WINNERS AND LOSERS (Book of Deuteronomy)
By Frank Eiklor and Cecilia Contreras
LESSON 23 Part 1
INTRODUCTION
The first five books of the Bible—the Books of Moses—lay the foundation of God’s plan for the ages. His laws will show us His holiness but our failure to keep His laws will also show us our helplessness. The entire Old Testament will prepare us for the coming of Jesus who will become the perfect sacrifice in order to forgive and cleanse us from the cancer of sin and open the door to eternal life with God.
But the First Testament—all 39 books—will give us something more. We will find examples of winners and losers—those who made right choices and those who chose to travel the wrong road of evil. We have studied some of those examples in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. We now will look at the book of Deuteronomy for more examples of what makes winners and losers.
DEUTERONOMY
1:21,26-45—Example of breaking God’s heart through unbelief—and the terrible price we pay.
1:15-17—Example of placing the welfare of a nation in the hands of proven leaders and judges of integrity (how far America and the nations of the world have fallen).
2:4,5,9,12,19-22—Example of God’s love for other nations of the Mideast.
3:28—Example of how to prepare disciples for faithful spiritual leadership “charge…encourage…strengthen” (2 Timothy 4:1-8).
THE INTIMACY OF GOD
4:2,32-35—(Then see 4:24-28) Example of the intimacy of our holy God—and His demand for absolute obedience.
5:3,4,24-29—Example showing that God’s greatest longing is our total obedience.
6:5-7—Israel is to be an example of what it means to walk continually in the Spirit. Note v10-12, example of the danger lurking in the “good life.”
71-4,6,25,26—Israel is an example to the Church that there can be no embrace of the world with its sin.
THE HIGH COST OF PRIDE
8:10-20—Example of the cost of individual and national pride that steals the glory due God.
9:4-6—Example of the deceitfulness of the human heart—attributing God’s goodness as something deserved, rather than given by His grace to the undeserving.
9:13,14,18,24-27—Example of the same love of God as seen in Jesus—“not willing that any should perish” 2 Peter 3:9—operating through the broken heart of Moses.
10:12,13,16,21,22—Israel is an example to the Church that we cannot be lukewarm toward God. He gives all—and demands all.
WHY GOD LEAVES US EXAMPLES
11:2-7,19—A perfect example of why God uses examples—to teach the following generation.
12:30,31—Example—either we fill our heart’s “religious vacuum” with God, or Satan will make us curious to check out “other gods.”
13:7-10—Example of Israel called to “first love” for God, to the exclusion of all others.
15:4-11—Israel an example how the Church should care for our own less fortunate.
(To be continued)
