April 21, Day 111 – On The Road to Something, Somewhere
- Dr. Eric Stricker
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Today we come to Deuteronomy 31:30-32:52. This section begins with the Song of Moses, which is a prophetic work (i.e., pre-written history) that reviews Israel’s past, addresses its present (at the time it was written), and presents its future. Moses begins by telling us that God is our “Rock,” and He is “faithful – He does no wrong. His works are perfect and His ways are upright and just” (verses 3-4). By contrast, man’s ways are “warped, crooked, foolish, unwise, and perverse” (verses 5-6; 20). In verses 7-14, we see God’s unfailing love for Israel. In verses 15-18, we see Israel’s rebellion against God. Here, called “Jeshurun,” Israel “kicked, abandoned, and rejected the Rock his Savior” (verses 15). Verses 19-33 reveal the results of Israel’s apostasy: “The LORD rejected them. God hid His face from them; sent wild beasts against them; made them childless; and scattered them” (verses 19-26). Moses identifies their future captivities and exiles. In verses 34-43, we see that the LORD promises to “take vengeance on His adversaries – the enemies of Israel – and He will make atonement for His people” at the consummation of all things (verses 41-44). Moses closes this chapter with a serious warning: “take heart – these are not just idle words – they are your very life” (verse 47).
Psalm 48:9-14 tells us that “God is our God forever and ever; He will be our Guide even to the end.” Given what we learned about ourselves from today’s reading in Deuteronomy, it’s no wonder that we struggle to find our way along this road of life! Why would we not want a Guide like our God? Here, we also see that – in this life – we are moving toward an “end” (i.e., a definite destination). Many people think that death simply equates to the cessation of life and is then followed by nothing. I recall years ago talking about this to a man who said to me, “When you die, that’s it! That’s the end; that’s all there is, and there’s nothing afterward.” But this Psalm informs us that the eternal God is guiding us ever onward to a conscious, everlasting destination. This truth destroys the belief that life ends in nothingness. God did not initiate human life only to end it nowhere and with nothing. He created us and set eternity in our hearts (cf., Ecclesiastes 3:11), – so we are all on the road to something, somewhere. Alone, we cannot see the pitfalls along the road ahead – which is why we need a Guide like our God.
Luke 19:45-20:26 informs us that “Jesus was teaching at the temple every day” (verse 47). We marvel when we see how many of the Jewish elite (i.e., “the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the leaders,” cf., verse 47) opposed our Guide and then later killed Him – just like in the parable of the vineyard (cf., Luke 20:9-17). These elite leaders “looked for a way to arrest Him immediately because they knew He had spoken this parable against them” (verse 19). They even sent “spies who pretended to be honest” (verse 20). That’s such a curious statement. How does one “pretend to be honest?” Pretending to be honest is much harder work than just being honest. Pretending to be honest is just dishonesty trying to remember all the lies it told, but to be honest, all one needs to do is simply tell the truth. These scoundrels exposed their own “duplicity” (verse 23), and Jesus told them plainly that what they owed to Caesar needed to be paid to Caesar. And with that response, they all “became silent” (verse 26).
Comments