Words of Life
THE MAIN IDEA
Abiding in God’s word is the only path to shalomi. Moses highlights three implications for God’s people with respect to God’s word.
KNOW GOD’S WORD
Moses had spent the day reciting the entirety of the law that God had given to the Israelites. The word of God was no trivial matter for the Israelite, and it is no trivial matter for us, either. We must take God’s word to heart. Whenever the Bible talks about a person’s heart, it is referring to every part of a person, except for all the physical matter that makes up a person. There are many ways that we must take God’s word to heart, but first and foremost, we must make it a priority to know God’s word. We cannot fully understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, or know Jesus Christ Himself, unless we make it a priority to know God’s word. Only when we have a steady diet of God’s word will the word of God become sweet to our taste. And that is how we must take it to heart.
TEACH GOD’s WORD
Moses goes on to tell the Israelites the purpose of taking God’s word to heart. It is “so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.” Moses is saying that it is critical to teach the word of God to the next generation. First, we have to make it a priority to know the word of God. And then we have to make it a priority to teach the word of God to the next generation. The next generation is always the front line of our mission fields. Furthermore, every church always belongs to the next generation. When good Christians with the best of intentions try to hold on tight to the church that they built for themselves, those churches just get older and older and older and then eventually shut down. At the same time, the next generation is hungry and thirsty for spiritual revival. But spiritual revival must be grounded in the word of God, otherwise it will be grounded in emotionalism, and then emotional abuse and burnout will result. But there is great hope for the next generation, as they seem to be hungry for God’s word too. And so what is it that we must do in order to teach the word of God to the next generation?
LIVE OUT GOD’s WORD
The word of God is life, and by them we will live long in the promised land. In other words, the word of God is the key to our peace, blessing, and happiness. The word of God is the key to shalom. That is God’s economy. If we are going to make it a priority to know the word of God and to teach the word of God to the next generation, obviously, we ourselves have to live out the word of God. Moses is not telling us to fill ourselves up with head knowledge, and he is not telling us to fill up the next generation with head knowledge. True obedience can never come from mere head knowledge. Nor can true obedience ever be forced obedience. True obedience is an act of faith. True obedience comes from believing that God knows best and that He loves us more than we love ourselves. That’s why every step of obedience is a step of faith, and every step of faith is a step of obedience. The word of God itself tells us that we cannot have shalom if we are not living out the word of God.
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Is it a priority for you to know the word of God? If yes, how can you encourage someone else to make it their priority too. If not, what must you do to make it a priority?
i Shalom is a Hebrew word that is usually translated as peace but also includes the idea of society-wide prosperity, blessing, and happiness.
