19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful to him. For he is your life, and he will prolong your days as you live in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) Choose Life (19): This is a repetition of what has gone before: Life and death, blessings and curses. The command is to choose life through obedience. The Lord pointed to his creation (heaven and earth: power in storms and earthquakes instead of peace and calm) as a guarantee that what he said would happen if the people were disobedient. (Ancient covenants often contained a list of gods as witnesses.) It was a choice; a choice that they needed to make. Their decision would affect not only their lives but the generations to come. Total Commitment (20): Moses concluded his sermon by urging them to be totally committed in three ways: (1) love the Lord, (2) obey the Lord, and (3) remain faithful. They were to keep his commands close to their hearts and the Lord would provide life. He was the cornerstone of their existence. Further, he was about to fulfill his promise to give them a land of their own. Notice the new covenant parallel: by choosing to believe the Lord’s promise of salvation, we will be given eternal life and the indwelling Spirit. He is our cornerstone. The promise of both the old and new covenants is life. In both cases a decision is required. Then the battle begins. For the Israelites it was eliminating the pagan influence. In our case that means changing the way we think and act. Choosing God is to choose life. Challenge: Have you chosen life? Are you totally committed to the Lord? Are you experiencing the blessing of total commitment? If God is not at the center of your life, something else is. Timothy Keller

15 See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow in worship to other gods and serve them, 18 I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. (Deuteronomy 30:15-18)  Prosperity and Adversity (15): The word prosperity in the Hebrew is much broader than financial resources. It meant being filled with Joy and kindness, having a sense of security as well as material, relational, and spiritual well-being. Adversity, on the other hand, referred to the unpleasant, evil, or cruel experiences that resulted from. This was a quick summary of the message on blessings and curses in chapter 28. Steps to Obedience (16): included (1) Love the Lord, (2) walk in his ways, and (3) keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances. God commanded obedience. By this God would multiply their families as well as their flocks and fields in the land they would occupy, indicating that they would prosper. This was in contrast with the earlier generation who had been slaves in Egypt. The Lord reminded the people that God would be with them in the challenges and difficulties that lay ahead. Moses exhorted the Israelites to be totally committed in following his commands and thereby receive his blessings. Obedience brings both quantity and quality of life to both individuals and community. Steps to Failure (17): He knows we fail to keep his statutes and ordinances. We are distracted by all that glitters in our society. We get tripped up by our selfish motives. Moses then laid out a five-step digression or slippery slope to disobedience. (1) It begins with the heart, that is observing all that sparkles; seeing the Canaanite’s freedom or lack of constraints; (2) a failure to listen to the Lord. (3) giving into temptation. (4) worshiping false gods and finally (5) serving those gods. Total Commitment (18) A decline in trust, faith, or obedience leads to death and a shorter life. Moses urged the people to make a total commitment while God’s faithfulness was fresh in their minds. He promised a long life and prosperity if they obeyed or disaster would overtake them. Challenge : Do you understand the difference between the dictionary and biblical definitions of prosperity? Do you see disobedience as a rejection of God? Have you been fooled into believing that there is no penalty for sin? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

11 “This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach. 12 It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 13 And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 14 But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14) Chapter 30 is the conclusion of Moses final message to the people. In it, he exhorted them to obey the statutes and ordinances so they would be blessed. If they did not, they would be subject to curses He reminded the people of the Lord’s covenant with them and the need to keep their part to be successful in everything they did. He reassured them of hope for the future based on his demonstrated power and faithfulness in the past. The command referred to verse 11 is all the laws, statutes, and ordinances he gave to Moses. He told them that they were not too difficult to understand or obey. Obedience is possible. And through obedience came success. Verse 6 says: 6 The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live. Understanding, believing, and obeying the Lord’s covenant was not beyond them. Knowing God’s commands does not require a journey or intense effort. Nor do the people need to seek a messenger. The commands came from heaven; they were right at hand. They were not lofty or unobtainable. The gods of the Egyptians and Canaanites were distant and did not express their desires. The gods were a product of their imagination, and their rules were not clearly defined. The people had to guess as to what their god’s wanted. In contrast, God’s covenant was perfectly clear and easy to follow. They did not have to search for it nor go to great distances to find it and then get someone to explain it to them. The message (singular), or God’s instructions were close. It was not confusing or rambling but consistent, clear, and unified. It established God’s redemption, forgiveness, restoration, and reestablished his relationship with the fallen. Moses said that the message was in their mouths. That meant that they had already repeated the truths. From their mouths it would enter their hearts and become the center of their being and control their thinking and behavior. Like leaven, it would permeate all areas of their life. It was not like the universe which was filled with mystery. The message was that there was no mystery to living the obedient life. All they needed to know was contained in the covenant that had been disclosed to them.  In Romans 10, Paul said: 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven?” , that is, to bring Christ down 7 or, “Who will go down into the abyss?” , that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. 8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. , (Romans 10:6-8) Challenge: Are God’s commands, statures, ordinances, and laws easy to understand? How do you receive understanding? “Don't fall into the trap of studying the Bible without doing what it says.” -Francis Chan

29 “When the Lord your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land, 30 be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’ 31 You must not do the same to the Lord your God, because they practice every detestable act, which the Lord hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 Be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it. (Deuteronomy 12:29-32)  The Battle was to be the Lord’s (29): Moses told the people that God would destroy the Canaanites and other peoples but that they were responsible for driving them out; they were his instruments. Under Joshua’s leadership the Lord gave the people instructions for defeating the Canaanites. The battle to clear out the Canaanites took five years. The people fought but the Lord brought the victories. No Distractions (30): The people were to worship him and not allow the worship and practices of the Canaanites to compromise the worship of the one true God. Nor were they to inquire or investigate Canaanite practices as it would become a distraction. The command is “Don’t even think about it!” They were to be single-minded. They were not to be distracted by the irrelevant. One Place (31-32): They were to worship one God in one place. They were to remain separate and distinct from the practices of the people/nations around them because their worship practices were depraved. (32) Again, the warning was to worship he Lord as he instructed them. Do not bring in or add any pagan practices nor remove anything from the Lord’s instructions. Merrill points out that we now have the Lord’s commands, laws, statutes, and ordinance in one place: the Word of God. Challenge : What distracts you in our private and public worship? What baggage do you bring to your worship? Do you come with a clean heart? “Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us.” A.W. Tozer

8 “You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own sight. 9 Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security, 11 then the Lord your God will choose the place to have his name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your choice offerings you vow to the Lord. (Deuteronomy 12: 8-11)  The call for a change in worship (8): The statement in v8 that “you are not to do as we are doing here today” an indication that they could not worship as prescribed by the book of Leviticus while they enroute to the promised land. Once they were in the promised land, worship would be different. Moses then warned the people that they are doing what was right in their own eyes. While the same thought occurs in Judges 21:25 concerning sinful living, what Moses was referring to the fact that they had no set pattern for worship. Moses was not condemning the people. He was redirecting them. Rest (9-10): Moses promised the people they would receive rest from wandering once they occupied the promised land. We know from the book of Joshua that it took five years to conquer the land. They could not rest until the land had been conquered. Moses linked rest and security to the elimination of the Canaanites. The author of the book of Hebrews warned his audience that they would not receive rest if they failed to keep the faith. He reminded them that the rebellious generation failed to keep the faith at Kadesh Barnea and never received rest. Believers receive rest by accepting the Lord’s offer of salvation and making him Lord. The Chosen Place (11): In verses 5-6 the Lord directed them to worship at one place. Here Moses states that the Lord would choose that place after the enemies have been removed. He also directed them to bring their first fruits, tithes, offerings, and sacrifices to the place of worship. Commentator Eugene Merrill points out that the Israelites had local altars. For example: Joshua built an altar to celebrate the entrance into the promised land, Gideon built one to acknowledge his encounter with the angel. Elijah built one to demonstrate God’s power over Baal. Challenge: Are you enjoying God’s rest? Is your personal worship away from distractions? "As worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. Holy obedience saves worship from becoming an opiate, an escape from the pressing needs of modern life." Richard Foster

. 4 Don’t worship the Lord your God this way. 5 Instead, turn to the place the Lord your God chooses from all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling and go there. 6 You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 You will eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do, because the Lord your God has blessed you. (Deuteronomy 12:4-7)  Instead . . . (4): Having ordered the removal of pagan idols, the Lord then turned to where the people were to worship. For more that 40 years God had guided them by the cloud and spoke to them at the entrance to the tabernacle. He was a living being not a product of their hands or imagination. Therefore, worshiping him was to be unique. Further they were prohibited from any form of worship that incorporated forms from the Canaanites. Instead of worshiping in multiple places, they were to worship at one place. One Place (5-6): The Lord told the people to bring their offerings and sacrifices to one place; not multiple places like the Canaanites. That was the tabernacle. When they had crossed the Jordan river, they placed the tabernacle at Gilgal near Jericho. Then once they occupied the Land, they moved it to Shilo northeast of present-day Jerusalem. At the time of the Judges, it was at Bethel about 12 miles north of Jerusalem. (The Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 was referring this command when she asked Jesus about where people were to worship.) The Lord specified in Leviticus that the people were to bring their offerings and sacrifices to the tabernacle at three times: Passover – unleavened bread – May or June, Shavuot – first fruits or early wheat harvest – March or April, and Sukkot – Harvest festival – September or October. They had not been able to do that since leaving Mt. Sinai. This is important because once the land was occupied, the people were spread out over 10,800 square miles unlike today where we celebrate the resurrection weekly at a place near where we live. Rejoicing (7) Their worship was to be a community celebration, a rejoicing before the Lord in recognition of him bringing them to the land and everything he had done for them. The purpose of their worship was to celebrate what the Lord had done for them. Challenge: Do you have one place for your quiet time? Do you have place where you worship regularly? Is worship with a community of believers a regular part of your life? “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration.” William Temple

“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth. 2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. 3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place. 4 Don’t worship the Lord your God this way. 5 Instead, turn to the place the Lord your God chooses from all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling and go there. 6 You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 You will eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do, because the Lord your God has blessed you. (Deuteronomy 12:1-3) Moses continued his second message with a focus on proper worship. The next four weeks will be about having no other God before him. Possess the Land (1): Once again, Moses exhorted the Israelites to carefully follow the Lord’s statutes and ordinances upon entering the land. They were the framework or bookends for his messages. Statutes and ordinances encompass the entire law. Moses urged the people to write them on their hearts. Moses continued to refer to the Land as having been given to them – past tense. The land was theirs even though they did not possess it. Action was required for them to take ownership. They had to move in. It was a promise fulfilled but not realized. John 3:16 states that God offered or promised salvation to everyone through Jesus. In other words, salvation or eternal life is there, available, in front of us. But before one can possess eternal life, we need to take a step of faith. Action is required to see the promises of God, fulfilled. Destroy all forms of Canaanite worship (2-3): In the first verse the focus shifts from the promised land to worship. The God of Israel was radically different from the gods of Canaan and therefore required a radically different form of worship. The Canaanites worship was an attempt to pacify their gods. For Israel, worship was to be a celebration, giving thanks, and confession. Because their worship was different, God commanded them to destroy the Canaanite idols and worship sites wherever they were found. The Hebrew conveys, “Do not leave any evidence of Canaanite worship practices.” Pagan worship takes place at prominent land features – mountains, rocks, and trees where the raise Asherah poles or set up altars. Psalm 121 opens with: I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” David is asking if he received help from Ashura or Baal. The answer was no. He got help from the Lord. Asherah was the Canaanite god of fertility and consort to Baal their chief god. Peaceful coexistence was (is) not an option. Challenge: What are your idols? Are you investing time and resources in things that will be burned up in the end-times? (2 Peter 3:10)? Are focusing on things made by human hands or the products of human thinking. “What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, and anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give… An idol is whatever you look at and say in your heart of hearts: ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’ There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.” ~ Tim Keller

20 “When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. 22 Before our eyes the Lord inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, 23 but he brought us from there in order to lead us in and give us the land that he swore to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the Lord our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today. 25 Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’ (Deuteronomy 6:23-25) Raising Questions (v20): “When your son asks you . . . ” The father was to pass his faith on to his sons. Knowing that, You (singular) need to be prepared to use the questions as teaching points indicating a one-to-one conversation. However, the content of the message indicates that the parents should be able to explain why they believed as they did and living as a living example of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances – that he had given the Israelites.  When one’s lifestyle is different, it will raise questions. The Lord said that when the Israelites followed his directions for living, it would raise questions. We are to be a continual reminder of the Lord, what he has done for us (history), and his commands. The daily challenges of life can lead to forgetting our history and his commands. Therefore, we are to be a constant reminder to others and constantly remind the next generation. Tell Our Story (v21-23): The Lord explained that their testimony was to be done in a story form, that is, recounting the history of Israel and their relationship with the Lord. It starts with them being slaves in Egypt, indicating that the story was about them as a nation. A such, it was to be more about the Lord’s promises and what God had done (signs and wonders). (1) He brought them out of Egypt and persecution; (2) he led them into a land promised their forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and (3) he led them from bondage to blessing There is no mention of Mt. Sinai in these verses. One commentator believed that the emphasis is on bringing out and leading in and does not need a reference to Sinai and the covenant. The reference to the decrees, statutes, and ordinances was sufficient as the core of the teaching. Expectations (24-25): Finally, they were to tell their children what God expected of them. Being given the promised land meant they had responsibilities. Further, their obedience would reflect a wisdom not available to the occupants of the land and surrounding cultures. Their children were to revere the Lord, follow his commandments, and obey his laws. To fear the Lord is to obey. To obey is to fear. Moses states that Isreal had been obedient and feared the Lord in the past and up to that day. Moses told them that the Lord would bless them with prosperity and protection through their obedience. Moreover, he compared the benefits of obedience in the past to the benefits they were experiencing. Moses concluded this section by connecting faith (obedience) with righteousness – the same word the Lord used in Genesis 15:6 in connecting Abrahams’s faith with righteousness. Challenge: Does your lifestyle raise questions? What is your story? (Testimony)? Do you include your failures in your story? What does the Lord expect from you? “God’s plan for enlarging his kingdom is so simple — one person telling another about the Savior. Yet we’re busy and full of excuses. Just remember, someone’s eternal destiny is at stake. The joy you’ll have when you meet that person in heaven will far exceed any discomfort you felt in sharing the gospel.” — Charles Stanley,

4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. , 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. , 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)  One God (v4): Moses commanded the people to listen. The Hebrew word for listen is Shema. The Lord is one – in contrast to multiple gods of the Canaanites and other cultures. Isreal was to have one God: the creator, redeemer, and Spirit. The idea of “the Lord our God is one,” stresses his uniqueness or exclusiveness. Knowing this demands love which in turn leads to obedience. In this case, love is more than an emotion. It is an active response to God’s commands. The Shema (v5): is the Shema – the center piece of Orthodox Jewish prayers in morning and evening. It is a command for Israel to be totally committed to the Lord. The heart, or intellect, meant it was to be the foundation of one’s thinking, they were to reflect on it. The Soul meant it was to be the center of one’s being. Strength – that into which one invested time and energy. The idea that to hear God without doing what he commanded was not to hear him at all. The command was given to the nation, the people collectively and the Shema was to be the glue that brought them together as a community (unity). Memorize them (v6): The command was to make these words the center of their lives. They are to take root in their hearts as individuals and as a nation. The imagery carries with the idea of memorizing them. Routine (v7): The words were to be a part of their routine, they were to teach it, talk about it wherever we are, and make them an integral part of their lives and existence. They are to be engraved or established permanently. Repeated constantly; be preoccupied with it. Sitting and walking means repeat them when you are resting and when you are active. Night and morning stresses time – throughout the day. Make Them Obvious (8): They were to bind them on your hands (their actions reflecting their belief) and as a symbol on your foreheads (a part of their mental, processes). In other words, they are to be obvious by words and actions to everyone. (Orthodox Jews place the Shema in a small box that strapped to the forehead called a phylactery.) Going and Coming (v9): They were to place them on their door posts as a reminder as they entered in and went out that the Lord was the center of their lives. They were to place them on their city gates as a reminder to them and travelers that they lived by God’s commands – and that their transactions were according to God’s decrees. Consider: What is at the center of your thinking, being, and actions? Is it obvious you have a covenant relationship with the Lord? Does your house reflect your commitment to the Lord? Is your life a testimony to your relationship with the Lord? “ Loving God more than anyone or anything else is the very foundation of being a disciple. If you want to live your Christian life to its fullest, then love Jesus more than anyone or anything else. ” Greg Laurie