ut 11:26 - 12:10 ERV
For todays portion of scripture I have linked to the Easy Reading Version. I wanted to make sure that no one got lost in the way things were said. It just made more sense to me in simplifying it.
The Israelites are preparing to enter the land that God has promised them. God tells them they are being given a choice...blessings or curses. They would get the blessings if they listened to God's commands and obeyed, or curses if they refused to listen and obey. And, they were told to make sure they did not follow other gods. It seems they had a penchant for following other gods.
I think that maybe following the rituals of other gods to get their needs met made them feel like they had some control of the situation. Doing so, did not work plus because they were bowing to other gods they only compounded their problems. It's not always easy though to "trust and obey". We feel like we have to do something. Others tell us "you have to do something" so we come up with ways that is doing something but in the process are relying on our "something" instead of what Adonai promises. I think many of us find ourselves in such situations today. We should ask God what He would want us to do in any given situation then do what He shows us. Don't give in to outside pressures. Such has happened to me several times. I'd asked God what to do and He was showing me and I was following Him yet others thought they knew better so I tried to make them happy too so they would quit harrassing me. A visicious circle it was. I've learned the hard way to stick to what I know God has shown me.
The Israelites were told that God would lead them to the land He had promised them. When they entered they were to read the blessings from the top of one mountain then read the curses from another. In this little picture, you can see the two mountains, Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal. With the quantity of people they probably filled the entire valley. They'd face one mountain to hear the blessings,, then turn and face the other to hear the curses. A little more detail to how this was carried out can be found in scripture here. While they lived in the land that God had given them, they were told to carefully follow all of Gods instructions.
They were told to take the land from the people that were currently living there...the Caananites. They were told to completly destroy all the places that those people had set up for worshipping other gods. They were to smash the alters and break the memorial stones and all things that would be a remembrance of another god.
They were told to not repurpose anything, trying to take something evil and repurposing it to something holy...it can't be done. If it's evil, it's evil, period. They were not to used anything from the worship of idols to worship Adonai with. God hated the thought and forbid it. I think there is a lot of this in Christiandom today. We try to "redeem" pagan holidays and activities that were never ours in the first place and they should be thrown out of our lives. Just a thought.
Their way of worshipping Adonai was going to change too. Up to then, there was no Temple so they worshiped God in any way and at any place they wanted. But when they entered the land God was giving them, God was going to give special instructions of where and how and they were expected to follow it. "God knows my heart" while ignoring what God has said, would not fly. As long as they did what God instructed, in their new land they would live in peace and safety.
I think that last sentance says it all. As long as we do things according to how God has instructed, that applies to us, where we live, we will live in peace and safety. Not to say there will never be trials but with our reliance on Him we are safe and secure.
Please feel free to ask me any questions. I know I pack a lot into the blog and probably leave more questions than answer. I'm not advocating going through all the rituals that they did in the OT. It's impossible...for many reasons. So please, if you have questions, ask me to clarify.
For todays portion of scripture I have linked to the Easy Reading Version. I wanted to make sure that no one got lost in the way things were said. It just made more sense to me in simplifying it.
The Israelites are preparing to enter the land that God has promised them. God tells them they are being given a choice...blessings or curses. They would get the blessings if they listened to God's commands and obeyed, or curses if they refused to listen and obey. And, they were told to make sure they did not follow other gods. It seems they had a penchant for following other gods.
I think that maybe following the rituals of other gods to get their needs met made them feel like they had some control of the situation. Doing so, did not work plus because they were bowing to other gods they only compounded their problems. It's not always easy though to "trust and obey". We feel like we have to do something. Others tell us "you have to do something" so we come up with ways that is doing something but in the process are relying on our "something" instead of what Adonai promises. I think many of us find ourselves in such situations today. We should ask God what He would want us to do in any given situation then do what He shows us. Don't give in to outside pressures. Such has happened to me several times. I'd asked God what to do and He was showing me and I was following Him yet others thought they knew better so I tried to make them happy too so they would quit harrassing me. A visicious circle it was. I've learned the hard way to stick to what I know God has shown me.
The Israelites were told that God would lead them to the land He had promised them. When they entered they were to read the blessings from the top of one mountain then read the curses from another. In this little picture, you can see the two mountains, Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal. With the quantity of people they probably filled the entire valley. They'd face one mountain to hear the blessings,, then turn and face the other to hear the curses. A little more detail to how this was carried out can be found in scripture here. While they lived in the land that God had given them, they were told to carefully follow all of Gods instructions.
They were told to take the land from the people that were currently living there...the Caananites. They were told to completly destroy all the places that those people had set up for worshipping other gods. They were to smash the alters and break the memorial stones and all things that would be a remembrance of another god.
They were told to not repurpose anything, trying to take something evil and repurposing it to something holy...it can't be done. If it's evil, it's evil, period. They were not to used anything from the worship of idols to worship Adonai with. God hated the thought and forbid it. I think there is a lot of this in Christiandom today. We try to "redeem" pagan holidays and activities that were never ours in the first place and they should be thrown out of our lives. Just a thought.
Their way of worshipping Adonai was going to change too. Up to then, there was no Temple so they worshiped God in any way and at any place they wanted. But when they entered the land God was giving them, God was going to give special instructions of where and how and they were expected to follow it. "God knows my heart" while ignoring what God has said, would not fly. As long as they did what God instructed, in their new land they would live in peace and safety.
I think that last sentance says it all. As long as we do things according to how God has instructed, that applies to us, where we live, we will live in peace and safety. Not to say there will never be trials but with our reliance on Him we are safe and secure.
Please feel free to ask me any questions. I know I pack a lot into the blog and probably leave more questions than answer. I'm not advocating going through all the rituals that they did in the OT. It's impossible...for many reasons. So please, if you have questions, ask me to clarify.
