November 12, 2013
GOD'S WORD IS LIFE ITSELF!
Deuteronomy 32:44-52
Katelyn Glosser
Central Truth
The Word of God is not merely a source of helpful suggestions, preventive warnings, or inspirational thoughts. It is LIFE itself! To blatantly disregard God's Word is to reject life itself. To obey God's Word is the surest way to experience all that God has in store for us.
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 32:47
"For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you will prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess." (Deuteronomy 32:47)
Deuteronomy 32:44-52
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua 1 32:44 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew Hoshea the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Moses' Death Foretold
48 That very day the LORD spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 32:44-52
In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God commands the people of Israel to bind His Word on their hearts, to teach His Word to their children, and to discuss the meaning of His Word on a regular basis in their homes. God wanted His people to hold His Word as the most prominent, valued, and important facet of their lives.
In this passage, God gathers the children of Israel at the edge of the Promised Land to reflect on the spiritual and physical pilgrimage they have been on with God. The children of Israel spent 40 years wandering in the desert because their parents had not trusted God's Word. Their parents also died before receiving the blessing of seeing the Promised Land because they had not believed God's Word.
This passage foreshadows that even the revered Moses was soon to leave the Israelites because he also had not shown proper reverence to God's Word. This passage could also be titled "Moses' national anthem," because he passionately declares that obedience to God's Word is the key to living long in the Promised Land that God had prepared for them. Moses pleads with the leaders of the Israelites to constantly repeat his "national anthem" to the people as a reminder that death is the consequence of disobeying God's Word and they will not get to experience all that God has in store for them.
By the grace of God, death is not our consequence today for disobeying God's Word. God sent his Son to die on the cross for the penalty of our sin! Jesus bore the consequence for our sin so we would not have to! What an incredibly loving God we serve! When we disobey God's Word, we might not immediately suffer the consequence of physical death, but we still suffer a consequence. The consequence of missing out on all the life-giving experiences God has in store for us when we live in Him and for Him!
When we reject God's Word, we reject LIFE itself!
Discussion Questions
1. How often do you spend time in God's Word?
2. Do you spend more time reading and studying the words of people (even Christian authors) rather than the Word of God?
3. Does your life reflect that God's Word is the most important value in your life?
4. Disobedience to God's commands was an action worthy of death in the Old Testament times. Do you believe obedience to God's Word is so important that you can understand these consequences?