“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Here are some of the principles of truth that we can learn from Deuteronomy 30:11-20:
1. Life or death is a matter of choice and not a matter of fate.
Many people say all that happens in this life is predestined by God, but the Bible says, God have set before us life and death, blessing and curse, and God has given the choice into our hands. God Himself wants us to choose life and blessing.
All that we experience today are the result of choices and decisions we made in the past. If we choose the path of life, surely we will live. Conversely, if we choose the path of death, surely we will die. All are consequences of the choices we made.
If given a choice, everyone would want to choose life, but the choices we make can not be measured only from words, we must prove them in our daily actions.
“In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it” (Deuteronomy 30:16-18).
These are what are being done by people who choose the path of life: To love God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes and ordinances. And this is what will happen to these people: They will live, multiply, and be blessed by God.
If we don’t do that, it means we choose the path of death, and our experience would be different. It’s a matter of choice and not fate!
2. Doing God’s commandements is a matter of willingness or unwillingness, not a matter of ability or inability.
“For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14).
The Bible says that God’s commandment is not too hard and not too far away to conduct. That commandment has been placed by God in our mouths and hearts, to do it. The question is: Do you want to do it?
God has simplified everything that is difficult so that we can do it easily. So there is no reason we can not do it. If we do not do it, there’s only one reason: WE DO NOT WANT TO DO IT!
If we say it is hard to do God’s commandment, we’re lying, because the Bible says it is not difficult. The New Testament also gives the same testimony,
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (I John 5:3).
So it’s clear now, to do God’s commandment is not difficult and is not hard. If we find it difficult and hard, it is because we do not want to do it. It’s not about you are being able or unable to do it, this is a matter of you are willing or unwilling to do it! Do you want to do it?
3. Choosing the path of life allows us to inherit every fulfillment of the promise that should be received by our spiritual father.
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
If we choose the path of life that has also been chosen and walked by the spiritual fathers before us, then God will give us the privilege to enjoy the fulfillment of the promise that should be enjoyed by them. So that every promise that God has promised to them is ours as well. We receive our own rewards, added with the rewards that should be received by them.
What do you choose? Life or death? Choose life, then we will receive a double portion. Hallelujah!
Also read this article: Religious Life of The Pharisees.
