Pastor Billington's Blog

Deuteronomy 11

Throughout this passage we have the reminder that we are a repository of truth for our children and grandchildren. God reminded the Israelites that they had seen and experienced His mighty works during their journey, but their children hadn’t. They were responsible for passing their knowledge on!

Deuteronomy 11:18-20 (WEB) “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates.”

Our children need to hear about the truthfulness of the Bible from us. They need to know that God has worked in the past, and that He is still working now. They need to see the truth of God modeled in our lives. They need to understand that following God brings blessing, and that disobedience brings consequences!

Deuteronomy 11:26 (WEB) “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse…“

Thought for the day: God promises us the blessings of His presence and His Spirit when we believe, but sin can bring negative consequences instead.

Ephesians 4:30 (WEB) “Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Deuteronomy 10

When Moses came down from the mountain to catch the Israelites in idolatry, he smashed the tablets that God gave him. God remade them, and commanded Moses to put them in an ark, which they were carrying with them. The priesthood cared for it, with Aaron’s descendants carrying on after his death.

God’s sovereignty is shown through His creation and His choice of them. What does He require from them, since He created and chose them?

Deuteronomy 10:12 (WEB) “Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Thought for the day: There is another, similar passage that is more well known. Both of them remind us of what is really important in God’s eyes.

Micah 6:8 (WEB) “He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Deuteronomy 9

Why is God giving the promised land to His people? It’s not because of their righteousness. It’s not because they deserve it. It’s because of the utter sinfulness and immorality of the people that are currently in the land! And then, to prove it to them, Moses recites some of the ways that they’ve failed God along the journey. They certainly haven’t been righteous. In fact, there have been times God has threatened to destroy them and start over! But Moses pleaded for them, even going so far as to suggest to God that His honor would be impugned by the nations if He destroyed His people, and they are saved.

Thought for the day: Jesus is our model for intercession, and Paul reminds us of our responsibility to engage in the ministry of intercession.

Romans 8:34 (WEB) “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

1 Timothy 2:1 (WEB) “I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men.”

Deuteronomy 8

Humility. It’s at the heart of Christianity. Through humility we understand that we need a Savior. Through humility we understand how much God has done for us. Through humility we realize that God has a purpose in testing. Through humility we realize what we owe Him, and we willingly worship and obey!

Unfortunately, the more we get from God (either spiritually or physically), the more we take Him for granted, and the more we think that we are responsible for what we have. God warns them here: they will want to say, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.” That’s the trap. That’s when they (and we) need to focus and remember what God has done.

Thought for the day: Jesus reminds us of the importance of humility in our walk with God.

Matthew 5:3 (WEB) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Deuteronomy 7

Here God tells His people that they are special and chosen. That they have a future and a hope. That they don’t need to fear the nations because He has promised that they will be victorious if they worship and obey Him!

What does this teach us for our lives today? First, we should be so devoted to God that we put aside any things or relationships that threaten to take us away from him. Second, because of His great love (shown to us through Jesus Christ) we should be willing to obey Him. Third, because of our obedience we can expect blessing. And finally, although we don’t engage in physical battle, we do engage in spiritual warfare, and God tells us that we don’t need to fear!

Ephesians 6:10-18 (WEB) “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace, above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints.”

Thought for the day: Obedience brings blessing? Yes, but the blessings we receive now aren’t national or necessarily physical. The blessings are primarily spiritual!

Ephesians 1:3 (WEB) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

Galatians 5:22-23 (WEB) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.”

Deuteronomy 6

And here we have the summation statement for the first tablet of the law: “you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” What Moses makes clear for Israel in this chapter is also true for us!

• We show our devotion through obedience and service (6:1-13).
• We show our devotion in worship – no other gods (6:14-19).
• We show our devotion by teaching our children about God (6:6-7, 20-25).

Thought for the day: We don’t deserve our inheritance. Just as God choose Israel and gave them an inheritance (6:10-11), so He chose us, and we should worship Him because of it!

1 Peter 2:9 (WEB) “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Deuteronomy 5

Think of the 10 commandments as shorthand for the law, and a fitting way to remind the Israelites of their responsibilities. They were on two tablets, with one tablet traditionally recognized as providing guidance for relating to God, and the second guiding their relationships with each other. The division became a convenient way to summarize the law: love God and love your neighbor. But the ten commandments were made for us as well. Nine of the ten are repeated in the New Testament. The only one that isn’t is the one about keeping the Sabbath. We are still called to worship, both privately and corporately, but the Sabbath itself was for Israel.

Exodus 31:13 (NLT) “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.“

If a New Testament believer chooses to keep a Sabbath, then that’s a personal choice.

Romans 14:5-6 (WEB) “One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.”

Thought for the day: Moses reminds them of their response to God’s majesty when they received the commandments. It’s the response God expects us all to have!

Deuteronomy 5:29 (WEB) “Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!”

Deuteronomy 4

God’s Word is God’s Word. It shouldn’t be added to. It shouldn’t be subtracted from. It should be obeyed! The Israelite’s have experienced God intimately. They have known His blessing and His judgment. They are uniquely qualified among all the nations on earth to understand the truth that there is only one God who should be followed and worshiped.

Thought for the day: One of the most important things we can do as God’s people is to teach our children and grandchildren about Him!

Deuteronomy 4:9 (WEB) “Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children.”

Deuteronomy 3

The history lesson is almost complete, but it ends on a dark note. Moses pleads with God to be able to enter the promised land, but he will not, and we get an extra bit to the story here. Yes, Moses disobeyed (Numbers 20:10-12), but he believes there is more to it than that: “but Yahweh was angry with me because of you.” We might be tempted to write this off as Moses’ bitterness over what happened to him, but, since the Spirit inspired the Word, there must be some truth to it. At the very least, Moses allowed his frustration to drive him to do something improper. Now, while his reaction is not their fault, there is a reminder here that leadership is difficult, and that the behavior and actions of those we lead affect us. We would also do well to remember that Moses is the head of the nation. Just as all sinned in Adam, and those who are saved are made alive in Christ, so Moses is a representative at this point. Since he bears the burden of responsibility, so he bears the burden of judgment as well.

Thought for the day: Although we may desire more responsibility in certain areas of life, we would do well to remember that there are additional consequences for that leadership.

James 3:1 (WEB) “Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgement.”