THE LORD SPOKE (March 14)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 7-9

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (Deut. 8:2).

How could you possibly forget forty years in the desert? Yet, God finds it necessary to tell the people this repeatedly. The memory theme is a common one throughout the book of Deuteronomy. See, for example:

• 4:10 - remember the day you stood before the Lord at Horeb
• 5:15; 5:15; 16:12; 24:18,22 - remember that you were slaves in Egypt (another hard thing to forget!)
• 7:18 - remember what God did to Pharaoh in Egypt
• 8:2 - remember what God did for you in the desert
• 8:18 - remember that it is God who gives you the ability to produce wealth
• 9:7, 27 - remember your own stubbornness and wickedness
• 11:2 - remember that your children didn’t see all the things you did
• 16:3 - remember (by means of the Passover) your departure from Egypt
• 24:9 - remember what God did to Miriam
• 25:17 - remember what the Amalekites did to you
• 32:7 - remember the days of old

And God is really into memory aids! Consider all the things He gave the Israelites in the desert to help them remember: the plagues, the Passover seder, the fiery pillar and cloud, Miriam’s song, the lack of golden earrings, many (!) funerals and tombstones, the serpent on a pole, the Ark of the Covenant (with its stone tablets, Aaron’s rod, and the jar of manna), the whole of the Tabernacle and all its furniture and utensils, the glow on Moses’ face, the stones piled at the Jordan River, circumcision, and the holidays related to the desert (Tabernacles, Passover, Simhat Torah).

The Jewish people have had 3400 years of memory! And, to be quite frank, they’ve done a better job than we have. What can we learn from their experience?

1. Write it down.
2. Mark the occasion.
3. Celebrate the anniversary.
4. Talk about it often (tell it to your kids).

New Testament: John 5

How exactly does one “make [every] effort to obtain the praise that comes from...God” (Jn. 5:44)? Jesus called to account the people who persecuted Him for breaking the Sabbath. Though they “diligently stud[ied] the Scriptures” (Jn. 5:39), they’d missed the whole point! How could that be? They’d gotten so caught up in externals and extraneous matters that they “did not have the love of God in [their] hearts” (Jn. 5:42).

That’s not as hard to do as some might think. In fact, it happens to us frequently. So, how exactly does one “make [every] effort to obtain the praise that comes from God” (Jn. 5:44)? From John 5 we can deduce the following answers:

vs. 1-15 - Follow the example of the Lord. In this case, He...

1. went to where the people were
2. focused on an individual
3. initiated the contact in an area of interest to the individual.

vs. 16-23 - When opposed or persecuted, turn the attention on God, the Father.

vs. 24-30 - Listen to “the voice of the Son of God”. This is not some mystical feeling that we seek. While He was on earth it meant the literal, physical voice and words of the One speaking. Since His departure and until His return, His words are recorded for us in Scripture. We know Him and hear His voice in the Bible.

vs. 31-40 - Examine the evidence. This is found in Scripture. It’s possible to study the Scriptures and still miss the point so we must be diligent in our study. How do you do that?

1. read them!
2. read them constantly and thoroughly (don’t skip or ignore parts)
3. look for the main themes, the repeated concepts, and the passages that emphasize and explain basic truths
4. compare Scripture with Scripture
5. examine the details but keep coming back to the big picture

vs. 41-47 - Believe God! Of course it’s hard - impossible even! - to obtain His praise if we reject or resist in any way His truth. Again, we come back to the Scriptures. Moses wrote about the Son and that is how we come to understand the Father. We must read Moses and all that the prophets wrote.

Doing this constitutes “the love of God in your heart” (Jn. 5:42). So, how is it? Do you love God down deep in your heart?