One of the ways we know who we are and where we came from is through the stories our elders tell us. Family values and life lessons become embedded in our hearts and minds as we listen. And even if the stories are never written down we remember them because we believe they are true. They give us information that helps us know how to live.

Repetition Leads to Learning

Moses repeated stories and lessons a lot in Deuteronomy. At this point in our reading we have heard the Law, the promises, the warnings, the curses, and the blessings many times.

What’s the point of going over them again . . . and again?

Moses wanted to make sure Israel always remembered what God said to them and that they wove God’s words into their everyday lives.

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Jesus Learned by Repetition

Jesus benefitted from this tradition of hearing and discussing God’s Word as he grew up. His godly parents, Mary and Joseph, would have impressed the Word on his heart by repeating it to him daily.

Mary talked about the Word to baby Jesus while she worked in their home. Joseph discussed it with his young son Jesus while walking along the road.

Mary and Joseph recited the Word together before putting Jesus to bed at night, and greeted him with it first thing in the morning.

For twenty-four hours each week, on the Sabbath, the Word was center stage in their Sabbath prayers and practices. Mary and Joseph explained the yearly festivals in Jerusalem, telling Jesus what God commanded through Moses. The family most likely chanted the pilgrim Psalms of Ascent as they traveled to the Temple a few times each year.

Mary and Joseph were not alone in teaching their children this way. Most of Jesus’ playmates learned in the same way from their parents. Boys and girls also studied the Word together at religious school in the synagogue until about age twelve.

Jesus the Rabbi

Jesus was so deeply immersed in Scripture that by age twelve he was able to confound the teachers in Jerusalem with his questions. He continued his studies and early in his public ministry, around age thirty, a member of the Ruling Council in Jerusalem acknowledged Jesus was a rabbi and teacher sent from God.

“[Nicodemus] came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher that has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.’” John 3:2

Jesus knew the Scriptures and their practical applications. His divine nature coupled with his knowledge of the Father through the Word unleashed great power on behalf of people. We can look at any part of Jesus’ life and teaching and see how he fulfilled the Law in all that he did. He knew the Word and applied it to life.

God’s Promises Connect to His Gifts

The blessings God promised to Israel were connected to the gifts he gave them. Because God gave Israel a land of their own to live in, he promised rain, good crops, healthy livestock and safe homes. He also promised them lots of children because they were building a new nation.

God gives promises that match the gifts he gives. Some of us receive gifts we don’t want, like sickness or loneliness, but God has promises for those experiences, too.

“The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:17-18

The way to receive God’s best gifts is to practice the obedience.

The Blessings of Obedience

 “If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow – to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him – then . . . every place where you set your foot will be yours.” Deuteronomy 11:22, 24

Every time Moses told Israel how God would bless them, he tied it to their obedience. If you have received a gift from the Lord that you didn’t expect or want, look to see what he is doing. What obedience is he asking of you? What promise has he given?

Like Israel, your only job is to listen, obey and believe the Lord’s promises.

The Lord’s Chosen Place for Worship

Israel’s tribes had been setting up camp in a huge circle around the tabernacle for more than forty years. In Canaan they were going to scatter across about 26,000 square miles, so they needed to know where their center of worship would be.

“You are to seek the place the Lord you God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts . . . there, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.” Deuteronomy 12:5-7.

Moses set up corporate worship for a scattered people with this command. When the Church was established on earth, church leaders continued this tradition of meeting together for worship.

New Laws for New Times

While Israel was in the wilderness God had jurisdiction over all of the clean animals they had with them. They were allowed to eat beef, mutton and goat meat in the camp, but only after ceremonially slaughtering the animals at the tabernacle. All of the fat was put on the altar as a burnt offering.

When they moved into Canaan, God changed that law a bit. The people could slaughter clean animals for food at their homes, and not bring the fat to the tabernacle as a burnt offering, but the blood of the animal had to be poured out on the ground. The firstborn of each animal still belonged to the Lord, however, and had to be presented at the tabernacle to either redeem it or sacrifice it.

The Israelites still gathered for the festivals wherever the tabernacle was located, so they set aside the firstborn animals from their flocks and herds and brought them for presentation. No one would know if they failed to do this – except God. Moses reminded them that the Lord was always paying attention.

“Be careful to obey these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 12:28

God’s blessing was tied to their obedience.

What About Today?

Believers in Jesus don’t follow these laws anymore. Is God’s blessing in our lives still tied to obedience?

Yes, our blessings in Christ are tied to obedience in two ways:

1. We benefit from the obedience Jesus exercised on our behalf. Jesus completely fulfilled the requirements of God’s holy Law when he sacrificed himself for our sins.

• He presented himself as the firstborn son, completely devoted to God’s service.
• He offered his body as a perfect, unblemished sacrifice to atone for sin.
• God accepted Christ’s sacrifice as final payment for the sins of all people.
• God confirmed his approval of Jesus’ obedience that led to his death by giving him life again in the resurrection.

2. We obey God’s command to accept what Jesus did for us. It is up to us to hear the Gospel and obey the admonition to receive Christ.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Hear, learn, obey, and be blessed. May we never grow tired of reading the Scriptures, no matter how many times we hear them.