DId God Really Say…

May 16, 2024

Read Deuteronomy 30, Proverbs 11, Romans 11

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?” ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?” ¹⁴ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it.

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess” vv. 11-16.

Obedience is not hard and at the same time it is very hard. What do I mean? Well, knowing what to do to obey is not the difficult part. Sure, there are some things that may take a bit of thought, but we can quickly discern what we need to do in most cases. This is characterized in the first few verses above. It is not far from us up in heaven, we don’t have to cross the sea to understand it.

But the hard part of obedience that we all struggle with is to submit our wills to the Lord and follow His plan and not our own. From the first sin in the garden in Genesis 3 to the last sin you may have committed, obedience is a struggle for all of us. But don’t lose hope and quit. Just because we may not be able to completely obey doesn’t mean we stop trying.

What else do you see in these three chapters? What words, verses, or themes stand out to you?
Add your thoughts below.