Deut 32-34 A Narrow Road with a Wide View

March 10th, Deuteronomy 32-34

       Moses' time is drawing to a close but he has a few things to make known. First of all chapter 32 is a little song he wrote. Moses seems to know nothing about the standard verse, chorus, verse 2, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus format. It;s kinda nice that we don't know the tune. Too often we judge the worthiness of a song by it's style rather than content(oh I think I just came up with another devotional thought!!) Maybe some other time.
       Moses song has an ebb and flow of theme to it. It starts off where a good song does... the greatness of our God. It's a theme we are comfortable with and one for which no one would argue. It moves from that to the pain of a nation that can't seem to get their act together and honor their God. It's not a song we sing. It's as song title we would reject.
       Years ago I remember reading a book called "The Heavenly Man." I remember the words to a chorus of a song written in that book. I can't remember all of the chorus exactly, but I know there was a repetition of..."O to die a Martyr, O to die a Martyr..." Again not words we sing here in American Churches. In Mexico they sing a lot of songs about Victory. Victory in Jesus. We don't sing enough songs about the proclamation of victory. Is it because we don't feel victory? Is our constant themes about God's affection for us stem from our lack of knowledge about that or does it stem from something more self-needing.
        There is a delicate balance in what we need to know about God and his stance towards us. He loves us, he hates sin, he will let us dig the pit of our own choosing (people will then blame God for allowing us to dig our own pit), he will forgive when we cry out to him. God is great is a true theme. But true also is "Our Poo Doth Possesseth Stench."
        As you read through Moses Song, consider all that he has to say. Remember all the things that are true about the wonder of God and the falleness of mankind. Realize that the greatness of God is magnified in the full understanding of our mess. A journey into the depth of our personal depravity magnifies the perfection of God who loves us. Minimizing the vast expanse between the two is an attempt to help us understand God. Inadvertently it minimizes him and maximizes us and doesn't accomplish what we wanted.
        The word for the morning is that we are the gatekeepers of what messages we allow to reach out heart. The polarized day we live in encourages a narrow view of everything, even God. Praying for a deeper fullness of knowing God.