Day 18: The Gift of HIs Will
“See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?”
Deuteronomy 4:5-7 ESV
In the ancient world, people desperately wanted to know the will of their god. They would pray prayers to gods like this Assyrian king:
May the fury of my lord’s heart be quieted toward me.
May the god who is not known be quieted toward me;
May the goddess who is not known be quieted toward me.[1]
They would just throw up a prayer to every god they could think of, including those they didn’t even know, and just hope that something would stick. Have you ever been there before? This is why the Israelites were so different. Many times we look at the law and think, “Praise the Lord that I don’t have to live under that anymore! What a burden that would have been?” But has Moses explains here, it was completely the opposite for the Israelites.
Moses says, “Keep [the laws] and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples…” As Psalm 1 puts it, they delighted in the law of the LORD. They had the exact, clear will of their God. They knew precisely how to have a relationship with Him.
Today, people all across the world desperately want to know the will of their god. Yet, you know exactly what your God wants. Through the First and Second Testament, you have the inside track into how God wants you to live and what He wants you to do. “For what great [religion] is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?”
Question to Consider
What are you going to do with the knowledge of God’s will?
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for your nearness. We call upon you today. Help us to live in the understanding that we have been given your will.
By Theo Ryan, NU Alumni, Youth & Young Adult Associate for the Arizona Ministry Network
[1] Daniel I. Block, How I Love Your Torah, O LORD!, (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2011), 8.