Rejoice

Read Deuteronomy 11-12
 
Deuteronomy 12:7 There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
 
THREE times in chapter 12, Moses promises Israel they will rejoice as they feast and celebrate in the presence of the Lord your God.
     Yes, you could read through these chapters to say, “Why so many rules on how to worship and what foods to eat?” But I hope you see that closely following the rules teaches you who you are in Christ. As God’s commands set Israel apart from the world, you are the new “Israel”, the church of Jesus Christ, you are set apart from the world into God’s presence.
     Do you know that? When asked, “Who are you?” Does your response include, “I’m a child of the Living God.” The first couple, Adam and Eve, would have said that. They knew God, and he knew them. They knew their purpose, set apart from all creation. These godly children experienced a joyful life in a loving father-child relationship with their Creator. But then came the sin. Adam and Eve hid from God. Sadness, guilt and remorse suffocated the joy. 
     Since that awful time, God’s purpose has been to reunite mankind into his joy. He began by re-introducing himself to his creation. He formed a God-believing line of people from Seth to Noah. After the Flood, he set apart Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Then he went to Israel in Egypt. The LORD identified himself as “the Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:15b) Through the plagues he changed nature’s laws to show his majesty. He set relationship laws to reveal his fatherly purpose: “I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.” (Exodus 6:7).
     Today we know much more of God than Israel did. In addition to the law, we know the prophets, gospels and epistles. We can understand the entire Bible is God’s plan to teach us to know we have passed from death to life. (1 John 3:14). This means he has acted to set apart all Christians into eternal life. Yes, indeed. In faith, we can rejoice once again in God’s presence.
     Let’s not read God’s demands and commands as too restrictive or too much to know. But let’s approach each day with a desire to see God’s purpose in his teachings. Century upon century, the Father’s loving commitment came from heaven, so people from every tribe and tongue will rejoice with the Father in the new Eden.
 
Isaiah 25:9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”