“Not only do we not know God except through Jesus Christ; We do not even know ourselves except through Jesus Christ.”
– Blaise Pascal
An important book of the Old Testament is Deuteronomy. It reminds the Israelites of what God did for them in the past, with encouragement to rededicate themselves to Him.
Written by Moses, he inspires the Israelites to follow God’s law and explains how they will be blessed if they obey.
They will be blessed if they obey God.
DEUTERONOMY 28:1-6 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
Moses went on to state what will happen if they ignore God.
They will be cursed if they do not obey God.
DEUTERONOMY 28:15-19 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you:
You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
God’s message to the Israelites was clear. They could be blessed, or, they could be cursed. Just realize that God didn’t do the choosing, they do. We had the choice. Re-read the scriptures to better understand.
Today, God’s Ten Commandments still stand supreme. However, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, man’s relationship with God changed.
With Jesus comes the Good News. The New Covenant.
Now, a personal relationship with God is created through Jesus. Believe Jesus is God’s son in the flesh, who chose to accept punishment for all sin, died on the Cross for all sin, then resurrected to sit at the right hand of God the Father.
Because of Jesus, instead of having laws written on stone as given to Moses, God’s laws are written on our hearts allowing for a personal relationship with Jesus our redeemer.
ROMANS 10:9-11 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame."
In the twenty-first century it’s hard to fathom being blessed and cursed in the descriptions used in Deuteronomy. Instead of trying to relate to that setting, focus on the two words and recognize their definitions.
blessed: adjective, endowed with divine favor and protection
cursed: adjective, damned
3,200 years ago God shared what will happen to us in the future. He gave us a choice.
It is your choice to decide which path for eternal life you will take. Will you believe in what Jesus did for you on the Cross and receive “divine favor and protection”? Or will you choose to reject His word and be “damned”?
I hope you choose His blessings, because God loves YOU!
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER OF JESUS?
Have you invited Jesus into your heart? Now is the perfect time. Pray this sinner’s prayer found at Gotquestions.com.
“God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen.”
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To learn and share the importance of keeping God’s name holy, order copies of LIFT HIM UP DON’T PULL HIM DOWN @ LULU.COM or AMAZON.COM for your next Bible study.
Lift Him Up 