Deuteronomy 30:19 - Choose Life!
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT) Today I have
given you the choice between life and death,
between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven
and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh,
that you would choose life, so that you and your
descendants might live!
INTRODUCTION
God doesnt force his will on anyone. He
lets us decide whether to follow him or reject
him. This decision, however, is a life-or-death
matter. God wants us to realize this, for he would
like us all to choose life. Daily, in each new
situation, we must affirm and reinforce this
commitment. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
If God were to remove all evil from our
world (but somehow leave human beings on the
planet), it would mean that the essence of
"humanness" would be destroyed. We would become robots.
Let me explain what I mean by this. If
God eliminated evil by programming us to perform
only good acts, we would lose this distinguishing
mark - the ability to make choices. We would no
longer be free moral agents. We would be reduced to
the status of robots.
Let's take this a step further. Robots do
not love. God created us with the capacity to
love. Love is based upon one's right to choose to
love. We cannot force others to love us. We can
make them serve us or obey us. But true love is
founded upon one's freedom to choose to respond.
Given the choice, I would rather be
responsible for my actions than be a robot without
responsibility! Are you using your ability to make decisions
wisely - and using it for God?
Think about the number of choices you
made in the last 24 hours. What did you do with
all that freedom? How many of your choices were
made with God and his will in mind? [Hope for
Each Day by Billy Graham]
COMMENTARY
"The wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord." Romans 6:23. While life is the inheritance
of the righteous, death is the portion of the
wicked. Moses declared to Israel: "I have set before
thee this day life and good, and death and evil."
Deuteronomy 30:15. The death referred to in these
scriptures is not that pronounced upon Adam, for all
mankind suffer the penalty of his transgression. It
is "the second death" that is placed in
contrast with everlasting life.
In consequence of Adam's sin, death
passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down
into the grave. And through the provisions of the
plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth
from their graves. "There shall be a resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and unjust;" "for
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all
be made alive." Acts 24:15; I Corinthians
15:22. But a distinction is made between the two
classes that are brought forth. "All that are in the
graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth;
they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation." John 5:28, 29. They who have
been "accounted worthy" of the resurrection of
life are "blessed and holy." "On such the second
death hath no power." Revelation 20:6. But those
who have not, through repentance and faith,
secured pardon, must receive the penalty of
transgression--"the wages of sin." They suffer punishment
varying in duration and intensity, "according to
their works," but finally ending in the second
death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently
with His justice and mercy, to save the sinner in
his sins, He deprives him of the existence which
his transgressions have forfeited and of which
he has proved himself unworthy. Says an
inspired writer: "Yet a little while, and the wicked
shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider
his place, and it shall not be." And another
declares: "They shall be as though they had not been."
Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they
sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion. [GC544,5]
CLOSING THOUGHT
Our Choices Define Us
Once you make choices, your choices make
you.
What do I mean by that? Its easy to
think your life is defined by what happens to you.
But the truth is that your life is defined by
the choices you make.
Its undeniable that bad things happen
all the time. We live in a broken world. You
dont always choose right. Other people dont
always choose right. We all get hurt.
But what happens to you is not nearly as
important as the way you choose to respond. Some
people are built up through difficult situations.
Other people are broken by them. For some people a
bad experience is a stumbling block. For others
its a stepping-stone.
If you take two people and put them in
the exact same pain, one may succeed while the
other fails. Why? Because of the choices they
make.
You cannot control many of your life
circumstances, but you can control how you decide to
respond. You can choose whether things make you
bitter or better.
Think about your future. Where do you
want to be in 10 years? In 20 years?
Without even knowing you, I can tell you
where youre going to be. Just tell me what
youre choosing right now. The choices you make
today determine where you will be tomorrow.
Wise people are always asking: What do I
need to do today to get me where I need to be
tomorrow?
The book of Deuteronomy tells how God
gave his people a choice: If you obey [me],
you will live and become successful and
powerful (Deuteronomy 30:16 CEV). The children of
Israel would make their choice, and then their
choices would make them.
The same is true for you. God puts
choices in front of you every day. What you do with
your choices will determine the person you
become. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 - We Have a Choice:
Life or Death.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220520-1034.html
Joshua 24:15 - Choose This Day Whom You Will
Serve. (update)
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20120422-0937.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
