#DailyDevotion As The Lord Disciplined The Israelites So Will He Discipline You
October 9th
Read Deut 8:1–20
Deu 8:2,5 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. (5) Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you. (6) So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. Deu 8:17-19 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ (18) You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (19) And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.
The Israelites were called to remember who made them, who provided for them and who it was that was giving them this good land. They were called to remember the Lord. He tested the Israelites or rather disciplined them so they would learn that man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. It is the Word of God that calls into existence and sustains that existence of everything, living or inanimate. If He did not speak the word, the seeds wouldn’t germinate or grow, the cattle wouldn’t reproduce and the sun wouldn’t shine. His Word keeps us in existence.
The Lord disciplined the Israelites like sons. They were his children. “You didn’t build that.” The Lord built it and granted the wealth of the nations to the Israelites whose land they were dispossessing. But they were to take heed that they didn’t forget it. If they did He would remove them from the land, which He ended up doing. They went and worshipped and served other gods.
Now you have come into the Life of God through the Word of God which proceeded from the mouth of God. Jesus is your life. He offers you His eternal life, a life which He won and purchased for you by his life, suffering, death and resurrection. Through being baptized into Jesus, you have become sons of God. And like the Israelites, God will discipline you. We may go through trials and tribulations but our Father in heaven is perfecting our faith so we might looked to Him alone through Christ for every good thing. He also has promised us a good land, a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness reigns. We simply keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. He is faithful and He will do it, i.e. present us to the Father, without blame, guilt, shame, or fault, holy and perfect.
Lord Jesus Christ, but for the joy set before you, you endured the cross and its shame. So begin and perfect in us your faith that with that same joy we may endure the trial and tribulations in our life. Amen.