Open-ended,
Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of Hebrew Bible Readings from the
Australian Prayer Book.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20...15th S after Pentecost, C .... (For LK14:
25-35,
scroll.)
NOTES: 1]Read the Hebrew Bible in the light
of our understanding of God revealed in Jesus.2] Deuteronomy (Greek for 'second
law')
is about 'the old cultic & legal traditions relevant
for their time' [von Rad, DEUT, p.23]. The book DEUT is referred to in
2K22:8
& 23:24-5 (c.622BC), & Ezra reads it to the
people in NEH 8. It may have reached its present form during Exile in
6th C. Babylon. 3]
Remember the verses just before these from a few weeks ago?
. WARMING UP: Are the only
certainties in life really death & taxes?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
15-16 Are 'life & prosperity' & 'death &
adversity' as alternatives too simplistic the way we see things today?
Aren't there other options these days? But if what Moses says here
doesn't tally with the way we see things today,
might we be seeing things
wrongly? Is it reasonable to expect that
life will always be prosperous? Does death always come as 'adversity'?
Does it even occur to us to see these alternatives as related to
keeping God's Commandments? If we don't see such a connection, could it
be because
we compartmentalise the things of God & the things of life (&
death) too much? Can we 'walk in God's ways' without keeping the rest
of the deal? Or, don't we have a deal? Do we ever mistake rule-keeping
for loving, or vice-versa? While we normally credit Jesus with his 'new
commandment' of love, doesn't it imply here that the commandments have
always been about loving God & each other? Does prosperity immunise
us against
dependence upon God?
17-18 Has there ever been
a bigger, more important 'but' than the one that introduces this
section? How do we know if our heart is turning / has turned
away, been led astray
from God? Don't we often find it easier to judge where someone else's
heart is than where our own is? How do we actually carry out an 'audit'
of our heart? Are the other gods we may bow down to or serve more
dangerous now that they don't normally take the shape of an idol? Or do
they? Does the strong language God (or Moses?) uses here offend us,
scare us, put us off, any of that kind of thing? Does it evoke any kind
of reforming response in us? Is it about time it did,.or have we become
too used to the 'gentle side' of God we see in Jesus? How closely is
God 'earthed' among us, or is it safer to keep God 'up there' somewhere?
19-20 What is the force
of 'calling heaven & earth to witness against' someone? Or doesn't
such language have any force any more? Is the whole of life actually an
ongoing series of choices between 'life & death, blessings &
curses'? How relevant is it to our descendants that we 'choose life'?
What benefit is that to them, if any? How constant are we in 'loving
God, obeying him, &
holding fast to him'? Does
our success or otherwise at doing this have any effect on our
descendants? Do we still consider blessing or the lack of it runs in
families? How can that be or not be? Could there be a better motto for
all of us than 'choose life'?
