Scripture Text (NRSV)
11:18 You shall put these words of mine in your heart and
soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem
on your forehead.
11:19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when
you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.
11:20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your
gates,
11:21 so that your days and the days of your children may be
multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your ancestors to give them, as
long as the heavens are above the earth.
11:26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a
curse:
11:27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD
your God that I am commanding you today;
11:28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of
the LORD your God, but turn from the way that I am commanding you today, to
follow other gods that you have not known.
Comments:
Messenger of Peace
The commandments of God must first be in our heart and soul. Then we can place them as sign on our hands and forehead in what we do and think. Then we can teach them to our children, first in our homes, then beyond. They make good bedtime stories and great devotionals to help us live according to God's plan. We can write them over the entrance way of our hearts and homes. We can hang them on the gates of our lives.
So that we can receive the promise of long life for both us and our children in this
wonderful world that God has created, destroyed with a flood, and renewed.
Before us is both a blessing and curse. We hold them both in our hands. We also choose which of the two we will accept. Blessing if we obey the commandments of the Lord our God, or curses if we do not obey.
God is commanding us to follow in his way. We don't have to follow, we can follow other gods that we have not known and be cursed.
Write God's words on your hearts and in your souls. Place them on your risk and forehead by doing good and thinking with the mind of Christ. Teach them to your children and write them on the doorpost of your heart and the gate of your soul. Receive the promises of the Lord your God and be blessed forever more.
The starting point to recieving God blessing begin in the heart and soul.
Teaching the faith is a foundational duty of our faith. The church is never more than 2 or 3 generations from extinction. We are reminded in this passage just how we are to teach. Teaching is not just on Sunday morning, as if it is easy to get teachers just for this day. We are called to teach at home, in all our speech and actions. Everything we do, our entire living should be
curriculum for children, of all ages, as to the foundational aspects of our faith.
We are not to hide our faith, and the following of our faith, but rather it should be evident to all whom we meet, as if branded on our forehead.
ApolloGuy Tx
ApolloGuy Tx,
I believe you're right on, that this text means that we should behave so that others can see whose we are, as if God's will is branded on our foreheads.
Michelle
My title for this week is "emblematic?" What are our teachings and actions emblematic of. We don't have the choice of not being emblematic of what we consider important. Whatever we consider important in life is emblematic in our living.
ApolloGuy TX
