26 lines
4.4 KiB
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26 lines
4.4 KiB
HTML
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace — Bob Hoekstra</title>
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<div dlass="head">Day By Day By Grace</div>
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<div class="subhead">Bob Hoekstra</div>
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<div class="desc-center"><div class="pad2020">May 31</div></div>
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<h2>Israel's Response to the Law's Demand</h2>
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<div class="block"><i>Then he took the <b>Book of the Covenant</b> and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "<b>All</b> that the LORD has said <b>we will do</b>, and <b>be obedient</b>"…Today <b>you have proclaimed</b> the LORD to be your God, and that you <b>will walk</b> in His ways and <b>keep</b> His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you <b>will obey</b> His voice.</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Exd',24,7);">Exodus 24:7</a> and <a onClick="return mV('Deu',26,17);">Deuteronomy 26:17</a>)</div>
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<p>God's law demands <b>wholehearted obedience</b>. <i>"This day the LORD your God commands you to <b>observe</b> these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to <b>observe</b> them with <b>all your heart</b> and with <b>all your soul</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Deu',26,16);">Deuteronomy 26:16</a>). When the Israelites heard this summary requirement of the law, they confidently promised that they would obey. <i>"Today <b>you have proclaimed</b> the LORD to be your God, and that you <b>will walk</b> in His ways and <b>keep</b> His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you <b>will obey</b> His voice."</i> Forty years earlier, when the Lord first gave His law to His people, they responded in a similar fashion. <i>"Then he took the <b>Book of the Covenant</b> and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, '<b>All</b> that the LORD has said <b>we will do</b>, and <b>be obedient</b>.'"</i></p>
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<p>Their intentions were certainly commendable. However, their performance was definitely unacceptable. Even before they had departed from the mountain where the law was given, they plunged into disobedience. <i>"They have <b>turned aside quickly</b> out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a <b>molded calf</b>, and <b>worshiped it</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Exd',32,8);">Exodus 32:8</a>). Soon after the death of Joshua (who led them into the Promised Land), they <b>repeatedly</b> rebelled against the Lord their God. The book of Judges documents this clearly: <i>"And the children of Israel <b>again</b> did <b>evil</b> in the sight of the LORD"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jdg',3,12);">3:12</a>); <i>"And the children of Israel <b>again</b> did <b>evil</b> in the sight of the LORD"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jdg',4,1);">4:1</a>); <i>"Then the children of Israel <b>again</b> did <b>evil</b> in the sight of the LORD"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jdg',6,1);">6:1</a>); <i>"Then the children of Israel <b>again</b> did <b>evil</b> in the sight of the LORD"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Jdg',10,6);">10:6</a>).</p>
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<p>Twelve hundred years later, Stephen would summarize Israel's history of disobedience. <i>"You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You <b>always resist</b> the Holy Spirit; <b>as</b> your <b>fathers</b> did, <b>so</b> do <b>you</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Act',7,51);">Acts 7:51</a>). What a sobering evaluation of those who were so confident of obeying the law of God.</p>
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<div class="dbdbg_prayer">Dear Father, I humbly bow before You, confessing that I am so often like the children of Israel. I confidently promise to live in obedience to Your will. Then, I quickly stray from Your path and indulge my own will. Thank You for Your forgiving grace. Yet, I earnestly cry out for more. I need Your transforming grace to renew my inner man unto increasing obedience to You, through Jesus, my Lord, Amen.</div>
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