The Rock Church

Life or Death Bless or Curse
Pastor Ken Trevithick
Deuteronomy 30:15-20

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Observation

Moses notes there is a choice for Israel, and thus for mankind, “life and death, blessing and cursing.” Moses also declares his preference for Israel, “therefore choose life.” As Moses looks at the Promised Land, and he realizes the blessings which God wants to bestow on His people, the desire of his heart is for them to experience the fullness of life that God intends. The key to this blessing is “to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments.” Neither God, nor Moses wants to leave His people without direction or hope for the future. It should be noted that Israel is already in relationship with God; they are His chosen people. Obedience to His commands or loving Him were not requirements to belong to Him, but rather the pathway of blessing and life for those He had already chosen.

Application

I am so thankful to be in the family of God. I have come to understand that God’s moral law is to the soul of man as His natural law is to creation. It is God’s desire for me to choose life, but He leaves that choice up to me. I am learning that the blessings of God flow from an active relationship with Him where I participate by responding to the principles He established for life. I have come to understand that God’s moral code is not only written in His Book, but is also born witness to by His Spirit. My conscience, if I listen to it is able to keep me from the curses of life. Truth originates in God; the choice to live in truth and have relationship with Him must come from my heart.

Prayer

Father, I want to thank-you for the relationship I have with You through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I want to thank-you also for the truth of Your word. Help me to love You from my heart, and to walk in the principles of Your word. I so much appreciate the interactive relationship we share.