Title: Happy Man
Contents
♡♥♡ Happy people / Deuteronomy 33:26-29
***Introduction
The text of this hour is the concluding part of the content of Moses' blessing that began in verse 33:1. Moses was the leader of the nation who led the people of Israel from Egypt through the wilderness for 40 years to the entrance to the promised land of Canaan. Moses is now 120 years old, and he has finished all the work God has entrusted to him. Before Moses died, he blessed the 12 tribes of Israel one by one. After completing all the blessings, Moses declares that Israel, who has become God's chosen people, is a 'happy person'. The word translated as 'happy' here (ashre/ ) means 'full happiness' or 'complete happiness'. What makes Israel so happy?
Now Israel has been through 40 years of loneliness, suffering, and a long wilderness road where everything is insufficient. There is nothing left now. In front are the giants, and the land of Canaan is surrounded by a huge and strong city. Although God has promised to give it to them, it is a land they must fight and take away. Nothing is firmly in their hands right now. Under these circumstances and circumstances, what would be the reason for saying, “Israel, you are blessed”?
I have had black twins with heads attached since birth. There were obviously two people, but they were two people with heads attached. It was decided that amputation was impossible because the attached part was the head. Her parents were embarrassed to look at others, so they locked her up in the house until she turned 30 and raised her like an animal because they couldn't afford to kill her. Then one day, Jesus Christ came to the family.
In Jesus, they came to realize that they too are seals that resemble the image and likeness of God. And they set out to find happiness as human beings. Although I was over 30, I entered elementary school and started studying. When the teacher asked his brother to go out in front of the blackboard and write, the younger brother with the head followed and stood in front of the blackboard in the shape of a horseshoe, and the children did not know whether to laugh or cry.
But they no longer saw their new found life in Christ as a tragedy or misfortune. They said, “We are so happy.”
Do you understand this situation? How could the words "I'm so happy" come out of their mouths? Compared to Israel who faces Canaan, or black twins with heads, we must be happy people. Then, can you confidently answer, “I am so happy” with my life now?
1. We are happy people.
We, who have eternal life because of Jesus, are happy people. They are not just casually happy people, but people who should truly feel, enjoy, and be grateful for. What is the cause of that happiness?
Let's read verse 29 in the modern language of the Bible. “People of Israel, what a happy people you are! The people the LORD has set free, where else in the world can there be such a people? The LORD is like a shield that protects Israel, and a dreadful sword that defeats enemies and overcomes them. O Israel, depend on the LORD for ever and live! Then your enemies will fall down before you and beg for your life, and you will trample their backs!” Israel is a happy people because God the Creator is their savior and protector. But what about the ancient Israelites?
Let's look at Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him also gift us all things?” Then verses 38-39. “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What more would God love, who gave even his life to save us? Not only that, but God's power to keep us safe from any power and power in the world will lead us to the kingdom of God. We are the people of this great happiness.
2. However, they neither feel nor enjoy happiness.
We confess that we are satisfied with God alone. But in reality, I am neither satisfied nor happy. Too many Christians live with the many worries of the world and without thinking of happiness. Why?
The cause is that happiness is found in the life of the world. I am happy to have my own home. Happy to have money Happy when your child gets a job. I am happy to have a good job and a good business. Happy to be healthy Nice car, leisure time, etc. If you think of worldly conditions as happiness, you will never enjoy satisfaction or happiness.
Proverbs 27:20 says, “Hell and fame are not satisfied, nor the human eye satisfied.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 says, “He who loves silver is not satisfied with silver, and he who loves abundance does not satisfy with income.” There is no satisfaction; this is also vanity.”
A woman who lost her husband was grieved and lost the will to live. As Christmas approached, the wife fell into deep sorrow over her unbearable loneliness and compassion for her husband. The woman was wandering the streets while getting on the bus recklessly at the last stop of a residential area. It was Christmas Eve, so the faces of the people passing by seemed to be excited with joy. The more he did, the more humble he felt, and he couldn't stand it.
How long has it been? A Christmas song was heard nearby. The lady walked towards the sound. It was a small church, and the hymns of Christmas were resounding, the trees decorated with brilliant lights were twinkling, and it was crowded with people. The woman sat on the back seat as if toppling over and wept and cried in sorrow and self-pity. Then, starving and tired, I fell asleep on my stomach.
The woman who slept deeply and woke up was surprised. There was no one in the church and the inside of the small church looked shabby. It made me wonder if the memory of last night was a fantasy. At that time, two little children with poor looks came into the church. I asked the children who came in lonely this late at night. The children said that they were orphans, and that their wife liked her so much that they wanted her to be their mother.
As she looked back at herself, who had been deeply saddened by the thought that she was the most unhappy she had ever been, she felt very ashamed. The wife left the church with the children, bought some sweets and bread, and gave them gifts. The wife had found her happiness hidden by the orphans. The wife said that she later opened a technical academy for orphans.
We cannot even find true happiness as long as we regard worldly conditions as happiness.
3. We are people who deserve to be happy.
We Christians are people who deserve to be happy. A face full of suffering with a dark face is never the Christian life. The Bible says that God's people had peace in their hearts and their faces shone even though their lives were painful due to persecution and suffering. Deacon Stephen was stoned to a painful death, but his face shone.
Let's look at verses 26-28. Modern Bible. “Moses then blessed all of Israel. There is no other god like the God of Jeshurun, the God who exalted Israel as a noble Jeshurun. He comes in haste to the aid of the people of Israel in a splendid cloud from heaven. The Eternal God is Israel's refuge, He takes Israel with his mighty arm and holds him in His bosom! O Israel, he has commanded you to drive out your enemies before you and to annihilate them. Now Israel will live in a safe place and live alone, drinking from the fountain of Jacob. Heaven will give you dew and rain in abundance, and the earth will give you grain and wine in abundance!”
God works for the happiness of the saints. Therefore, our happiness comes only from God. This is Jeremiah 31:14. “I will satisfy the souls of the priests with oil, and I will satisfy my people with my grace. 2 Corinthians 3:5 says, “Not that we are satisfied with ourselves, thinking anything as of ourselves; our sufficiency is from God alone.”
Do we believe that the Lord is within us? Then let's enjoy happiness now. Thank you for the life you have given me and let's rejoice. While we are enjoying this joy, the Lord will lead us to the harbor of desire.