ODJ: not idle words

October 14, 2014 

READ: Deuteronomy 32:1-4,44-47 

These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! (32:47).

With an estimated 6 billion copies sold, the Bible is the world’s best-selling book. The average American owns three or four copies of the Bible. In a 2012 survey, however, 18 percent of churchgoers revealed that they rarely or never read the Bible, and 22 percent said they did so just once a month. Only 19 percent said they read the Bible every day. Lamar Vest, President of the American Bible Society, said: “There are probably five Bibles on every shelf in American homes. Americans buy the Bibles . . . they just don’t read [them].”

As Moses prepared a new generation of God’s people to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:3), he recounted their history in three sermons—helping them to learn from past failures and to recommit themselves to God.

Through the words of a song (Deuteronomy 32), Moses reminded the people who God was: ”He is the Rock. . . . He is a faithful God” (v.4). Just as the rain and dew refresh tender grass and young plants, anyone who believed this teaching about who God is would be nourished and strengthened (vv.1-2).

More than having them merely mouth God’s Word, Moses commanded the Jews to “take to heart all the words of warning” (v.46). They were to know God’s instruction so well that they could fully obey it. They were to teach it to their children so that the next generation would also know and obey it. “Pass [God’s words] on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions” (v.46).

It doesn’t matter how many copies of the Bible you own, but it’s vital that you read, know and obey it. For its instructions “are not just idle words for you—they are your life” (v.47 NIV). —K.T. Sim

365-day plan› Acts 5:17-42

MORE
Read Psalm 119:1-16 to see the value of reading, knowing and obeying God’s Word. 
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Outside of church services, how often are you reading the Bible? Why is it important that you feed on God’s Word every day?