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Transcript9 lines
- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:06]
B
Hey, this is Shelby and Paul and we are a few days into reading the book of Deuteronomy together. Today we're in chapters 10 through 12. Paul, what's going on in these chapters?
- [00:18]
A
Yeah, so we get Moses kind of concluding his summary of the Israelites history and then we kind of get some more explanation of how the Israelites were supposed to live in the promised land with, you know, explanation of certain blessings and curses that Israel received for obedience and disobedience respectively, which we talked a little bit about yesterday, but we can get into a little bit more today.
- [00:39]
B
Yeah, I would love to get into that a little bit more because I feel like reading blessings and curses. I don't know, there's like all these questions that begin to bubble up in me both about how this applied to the original readers or hearers of this and also myself. So can we dive into that a little bit more?
- [00:55]
A
Yes, absolutely. Yeah, I think, you know, it can be so difficult. As Christians, we're often thinking about legalism and making sure, hey, we don't earn our salvation. But like we mentioned yesterday, the basis for this obviously is that God has already delivered them from slavery and that's what makes them his people. And yet they're still sinful human beings. And so there needs to be consequence for the way that they behave. And God knows that this discipline is essentially what it is, will help them become more like his people that he, he intends them to be. And I think there's a really key verse in these chapters that kind of explains the heart behind it. And it's chapter 10, verse 16. It says, Therefore circumcise your hearts and don't be stiff necked any longer. And that phrase, circumcise your hearts, it sounds a bit weird but you know, it kind of gets to the heart of God's commands. So circumcision was the sign of the covenant that basically they would make this mark in their bodies that they are God's people. And so here Moses is basically saying, hey, it's not just in your body, it's in your heart, it's in your heart posture towards God. And I think the coolest thing is we actually see Paul pick up this language in the book of Romans where he says, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit, not the letter. And so kind of in Deuteronomy we're seeing Paul is basically pointing out that, you know, this has always been true, that circumcision is a matter of the heart. That, yes, we make outward expressions of that, but that in the heart is where it really happens. And so it's not necessarily something that Jesus changed, that circumcision is of the heart. It's always been that way. But what Jesus did change is who can receive that circumcision. It's not just now for Jews or Israelites. It's also for anyone that places their faith in Jesus can, you know, experience the transformation that happens when we commit ourselves to faith in Him.
- [02:51]
B
Yeah, love that. And thank you for making that. That's like a really explicit connection across Testaments that I love. And so I know we're going to see so many more of those throughout this year. All right, what do these chapters mean for us today? Like, what are our takeaways from these chapters?
- [03:05]
A
Yeah, yeah. So, you know, thinking about that idea of circumcision of the heart, I think it points to the fact that God wants our hearts. You know, our behavior absolutely matters because a reflection of our heart. Right. The behavior itself is not necessarily the goal, but what it says about our hearts. And so I think it just is a reminder to us that, you know, God is always working through the Holy Spirit to make us more like Christ. And, you know, when we earnestly seek him, we may make mistakes, but Christ's forgiveness means that there's always the opportunity to return to his heart, his love for us that initiated the relationship, and then that can be the impetus and the driving factor for our behavior is the fact that our heart loves God. And rather than it being, oh, I'm going to act this certain way, and then God will approve of me. Right? He already does. But we can begin to love him more and more every single day.
- [04:05]
B
Yeah, exactly. We love him because he first loved us. Right. And I think that's my one takeaway for this. Often if I'm struggling in an area, what my mind wants to focus on are all the ways I could be your or should be doing better. But it wasn't that long ago that I started being challenged to, hey, when I'm really struggling in area, what would happen if I instead meditated on the love of Christ? What would happen if I instead meditated on the faithfulness of God? And how might his love transform me so that I can love him better in return? And so I love that we're talking about this being an issue of the heart, and I certainly find that to be true in my own life. And so I think that's my takeaway for today. We're learning so much from retelling of narratives and lies. It says really applicable for today. So I'm excited to talk through the rest of Deuteronomy.
- [04:54]
A
Yeah.