Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 11: 18 -21 (NIV)
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
Deuteronomy 11: 22 - 25
If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow - to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him- then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea. No mam will be able to stand agains you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.
Deuteronomy 11: 26 - 28
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse -- the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
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Again, I am so struck with the HOLINESS of Our God. I am just in awe of Him.
The more that I read, the more I see the beautiful evidence of grace all the way through the Old Testament. There are also examples that I definitely can see leading to confusion for those who don't know His heart. For an example:
Solomon. He was BRILLIANT. Accomplished more for the Kingdom of God than his father, David, and was wise and just.
However, in Deuteronomy 17: 17 it says, "17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold."
Solomon had HUNDREDS of wives and more than that of concubines! He DEFINITELY amassed large amounts of silver gold -- he was by far the richest man that Israel had ever seen. Even though he was BLATANTLY violating the decrees of God, in His grace, He still used Solomon. Solomon was still the Anointed of the Lord. Wow.
The LAW is black and white, but the grace of God reveals the HEART of God.
The other confusing section that reveals the HEART of God is in Deuteronomy 21.
15 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,16 when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love.17 He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
God made it clear that a man is to have ONE wife, it seems like it would be more fitting to REMIND them of the law. However, in providing for the unloved wife and her children, He is showing grace and His heart of love. I find it to be so beautiful, but at first glance I was just annoyed. Upon further prayer, and consideration, I can see how it is intended, and then how it is misinterpreted by a world that doesn't really want to know the Truth at all.
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