Scripture: “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: 3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. (Deuteronomy 28:1-4 NKJV)
Observation: Chapter 27 contains a series of curses on those who transgress God’s laws. Chapter 28 contains the corresponding blessings on those who obey God’s commands. On our passage today, I particularly like the first words of vs. 9 - “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself.” His promise is that when we accept Him as our God, He becomes our foundation and we will be established firmly on Him.
Application: I like the picture of God as our strong, firm, and everlasting foundation with us being built or our home being built on that firm foundation.
As I write these things, I am coming back from my nephew’s wedding. He was brought up with an alcoholic, physically abuse father. His mother, my sister, became an Adventist in his pre-adolescent years but later left the church. It’s a wonder that my nephew turned out as well as he has! In his late teens and early twenties, he experimented with different lifestyles and religious views. . . I have to confess I really don’t know what he believes – it’s a n eclectic mixture of eastern religions, Christianity, naturalistic views, personal observations, and who knows what else.
My nephew met and married a lovely young lady from a nice Buddhist family; yesterday they had a Buddhist wedding ceremony at mid-day, and later in the day they had a generic wedding (the description of the man who officiated) by an attorney friend who also happens to be a notary public and ca, therefore, officiate at wedding ceremonies.
I couldn’t help but think of all that took place yesterday, on Sabbath, as a young Buddhist girl officially married my former Adventist nephew, with whom she had been living, in a generic wedding ceremony. . . a short, generic service which reflected the beginning of their life together, at least officially, with the God of creation, the God who established marriage and the Sabbath, not invited to their wedding, or their lives, on this His holy day.
I wish them well. I wish them a long life of happiness and joy, health and prosperity. And yet, I can’t help but feel sadness at the beginning of a building of a new home without the firm foundation of God at the center.
Now, as I write these words, I hear again Moses telling the Israelites, “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself.” Who is your foundation? Whose people are you? On Whom is you marriage, your family, being built?
Prayer: Father, our Lord and our Foundation, may we be built on You so we may be firmly established forever.
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