Deuteronomy 33-34

The God of old is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.

You don't get any better than that!

"Moses, servant of the Lord."  Man I would love to have that be my epitaph!  And then he was laid to rest by God Himself.  That's quite a finale for Moses.  

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 31-32

"Be strong and courageous; don't be terrified or afraid of them.  For it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will not leave you or forsake you" (31:6)

Then Moses wrote a song so that God's people would remember his words... (BTW -  when you read about "an inferior people ... a foolish nation" in 32:21, read "ME!")

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 29-30

"This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach" (Deut. 30:11).

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 27-28

Memorial Day!  Lot's of picnics with family and friends.  God held a similar event in Deut 27:1-8.  God and His people celebrating their relationship with a meal ... "eat and rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God."

Then the promise of blessing and reward for following the Lord vs. the promise of discipline for disobeying and going astray.  There's no middle ground.

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 25-26

Do you realize that there were no prisons in the ancient world?  There were often "jails" that would hold a suspect until his appearance before the judge.  But there was no such thing as a sentence of long-term imprisonment.  "If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court, and the judges will hear their case.  They will clear the innocent and condemn the guilty."


What a novel idea.


The last part of ch. 26 has a fantastic call to both generous justice and just generosity.  God, help us follow Your ways!

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 23-24

The foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow - these capture a lot of God's attention.  He has compassion on the disadvantaged.  "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt."  I am the disadvantaged one.  Why would I not have mercy on others?

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 21-22

Want to know what God thinks of a rebellious adult son?  Stone him.  What does this kind of son look like?  He is stubborn and rebellious and does not obey his father or his mother.  He doesn't listen to them even after he has been disciplined.  He is a glutton and a drunkard.  Kill him.

Hmm.  How many young adult sons would be left in our city?

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 19-20

God is just.  We can count on it.  And when He teaches His people justice, it is perfect justice.  Check out God's systems of justice today.  We live in a society of grey rules and sliding standards.  It is refreshing to listen to God unpack perfect, objective and pure justice.

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 17-18

Today we are challenged with keeping God's covenant people free of false worship.  What is the New Testament version of "purging the evil" from the ranks of God's people?  I think we should take this seriously.  (See Matthew 18, for instance).

Also, the man who claims to speak for God has a great privilege AND a great responsibility.  If he veers from saying exactly what God says ... whoa - check out the end of ch. 18.

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 15-16

For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, ‘You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land.’

There is always to be evidence of generosity among God's people.  Generous toward God (check out the Feasts He calls His people to) or generous toward others - especially the poor.

Would people describe you as generous? 

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 13-14

Sometimes the people who try to entice you away from following the Lord are the most unlikely people.  They might be trusted religious leaders.  They might be family members.  They might be neighbors.  Crazy!  But our allegiance has to be to the Lord!  Don't be led astray - by anyone!

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 11-12

A call to faithfulness ... Love the Lord your God and worship Him with all your heart and all your soul...


But there are always two paths before us.  Will we walk in obedience or take the road of disobedience?  Will we take the path of faithfulness, or will we stray onto the path of other gods?  It seems that almost daily there is the opportunity to take a wrong turn.  How desperately we need to FOLLOW the Lord!  There is rejoicing and feasting on the path of God (ch. 12).

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 9-10

I love the way God talks to us.  He shoots straight, pulling no punches.  "You're jumping into the ring with an opponent who is WAY bigger and stronger and smarter than you.  You don't stand a chance."  (Thanks, coach.)

But remember... I AM THE ONE WHO IS FIGHTING FOR YOU!

And what is Israel to do?  What is their part?

Fear the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.  Keep the Lord's commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good. (10:12-13).

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 7-8

God doesn't pull any punches.  The nations that Israel will encounter are "more numerous and powerful" than they are.  But victory is not dependent on these odds.  The Lord their God is the One who will win victories.

Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.  But He directly pays back and destroys those who hate Him.  He will not hesitate to directly pay back the one who hates Him.  

Stay close to God!

Also look carefully at ch. 8.  God humbles us by letting us get hungry so that we can look to Him and find His faithfulness and provision!  This is one we need to remember.

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 5-6

The Ten Commandments.  Do you know them?  Could you write them out from memory?  These are immensely important.  This is the foundation upon which our end of the covenant is established.

Two tablets:

• The first (commandments 1-4) reflect our covenant relationship with God
• The second (commandments 5-10) reflect our covenant relationship with one another. 

Deuteronomy 6 is epic.  Our church's entire ministry to families is based on this chapter.  "When your son asks you in the future..."  May we have loads of God-conversations with our children!

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 3-4

The Lord begins to show His people how powerful He is and how well things will go for them if they choose to TRUST Him and not fear their enemies.  God is stronger!

If they find themselves fearing the future, they are told to remember the past.  "Ask about the earlier days..." (4:32).

Good advice!

Read it here.

Deuteronomy 1-2

This is the 5th book of Moses - completing the Pentateuch.  Moses speaks to God's people and his sermons make up the content of this book.  Why does Moses repeat much that has been written in the first four books?

All those who came out of Egypt have since died out in the wilderness (ch. 1).  Now this "new nation" stands poised to take over the Land of Promise and they need to be taught the foundational truths of who God is is (holy, sovereign, loving/protecting) and who they are to be as His covenant people.

These themes will guide us as we journey through this magnificent sermon collection of Moses.

In these first two chapters imagine the honor of being Caleb or Joshua - the only two faithful men who are spared death on the other side of the Jordan so that they might lead God's people into Canaan.  May we seek to stand out from the crowd and follow Yahweh unconditionally!

Read it here.

Hosea 13-14

We finish off Hosea today.  And here is the line that should haunt us...

I knew you in the wilderness,in the land of draught.When they had pasture,they became satisfied;they were satisfied,and their hearts became proud.Therefore they forgot Me.

Hosea 13:5-6

You will see a big arrow pointing to the resurrection in 13:14 followed by a beautiful picture of restoration.

Let whoever is wise understand these things,and whoever is insightful recognize them.For the ways of the Lord are right,and the righteous walk in them,but the rebellious stumble in them.

Hosea 14:9

Read it here.

Hosea 11-12

One of the most poetic and beautiful pictures of God's love for His people is found in 11:1-4.  When an ox would lean over to feed, the yoke would slide down to his jaw, making it difficult-to-impossible for him to eat.  A caring farmer would lift the heavy yoke onto his own shoulders so that the beast could eat unhindered.

Did the ox ever turn and thank him for his kindness?  Did the toddler ever thank the loving father for holding him up as he tried precariously to walk?  Never.  The beast and the child remain blissfully ignorant of the kindness being shown to them.  They are unaware of how dependent they are on their caregiver.  They imagine that they eat and walk on their own strength.

So Israel remains stubbornly unaware of God's love and kindness.  How about you?

Read it here.

Hosea 9-10

They became detestable, like the thing they loved (9:10).

You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies (10:13).

This prophet is speaking to us today!

Read it here.

Hosea 6-8

Come, let us return to the Lord,
For He has torn us,
and He will heal us;
He has wounded us,
and He will bind up our wounds.

 Hosea 6:1

And perhaps this is the most poignant...

"They do not cry to Me from their hearts;rather, they wail on their beds" (7:14)

Read it here.

Hosea 3-5

"Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress..."

Can you imagine?  Yet this is the way God keeps coming after His people when they stray away from Him.

See if this sounds familiar ... "There is not truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!  Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another" (4:1-2).

Sounds like the front page of a modern newspaper.  How does God respond when this is the state of His people?  He holds the priests responsible - those who were to lead people to God.

Yet again, He holds out hope for the penitent.

Read it here.