The Last Words of Moses

A Quick Look: Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Really Read It: Deuteronomy 30:11-20, Colossians 3:1-4

Memorize: Deuteronomy 30:16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. (NIV)

Moses was the president, the prophet, the priest, the man with the miracle power of God. He took a whole country of slaves on a 40-year camping trip. They had some trouble along the way, so God used him to split the Red Sea, bring water from a rock, and drop bread from the sky. When ultra-famous Moses was about to die, he gave a final speech. It was really long. Hard to blame him for talking so much. It was his last day on earth. But since it was so long, I’ll go straight to my favorite part and bring it up to date a little.

Love God. Do what He says. And it is not so hard. You don’t have to send your aunt on a mission to Mars to find God’s words and bring them down to you. You don’t have to put your brother on a sea voyage across the ocean to learn God’s ways and bring them back. No. The Word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Those ideas are close to what Moses said in Deuteronomy 30:11-14. Then Moses made all of the people contestants on the easiest game show in the history of the world. (Sort of.) There was only one question in the game and Moses made it real easy. Picture Moses standing between two doors. One door was dirty, gray, and broken with a huge KEEP OUT sign. The other door was bright yellow with flashing lights and arrows all around it. Moses kept pointing to that good door while the smiley face in the middle of the door called out, “Pick me, pick me, pick me!” It was not a trick. The good door was really that easy to find.

Moses said things like, “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.” (Deuteronomy 30:15) This door is life and prosperity, the place where you always have enough stuff, enough food, your body is healthy and your family is happy. The other door is death and destruction, the place with sickness, lack, not enough stuff, not enough food, bad hard times. Moses said it as many ways as he could. He even asked the angels to listen to make sure that he gave all of the people a fair chance. He said, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

And the way to choose was with worship. To get to the bad door, forget about God, do not obey His ways, let your heart get pulled away to other gods and bow to them. To get to the good door, love God, walk in His ways, and do what God says. Stay close, listen to His voice, and hold on tight to God.

In Deuteronomy 30:20 Moses used the words, “For the Lord is you life.” I wonder how he said that. Did he go right through it or did he stop and blast those words one at a time? It might have been a quick phase in a long speech. Maybe only a few of the people standing there caught this key. The Lord is everything. He is health in your body. He is the strength of every friendship. He is hope. He is life itself.

Paul was never as famous as Moses while he was alive, but he wrote more books of the Bible. Paul used that same powerful phrase in a letter. Colossians 3:4 says, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Readers then and readers now could really focus on the part about appearing in glory. Do you see yourself cloud surfing with light shooting out of your fingers? That is not how you are going to appear with Christ in glory, but forget about that for now, and go back to that little phrase the Paul stuck in there: Christ, who is your life.

I saw a stupid T-shirt that said, “Basketball is LIFE. The rest is just details.” I like basketball but something is wrong if a little game with a ball and a hoop is the core of who you are. I don’t think you could really do it, but just think about it for a minute. What would your life look like if you wore that shirt and you were telling the truth? You would work all day every day at becoming a better player. Running, shooting, dribbling, weights, sprints, drills. You would have to study all of the books by all of the world’s experts. You would train under the best coaches you could find and gladly do whatever they asked. Food would have to be a part of your life but only to get stronger. Entertainment could be pushed out of your life, but if you let it in a little, it would be something about basketball.

Sadly some people live that life and a lot more wish they could. So many give their lives to other things that do not deserve any devotion. But what if you crossed out the word “basketball” and wrote in Christ. Christ is LIFE. Paul said, “Christ, who is your life.” Moses said, “The Lord is your life.” And I have seen that on a T-shirt, but I have rarely seen that kind of life. Remember everything the Basketball is LIFE guy did with his day. Remember how that guy spent his energy, spent his time. What did he think about? What did he dream about? Could you tell the truth and wear Christ is LIFE? Could you give as much strength to Jesus as he gives to basketball? Listen to the last words of Moses, listen to a letter from Paul. Make Jesus Christ the One and Only. Make the living God your LIFE.

This week I found hope at church. I didn’t even know that I needed any more, but there it was. Hope. Find out more about a different church, a church were something happens: http://www.worldrevivalchurch.com

You can find more of Nathan’s writing on lulu and helium.