Ephesians 6:11
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”

Ephesians 6:13
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

1 Peter 5:9
“But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

1 Corinthians 15:58
“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”

Philippians 1:27
“Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

1 Corinthians 16:13
“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

Philippians 4:1
“Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”

Moses summarized God’s guidance and provision for the Israelites during the previous forty years. The adults who originally escaped from Egypt had all died in the desert, but God’s agreement included their descendants. Many times, throughout the Old Testament, God renewed his agreement with them. Though all Israelites were invited to take part in God’s agreement, only those who chose to obey the agreement received his blessings.  To choose against God brings emptiness and pain—death. To choose God brings blessings and fulfillment—life.  We stand for something or someone.  Who do we choose daily to stand with and who will we follow?  How firm is our stand?

Deuteronomy 29

Renewal of the Covenant

These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.

² Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. ³ With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders.⁴ But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. ⁵ Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. ⁶ You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”

⁷ When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. ⁸ We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁹ Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. ¹⁰ All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, ¹¹ together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. ¹² You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, ¹³ to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ¹⁴ I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you ¹⁵ who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.

¹⁶ You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. ¹⁷ You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. ¹⁸ Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.

¹⁹ When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. ²⁰ The Lord will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven. ²¹ The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

²² Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it. ²³ The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger. ²⁴ All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?”

²⁵ And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. ²⁶ They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. ²⁷ Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book. ²⁸ In furious anger and in great wrath the Lord uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”

²⁹ The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We must remember that Moses is passionately restating the facts of the covenant as he and God’s Chosen people are standing on the border of the Promised Land.  God calls, prepares, and then sends.  Moses wants God’s people to “get it right while getting right with God” with a renewal of their promise to obey God’s covenant with them.  These “last words” from Moses, God’s leader who has stood firm in his faith, is a plea to the people to stand firm in their faith in God! 

They will enter, Moses will not.  Moses knows personally that when you go against God, it does not go well for us. (See Numbers 20) There will be a new leader that God has chosen who will take over the reigns of leadership into the Promised Land.  Moses has accepted that because he knows that God knows what is best—always!

The word “covenant” is used many times in this chapter; in fact, this chapter is the Book of Deuteronomy in miniature. Moses reviewed the past, called the people to obey God’s law, and warned them what would happen if they disobeyed. As we read and study Moses’ farewell address, we may get weary of these repeated themes, but they are the essence of God’s covenant with His people. Too often God’s people forget what they ought to remember and remember what they ought to forget!  God, through Moses, took the people out of Egypt. God continues to take Egypt out of the people before entering the land He has promised to them along with the promise to be with them—always!

Through Jesus, God gave us a new covenant of redemption and restoration.  Jesus was the once and for all sacrifice for the sins of the world for whoever would believe in Him.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

There are no more laws about when, where, how and why to sacrifice animals to cover sins (of which there are many when we try to do life on our own terms, with input from the Enemy of God), which leads to disaster then death.  Paul explains beautifully the terms of the New Covenant—

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” Romans 5:1

Justified means redemption complete, “just as if” the sin never occurred!  Jesus died to save us, we who were still sinners!  And not only that—Jesus defeated death and rose again on the third day to give us hope to live forever with Him!

“And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:2-5 Yes, and Amen!

This is the New Covenant in action:

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8

Friends, I don’t know about you, but my heart skips a beat when I read of the love God has for us—so much so He gave us a part of Himself to set us free from the guilt and shame of our sins!  Gone—completely removed and forgotten—to be remembered no more!

^“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:9-11

We who believe, repent, and follow Jesus have been reconciled (reconnected) to God are now “plugged” into His Holy Spirit who gives us power, the level of power that resurrected Jesus from the grave! 

Are you plugged in?  Are you reconciled to God through Jesus? 

Salvation is for ALL!  Can I urge you to trust Truth who is Jesus? Your prayer could be this: “Lord, I believe.  Forgive me.  Now, I know my sins are paid in full by your work on the cross of sacrifice, nailing all my shame and guilt there, too.” Thank you, Jesus.

Trust the work of God for you. Then trust the presence of Christ in you. 

As for me, I’m standing firm on the promises of God who loves us and demonstrates His love daily for our good and His glory!  I’m not perfect but I know I am perfectly forgiven.  I don’t desire it, yet He gives me relentless love, great mercy, and unending grace!  AND God is with you and I who believe always and forever!  Yes, I’m standing on the terms of the New Covenant—the promise of Life eternal! 

Lord,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen!  Yes, and Amen!