Deut 11:7-28 theme verse Deut 11:7
The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.
On this last Sunday of 2024, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, through the Gospel of John, while meditating on love of the last theme of the Advent, we who were regenerated in God of love, decided to live the life of love, being filled with His love and knowing the love of Christ. Yet, on this last Sunday of 2024, we would like to reflect and give thanks to God who poured out His great grace together.
1) In Deuteronomy, there were written three sermons of Moses on how to live in the land of Canaan, to the new generation who were ready to cross the Jordan River to conquer the land of Canaan, after the first generation died while they were wandering in the wilderness, as the consequence of their unbelief, complaint and resentment to God, after they were reported from 10 spies among twelve whom they sent to Canaan to spy out the land, instead of the response with gratitude in faith. This Book of Deuteronomy as the last Book of the Pentateuch, I mean, five books of Bible by Moses including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers and Deuteronomy, has a Korean name meaning the record of the renewal of the covenant of God. And also its Hebrew name is דְּבָרִים (davarim) which comes from the opening phrase אԵלԶԼה הԷדְּבԸרԴים, (elleh ha devarim), meaning 'these are the words’, following the tradition of the ancient Jews in which they named the book using the first phrase. And also English name, Deuteronomy, comes from the word ‘deuteronomion’ in Deut. 17:18, “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law”, here ‘a copy’ was translated in Greek, deuteronomion.” However, more accurately speaking, it is not a copy, rather the renewal of the covenant of God with new generation is more appropriate for the name of this Book. And also in other passages of the Bible, it is called also “The book of the Law” or “the book of the Covenant”
2) Its theme was, “God’s teachings through Moses’ three sermon to the new generation of Israel, who had risen up after 40 years of wilderness, on how to live faithfully before God, after entering into the Promised Land of Canaan.” And it contains three sermons of Moses as follows, I mean,
(1) Chapter 1 through 4 as the first sermon records that
a. in the Chapters 1-3, after summarizing the itinerary of the Israelites so far
b. in the Chapter 4, Moses exhorted them to obey to God’s law.
(2) And then chapter 5 through 28, as the second sermon recorded that
a. in Chapter 5-11, after Moses reproclaimed Ten Commandments and commanded the Shema to teach the laws to their children
b. and in Chapter 12-26, Moses explained about the life according to the law
c. and finally in Chapter 27 & 28, Moses taught them Ceremonies and Rewards and Punishments of the law keeping.
(3) And then finally in the third sermon from chapter 29 through 34 recorded that
a. in Chapter 29 & 30, the Covenant of God with new generation at Moab was written
b. and in Chapter 31 & 32, the installation of Joshua as their new leader and then in Chapter 33 & 34, the blessings of Moses of twelve tribes before he died were written.
3) Today's text, chapter 11, verses 7-28, is a part of the first section of Moses' second sermon, chapters 5-11, in which, first in chapters 5-6, Moses preached again the Ten Commandments and exhorted new generation to keep God's commandments and also commanded the Shema, that is, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might, for the LORD is one" and then he said if they keep these commandment of God, they would not only live long and prosper, but also it would become their righteousness, and then in chapter 7 to 10:11, Moses said that God the LORD loved them so that He drove out the Canaanites and let them possess the land and fulfilled the oath He made to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and also the reason why that He fed them manna in the wilderness was for them to keep His commandments to bless them. And He commanded them to destroy all the peoples in Canaan, not to intermarry with them, to burn their idols, and not to follow their customs and idolatries, instead, to keep God’s commandments, decrees, and laws, not to forget God the LORD, not to be stiff-necked again, but to obey the LORD. And then in 10:12-11:32, where today’s text is included, first, in 10:12-22, Moses summarized God’s total requirements of His people, the Israelites, and in 11:1-12, he exhorted them to remember how God performed miracles in the past when leading them out of Egypt, and the various things He did in the wilderness, and also the incident that when Dathan and Abiram rebelled, the ground collapsed and swallowed them up, to keep all the commands He gave them to receive blessings. And then in 11:13-21, Moses repeated the Shema again and said that if they keep all the commands of God and love the Lord their God and walk in all His ways and hold fast to God, they would be blessed in the end. And finally in 11:22-32, Moses exhorted them to listen and obey to the commands of the LORD God and receive blessings, saying the paths of blessing and curse were before them.
4) Here, to look at the blessings which were described in Deuteronomy, especially in Chapter 11 and Chapter 28, first, in 11:9 & 21, there are the blessing of long life not only of them but also of their children. Even this blessing of longevity is the blessing of long life in a land flowing with milk and honey. Secondly, in verses 11:14-15 and verse 28:8, the LORD will bless them to give the land they are entering, the early and late rains in their season, so that they can obtain grain, new wine, and oil, and grass for their livestock to grow so that their storehouses would be full. And thirdly, in verses 1 and 13 of chapter 28, it says that the LORD will make them the head and not the tail, and will make them only above and not below, and will set them high above all the nations of the earth. Also, in chapter 28, verse 11, it says that God will multiply their offspring, and even the offspring of their livestock and the fruits of their land. In addition, in chapter 11, verses 8 and 23, it says that He will let them possess the land and make them strong. And in chapter 28, verse 7, it says that God will protect them from their enemies. And then in chapter 6, verse 25, it says that God will make them righteous and so in chapter 28, verse 9, it says that they will become God's holy people. As such, in Deuteronomy, it is said that God will give them not only worldly and material blessings, but also spiritual blessings and blessings in the world to come and otherworldly blessings.
5) And then even God tells them how to receive all these blessings is to keep all the commandments God gave them as verse 8 says. In other words, if they obey God’s commandments, they will be blessed, but if not, they will be cursed. To elaborate on this, as Job 14:5 says that “Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,” and also 1 Chronicles 29:12 says that “Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all”, we believe that God the LORD is the source of all blessings. And as Heb 11:6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him,” we believe that God exists and gives blessings to those who seek Him. And also as James 2:26 says “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead,” we believe that the faith is with the obedience so that the obedience results in the blessings. That’s why we believe that Deut 11:26-27 says that “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today.”
6) As such, as we believe that if we keep His commandments, we will receive His blessings, there are few things we need to look at more details. Firstly, there seems something very unique about the blessings God gives. What I mean is, verse 10-14 says that “For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.” To elaborate it, in the land of Egypt, where the Nile River never dries up, after sowing the seeds, one could harvest them by watering them. In other words, one could enjoy the blessing of harvesting through human effort. On the other hand, the land of Canaan, flowing with milk and honey, to which the LORD God led the Israelites after saving them from Egypt, was actually different from the land of Egypt, which had the Nile River never drying up. It had many mountains and valleys, little rainfall, and the soil was made up of limestone and sandstone, making it difficult to obtain groundwater so that even if it rained, the rain would be absorbed into the ground. Therefore, in the ancient agricultural society of Israel, they have to rely on the rainfalls. I mean, in Israel, during the dry season from May to September, the land was dry, yet during the rainy season from October to April of the following year, farming was possible. So, when the rainy season began, around October to November, the ‘early rain’ fell down, and the land that was extremely dry during the dry season was soaked with moistures. Then, they could sow the seeds, and the crops grow with the winter monsoon rains that fall around December to February, and then the ‘late rains’ that fall around March to April, in the end of the rainy season, improved the crop yield and increased grain production. In this way, farming in the land of Israel depends entirely on the early rain, winter rain, and late rain. Therefore God said that if the Israelites live according to His law, then He would provide the appropriate early and late rain at the right time to give them the blessing of eating and living a wealthy life. As such, the secret to receiving blessings in the Bible was total dependence on God and total obedience to God, in other words, humility and gentleness was the secret for receiving blessings. In that sense, we have to know that a land that makes us increasingly distant from relying on God is not a land of blessing but rather a land of curse. Therefore, we must carefully examine whether the land we live in is a land that makes us more humble, making more dependent on God, and more gentle, making more obedient to God. Even if we are in a land that is materially abundant, we have to strive to live more humbly and gently before God for receiving God’s blessing.
7) And secondly, in other to receive God’s blessings, we have to keep the God’s law, in other words, God’s ten commandments, which can be summarized to love our God and love our neighbor. Through this, we can know that relationship with God and our neighbor makes us to receive blessings.
8) And thridly we are faced up with other problem. I mean, in order to receive God’s blessings, we have to keep His commandments. But we cannot keep it perfectly. So in order to resolve this dilemma, we would like to look at the Israelites. I mean, After they were delivered from the slave in the Egypt, when they arrived at Kadesh-Barnea, they sent out twelve spies. But when ten of them brought back a negative report, they all did not believe in God, blamed Moses, and committed the sin of disbelief, complaint, and resentment, saying that they would return to Egypt. So God punished them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. And then, the first thing they did the next day was not to listen to God’s command and to repent, rather, to get up early in the morning and climb up to the top of the mountain to conquer the land of Canaan by themselves. Yet, since God was not with them, they were defeated by the hands of the Amalekites and the Canaanites living in the mountains. And even after that incident, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram formed a group with 250 leaders and sinned against Moses, whom God had appointed as their leader. So God made Moses and all of them stand before the tabernacle of the Lord and the tent of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, each holding an incense burner. Then, God split the ground where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram standed and the ground swallowed them up. Also, fire came out from the tabernacle and consumed the 250 leaders who were offering incense. In this way, even though the Israelites continued to disobey to God, yet God fed them with quail and manna, and for 40 years, God did not let their shoes wear out, and finally, God arose their descendants to conquer the land of Canaan. I mean, even in their disobedience, God’s grace and blessings were always abundant. So, that’s why Moses said in 11:7 that, “You have seen with your own eyes all these great things that the Lord has done.” As such, when I look back myself this year, even though I cannot help but confess that I have not lived completely according to God’s will, but, despite all that, I confess that this year, lots of amazing graces with blessings have overflowed in my life so that I have been able to spend this year without starving and in good health. Therefore, on this last Sunday of 2024, we would like to give thanks to God for all these graces and blessings which are abundant to us who are lacking. Even though I was always weak and slipped away, God who is good and full of mercy, blessed me with His abundant grace and allows me to live in His great grace until today, so I would like to give thanks and praise to God, in this end season of 2024.
Key Questions as Small Group Activity
Q1 According to today’s text, we can know that keeping God’s law for receiving God’s blessings means that loving relationship with God results in blessings. So after reflecting our life of 2024 whether we live in love with God, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.
Q2 According to today’s sermon, we become to know that even with our shortcomings and weakness, God gave us abundant blessings in His great grace. So, after reviewing 2024, I hope we could give thanks to God, while sharing what kinds of blessings you had.
Love you. Thank you. God bless you.
Prayer Note
Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!
Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or even during the week )
Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!
Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),
please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized ).
I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon )
Please help me to live in that ( learned way of life )
I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.
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