Life or Death, Blessing or Curse?

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” –Deuteronomy 31-19-20 (ESV).

Calling the elements and heaven and earth in testimony to an oath or covenant was a common ancient Near Eastern practice.  Normally, pagan nations would call on the name of their deity, but since God Himself is a partner in the covenant, Moses calls heaven and earth to witness what he is bringing before the people.  The focal verses for today are a part of Moses’ third speech, his final exhortation to the people to accept the covenant God has given them.  He reaches a climactic point in his appeal.  We might say this is the invitation of his sermon in which he pleads for the people to choose life or death, blessing or curse.  Notice the great contrast in the positions he urges them to make:  it is either life or death, blessing or curse.

To choose life is to choose God’s way.  The blessing that comes from choosing to follow God will be life for both current and future generations.  The people will love God and He will reciprocate their love.  They will obey God and He will reward them with long life.  And furthermore, they will dwell in the land promised to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Hope was held during the long years in Egypt when the nation groaned under slavery.  How they longed to return to the land of their fathers.  Now, by making the right choice, they stood on the threshold of possessing the land and living long upon it.  A longed-for reward was almost in sight.  And it hinged on choosing God, choosing life, obeying God and being steadfast in following Him.

In America the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision has brought great controversy about the right to life, or what we call “Pro-life.”  The 1973 Supreme Court decision commonly known as Roe vs. Wade declared that a pregnant woman in the first trimester of pregnancy was entitled to have an abortion if she so desired without interference from the state.  Religious and moral leaders have formed anti-abortion groups to fight against abortion by choice.  The sin of shedding innocent blood of unborn babies is likened to other heinous crimes, such as many being incognizant and unprotective of Jews being led to concentration camps prior to and during the World War II years. 

Prayer.  Father, forgive our nation that we have both unwittingly and deliberately shed innocent blood.  How condemned we are in Your sight.  Forgive our trespasses, and turn us again to the true spirit of caring for all peoples and counting life as sacred and prized, not to be ended on personal whims or for reasons of personal inconvenience. Forgive us, Lord, and help us to choose life that we ourselves .may live in Your favor.  In Jesus’ name.