Today's Devotional
& Prayer

Don’t Forget The Giver

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“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
 

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

“So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full—then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. - Deuteronomy 6:4–12

It was just before Christmas, and her kids were having a difficult time with gratitude. She knew how easy it was to slip into that kind of thinking, but she also knew she wanted something better for the hearts of her children. So she went through the house and placed red bows on light switches, the pantry and refrigerator doors, the washing machine and dryer, and the water faucets. With each bow there was a handwritten note: “Some of the gifts God gives us are easy to overlook, so I’ve put a bow on them. He is so good to our family. Let’s not forget where the gifts come from.”

In Deuteronomy 6, we see that the future of the nation of Israel involved the conquest of existing places. So they would move into large flourishing cities they did not build (v. 10), occupy houses filled with good things they didn’t provide, and benefit from wells and vineyards and olive groves they didn’t dig or plant (v. 11). All these blessings could be easily traced back to a single source—“the Lord your God” (v. 10). And while God lovingly provided these things and more, Moses wanted to make sure the people were careful not to forget (v. 12).

Orthodox Jews take the command of Deuteronomy 6:8 literally. A devout Jewish man will tie leather cases known as tefillin on his left arm or hand and on his forehead. The tefillin contain the portion of Scripture known as the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–9). In Mark 12:29–31, Jesus quoted from the Shema and Leviticus 19:18 when He said “there is no commandment greater” than “to love the Lord your God    . . . [and] your neighbor as yourself.”

The tefillin usually include Scriptures from Exodus 13:1–16 and Deuteronomy 11:13–21. The Exodus portion refers to the first Passover when God said, “This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips” (Exodus 13:9). A time will come when those who reject God must have a mark either on their hands or on their foreheads (Revelation 13:16; 14:9). Satan loves to counterfeit God’s ways.

During certain seasons of life it’s easy to forget. But let’s not lose sight of God’s goodness, the source of all our blessings.

The devotional message, “Don’t Forget the Giver”, was written by Mr. John Blase, and appeared in “Our Daily Bread”, www.odb.org, December 7, 2019.  Used here with permission from the website.

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