September 26, 2019
Nailed It!
Deuteronomy 30
Laura Ward
Central Truth
Getting rid of gods makes the room for God that He alone deserves.
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 30:6
"And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."
Deuteronomy 30
Repentance and Forgiveness
1 And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, 2 and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. 9 The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
The Choice of Life and Death
11 For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God 1 30:16 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, 2 30:16 Or his just decrees then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 30
There’s a TV commercial with a couple sitting on the couch, and the woman has a nail sticking out of her forehead. The man tries to point it out to her and explain it could be the cause of her pain, but she doesn’t want to acknowledge it's the source of the problem or any of its side effects. When I look back over my life, I can see the nails sticking out of my forehead and the problems they have caused, either for me or to others: pride, bitterness, anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, ungratefulness, busyness, and selfishness. All of these nails were representative of how hard my heart was. At the time, I could not see the problem, but I am so thankful now for the people in my life who stepped up to tell me.
I love The Message version of verse 6: “GOD, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children’s hearts, freeing you to love GOD, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live.” God will do whatever it takes to get rid of the hard parts of our hearts so we can fully love Him—which leads to life!
It’s amazing to see how my life has transformed since He drew my heart toward Him and cut away the calluses (pulling out the nails from my forehead). He has changed me into a joyful, healed, content, forgiving, grateful, and calm person. When my life gets hectic and distractions come, I sometimes find myself turning away from the Lord and drawn to the god of busyness, even with good things like serving in multiple places, attending extra Bible studies, etc. I need to be prayerful consistently and read the Bible daily so I can be grounded in whom the Lord made me to be: a new creation in Christ! May we turn wholeheartedly to Him and choose life so we can love the Lord, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him today!
Discussion Questions
1. What idols take your attention away from the Lord?
2. What can you do today to seek life in Christ rather than death apart from Him?
3. Look back over your life. How have you seen the Lord restore you to Him? (2 Corinthians 5:17) Who can you pray for the Lord to restore to Him? What role can you play in their restoration?
4. What calluses are on your heart that you need to allow the Lord to remove? (Deuteronomy 30:6, The Message)
5. What does wholehearted obedience look like? What is taking up room in your heart and not allowing you to love and follow the Lord wholeheartedly?