Choose life!

Deuteronomy 30:19

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

The Lord intends to describe to us the power of His oath, by calling heaven and earth to record His words. We know that this is always the case. For everything is written in His book. There is nothing lost. No file is destroyed. No recording is lost among the annals of heaven. For all is recorded. However, here the Lord reminds us of this ever present truth-that His promise and vow has been indelibly etched into the records of heaven and earth. What is this mighty oath? What is this great vow? It is one of blessing and cursing. Of life and death. It is of utmost importance! No wonder this language has been employed! For you see, the last several chapters of this book have been a list of all the blessings and cursings that God promised on His people in accordance with their obedience or disobedience to His commands and law. He has made it quite clear. There is no ambiguity, uncertainty, or mystery about what God has pronounced and denounced. It is all there! In black and white it has been choreographed into His records, visible for every person to see. For this is very nigh unto us, and it is in our mouth and in our heart. We know it! It is not hidden, neither is it concealed from our understanding. This is not a secret of any sort. It is fair as the moon, and clear as the sun. It is set before us so that we may know without a doubt what the Lord will do.

And what is this clear oath? It is simply that if we love the Lord our God with all our heart, and cleave unto Him, obeying His commandments as He has revealed them to us, there is a great blessing in store. But if we turn away from Him, and go after strange gods, we will endure all the curses that this book promises. Therefore, the Lord says, “choose life!” It is your choice! You choose life or death! You choose blessing or cursing! It is not a product of time and chance, a mere happenstance of the course of the universe; it is not without predication that you receive a blessing or receive a curse. It is in direct proportion to our obedience to the Lord, and our cleaving to His ways and not our own. The Lord made this clear, so that we may trust in this promise. Choose life! Make the decision! Walk in His ways! Love Him! Serve Him! All will be well! God will be sure that those who obey Him receive the blessing that comes from His hand.

Now, my friend, are you choosing life? Are you cleaving to the Lord and His ways? Or have you been distracted from the ways of the Lord by things that hinder the blessing of the Lord? Are you listening to the ways of doubt? The ways of skepticism? The ways of worry? The ways of sin? The ways of evil speaking? The ways of malice? Oh, may God deliver us from these things! Because none of these ways bring God’s blessing! They actually bring a curse! Because, you see, we are told in God’s Word to put off all these things. God does not want, under any circumstances, for us to receive a curse. His storehouses are full of unclaimed blessings. Many have gone the way of the world, and not the way of the Lord, and have forfeited the blessing. Don’t go that way! No matter what others may do, claim the blessing! No matter what others may say, cleave to the Lord and what is right! Obey His commandments! Choose life and don’t choose death. Choose blessing and choose not cursing. May the Lord help us to choose life today!

“Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee that Thou hast opened the door that the blessings may flow. May we cleave to you, knowing that that is where the blessing is found. Keep us from the curses of this world. Keep us from the destiny of unbelief. Keep us bound to your side. Help us this day, with every decision we make, every path we take, and every desire we gratify, to choose life. May we see your greatest blessing bestowed upon us as a result of our obedience and faithfulness to Thee. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”