Week 12 Devotions

March 19 - - “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). Israel was the first nation to find out that God isn’t just interested in blessing individuals, but in also blessing entire nations of people, IF they walk in obedience to Him. “The Lord has declared today that you are His people, His own special treasure, just as He promised, and that you must obey all His commands. And if you do, He will make you greater than any other nation. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as He promised” (Deuteronomy 26:18&19). The history of Israel shows us that God is true to His promise. When they obeyed God and did as He commanded, they were the greatest nation on the earth. As if to make sure they heard what He was promising them, that assurance is repeated over and over in scripture. “If you fully obey the Lord your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world.....The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!” (28:1,7). “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways, the Lord will establish you as His holy people as He solemnly promised to do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you” (28:9&10). “You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God and carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand” (28:12&13). But, IF they chose not to listen to God, their punishment would be just as severe.(28:15-68). “You will be cursed wherever you go, both in coming and in going” (28:19). “The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth” (28:25). “You will grope around in broad daylight, just like a blind person groping in the darkness, and you will not succeed at anything you do. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you” (28:29). “Just as the Lord has found great pleasure in helping you to prosper and multiply, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you, until you disappear from the land you are about to enter and occupy” (28:63). Given the options of being blessed IF a nation of people obeys God, or being cursed IF a nation of people ignores and disobeys God, why would anyone want anything other than God’s blessings? And what is true of nations is also true of individuals. The choice of what we do with God is ours, as are the consequences of our choice. What will your choice be? March 22 - - It would be difficult to follow a legend in any field; whether it is a great football coach, an outstanding preacher, a President, etc. The successor would always be laboring in the shadows of, and being compared to, his/her predecessor. The Bible says of Moses, “there has never been another prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.....it was through Moses that the Lord demonstrated His mighty power and terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel” (Deuteronomy 34:10,12). Those are very strong words of commendation. But, someone had to follow Moses and lead Israel, and that someone was Joshua. God spoke to Joshua and gave him the formula for success. “Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. I command you - - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7-9). Those words sound like good advice for all of us, no matter who we are or what we do. They serve us well whether we are parents, a business owner, a foreman at work, the manager of a team, an elected representative, the leader of a nation, etc. Solomon was smart enough to know that if he was to do a good job of leading the people of Israel, he would need more than his own abilities and knowledge. That is why when God offered to give Solomon whatever he wanted, Solomon did not request the usual things most of us would, like: riches, long life, fame, etc. Solomon exercised wisdom when he asked, “Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great nation of yours?” (I Kings 3:9). How important is the Word of God to us? How disciplined are we in reading God’s Word, meditating on God’s Word, claiming the promises of God’s Word in our prayers, memorizing God’s Word, and utilizing God’s Word in the decisions we make? God, Himself, tells us that the success of anything we do in life, will be in direct correlation to our love of His Word and our obedience to it. As a matter of fact, because Joshua did as God told him to, the Bible tells us, “for the rest of Joshua’s life, the Israelites revered him as much as they had revered Moses” (Joshua 4:14).