1 - 15 Litergical Declarations
This is the concluding section of all the rules. It describes what to do upon entry into the promised land. The giving of tithes is very important here.
16 - 19 Ratification of the Covenant
"This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul." This is and agreement with the LORD. He is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice. But also the LORD is making this agreement with the Isrealites. God promises to raise them high "in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made," and that they will be a people sacred to the LORD.
Question of the Day: We think a lot about what is required of us in the covenant of God. What is required of God? Does he deliver?
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According to the covenant He made with Abraham, God was "required" to let the Israelites possess the Promised Land. He did lead them out of slavery and into Canaan. It took a while due to disobedience and faithlessness. God made a covenant with each of us. We accept and trust in Jesus and live for him. He frees us from our slavery to sin. He ALWAYS keeps up his end of the deal. A bunch of people "drop the ball" on their end.
1-15 When each family actually settles on their specific plot of land which they feel God gave them they were to take a tenth of the firstfruits each year or season to the priest to honor God's gift of that land. On the third year they were to give it to levite, alien, fatherless, and widow.
God commands the Israelites to follow all these laws and decrees for he has kept his word by delivering them from bondage into a bountiful land of their own where He will continue to build them into a mighty nation. They are set aside in the world and holy.
God always delivers. The problem is that His time is usually much longer than ours. We grow impatient and usually set out on our own. This causes sin and delays in God's provision. This story is a good example. They knew they would get to the new land but they didn't know how long it would take or what the journey would be like. The same goes with us. Once we're saved we know we're going to heaven but we don't know what we'll face until then. We have to stay focused on the goal to persevere until it's reached.
I don't know if God experiences time like we do, J.P. . . . but I agree that humans are impatient and "drop the ball" quite often.
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