Have you ever played the “what if” game? I was doing it with this chapter. Like, what if the Israelites would have completely and fully heeded Moses’ words of wisdom? The world would be SUCH a different place right now. Moses has probably looked down on more than one occasion, shook his head, and said, “I tried to tell you. I even wrote it down.” We all know, though, that The Blessings of Obedience (as part of my chapter is subtitled) didn’t last for the Israelites – or trickle down to us exactly – due to a lack of obedience, which we would have just carried on anyway. Thank you, Jesus!
I was emphasizing in the last chapter that the Israelites are coming into a land that is fully furnished and ready to live in, and I noticed Moses is telling the Israelites some of the same things in this chapter. He reminds them in verses 10 to 12 that the land in Egypt was nice, yes, but it was only nice because the Israelites worked their tails off getting it that way. This new land, the Promised Land of Canaan, requires NOTHING of the Israelites, and the little ones are not going to see the significance of that. They will be raised in a land of privilege. Moses says DO NOT forget to remind them of that DAILY – as you walk, as you talk, as you eat and before you go to bed each night. I eluded to the fact that I was raised in a privileged environment like this as well. My family was considered middle class. There were times when money was short, and I wanted things I couldn’t have, but in all my “suffering,” I never had it like those who lived through war, The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl. These were my grandparents, but since I’ve moved to Thailand, I’ve met actual people who have lived through the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam Conflict. I’ve met refugees with no citizenship to any country in the entire world. I try to remember these people as I’m complaining about the coffee canister being empty in the morning … simply because I didn’t go get coffee. Of course, like the Israelites, I don’t keep these things in the forefront of my thoughts, so also like the Israelites, I falter. I forget. I complain.
Writing prompt: what if
Do you have a what if situation that you just can’t get over? Like, what if I’d just done this thing, then that thing wouldn’t have happened? I have a huge one, which has haunted me in the middle of the night more than once, but with time and wisdom and tons of prayer, I have been able to forgive myself. (Ok, still working on it!) What if the Israelites would have remained obedient? What if you would have … (finish this with your story today)?
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