I'm still reading in the book of Deuteronomy. Here is my latest "God-thought" as I was reading chapter 29 this morning:
Through this seemingly "mean" passage on what will happen to Israel if they break the covenant with God, I was reminded of God's good intentions behind the "curses" (or punishment). You see, there are some people that believe God will just punish people because he can when we mess up; almost as if there is no real good reason for the punishment other than because that's the way God plays. But this is so far from the truth!
If you look at the covenant God has set up (in short, "If you do this, I'll do this; but if you do that, I'll do that"), it is a covenant firmly founded on God's desire to bring blessings into his children's lives. God wants to bless those who listen to His way because His way is the good way; why would we not want to pick the path that ends in goodness?! But it doesn't stop here. God wants his children to experience His goodness so deeply that He will bring punishment to them to warn them that they are on the wrong path. The purpose of punishment is to stop bad behavior before it leads you into complete destruction.
I was simply reminded that, for those who choose to enter into God's family, God is a good Father who is not afraid to punish His children because of his great love. The purpose of His punishment is to save us from destroying ourselves. What a good Father!
Through this seemingly "mean" passage on what will happen to Israel if they break the covenant with God, I was reminded of God's good intentions behind the "curses" (or punishment). You see, there are some people that believe God will just punish people because he can when we mess up; almost as if there is no real good reason for the punishment other than because that's the way God plays. But this is so far from the truth!
If you look at the covenant God has set up (in short, "If you do this, I'll do this; but if you do that, I'll do that"), it is a covenant firmly founded on God's desire to bring blessings into his children's lives. God wants to bless those who listen to His way because His way is the good way; why would we not want to pick the path that ends in goodness?! But it doesn't stop here. God wants his children to experience His goodness so deeply that He will bring punishment to them to warn them that they are on the wrong path. The purpose of punishment is to stop bad behavior before it leads you into complete destruction.
I was simply reminded that, for those who choose to enter into God's family, God is a good Father who is not afraid to punish His children because of his great love. The purpose of His punishment is to save us from destroying ourselves. What a good Father!
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