If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. - Deuteronomy 30:10-14
I used to find Deuteronomy boring. When it came up this year in my Bible reading, I rolled my eyes. Forgive me. I got a different attitude this time, though. I looked at it with fresh eyes, thinking 'this is the word of God.' Every time I come up to another judgment explained in detail, I keep thinking 'this is the word of God.' I started to look at it as if God were talking to me while I was reading the words. Wow, that put a whole different perspective on things. Reading today I started to think about The Law and how frutstrating it must have been for the devout Jews to look at the law and realize that they could never attain the perfection that God was requiring. Then there were the few that, decade after decade, would wait patiently for their Savior to arrive, hoping it would be in their lifetime. Could you imagine?
This verse really stood out to me as I read it. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. How wonderful it is to have God's word so readily available to us. What a comfort and pleasure it is to read it every day, to ingest it, to have it in my heart and my mouth. It convicts me when I'm wrong. It guides me when I need light. More than that, though, it's God's Word. I think sometimes people think that the Bible is a book of answers, and I think they may be missing the point if they're looking at it that way. I think the answers you find by reading the Bible is the change in your heart that constrains you in God's will.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us - always enjoy your posts. And I have to agree I felt the same about Deuteronomy, but your words are so right! We have been trying to instill the same habits in our children this New Year. And I wanted to share new application that was shared with our family over the holidays. Children's Bible is designed for ages 3-13 & is made up of comic books that deal with many of the most important stories in the Bible. It's a free app & available for most styles of smart phones. My kids have really enjoyed it & we have used it to start them on the right track with taking time to read the Bible. I just wanted to share because it is such a cool way to get the children started out young with the Word as we parents strive to do the same daily. Definitely worth checking out childrenbible.org - and thought you may want to share with your readers.
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