Thursday July 30, 2020

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 9:1-5

“You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.“

Deuteronomy 9:5

Meditation: Despite our own failings, God never fails to execute His righteousness. When Moses addresses Israel on the threshold of the Promised Land, he says that the work God will do for them to possess the land is not something that has been earned. God will drive out from the land nations that are much bigger and stronger than Israel, a task that is far beyond Israel’s ability to accomplish by themselves. God will also give Israel possession of this land, a gift that is far beyond what the Israelites deserve. God will do these things not because Israel is great, but because He is great. In driving out the other nations, God will show His righteousness against their wickedness. In giving the land to Israel, he will show His faithfulness to keep His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

While God’s blessings may be for us His people, they are never about us. Rather, God’s blessings are about His character. They also reveal to us the greater blessing of being in relationship with Him. Despite Israel’s history of abandoning God, rebelling against Him, and doubting His desire to fulfill His promises, God blesses them because He is faithful, loving, and righteous. Likewise, His blessing upon Israel foreshadows an even more magnificent work that He does for us: salvation through Jesus, an act beyond what we can do for ourselves and a gift far beyond what we deserve from Him.

When receiving the abundant blessings of God, we do well to remember that we have not earned any of them. We are blessed by God not because of who we are, but because of Who He is.

Prayer: Loving God, I am humbled when I remember that all you do for me could never been earned by the things I do. Thank You for my relationship with You. Thank You for Your magnificent work through Jesus, an act beyond what I could ever accomplish for myself, an act far beyond what I deserve from You. I pray that You help me to live in thankfulness to You everyday. In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN.

Thru the Bible in a year (credit: Biblestudytools.com): Matthew 28; Deuteronomy 9-10; Job 8