Aug. 11, 2023
Clinging to God
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Throughout Deuteronomy Moses continues to command the children of Israel to obey the terms of their covenant with God, and in return, they would be blessed. The choice is theirs’s whether to live such a way as to enjoy blessing or to live under a curse. But their obedience was not about simple legalistic ritual—it was about clinging to their God with a heart of love.
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Clinging to God (Out of Zion Episode #193)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1
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Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses continues to command the children of Israel to obey the
2
00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:11,200
terms of their covenant with God, and in return they would be blessed.
3
00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:17,880
The choice is theirs, whether to live such a life away as to enjoy blessing or to live
4
00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:19,480
under a curse.
5
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:26,360
But their obedience was not about simple legalistic ritual.
6
00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:33,320
It was about the heart, and it was about clinging to their God with a heart of love.
7
00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:38,600
So welcome to this week's Shabbat Shalom devotional, when I seek to share a little inspiration,
8
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,800
bring a little peace to the close of your very busy week.
9
00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:51,760
This week's Torah portion is found in Deuteronomy 11, verse 26, through chapter 16, verse 17.
10
00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:58,880
It's called Re'e, which means see, as in see this day I set before you.
11
00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:07,440
So the beautiful book of Deuteronomy, it's focusing on a heart of obedience, not legalistic
12
00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,100
ritual.
13
00:01:09,100 --> 00:01:15,640
So in chapter 11, verse 23 through 25, is when Moses makes this very clear.
14
00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:16,640
Let's read.
15
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:22,240
For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do, to love the Lord
16
00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:29,680
your God, to walk in His ways, and to hold fast to Him, then the Lord will drive out
17
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:35,400
all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations
18
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,280
than yourselves.
19
00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,280
Every place on which the soul of your foot treads shall be yours, from the wilderness
20
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:48,560
and Lebanon, from the river and the river Euphrates, even to the western sea shall be
21
00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,440
your territory.
22
00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,400
No man shall be able to stand against you.
23
00:01:54,400 --> 00:02:01,120
The Lord your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where
24
00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,640
you tread, just as He has said to you.
25
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,600
Wow, that's quite a big promise of blessing.
26
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,520
Now the choice was theirs, blessing or curse.
27
00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:22,560
And in verse 26 it says, behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.
28
00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:29,400
So just as it was in the Garden of Eden, it was then and it is today, it is always our
29
00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,440
choice.
30
00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:38,200
Their disobedience was actually seen as betrayal of God, of turning from God to follow the
31
00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:39,680
ways of other gods.
32
00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:46,600
And so Moses goes on now to begin to prescribe to them a way of worship.
33
00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,520
And he tells them, when you go in, destroy the pagan worship sites.
34
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:58,800
Do not use them, but worship in the place that God will choose.
35
00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:05,280
Verse five, but you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses out of all your
36
00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:13,480
tribes to put His name for His dwelling place and there you will go.
37
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:21,920
Moses tells them 11 different times what to do in quote, the place God chooses, end of
38
00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:24,920
quote, for them to meet.
39
00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:28,560
So interesting because they were not yet in the land.
40
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:34,560
They were not yet in Jerusalem, which later we know God chose Jerusalem.
41
00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,160
But they're still in the wilderness.
42
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:46,040
And it's not for another 400 years maybe before Jerusalem is established as the capital and
43
00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,480
God makes it clear this is the place that I have chosen.
44
00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:51,960
Isn't that interesting?
45
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:58,120
But here Moses tells them one day God is going to choose that place.
46
00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,440
It's all wrapped up with them entering the land.
47
00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:08,240
Very interesting point here is that he says it's the place where his name will be written
48
00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:15,840
into the very topography of Jerusalem is a Hebrew letter sheen which stands for the name
49
00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:20,760
of God Shaddai or even Shem which is name.
50
00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,360
It's written into the topography.
51
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:32,240
So now Moses reviews with them the feast, the feast of Passover, Shavuot, Tabernacles
52
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,880
and he begins to connect it to how they're going to celebrate those feasts once they're
53
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:43,960
in the land and it says that they will go up to the place that God will choose.
54
00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:49,880
And then he warns them about apostasy taking on the practices of the pagan world around
55
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:50,880
them.
56
00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,200
And then he explains why such a warning.
57
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,480
Let's read 14 verses one through two.
58
00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,680
You are the children of the Lord your God.
59
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:07,240
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God and the Lord has chosen you to be a people
60
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:14,920
for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
61
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,080
Well, what a magnificent calling that is.
62
00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:25,280
But it came with responsibility to properly carry out the terms.
63
00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:30,920
They were to hold fast to him with all their heart.
64
00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,880
If they clung to the Lord with a heart of love, then everything else would fall into
65
00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:38,560
place.
66
00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,480
Think about that this weekend.
67
00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:59,400
And with that I wish you Shabbat Shalom.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,440
Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses continues to command the children of Israel to obey the
2
00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:11,200
terms of their covenant with God, and in return they would be blessed.
3
00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:17,880
The choice is theirs, whether to live such a life away as to enjoy blessing or to live
4
00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:19,480
under a curse.
5
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:26,360
But their obedience was not about simple legalistic ritual.
6
00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:33,320
It was about the heart, and it was about clinging to their God with a heart of love.
7
00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:38,600
So welcome to this week's Shabbat Shalom devotional, when I seek to share a little inspiration,
8
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,800
bring a little peace to the close of your very busy week.
9
00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:51,760
This week's Torah portion is found in Deuteronomy 11, verse 26, through chapter 16, verse 17.
10
00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:58,880
It's called Re'e, which means see, as in see this day I set before you.
11
00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:07,440
So the beautiful book of Deuteronomy, it's focusing on a heart of obedience, not legalistic
12
00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,100
ritual.
13
00:01:09,100 --> 00:01:15,640
So in chapter 11, verse 23 through 25, is when Moses makes this very clear.
14
00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:16,640
Let's read.
15
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:22,240
For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do, to love the Lord
16
00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:29,680
your God, to walk in His ways, and to hold fast to Him, then the Lord will drive out
17
00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:35,400
all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations
18
00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,280
than yourselves.
19
00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,280
Every place on which the soul of your foot treads shall be yours, from the wilderness
20
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:48,560
and Lebanon, from the river and the river Euphrates, even to the western sea shall be
21
00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,440
your territory.
22
00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,400
No man shall be able to stand against you.
23
00:01:54,400 --> 00:02:01,120
The Lord your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where
24
00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,640
you tread, just as He has said to you.
25
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,600
Wow, that's quite a big promise of blessing.
26
00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:15,520
Now the choice was theirs, blessing or curse.
27
00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:22,560
And in verse 26 it says, behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.
28
00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:29,400
So just as it was in the Garden of Eden, it was then and it is today, it is always our
29
00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,440
choice.
30
00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:38,200
Their disobedience was actually seen as betrayal of God, of turning from God to follow the
31
00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:39,680
ways of other gods.
32
00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:46,600
And so Moses goes on now to begin to prescribe to them a way of worship.
33
00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,520
And he tells them, when you go in, destroy the pagan worship sites.
34
00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:58,800
Do not use them, but worship in the place that God will choose.
35
00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:05,280
Verse five, but you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses out of all your
36
00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:13,480
tribes to put His name for His dwelling place and there you will go.
37
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:21,920
Moses tells them 11 different times what to do in quote, the place God chooses, end of
38
00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:24,920
quote, for them to meet.
39
00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:28,560
So interesting because they were not yet in the land.
40
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:34,560
They were not yet in Jerusalem, which later we know God chose Jerusalem.
41
00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,160
But they're still in the wilderness.
42
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:46,040
And it's not for another 400 years maybe before Jerusalem is established as the capital and
43
00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,480
God makes it clear this is the place that I have chosen.
44
00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:51,960
Isn't that interesting?
45
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:58,120
But here Moses tells them one day God is going to choose that place.
46
00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,440
It's all wrapped up with them entering the land.
47
00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:08,240
Very interesting point here is that he says it's the place where his name will be written
48
00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:15,840
into the very topography of Jerusalem is a Hebrew letter sheen which stands for the name
49
00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:20,760
of God Shaddai or even Shem which is name.
50
00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,360
It's written into the topography.
51
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:32,240
So now Moses reviews with them the feast, the feast of Passover, Shavuot, Tabernacles
52
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:37,880
and he begins to connect it to how they're going to celebrate those feasts once they're
53
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:43,960
in the land and it says that they will go up to the place that God will choose.
54
00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:49,880
And then he warns them about apostasy taking on the practices of the pagan world around
55
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:50,880
them.
56
00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,200
And then he explains why such a warning.
57
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,480
Let's read 14 verses one through two.
58
00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,680
You are the children of the Lord your God.
59
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:07,240
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God and the Lord has chosen you to be a people
60
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:14,920
for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
61
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,080
Well, what a magnificent calling that is.
62
00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:25,280
But it came with responsibility to properly carry out the terms.
63
00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:30,920
They were to hold fast to him with all their heart.
64
00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:36,880
If they clung to the Lord with a heart of love, then everything else would fall into
65
00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:38,560
place.
66
00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,480
Think about that this weekend.
67
00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:59,400
And with that I wish you Shabbat Shalom.
