Deuteronomy
7:6-16 For you are a people holy to
the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on
earth to be his people, his treasured possession. It was not because you were more numerous than
any other people that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you--for you were
the fewest of all peoples. It was
because the LORD loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors,
that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the
house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that
the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with
those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and who repays in their own person those who
reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject
him. Therefore, observe diligently the
commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that I am commanding you today. If you heed these ordinances, by diligently
observing them, the LORD your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty
that he swore to your ancestors; he will
love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and
the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase
of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your
ancestors to give you. You shall be the
most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or
your livestock. The LORD will turn away
from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced,
he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. You shall devour all the peoples that the LORD
your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their
gods, for that would be a snare to you.
This
passage represents all that is difficult about the Old Testament writings: it
seems to suggest that God ‘plays favourites’ with humanity. Some are ‘a people
holy to the Lord’ and others are designated to be 'devoured' by them. Here is a
limited theological understanding that turns God into a monster who urges his
followers to 'show no pity'. Jesus comes as the necessary corrective to teach
about a God who wants his 'holy people' to love their enemies, and to do good
to those who persecute them.
That
said, let us not overlook the important commandment in the passage: you shall not serve their gods,
for that would be a snare to you” (Deut 7:16). In other words
– beware of those things that would distract us from a single minded obedience
of God. Anything that takes us away from God’s call on our lives is a 'god'
that ensnares us. This can even be good things like our work, sport, house
maintenance, or a favourite hobby. Once this becomes more important than a
faithful following of God, then it is to be abandoned.
Challenge:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Helen
H. Lemmel, 1922
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Love is the Sign
Scripture reading taken
from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and
Other Servants p.167
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