among them.
Deuteronomy 29:18 Or else there may be a man, woman, clan, or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from Yahveh our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

poison roots

If you ask any Christian whether he or she wants to be an idolater, the answer will be “no.” But idolatry still exists among us.

The Israelites were the same. They had come from pagan roots, and those pagan roots would show up in their history, leading to idolatry, defection, and disaster.

Moses seems to caution his people to dig out those dangerous roots, but he doesn’t actually say that. What is the secret to ridding ourselves of idolatry — rooted in our ancestry? The answer is the same today as it was then. Establishing the covenant with God is the only way.

Today, God is covenanting with his people through Christ his Son. If we who name the name of Jesus Christ are not careful, the roots can emerge again in us. We need to cling to the new covenant, being careful to obey the commands of Christ, and focus on the Great Commission of Christ. If not, those dangerous roots will try to come back, “bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.”

Lord, inspire in us a careful observance of your new covenant through Christ.

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entering one covenant

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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entering one covenant

Deuteronomy 29:10-13 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 29:10 “All of you are standing today before Yahveh your God – your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel,
Deuteronomy 29:11 your dependents, your wives, and the guests in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water –
Deuteronomy 29:12 so that you may enter into the covenant of Yahveh your God, which he is establishing with you today, so that you may enter into his oath
Deuteronomy 29:13 and so that he may establish you today as his people and he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

entering one covenant

The whole community entered the one covenant. There was no separate covenant for the men, that didn’t include the women. There was no separate covenant for the parents that didn’t include the children. And there was no separate covenant for the foreign guests who hired on as immigrants to work for an Israelite family. Anyone entering into the land also entered into the covenant — with all its stipulations and all its benefits. God’s purpose was to showcase the land as a place he would bless, so the whole people had to participate in the witness. Everyone entering the land had to sign off on that purpose.

The new covenant in Christ is similar, except that the land of the new covenant is not limited. The new covenant commission is to enter into every land, and be witnesses to every nation. We enter into the covenant by committing ourselves to doing what he commanded us to do. Every land we touch is to be dedicated to him, and is to be permeated with his gospel.

The unity of the covenant family is also essential. Every husband commits his wife, and every wife her husband. Parents dedicate their children, and employers dedicate their workforce. The task of spreading the gospel is the primary task of the community. Everyone in the community has to commit to that purpose.

Lord, show us how to commit each other to your covenant purpose.

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stubbornly faithful followers

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Jefferson Vann
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stubbornly faithful followers

Deuteronomy 29:7-9 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 29:7 When you reached this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them.
Deuteronomy 29:8 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
Deuteronomy 29:9 Therefore, watch the words of this covenant and follow them, so that you will succeed in everything you do.

stubbornly faithful followers

The early defeat of Sihon and Og was one of the signs the Lord gave the Israelites. They had intended to move through those two territories without aggression. But they were attacked, and their victory over these two kings gave them a large territory east of the Jordon river. Two and one half tribes settled in these lands.

Moses uses this story as a sign that the Israelites could be successful in everything they do. But it was not a blanket promise, covering all contingencies. It was not a guarantee that they would walk unhindered into the promised land. There would be battles. The Israelites also had to watch the words of the covenant and be careful to follow them. If they lost their faithfulness, they would also lose battles. They needed to be stubbornly faithful followers.

Lord, we know you are with us as we face our life’s battles. Make us stubbornly faithful followers of Christ so that we stay with you.

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