Newsletter January 2022 Part 2
A people for God and a land for God’s people
“Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.” (Deut. 11:8-12)
Moses spoke these words to the Israelites when they were about to enter the land promised to them by God. The LORD their God had led them out of Egyptian bondage to Mount Sinai, where He revealed Himself to them and made a covenant with them, and eventually to the border of Canaan. The journey had not been a smooth one and, due to rebellion and unbelief, a whole generation had missed out on God’s promise of a land of their own. Moses reminded them that some of their fathers had been destroyed by God for making themselves an idol to worship or for rebelling against him, God’s chosen leader. Therefore he admonished the next generation to remember God’s commands, to obey them and to teach them to their children. God’s promise was sure, and the land he was giving them was a land of plenty, but they would only be able to possess it if they depended on Him and followed His ways rather than their own. Their allegiance had to be to Him alone; they were to worship no other gods, but to love the LORD with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength (Deut. 6:5).
Moses compares Canaan, the Promised Land, with Egypt. However, surprisingly, he does not refer to the hardship their parents and the generations before them had suffered there; instead, he describes Egypt as a garden. There was a time, after the days of Joseph, when Israel had lived in peace in Egypt. They had benefitted from the abundant water provided all year round by the great River Nile. They, like the Egyptians, had dug irrigation canals to direct the Nile’s water far beyond its banks, thus turning dry wasteland into highly productive fields. Even when there was little or no rain the Nile continued to supply water for agriculture, thus providing the basis for a great civilisation, an achievement of human endeavour.
Moses contrasts this with Canaan, a land of hills with complete dependence on the annual rainfall – the former rain in the spring, and the latter rain in autumn. This bi-annual supply of water from heaven secured the fertility of the land; when the drain ceased, so did the crops. Therefore the worship of the Canaanites was centred on fertility cults, involving all kinds of abominable practices from ritual prostitution to child sacrifice. God’s command to Israel was to possess the land and destroy these people and their religious practices. Instead, they should depend entirely on the God of heaven who would send rain from above to water the land that it could bring forth abundant fruit. God’s blessings of abundant harvest were remembered, along with the deliverance from Egypt and the giving of God’s Law, in the annual celebrations Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).
The Almighty God who revealed Himself to Israel at Sinai has now revealed Himself in the person of His Son Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-4). In Him we have been made part of God’s people and thus beneficiaries of His promises. The new birth effected by the Spirit in us through faith in Jesus allows us to enter the kingdom of God, the spiritual land He has prepared for us. However, like Israel, we need to put God at the centre of our lives. He will not share His glory with any other gods; nothing else must take pre-eminence in our lives. As Israel we are to love the LORD with all their heart, and all their soul and all their strength, so must we – not from a mere sense of duty, but because we realise that He first loved us (1 John 4:19) and delivered us from the bondage of sin.
Throughout the scriptures we see a consistent theme: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Prov. 3:5-6) The human desire for independence and self-reliance is the root of all sin (Gen. 3:5). God’s answer is His provision of forgiveness of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His call to a life of dependence on His Spirit (Gal. 5:25). He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8) May that be our goal in 2022 and always.