Title: The Obedient (III)/Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Obedient (III)/Deuteronomy 30:15-20
We have three talks about obedience. No, we've been hearing and being taught about obedience from cradle to grave all our lives. However, they say, “I will” and “I will do it.” But the reality is that you cannot practice obedience or make a decision as easily as you say. Today we find a concluding lesson in Deuteronomy 30.
1. Choose life.
Verse 19 says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” We must discover the importance of choice here. God has set before us life and death, blessings and curses, eternity and moments. And he tells you to choose one of the two. In Genesis 13, there was a conflict between Abraham and his nephew Lot over pasture, water, and housing. Abraham, who felt sorry for this, called Lot one day and said to Lot, "Aren't we one flesh? But it makes no sense that my shepherds and your shepherds are fighting over grass and water to feed the animals. You choose. Look at that wide field. If you are right, I will choose left; if you left, I will choose right. You must first choose the land. And let us not fight each other and live by sharing our feelings of flesh and bone.”
Genesis 13:10-11 says, "So Lot had plenty of water and grass, so he chose Sodom and Gomorrah, where the Jordan fields and cities were formed like the Garden of Eden. In a word, it has preempted all of the good location conditions and good places to live. But what was the result of that choice? Later, Sodom and Gomorrah were judged by brimstone fire and became a city of death, and Lot became a refugee. Lot became the main character of the god of destruction due to visible conditions and convenience-oriented choices. We must always be careful in our choices. And you have to be wise.
There are several criteria for selection. First, you should focus on the invisible rather than the visible. This is because content is more important than packaging, and personality and faith are more important than appearance. Second, we must value spiritual things more than material things. The world has an end, power has an end, and health has an end. Beauty has an end and money has an end. But the kingdom of God has no end. Choosing and cherishing the eternal over the finite is the wise man's attitude in life.
Right now, we are going through a severe ordeal due to the IMF cold wave. Soaring inflation, rumors of a foreign exchange crisis in April-May, job layoffs, collective bankruptcy, economic stagnation, social turmoil, etc., cannot be counted. There is an end to such phenomena and suffering. It doesn't last for thousands of years. And if you give up your faith and leave the church because of those things, you are a fool to give up eternity for a moment. We should not give up or give up on eternal things because of visible pain or despair.
Third, you have to choose between the two. You cannot go to Busan and Gangneung from Seoul at the same time. You can't go to Ssang Paulo and New York at the same time. I can only go to one. Either you choose the lowly or you choose the precious. You have to choose either the worthless or the valuable.
Joshua was a wise choice. He said to the people of Israel, "Choose whom you will serve today. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) Looking at the history of Israel, when they chose to believe in God, they were rich and prosperous, but they worshiped idols When chosen, they perish. The text tells us to “choose life and blessing”. Let's choose a good one. Let's choose a way to live. Let's choose what is eternal and valuable.
2. Love, obey and be submissive.
Verse 20 says, “Love the LORD your God, obey his word, and be obedient to him.” Love and obedience are like two legs in one body. Love and obedience have two principles. One is that if you love, you will obey. There is no one who does not listen to the person he loves. And love is a principle, obedience is an action.
While tigers are kept as pets, there are people who keep kobura snakes, monkeys, dogs, cats, etc. They are ferocious beasts and silent beasts, but the secret to taming and nurturing them is to express love. Everyone loves to listen to what they love.
The other is that in order to be loved, you must obey. Raising and taming pigs and petting them, calling them "pig" in a sweet and gentle voice, makes them follow people and become docile. But every time the pig is called, he screams in an angry voice, "Angel!" with his eyes wide open, which makes him nervous and defiant. This means that language itself does not tame a person or beast, it is the expression that matters.
The human body and mind will decline if not used. Modern civilization has made human life as convenient as possible. The TV or audio can also be turned on and off by remote control. The door also opens and closes automatically, not by hand. You do not have to go to work, you do your business at home on your computer, and if you call 'my home' without dialing the phone, your home will be called. So, it is the concern of meaningful people that if it goes on like this, it will turn into a deformed human that can only be seen in the movie 'ET'. In other words, they are worried that the head will be large and the limbs and pelvis will become as thin as chopsticks. Even our souls must obey in order not to become deformed. That is, we must develop our minds and souls toward obedience.
In the middle of verse 20 of the text, it says, "Be immersed." The word edema means "to unite" or "to cling to". This is to live close to God's Word just as a married couple should live closely. You must not be separated from God. We must not depart from the Word of God. It must be tight. It should stick. Only then will you be blessed.
3. Results of obedience At the end of verse 20, it says, "You will dwell in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." We should note two things here.
1) If you obey, your blessings will last.
That you will receive the blessings that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob received. That blessing is continuous and lasting. In other words, the descendants inherit the blessings that the ancestors received. It is better to pass on and live well from generation to generation than to live well in the generations of our ancestors, but to perish in future generations. The lesson of the text is that if we obey, it will happen.
2) It is a future-oriented blessing.
The “land into which you will enter and dwell” in verse 20 is the land of Canaan. The land of Canaan is the land where Israel will live in the future. It is not the land in front of you. Of course, obedience brings blessings to you today. But God's promises are more forward-looking.
Verse 16 says, “If you obey, you will live and multiply, and God will bless you in the land you went and acquired.” It means that you are blessed now and will be blessed in the future. The land of Canaan we enter is heaven. Who enters heaven and enjoys eternal life? They are obedient and trusting in the Lord.
One day God gave Noah a command to build an ark. Common sense is that shipyards that build ships should be on the seashore. But God told him to go up to the top of Mount Ararat and build a boat. Of course, that was because the future flood would cover the tops of Mount Ararat, but it was an absurd command for Noah. But he obeyed.
One day God commanded Abraham to leave Haran, where he was living. Haran, where he lived, was his second hometown, where he was economically and family stable. But he obeyed. One day, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. It was impossible, but he obeyed.
One day, the father ordered his eldest son to go out and work in the fields. The eldest son replied, "Yes, don't worry. I'll go to work soon." When I asked the second son, "Go and work," the second refused, saying, "No, I have a lot of work to do." But after a while, I saw that the second was out in the field and working hard.
The Lord asked which of these two was the more obedient son. It is unquestionably the second son. But more importantly, answering "Yes, I will. I will" and obeying immediately is the best attitude.
A couple fighting and quarreling over marital conflict went to a psychologist one day. He told the couple the story of his marriage. "We were not 100% satisfied with each other. We each have weaknesses and shortcomings. But that's why we liked him and loved him nonetheless, and we've been living together for 30 years."
Obedience is possible with love. Even if it is difficult, let us be more obedient because it is difficult. You must obey to be blessed. You must obey to receive grace. You must obey to receive the Holy Spirit. You must obey to enter the land of Canaan. There is peace in obedience. A family or church that believes and obeys each other can become a paradise, but it should be noted that a family or church that doubts and disobeys each other is turning into hell day by day.
Obedience is more important than sacrifice. Obedience is more important than service. Let's take off the mask of disobedience. Be obedient and be a blessed Christian. Amen