Quick Highlight Reel

He...could...go...all...the...way!!!
It's going...going...gone! That ball is outta here!!!

In case you didn't get it, those are highlight-reel quotes.
Here are some Highlight Reel worthy verses I just read:

• "The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions." (Deut.29:29)
  
• "The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul." (Deut.30:10)
• "This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand, and it is not beyond your reach." (Deut.30:11) (by the way, so cool that God makes things easy for us and not over our heads!)
• "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" (Deut.30:19)
  
• "So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." (Deut.31:6)

If those aren't highlights, I don't know what a highlight is!

The Purpose of Punishment

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!

More Questions Than Answers

That is my conclusion.
Five minutes ago I just read Deuteronomy 17 thru 25.
If you want to read about specific Jewish laws, then read what I just mentioned.
If that doesn't sound life-altering, then don't. (hint: it wasn't life-altering for me)
But here's my take away:

Although these passages raise about 10 times as many questions about the details of God's ways than giving me solid answers , I cannot deny, and nobody else who reads the Scriptures can deny, the answers that prevail:

The God of the Scriptures demands justice for everyone, mercy to everyone, holiness of His people, forgiveness for each other, and kindness towards everyone.

P.S. Just because I have more questions than answers doesn't mean that the answers I have been given are to be crowded out and counted as loss.