Encouraging Words
Do you think maybe we misunderstood God for generations?
You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. If you will diligently observe this entire commandment that I am commanding you, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and mightier than yourselves. Every place on which you set foot shall be yours; your territory shall extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the Western Sea. No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put the fear and dread of you on all the land on which you set foot, as he promised you. See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn from the way that I am commanding you today, to follow other gods that you have not known. - Deuteronomy 11:18-28
The stories in the Old Testament are human stories, written from our perspective.
That could be a controversial statement, since there are many who believe every word is from God, but even the words spoken by God are spoken to those who understood the relationship differently than we do today. That is, if we think we understand it at all.
In today's reading we hear God tell us if we follow His commandments we will be blessed, and if we don't we will be cursed.
Now, we can hear that as a threat. God gives and takes. He will give us good things if we obey Him, and bad things if we don't.
But what if it isn't a threat, but a warning? This is how the world works. When you do these things I have instructed you to do, your life will be so much better than if you don't.
When we know God is with us, because we are with God, we have the courage and fortitude to go out and do what we need to do. But if we live in fear of others, we will accomplish nothing.
So, God is our strength and support. Knowing God is with us makes all the difference in the world. It empowers us to do the work He would like to see us do, without fear, without shame.
Maybe that is how we should hear these words, as encouragement, rather than as threats.
More to come...