Choose Life

Almost every time you tell someone to turn anywhere in the Old Testament, you get some sort of eye roll, sigh, or other sign of "Do I have to?" It's a distaste that is widely shared in people of all ages, denominations, and personalities. For some reason, it just doesn't seem like much "fun" to read from the Old Testament. It may be because it is easily misunderstood, confusing, or even boring. However, some of life's best lessons are found in these ancient words.

A couple months ago I decided to read through the Bible again, because, let's face it, we all need to. There's always something you missed, no matter how many times you read it. Anyway, I fought my way through Leviticus and Numbers (yay) and now I'm toward the end of Deuteronomy. In the 30th chapter, Moses is on the brink of death and Joshua stands ready to take his place and lead Israel into Canaan. However, Moses isn't leaving without relaying one last message from the Lord.

The "Old Testament God" is many times seen as the God of judgment, unmerciful and cruel in His ways of punishing people. It's hard to digest that the God that killed off the entire human race except for one family is the same God that came to Earth to die for that same human race. It just doesn't make much sense. Really, though, when it comes down to it, Israel was God's chosen people. They were special. And special people deserve special treatment, whether that be positive or negative. Think of it this way: a coach has a special player on his team. This player scores the most points and shows great potential. Doesn't it make sense that if that player makes a mistake that the coach is harder on him than he would be on another average teammate? It's not unfair because he EXPECTS MORE out of this player. God expected more out of Israel and He expects more out of us because He loves us and we are special to Him.

It's really not like God just blindly dropped a lightning bolt every time an Israelite made a mistake. They screwed up so much, I'm sure Moses was tired of getting on his old, broken-down knees and climbing up mountains to ask the Lord to have mercy on them. And most of those times He complied. But if you expect someone to be great, consequences are naturally harsher for that person. Not to be cliché, but one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. 

Although the consequences were harsh, the rewards of obeying Him were even better. If they just trusted and followed Him, they would get the best land, the best food, and live many years in prosperity. So how in the world could this possibly be seen as unfair? He made it as simple as possible. You have two choices: life or death. Now choose life (vs. 19). It's like telling a grown adult over and over again that if they stick their hand in a fire, they will burn themselves, but if they leave their hand out, they won't. You can't call the messenger unfair if the person is dumb enough to stick their hand in the fire. 

Jesus gave us this same choice: life or death, heaven or hell. Following Him really isn't that hard. Love God and love others (Mark 12:29-31). Our God has always been, and will forever be, just.