Day 67 - Deuteronomy 29-30

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 67 - Deuteronomy 29-30 (Choose Life By Obeying God)
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"I 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; that 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;..." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

Before the Israelites advanced to conquer the land of Canaan, Moses had half of the of the leaders of the twelve tribes stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people and the other half of the leaders stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses should the people become unfaithful to God who delivered them out of bondage in Egypt and who chose them to become His special people.  And so Moses warns the people in our text above to choose life by obeying Him instead of choosing death by becoming unfaithful to Him.

Sadly, the Israelites mostly chose to disobey God and as a result have brought the curses pronounced on Mount Ebal upon themselves as history attest.  In the New Testament, we are told that the tragedy of Israel's disobedience as the resulting punishment to her serves as a lesson for Christians to be wise and choose life by obeying God's commands.

Although the Bible teaches that we are saved not by doing good but only by putting our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross as payment for our sins, it also teaches that disobedience to God carries with it consequences for the sinner.  The believer who chooses to sin will be disciplined by His heavenly Father as the author of Hebrews explains:

    And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;For whom the Lord loves He chastens,And scourges every son whom He receives."    (Hebrews 12:5-6)  
So what will it be for you?  Will you choose life by obeying God or will you choose death              by deciding to live your life as you want regardless of what God says in His Word?  I pray you choose life.