Bible Study Notes in Mark- Chapter 1

Mark 1

-Introduction: Mark is written by one known as John Mark, who was not actually one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He did however accompany Paul from what we know of Scripture on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:13; 15:36-38); therefore, we can conclude that he had intense and direct access to other early Christians who were writing down gospel accounts. Barnabas, along with Peter, are traditionally given much credit for Mark’s development as a disciple and his source for factual accounts in the life of Jesus. His synoptic gospel closely associates with Matthew’s biography as well as many parts of Luke’s testimony under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The date given for this brief and synthesized text goes somewhere between the years of 55-65 A.D. making it quite possibly the first gospel account written down in textual form. It was set to a Roman cultural context under the emperors’ Pax Romana for rapid progression of this message with common language and adequate transportation methods across the region. This good news account presents Jesus as the Servant (Mark 10:45) who came teaching and working miracles to initiate the Kingdom of God as deity in the flesh. In vivid action, Mark details parts of the ministry of Christ Jesus for the world to experience while omitting things like His birth and various details that other gospel writers would focus on. What was important for this gospel was the mighty works of the Messiah and the obedience He displayed to the Father in His earthly ministry of redemption. The events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, His actual death, and His dynamic resurrection become the focal point of this message by John Mark, the imperfect but growing man of God (2 Timothy 4:11).

-Chapter 1: Mark starts out with the fact that this is the gospel (euaggelion- the good news or tidings of Christ) of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God. He quotes Isaiah, the prophet of some 750 years prior, to make a point about the ministry of John the Baptist, “Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘make ready the way of the LORD, make His paths straight (Isaiah 40:3, Mark 1:1-4).’” Mark gives some brief descriptions of John’s ministry for the reader. He preached a baptism (baptisma- immersion, submersion) of repentance (metanoia- changing of the mind) for the forgiveness of sins. Everyone from Judea, including the population in Jerusalem was going down to be baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins before God and having a true change of heart. John’s personal characteristics are described here as having clothes of camel’s hair (a plentiful animal in that region) and a leather belt around his waist with a diet of locusts (a devouring animal being eaten) and wild honey (probably the date palms that surround the area in the Jordan Valley). His preaching concerned a pointing to the Messiah, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:5-8).” Jesus came down from Nazareth in Galilee in those days and was symbolically baptized by John in the Jordan to begin His public ministry. As He came out of the water, He saw the heavens open up with the Holy Spirit like a dove (symbol of peace with God) descending upon Him; and a Voice uttered these words, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased (Mark 1:9-11).” This was the Trinity meeting together at a specific time and place, which is theologically important.

-“Immediately” the Holy Spirit took Him out into the wilderness with the wild beasts to be tempted by Satan for 40 days. There in this brief account of a dramatic encounter between good and evil, Jesus prevails with no sin and then His angels ministered to Him (Matthew 4:1-11,Mark 1:12-13. Luke 4:1-13).

-The scene quickly shifts to the time when John the Baptist had been taken into custody by Herod (Matthew 14:3). Jesus at that point came into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:14-15).” As He was going along the Sea of Galilee, He began to choose His followers with an invitation for becoming His disciples. Simon (Peter), Andrew (Simon’s brother), James, and John (the sons of Zebedee) were called from their fishing business to become “fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and went away to follow the Christ (Mark 1:16-20).

-They went into the northern lakeshore town of Capernaum and entered the synagogue there on the Sabbath, and Jesus began to teach there. Everyone was amazed at His teaching because He was not teaching like the normal scribes of the area. He was preaching boldly of the things of God with authority and conviction. A man with an unclean spirit in him cried out, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus quickly rebuked this spirit commanding it to come out of the man. “Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.” All were freaked out and began to debate over what had just occurred. They concluded it to be a new teaching with authority over unclean spirits, which was the truth. And, as expected, immediately the news about Him spread into all the surrounding district of Galilee (Mark 1:21-28). Healings continued as they left the synagogue there in Capernaum and came into the house of Simon and Andrew. With James and John in their presence they found Simon’s mother-in-law lying sick with a fever and beckoned Jesus concerning her. He came to her, raised her up by the hand, and the fever left her miraculously. Then she served them, and the evening came. When it came, there was no small hubbub in the community. After the sun had set, the populace began to bring to Him all who were ill and demon-possessed. Many were healed and set free from the demonic powers over them. Jesus, in His supreme authority, was not permitting any of the demons to speak, because they certainly knew who He was (Mark 1:29-34). By the early morning, Jesus retreated, while it was still dark outside, to a secluded place and was praying with the Father. Simon and his friends were looking for Him, and when they found the Lord, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” Jesus replied with discernment and intent of purpose, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” He then went into the Jewish synagogues throughout all of Galilee, preaching and casting out demons (Mark 1:35-39). In one unnamed village, a leper came to Jesus falling on his knees before Him asking to heal him if He was willing. Jesus indeed was moved with compassion for the man and healed him with outstretched hand and His touch. Jesus sternly warned him not to tell everyone what had happened, but to show himself to the priest in accordance with the Law of Moses. But, this individual couldn’t help it. He went out and began to proclaim His miracle freely. This forced Jesus out into unpopulated areas because He could no longer publicly enter a city due to the commotion His presence was causing. His time for earthly Kingship had not yet come, and there would have been an uprising which was not of God had He not done this. But the needy people came to Him in these remote places from everywhere. The Kingdom of heaven had come to earth (Mark 1:40-45)!

-*Application* There are many things we could pull out from this passage this are pertinent to our daily walk with Christ. What hits me specifically today is the call of the disciples. They left their lives to follow a Man with a Divine cause. Jesus’ charisma shines through in this text because He and God were One. We too have the Holy Spirit of the Living God within us to walk about this earth with the same authority and power as Christ did if we really think about it. Who needs healing around us today? How could we minister to a world in need with the gifts God has blessed us with? These are the questions we should be asking as we fulfill the great commission and commands of Christ (Matthew 22:36-40; 28:18-20). Have we left everything behind to follow the cause of Jesus Christ? Do we trust in His power to conquer the demons that surround us? Live strong, Christ is in us forever!

Verse to Memorize: Mark 1:35

Bible Study Notes in Deuteronomy- Chapter 34

Deuteronomy 34

-The wrap up comes here in this final chapter of the book. Moses, the matchless prophet in Israel whom the LORD knew face to face and who performed the mighty acts of God among the people with signs and wonders and great terror, went up from the plains of Moab to the peak of Mount Nebo to view the entirety of the Promised Land from its peak. This was the beautiful land that the humble servant worked 120 years to get to. It was the place that the LORD had sworn to give His people. It was the inheritance of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob along with all their descendants. Moses’ eyes rested on this incredible place, but again, he was not allowed to enter. The servant of the LORD died there on Mount Nebo in the land of Moab and was buried in the valley opposite Beth-peor by the LORD in a place no man knows until this day. At 120 years old, the man of God still had all his vigor, and his eyes had not grown dim. All of Israel wept and mourned for him in their loss for 30 days there in the plains of Moab. When those days were completed, Joshua, the son of Nun, was filled with the Spirit of wisdom from the LORD. Moses had laid his hands on this noble leader, and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses (Deuteronomy 34:1-12). The stage was now set for entrance into the Promised Land.

-*Application* Moses was a great man of God called to a specific purpose for a specific time. He answered the called, although he had his slip ups and faults along the way. We too are called from the time we are in our mother’s womb for a particular work that the LORD has for us (Psalm 22:9-10, Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 1:41, Galatians 1:15, Ephesians 4:1-8). Be faithful and humble in that call that God has placed in you, whatever it is. Use the gifts that He desires to stir up to build and expand His Kingdom on this earth (2 Timothy 1:6). There are promises and promised lands that He has for us all!

Verse to Memorize: Deuteronomy 34:9

Bible Study Notes in Deuteronomy- Chapter 33

Deuteronomy 33

-Moses, described as “the man of God,” is now in a position near physical death where he pronounces his final blessing upon the sons of Israel and His Almighty God who has been ever faithful in bringing him and his people to the verge of the Promised Land. The great prophet, speaking much like the patriarchs of previous generations, reiterated the fact that the LORD indeed loved His people as they, the holy ones, followed in His steps receiving His words. They were charged with a Law; it was the “possession for the assembly of Jacob.” They were together as a free people about to enter their inheritance, as God’s chosen and adored, each by their tribe (Deuteronomy 33:1-5). Ruben is blessed that he will live and not die with multiplicity of descendants (Deuteronomy 33:6). Judah has contended for his people and has been brought to them. God would help him against all of his enemies (Deuteronomy 33:7). The Godly men of Levi received the word of God through means like the Urim and Thummin. They contended for the LORD at places like Massah and Meribah. They were to be teachers of the laws and ordinances of the LORD in their nation burning the incense and making sacrifices on the altar before God. Their substance was blessed by the fellow Levite, Moses, as he beckons God to favor the work of their hands and shatter the ones that rise up against them in hate (Deuteronomy 33:8-11). Benjamin was beloved of the LORD and would dwell securely by Him, “between His shoulders (a place of affection and protection),” who shields all the day (Deuteronomy 33:12). Joseph was blessed on multiple levels. His land and the choicest things of the land were mentioned over him. Even things under the land in springs of water and all the animals of his territory were blessed. Joseph was one distinguished among his brothers; majesty was his with double portion, and his tribes would be conquerors to the ends of the earth (Deuteronomy 33:13-17). Zebulun should rejoice in his going forth and Issachar would be able to have joy in his tents. They will call people to worship the LORD on the mountain where they will offer righteous sacrifices. They will be sea faring people who draw out the abundance of the seas and hidden treasures of the sand (Deuteronomy 33:18-19). Gad will be enlarged with blessing as “he lies down as a lion” and “tears the arm, also the crown of the head.” The first part will be for himself, and he would execute “the justice of the LORD and His ordinances with Israel (Deuteronomy 33:20-21).” Dan is a lion’s whelp (cub, offspring) that leaps forth from the northern country of Bashan, which was northeast of the Sea of Galilee in what is today the Golan Heights (Deuteronomy 33:22). Naphtali, who was satisfied with favor and full of blessing, was to take possession of the sea and the south (Deuteronomy 33:23). Asher had pronounced favor by all of his brothers and would have dipped feet in oil (enjoying prosperity) with locks of iron and bronze (a protective barrier blessing for fortification along the highway where invaders would likely attempt to invade the Holy Land) in a leisurely walk (Deuteronomy 33:24-25). The final phase of the blessing glorified the Great God of Heaven and earth. There was none like Him. He helps His people. He is eternal and is a dwelling place for the righteous. Israel is safe in His everlasting Arms. He drives out the enemy before them and destroys the opposition. Therefore, Israel will dwell securely in a land of grain and new wine with moisture to provide abundance. Israel as a whole is blessed because they have been saved by the LORD. God is the shield of their help and the sword of their majesty frightening their enemies as they tread on the high places in victory (Deuteronomy 33:26-29).

-*Application* These blessings were more than empty wishes and once uttered carried the promise of fulfillment (from Deuteronomy: An Introduction & Commentary, J.A. Thompson, Inter-varsity Press: Leicester, England & Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, pg. 306). Our words also carry much meaning. Are you speaking blessing with your mouth, or are you cursing and condemning people? In the final analysis, speak life, not death (see https://www.bing.com/search?q=speak+life+video&form=EDGHPC&qs=AS&cvid=109655b7dabf4ab199c3696cad722ebb&pq=speak%20life%20vid).

Verse to Memorize: Deuteronomy 33:27

Bible Study Notes in Deuteronomy- Chapter 32

Deuteronomy 32

-Moses’ warning song is spoken to all the assembly of Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan in Moab. He begins with alerting the people to “give ear” to his words that were from God and to let them saturate within their being as the dew penetrates the morning grass with precious water. He ascribes greatness to the LORD who is the impenetrable Rock who has completed a perfect and just work with faithfulness, uprightness, and purity. Even though the people had acted corruptly towards Him becoming defected, perverse, and crooked as a generation, God had made them and established them (Deuteronomy 32:1-6). They were told that they needed to remember the days of old and consider the years spent in the wilderness; they were to ask their father for information and elders so that they could tell them the truth of God and the benefit of following His ways. God had done enormously great and mighty things in bringing His children to this place and setting their boundaries as such. “The LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.” God had found them in a desert land that was useless. He encircled and cared for Jacob and guarded him as “the pupil of his eye.” He covered His chosen one as an eagle hovers over its young and carried them on His pinions. “The LORD alone guarded him, and there was no foreign god with him (Deuteronomy 32:7-12).” He made him to hide in the high places of the earth, and he ate the produce of the field sucking honey from a rock and used oil from a flinty rock. Jacob was blessed with curds of cows, milk of the flock, and the fat of lambs and rams. Grapes were abundant and provided sustenance, but Israel got “fat and kicked.” He forsook the God who had made him and “scorned the Rock of his salvation.” He made the LORD jealous with strange gods, and with abominations the nation provoked Him to anger. “They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, new gods who came lately, whom your fathers did not dread.” They foolishly neglected the Rock (God) who begot and birthed them (Deuteronomy 32:13-18).

-Therefore, God spurned them and hid His face from them, for He saw what their end would be. They were a perverse generation and had no faithfulness. They continually made their covenant God jealous “with what is not God.” Their idols made Him angry; therefore, He would consume them heaping misfortunes and violence on them designed to somehow bring them back to Himself and His good ways. But, they would insist on their own narrative, being wasted away with famine, consumed by plague, torn up by beasts of the earth (animals), and stung by the crawling things of the dust (like scorpions). Outside the sword would bereave, and inside the terror would affect both young man and virgin (the younger generation), the babies, as well as the elderly. Even though they would persist in denying that they had transgressed the LORD, these things would become evident upon their land (Deuteronomy 32:19-27). “For they are a nation lacking in counsel, and there is no understanding in them. Would that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would discern their future (Deuteronomy 32:28-29)!” They became impotent because their Rock had sold them. Even their enemies would acknowledge the ultimate strength of their God, yet they maintained an unbelief in their Maker and became a vine like the defunct vine of Sodom from the fields of Gomorrah. “Their grapes were grapes of poison, their clusters bitter. Their wine is the venom of serpents, and the deadly poison of cobras (Deuteronomy 32:30-33).”

-Vengeance is the LORD’s and retribution, for in due time they would slip because of their preposterous sinful nature. Their calamity would be near; the impending things would hasten upon them. “For the LORD will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their strength is gone…” He will say in that day, which is the day of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:28), “Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, let them be your hiding place! See now that I, I am He; it is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded, and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My Hand (Deuteronomy 32:34-39).” God asserts His authority further in this song with avenging tones that lead only His truly genuine people to rejoice in His righteous work (Deuteronomy 32:40-43).

-When Moses was done speaking these words to the Israeli assembly alongside the newly commissioned leader, Joshua, he once more warned them to take to heart all the words given them with an admonition to command their sons to observe every word of the LORD’s Law. It would never be an idle word for them; indeed, it was their life giving sustenance. By it they would prolong their days in the land God was giving them across the Jordan (Deuteronomy 32:44-47).

-That very same day, the LORD spoke to Moses telling him to go up Mount Nebo in the land of Moab and look across the river at the Promised Land of Canaan. Then he was told he would die on that mountain where he ascended, and that he would be gathered to his people as Aaron had been on Mount Hor. The reason was given as to why Moses was not allowed to lead this people into the Promised Land. He had broken faith with his LORD in the wilderness in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. He had rebelliously struck the rock for water there instead of following God’s command to speak to it (Numbers 20:8-13; 27:12-14). Therefore, he did not treat God as holy (set apart), in the congregation. As a result, he would only see the Promised Land from a distance, never being able to enter into it (Deuteronomy 32:48-52).  

-*Application* America these days looks a lot like the words of this song, does it not? Human nature is fickle and on its own, destructive. Would that we were wise. LORD, help us fear You again in our nation. May we seek the Word of God and the Holy Spirit alone as our counsel. Give us the understanding, insight, and courage of Daniel and other righteous men and women as we traverse this new terrain where we see Your judgment upon a sinful situation.

Verses to Memorize: Deuteronomy 32:28-29, 39

Bible Study Notes in Deuteronomy- Chapter 31

Deuteronomy 31

-The time now comes for transition of power and leadership as Moses is told by God that he was about to lie down with his ancestral fathers in physical death. On the day of his 120^th birthday he realized he was no longer able to come and go, and that God was not going to allow him to cross the Jordon into the Promised Land. The LORD would indeed cross before His people into this land flowing with milk and honey. He would be the One to dispossess; the people should look to their eternal King rather than any man even though Joshua was being raised up to take the mantle of Moses in headship of the nation. Just as God had defeated Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, He would destroy the peoples of the land that He was about to give to the children of Israel. The LORD promised to deliver His people from the enemy; therefore, the Israelites were to obey all of His commandments. They were also commanded to be strong and courageous. They were not to be afraid or tremble at those that opposed them “for the LORD your God is the One who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:1-6).”

-Moses then called Joshua to himself and further exhorted him to be strong and courageous as he led this people into the land. Moses then wrote this Law he had been given down and gave it to the priests, the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, and the elders of Israel. At that time he commanded them to read the Law every seven years to the people at the Feast of Booths in the year of remission of debts when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD at the place He would choose (Jerusalem would be this place). All the people of Israel, along with the aliens that were with them in their land, were to hear this Law so that they would learn it and fear the LORD their God being careful to follow all of His given ways. This was for perpetuity in the land (Deuteronomy 31:7-13).

-The time now came for Moses to commission his servant and confidant, Joshua. The two presented themselves at the tent of meeting before the LORD, who appeared there in a pillar of cloud. Moses was told that he was about to pass from the earth, but God had raised up another earthly leader to guide His children. It seems strange, but at this particular time the prophecy is given that this people would arise and play the harlot in turning away from their faithful God to the strange gods of the land in a forsaking act that would attempt to break covenant that He had made with them. His anger would be kindled at that point in a temporary forsaking and hiding His Face from them due to their unfaithfulness. Israel will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them to the point that they will realize that their God is not with them anymore (Deuteronomy 31:14-18). For this reason, the LORD commands Moses to write a song for themselves as a didactic measure on their lips as a witness for the LORD against the sons of Israel. God would be good to His people. There could be no doubt about that. When they would come into the land, they would have plenty and success. Their satisfaction and prosperity would turn to complacency, and their complacency to boredom, and their boredom into seeking after false forms of worship. They would leave their first love and play the whore serving other gods, spurning the Holy Father, and breaking His covenant. God foreknew their intent that was already developing in their hearts, so Moses obeyed the LORD and wrote this prophetic song the very same day he was commanded to produce it. Then, he taught it to the sons of Israel as a preparation (Deuteronomy 31:19-22). Joshua, the son of Nun and one of the two believing original spies, was then commissioned with the exhortation once again to be “strong and courageous” as he brought the sons of Israel into the Promised Land, which was sworn to their fathers by the LORD Himself. God would be with this new leader of the people. That was a golden guarantee. After Moses completed writing all the words of the Law in a book, he presented it to the Levites with the command to place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD that it may remain there as a witness against this nation should they turn away from their God. Again, the all-knowing Sovereign and His prophet perceived easily their rebellion and stubbornness, which was in their hearts. An assembly was called of the elders and officers for Moses to speak the LORD’s warning as a witness against them since corruption was sensed post the prophet’s death. “In the later days” this would happen, “for you will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands (Deuteronomy 31:23-29).” Then Moses spoke to all the assembly this God-given song in its completion (Deuteronomy 31:30). The next chapter details this amazing and foreshadowing song (see Deuteronomy 32).

-*Application* Passing the torch, or baton if you will, to the next generation is important as we see here in this passage. Warnings concerning perceptions that we might be given are critical to impart to those that will carry on after we are gone. We are but a vapor, a puff of smoke, that is here for a little while and then we go to our eternal destination (James 4:14). What we do between the dash that will eventually be on our tombstones is the important matter for us to consider. Are we faithfully serving the LORD in our generation (Acts 13:36)? Do we ensure that those who will come after us are trained up and ready for the spiritual attacks that are inevitable and very demanding. We have a job to do while we have breath. Fulfill your call, and cultivate faithfulness. And then pass it on.

Verse to Memorize: Deuteronomy 31:6

Bible Study Notes in Deuteronomy- Chapter 30

Deuteronomy 30

-Life and death are set before the children of God in this powerfully exhortative portion of Scripture. The prophet Moses speaks to the time when the children of Israel will fall under the curse and find themselves in all the nations that the LORD their God banished them. Notice there is no IF here. God has all wisdom and knowledge in seeing the future events that will happen on this earth and in the universe. There is, prophetically, no doubt left that these things will transpire and God is preparing them for this event. When they find themselves in that place, which has already happened by the way, they were to call to mind the things of God, return to Him, and obey Him with all their “heart and soul (Deuteronomy 30:1-2).” When they did these things, then the LORD promised He would “restore” them once again from their “captivity” and have “compassion” on them to “gather” them back from all the earth where they had been scattered as outcasts. They will come back into the land which their fathers possessed and repossess it with guaranteed prosperity and multiplication from the LORD even more than their original lot. The Word says, “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live (Deuteronomy 30:3-6).” At that time the curses will then be inflicted on Israel’s enemies and on those who hate God’s people and persecuted them (Deuteronomy 30:7). The Law will be reestablished and their obedience will be evident. God will again rejoice over His people and bless them richly in all areas. This commandment which the children were given was not too difficult for them, nor was it out of reach. It was not in heaven too far away, nor was it across the sea in an unreachable spot. The “word” was very near them, in their mouth and in their heart that they may observe God’s edicts and live by them (Deuteronomy 30:8-14).

-So Moses, under the inspiration of God Almighty, sets before them, on that day, life and prosperity verses death and adversity. Life was first of all in the love of their God. Secondly, life was in the walking out of His ways in process. Finally, life was in keeping His commands, His statutes, His judgments without questioning or rebelling against it. Blessing, possession, and multiplication was God’s desire, and He laid it all out before them to choose. But, if their heart turned away in disobedience before their covenant King to worship and serve false gods and concepts, the LORD would surely make them to perish and vacate them from their homeland. In this case they would not be prolonged in the land that they were about to enter by God’s grace and power. Heaven and earth were witnesses of these facts as Moses presented them in the Jordan River Valley of Moab to the east side of the Promised Land. The prophet implored them to choose life for themselves and their descendants “by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His Voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

-*Application* We see the necessity of our human choices in the economy of God here right along with His sovereignty. The two always go hand in hand and create a healthy biblical tension for us to grapple with. While God sees ahead and knows the choices we will make, from our perspective we are given the opportunity to decide for ourselves the course for our life and eternity (Romans 8:29-30, there is a definite order for salvation here). This is a big deal! God did not make robots that are programmed and only carry out His decrees. We have a real say in the directions that we take with our existence. What will you choose today? Life and prosperity, or death and adversity? Know this, God is not willing for ANY to perish; He wants ALL to come to repentance and faith in Him (John 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9).

Verses to Memorize: Deuteronomy 30:11, 14, 19-20

Bible Study Notes in Deuteronomy- Chapter 29

Deuteronomy 29

-God makes His revelation known to His people in a third address to the people of Israel through the prophet Moses at Moab. This was a call for commitment to the LORD of the covenant, which had been previously given at Horeb (Mt. Sinai). The children of Israel had seen with their own eyes and heard with their own ears the greatness of this Living God as He brought them out of slavery in Egypt to the brink of this new destiny in the Promised Land. Yet to that time, the LORD had not given them a heart to KNOW, eyes to see, nor ears to hear (Deuteronomy 29:1-3). Their clothes had not worn out even to their sandals through the wilderness journey of 40 years. They had not eaten bread nor had they had strong drink in that period in order for them to get to KNOW that the LORD was actually their God. Kings had been defeated before them as long as they followed the commands of God and walked in His ways. They had already taken some of their inheritance east of the Jordan River (Deuteronomy 29:4-8). Therefore, the admonition to keep the words of this covenant to do them is once again reiterated in the presence of God in order for them to prosper in all that they do. They stood before the LORD as chiefs, tribes, elders, officers, even all the men of Israel along with their wives and children and aliens within their camp to hear the prophetic word as they entered this covenant agreement. Not only was the pact for these in attendance, but for those who were not there that particular day (Deuteronomy 29:9-16). Israel had witnessed the abominations of idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which the nations they were dispossessing worshiped. They were never to turn in their heart to any of these false pagan gods. Otherwise, the curse would come upon them. It would be a dangerous root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood (la`anah- bitterness, from an unused root supposed to mean to curse, Hebrews 12:15). Should they be stubborn in their own selfish-heartfelt pride in regards to this denouncing the curse, the LORD guaranteed He would never be willing to forgive them. In His justice, He would be angry and jealous in burning passion against that kind of man. Every curse which was written in the book of the Law would rest on this, or these, persons, and the LORD would blot out their name under heaven. They would be singled out for adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses. It would be a testimony against them for future generations and foreigners who would observe the land and their plagues and diseases with which the LORD afflicted them. These will say, “All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.” They will wonder why the LORD has done this devastation, and the answer will be simply this, “Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day (Deuteronomy 29:17-28).”

-The final verse of this passage purposefully makes one stop to ponder. “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this Law (Deuteronomy 29:29).”

-*Application* The LORD in His wisdom knows that our finite minds cannot handle His infinite aspects and nature (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Perhaps too, there are many things that are unnecessary for us to know until we come more and more into His fullness (Ephesians 3:17-21). A final consideration is that we were not created to be gods ourselves, and therefore we will always have limited understanding with respect to the Sovereign (Psalm 100:3). Although God has not told us everything there is to know about following His commands, He has told us enough to believe in Him and surrender our will to solely His purposes. God’s Word is enough to save us and lead us into the benefits of His Kingdom as we serve and honor Him exclusively. We should be diligent to pass this on to future generations that they too might see the grace and good pleasure of the LORD (thoughts taken in part from NASB Life Application Study Bible, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 2000, pg. 324).

Verse to Memorize: Deuteronomy 29:29