The Eyes of the Lord
Deuteronomy 11-13
The eyes of the Lord, Deuteronomy 11-13. How can the portions of Scripture shown above be relevant to us today when they were directed to a people who lived thousands of years ago? What significance does the land of Canaan have to us today in the 21st century?
11 But the land that you are
going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water
by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for.
The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of
the year to the end of the year.
18
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in
your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they
shall be as frontlets
between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of
them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by
the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write
them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days
and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the
Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are
above the earth. 22 For if you will be careful to do all this
commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking
in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 23 then the Lord will drive
out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations
greater and mightier than yourselves. 24 Every place on which the sole
of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the
wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to
the western sea. 25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord
your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land
that you shall tread, as he promised you.
Deuteronomy 11:11-12 & 18-25, English Standard Version
The Eyes of the Lord
Deuteronomy 11-13
How can the portions of Scripture shown
above be relevant to us today when they were directed to a people who
lived thousands of years ago? What significance does the land of Canaan have to us today in the 21st century?
Do
you think God works among His children today in the same way He worked
among the Israelites? Is He just as available to His children today as
He was to them?
For various
reasons, the Old Testament is often regarded as not being relevant to
our day and time. Why is that? Has God changed? We must be very careful
of how we view and approach the Word that God has given to us as a guide
for our own Christian walk.
The
writer of Hebrews, who has just recounted the faith of several Old
Testament pillars of the faith, challenges us in Hebrews 13:7-8, Remember
your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the
outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever.
What is our duty concerning the Word of God, Old and New Testaments?
You
shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your
soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be
as frontlets
between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of
them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the
way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on
the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the
days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore
to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.
The Old Testament gives us a clear view of how God lives and works among His people. When He states, The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it
[the land], we are encouraged to remember that the eyes of the Lord are
always upon us as well. Not one step we take or one breath we breathe is done so apart from God.
Just as that was a blessing and a warning to the Israelites, so is it a blessing and a warning to us today.
The
warning: God sees everything that we do and knows everything that we
think! As a just and righteous God, He is not One who can be bribed, but
deals with us as children who often need to be chastised or
disciplined.
The blessing: no
harm can come upon us as we are never out of the sight of the Lord, our
Savior and Keeper. He is never too far or too busy to come to our aid.
How amazing is that?
As you think of this today, surround yourself with the Words of God, teaching them
to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house,
and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you
rise.
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