Context

In this blog, I will be focusing on an excerpt from Deuteronomy 4. This excerpt is Deuteronomy 4:32-40. To give some context; this is Moses speaking to the children of Israel just before they entered the promised land. By this time, the children of Israel would have seen God do miraculous things, they would have heard the voice of God themselves, and they would have made many mistakes where they sinned against God and disrespected all that He had done for them. In one instance, they were praising God, and in the other, they were doing exactly what He said not to do.

Moses was reminding them of what they had gone through and what they had seen God do. He was reminding them of who God is and I thought this is such a great reminder to us today.

Deuteronomy 4

³² “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. ³³ Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? ³⁴ Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 

Moses is bringing back to their memory how great it is that they got to hear God’s voice, audibly. Our God did this unique thing and took a nation to be His own. And this can seem strange to us, but now we understand that God had a plan, through Abraham and the nation of Israel, to save the world. Now we are in this privileged position to see more of the plan than the people of Israel had. We do not just hear God’s voice; He dwells in us and is with us always. We can approach Him all the time, anytime. We can have a close, personal relationship with this God. He can be our friend. He can be our family. He is our partner in the plan set about to draw others back into hope.

He took this nation with trials, signs and wonders. The first people of Israel saw God part the sea for them to escape. They saw Him send many miraculous plagues on Egypt such as turning water into blood, locust and frog infestations, darkness overall and the killing of all firstborn sons. They saw Him provide food from the heavens. They saw him provide water in the wilderness (Exodus 7:14). They saw Him provide all that they needed. They saw Him give victory over greater armies then themselves. They saw Him do great deeds of terror when He opens up the ground, and it swallowed those who were wicked (Numbers 16:31-32).

³⁵ To you, it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. ³⁶ Out of heaven, he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 

Moses tells Israel that God showed them these things to know that He is God, that He is the almighty creator who can do great and miraculous things. He is the one who created them, and He is a God who chose them to be His people. He cares for them, He recused them, and He took care of them. A great and mighty God who is so much more than any man, yet still He cares for these small transient creatures.

He is God.

He is the one and only true God. He is the one who was, before everything existed, and He is the one who made us all. There is nothing too hard for Him, and He loves us. He seeks the best for us. He cares for us.

And this is a reminder for us never to forget that. It is so easy to continue with our daily lives and forget who God is and that He is in control. If we honestly believe this, then we should be able to come to the point of

trusting Him in every circumstance.

Even when things spin out of control, we should be able to rest all our worries upon knowing that

He is there for us, and He is in control.

It is not always easy, depending on our circumstances, but if we continuously remind ourselves of this truth (How?- be continually in the word of God), it can become easier.

³⁷ And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them^[c] and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, ³⁸ driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, ³⁹ know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 

Moses tells them that God loved their fathers before them and chose to bless their offspring. Just as God chose Abraham and blessed his offspring, God loved us and had a plan to save us from even back then. God’s plan, which started with Abraham and continued with Israel, has bought us Jesus who came to save us all. He came to take our place and redeem us back to the Father. Our inheritance is not land, but it is Jesus.  

⁴⁰ Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Moses advises them to be obedient to what God has commanded them so that it may go well with them and their children. And through this, they will be rewarded. And the message is the same for us. That we should know, listen and be obedient to God’s word. And through this obedience, our children after us and we will be blessed. We will be blessed with an even greater reward than land. We have a promise of hope in eternity. An eternity of joy where God has a place for each and every one of us.

All photos were taken by Kyle or Vani. These photos are from the many adventures we have been blessed to experience together. We are so grateful for every blessing from God. No filters were used nor were the photos edited except for an occasional crop. We hope you enjoy.