Today's Scripture
A land that the Lord your God cares for – Deuteronomy 11:8-17
Today’s Reading Schedule: Deuteronomy 8-10- Click to read
8 “You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9 and that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. 11 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.
Devotion
What Does the passage Mean to Me/US?
In Deuteronomy, Moses gives the people his final instructions from God as they are about to enter the Promised Land.
He encourages them that the land is a good land, “flowing with milk and honey”. A land unlike Egypt where they had come from. A “land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from Heaven”. A land where “the eyes of the Lord are always upon it.”
He reminds them to “keep the whole commandment” that they may be strong, take possession of the land and live long in it. Importantly, Moses cautions the people not to get distracted or deceived and turn away from the Lord to other Gods.
While on our recent tour of Israel, the meaning of the phrase “flowing with milk and honey” was brought up. We learned that, as with much of the Bible, our understanding of the text was limited without fully understanding the context and the actual language it was written in. At least part of the context is that in Egypt where they come from, milk and honey were closely connected to the fertility rites. But the more practical understanding was that “milk” represented a land where flocks and herds of goats, sheep and cows would thrive, and “honey” represented a land where there was abundant fruit and vegetable crops, along with water, where bees would thrive!
We also learned that the geology of northern Israel was very similar to Roanoke and western Virginia! The rock formations are of porous limestone. caverns and springs are abundant. So the phrase Moses used, of a land which “drinks water by the rain from Heaven”, was very accurate. The rains would fall on the mountain slopes and travel via underground channels in the limestone into the valleys and emerge as springs!
Like Moses, we can affirm the blessing of God of living in a “good land”! But like the people of Israel, our challenge remains the same. Can we stay focused each day, every day, even for the brief period of Lent, to see and perceive God’s blessings and grace and respond with obedience and worship. We are also challenged to keep the whole law, but in a different way. Jesus message was that he was not setting aside any part of the law but fulfilling it. So as the body of Christ, our charge is to stay focused on Jesus, individually and together. This season of Lent is a great time to refocus.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
We are blessed to live in a “good land”! Yet even more, we are blessed by your grace and mercy. Draw us close to you. Keep our hearts and minds free of deception and deceit, that our song is the constant joy of living in your presence. Strengthen us to not look away from your sacrifice of love on the cross, so that we can testify that it was our sin too that held you there to your last breath. But we can then also testify that your love and obedience had the last word, bringing God’s plan of salvation to all people.
In Jesus Christ. Amen.
Contributed by Larry Dickenson
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