The Power of Remembering

Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I have spent a few months traveling with the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.

For the Israelites, it took a whole generation because of their unbelief. Now, we’re with their children, ready to enter the Promised Land. These are Moses’ words to them when he was 120 years old.

Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged all the people as follows: “Keep the entire commandment that I am commanding you today.

On the day that you cross over the Jordan into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and cover them with plaster.

You shall write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over (Deuteronomy 27:1-3a).

God’s people were to set up two large stones, like billboards. These stones were to be plastered, with the Ten Commandments either engraved or written in ink on them.

They would serve as a message declaring God’s covenant with his people. They were to live according to these rules as a sign of their clear relationship with him and with one another.

Writing a daily blog has many benefits. One of the biggest is that it reminds me of my relationship with God. I’m grateful that others read it, but the main thing is that it keeps me connected to Him. When I stray from His path, the practice of writing about God’s guidance helps guide me back to it.

Some people write in journals. Others paste prayer promises on their mirror as they shave or put on makeup in the morning. Some people place sticky notes on their car’s windshield or steering wheel.

Whatever method you choose, let’s find ways to remind ourselves that God has called us to be His people and live a distinctive life for Him.

Cut a Covenant

In Hebrew, making a covenant with someone literally means “cut a covenant.”

This term comes from what happened when two parties made an agreement. They would sacrifice an animal and place one half on one side and the other half on the other side. Then, they would walk between the two pieces. By doing this, they were saying that if they broke the covenant, what happened to the animal should happen to them.

In the following chapters, Moses shows us a picture of the covenant between God and Israel. Instead of walking between two animals, they walked between two mountains. One mountain represented blessings, and the other represented curses.

“When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

Then the Levites shall declare in a loud voice to all the Israelites (Deuteronomy 27:12-14).

The rest of Deuteronomy 27 lists 12 curses. These are essentially rules set by God for the benefit of the community. None of these rules is arbitrary or harsh. Instead, they are good guidelines for living.

Paul reminds us in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.”

One of my seminary professors explained this truth and said. “Death doesn’t happen instantly; instead, we sin a little and die a little. We sin more and die a little more.”

Look at people who have engaged in habitual sin over the years. You can see them dying spiritually, emotionally, and often physically.

The curses of Deuteronomy aren’t random. They show what happens to those who choose to sin repeatedly and die bit by bit.

YouTube Discussion

Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.