Choicesਨਮੂਨਾ

The Wilderness

Understanding the context of Scripture is vital to knowing the full weight of what God is saying. In Deuteronomy 30, the children of Israel are nearing the end of their 40-year wilderness journey, which I’m sure none of them wanted to make. They were forced to make this unpleasant journey because they chose to worship a golden calf instead of the God of Israel. When reading verses 19 and 20, we get the fully realized promise of choosing life and blessing. However, it does not start there. The point God is trying to make starts in Deuteronomy 30:11 and continues to verse 14 (NKJV). It says: “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”

God wants us to have a full understanding of His Word. His words are not a mystery that needs to be uncovered or a puzzle that must be solved; His words are not far away or hidden. They are right under our noses, in our mouths, and in our hearts. Our task is to learn from the mistake Israel made by choosing to follow God’s path for our lives, or expect to make our own 40-year hikes through the wilderness. As stated in Joshua 24:15 (NLT), “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Make a bold statement of faith today, regardless of the wilderness you may or may not be in, and say, “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”