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How Will We Enter The Land?
As the Israelites encamped on the threshold of the Jordan, ready to take the land God had promised them, Moses gave his final instructions and admonitions. In the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses gave Israel the keys to keeping the land God was about to give them. These words were vitally important to the present generation and any succeeding generation.
OBEDIENCE. In the first three verses of chapter six, Moses points to the need for fearing God and keeping His commandments and statutes. Blessings associated with such obedience were prolonged days and for their good always (vv. 2,24). What a lesson for us!! The God who made us knows what is best for us. His will is to do us good, not harm. Although most carnally minded people think God's way is burdensome, those who are spiritually focused will perceive God's ways to be much higher and nobler than their own (Isaiah 55:6-9). Every Christian should hold with confidence the blessings promised under the New Covenant, if we obey the voice of Jehovah.
TEACHING. In verses four through nine, Moses spoke of the need to teach God's instructions to their children. The word must first be loved by the parent before it will do any good in the heart of a child (v. 6). It must be a matter of conviction with us. It needs to be heard in our voices (v. 7). The words must dwell within our minds and be remembered as part of our daily guide to life wherever we go and whatever we do (vv. 8,9).
WATCHING. Verses ten through nineteen warn God's people to be on guard. He wants them not to be so overwhelmed with fighting nor the physical blessings they received in the promised land that they forget who it was that brought about their release from bondage. Doing so would cause them to create another god or cause them to follow the gods of the people whose land they were about to invade. Such dismissal of God in their hearts would cause God to forfeit His standing among the people - "in the midst of thee" (vv. 14,15). If we are concerned about God's favor, we will be aware about the same happening in our lives.
REMEMBERING. In verses twenty through twenty-five, Israel is called upon to remember (1) their slavery (v. 21); (2) their deliverance (vv. 21-23); (3) their blessings (v. 23); (4) their responsibility (v. 24); and (5) their prospect for the future (v. 25). Remembering all God had done for them would have helped Israel stay closer to God and not be led astray by the deceptive ways of the gods of the land.
When Israel failed to obey, teach, watch, and remember, they soon received the curses of God rather than His blessings. May the God above help us write a different history by observing these guiding principles in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. . .
