Contrasting Situations
I had never
considered the contrast that Deuteronomy 11:10-12 lifts up regarding Egypt and
Canaan. But this passage is really spot
on. Egypt was completely based upon the
Nile River. Near the river, crops were
planted in the silt brought about by the rich flood plains. Beside the flood plains, the Egyptians had
learned to irrigate, plow, till, and plant.
Yes, Egypt tied its gods into the Nile River, but Egypt was
predominantly a culture based on human ingenuity. If nothing else, look to the pyramids for
proof of that idea.
Canaan will not be
that way – or at least not until modern irrigation and construction techniques
come about. Much of the standing water
near Canaan is so filled with salt that it is unusable for all intents and
purposes. Canaan gets its usable water
from the heavens when the rains come.
Canaan is a rich land, but it is a land that is much more closely tied
to receiving rain from above rather than upstream.
I think that is a
really neat analogy. In bringing the
Hebrew people out of Egypt and into Canaan, figuratively He is bringing them
out of a place centered on human ingenuity and into a place where one must rely
upon God’s sending the rain the bring about prosperity. That’s a pretty cool thought to begin the
study of this chapter.
Obedience … for the 80th Time since We Started Numbers.
I’m not going to
dwell long on the next part, but notice that yet again Moses feels it necessary
to speak to the Hebrew people about being careful to follow God’s ways and not
be led astray by culture or their success.
It has been a reoccurring theme throughout Deuteronomy thus far. And it will continue to be a reoccurring
theme throughout the whole book. We need
to learn this lesson today as much as the Hebrew people did as they entered
into Canaan.
Family
Notice also a revisit
of the theme for the Hebrew people to teach their children. Again we can see the importance of the family
unit in faith. Parents and grandparents
have a very important role – perhaps the most important role – in the faith
development of their children.
Blessings and Curses
I really like how
Moses ends this particular chapter.
“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” This verse resonates within me today. Within this verse we have free will. Within this verse we have the teaching that
God is the initiator of salvation while we are the receivers of it. To pick up a theme that we touched on
yesterday, this verse speaks directly to the struggle between human pride and
our ability to fear the Lord.
You see, God has
indeed paved the way for us to walk with Him.
God has indeed set before us a path of blessings. God has indeed made a way for us to walk in
salvation. However, God has also given
us the free will to receive it or to venture out on our own. God has set before us the ability to choose
blessing and to choose curses. It is
fundamentally our choice to make just as Moses presented it to the Hebrew
people so many thousands of years ago.
The blessings are there.
Salvation has been offered up.
Freedom from the oppression of this world is ready to be taken up and
seized. But will we choose it?
There is a choice
before us. There always is. There is always the way of blessings and
curses. And while I would love to end
this blog on a positive note, I will opt for the ominous note. Matthew 7:13-14 gives us this teaching: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way
is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard
that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Jesus uses the words “many” and “few” in this
passage for a reason. The choice is ever
before us, but so many of us are eager to choose the curses over the blessings
because the way of the curses is easier and the way of the blessing is hard.
In this light, let me
return to the exhortation from yesterday.
Fear the Lord! In the fear of the
Lord do we find the way to blessing!
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