Today we begin Deuteronomy Chapter Twelve.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James version, click here.
Deuteronomy 12 is one of those chapters whose contents we’re going to take our good old sweet time in studying.
This is one of those parts of the Bible just jam-packed with amazing spiritual principles vital to our walk with the Lord starting from even the first couple of verses!
The truth be told, chapters 1-11 of Deuteronomy were basically just an introduction of what’s about to begin from Deuteronomy 12.
Many Bible scholars have also recognized this and as a result have even went so far as to give this particular part of Scripture its own name.
They call it “The Code of Deuteronomy“.
Before moving forward however, there is one supreme and overriding God-principle I want to make sure you get.
What ultimate God-principle am I talking about?
Well, the best way for me to explain it is to say that our God is NOT like Don Corleone from The Godfather.
In other words, whereas Don Corleone made offers that couldn’t be refused (or else), when God asked Israel “Do you want to be my people and would you like me to be your God?”, that was an offer that could be refused…
…and it was an offer that could be refused minus consequence.
God was essentially telling Israel “If you’re not interested in entering into a relationship with me, no problem, Just walk away.”
Again, Israel would not have suffered any special curses or severe ramifications for declining.
They would have simply lost their chosen status as a people holy unto God and been thrown back into the universal pool of the gentile nations from which they were originally plucked and the Lord would have started over with another people group.
The exact same thing applies to those are given the opportunity to be grafted into Israel’s covenants by accepting Yeshua as their Lord and Savior.
God has given us free will, so we have the right to say yes or no to God’s gracious offer of salvation.
Just because we decline doesn’t mean we’re all of a sudden gonna be cursed to a life of poverty, sickness or unhappiness during our time here on earth.
Heck sometimes the opposite might occur as historically speaking the people of God have suffered much persecution.
However, if you decline, you have to come to terms with the fact that you will be excluded from a relationship with the Lord and all of the spiritual blessings attached to that relationship.
This is something we must never forget.
If we make that momentous decision to accept the Lord’s invitation and be grafted into the covenants He has only made with the nation of Israel, then we’ve got to come to terms with the fact that we are agreeing to obey the conditions and commandments attached to the covenant.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too, even if you’re a gentile.
Just as it was in the days of Moses, so it is today.
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