Get the appThrough the Bible: DeuteronomySample
On Whose Terms?
When that time comes, you must not do as you have been doing. Until now you have all been worshipping as you please… Do not worship the Lord your God in the way that they worship their gods, for in the worship of their gods they do all the disgusting things that the Lord hates. They even sacrifice their children in the fires on their altars.
Deuteronomy 12:8, 31 (GNT)
The Lord God shares what He values and hates in Deuteronomy 12-15. As the God of faith, hope, and love, there are ways in which He wants His people to live and worship, such as canceling debts every seventh year or taking a tenth of one’s produce to honor Him. The Lord values these ways because they reflect His nature. Correspondingly, the surrounding nations take alternative approaches to daily living and worship, which sometimes involve sacrificing one’s children or cutting oneself during mourning. To the Lord God, it is not possible to adopt practices that are inherently against His nature.
Today, because of Jesus, we are given both wisdom and power to live according to His ways. Nevertheless, let us examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13) to ensure that our lives and worship are on God’s terms, as opposed to those of this world.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for showing us the way everlasting. Help us each day to know Your ways better and to live in them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
About this Plan
Deuteronomy is the final heart-pouring sermon of the dying Moses to the second generation of the Israelites, retelling the salvation history of their forefathers and the ways of life through God’s words as they enter into the Promised Land. The book ends with Moses calling readers for a decision: curse and death by disobedience or blessing and life by loving the Lord. Likewise, which will you choose?
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