Break camp and advance into the country; go to all the neighboring peoples,
See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to you.”
Deuteronomy 1:6, 7a, 8
When I was a young person I made numerous attempts to read through the entire Bible.I would start in Genesis, enjoying the stories of the patriarchs and God’s provision for His people in Egypt.I would get through the exciting deliverance of a now huge group of Israelites from the persecution in Egypt, through the Red Sea, and the Sinai wilderness.I continued in Leviticus, struggling to understand all of the offerings and laws that seemed to go on and on and on.And if I made it through to the book of Numbers, my attempt to read through the entire Bible from cover to cover came to a grinding halt somewhere at the beginning or middle of Numbers.The book of Deuteronomy never had a chance!And this pattern was repeated again and again and again from my elementary years, through junior high, high school and college.Sound familiar?
But now I find myself having preached our way through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and now Deuteronomy.There is a God!!!So what are we doing in Deuteronomy anyway?!? The name “Deuteronomy” literally means “second” (Deutero) / “law” (“nomos”).Deuteronomy is the second giving of the law, or the second telling, the re-telling of the story of God giving His law to His people, the nation of Israel (and us!).It is Moses, acting on behalf of God, telling the people of God where they were, where they are, and where they are going.And their story is remarkably similar to our story as well.
WHERE THEY WERE & WHERE WE WERE
God’s people, the Israelites, were in captivity, under the burden of another nation, feeling insecure, having no home, under great stress, and looking for leadership.
God’s people at HCC have experienced in the past 3 years at least, a downturn in the economy, with many losing their jobs and homes.People were unsure of their financial future, looking for stability and looking for leadership.They were looking to the church for comfort and security.
WHERE THEY ARE & WHERE WE ARE
God’s people, the Israelites, left a land of difficulty but nevertheless a land of comfort.They had been in Egypt for 400 years.But to move forward they had to break out of everything they knew, for everything they were promised by God, but had not yet seen. In the process of wilderness experiences they grumbled, they fought, they had to trust God to a much greater degree than they had ever trusted Him before.
God’s people at HCC have experienced great difficulty too; at times it is difficult to see God at work, we face challenges, we face each other, and it’s not always pretty.But, in the midst of all that, God, who has called us, has remained faithful, even when we couldn’t see the full picture of what He was doing.And so we are hanging tough, listening hard and making improvements. We are disclosing job duties, listing responsibilities, opening communications, increasing understanding and becoming more accountable.We have been “reading” and understanding the economy and how business is part of the church and how to manage its effects.
WHERE THEY ARE GOING & WHERE WE ARE GOING
God’s people, the Israelites, are going into new territory.They are going to a place where they have never been before. They are going to meet and interact with people they have never met before, experiencing new cultures and ideas. They are facing giants, which many of them want to run away from, and which some of them are ready to take on and conquer.Their hard 40 years are about to see God’s full blessing.
God’s people at HCC are going into new territory too.We are going to experience new ideas, new cultures, new people, and new ways of doing the same work of God. We are going to work in the community to reach out to all people.We are going to increase membership and the participation of our members. We are going to increase our income so that we can increase budgets for ministry. We are going to answer concerns of our church members in a timely manner. We are going to continue to cast our policies in stone to deal with all the concerns that arise in the daily operations of our church. We are going to make our church a safe and welcome place to worship.
Yes, we have lost some people along the way but we don’t hold grudges.We don’t harbor hard feelings.We don’t take it personal.We are going to call and invite people back.And we are going to let everyone know how it’s going. We are going to ask every church member to invite one person to our church by the end of the year. We are going to make more friends and in the process, through the grace of our great God, move forward on our mission to “transform lives through Christ”.
When I was a young person, I never made it through Deuteronomy.At the end of the summer we all will make it through Deuteronomy.The journey continues.Let’s look up and possess all that God has promised us.
