Deuteronomy

This book is like winding a spring. Moses' first address of the Israelites in Deuteronomy reviews their time from Egypt to present and begins to wind the spring up. His second address reviews and renews God's laws, bringing the spring in even tighter. Moses' third speech is the unloading of the spring. His farewell address launches Israel into their future in the land that has been promised to them.

Within that big picture are a few details that need highlighting. Moses tells us that God did not choose us because of our strength (7:7). This verse releases two big nasty Truths to romp about through the mental facade of reality that we have so carefully created, leaving our pretty little boxes and compartments decimated. First, God chooses us. No matter how unfair it may seem or how unworthy we feel, it is clear here (and elsewhere) that God does the choosing. Whenever I really commit myself to thinking about this, I can't make any sense of how God's choosing is Just. It seems that one of the foundational principles of His relationship with us is our free-will, but His choosing us seems to be a plain contradiction of that. Maybe He chooses us based on something we choose. So if I choose to obey then He will choose to bless, or something like that. I really don't know. Like I said, decimated.

The second big nasty Truth monster is that God doesn't want us because of what we can do. However the whole Him choosing us thing works, it's not based on our own strengths or abilities. Moses tells Israel that God "...chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples." (7:7 HCSB). God doesn't seem worried about what Israel is able to do for Him. He chose the nation that was "...the fewest of all peoples." We see this Truth again if we peek ahead to Psalm 50:12-15 where God says "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and everything in it is Mine." (Psalm 50:12 HCSB). God doesn't come to us looking for us to take care of Him. We have not been chosen because of our ability to provide for God. In Psalm 50:14-15 we see the reason for our calling: "Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call on Me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor Me." Pretty cool stuff.

I also thought that Moses' farewell speech in chapter 30 was worth taking an extra look into. It's an amazing benediction and sets the bar pretty high for all farewell speeches ever if you ask me. You should look into it.