Main Verse: Exodus 23:20-33

Good morning!

Israel was about to enter the “Promised Land” Canaan which was first promised to Abram (Genesis 13:14-18), then to Isaac (Genesis 26:1-4), and later to Jacob/Israel (Genesis 28:10-17). So the culmination of the promise given to the three ancestors was about to happen but, before you get all jazzed up and sing, “Canaan Land here we come! Look out denizens the new sheriff is coming your way”, there are some key provisos or “Rules for the Road” that you need to be aware of. While it may seem harsh to lay down ground rules after promising the land to the nation, what was important to remember was that getting into the Land was not as important as remaining in the Land; For the people to remain in the land those ground rules must be fully obeyed. Could the people enter the land and then be disobedient? Yes, they could it would but it would make the nation to be little more than a pack of thieves and the god they serve is no better than the gods that people leaving the land served.

God’s laws are not hard nor are they beyond our ability to fulfill (Psalms 19:7-11). So if God’s “Rules of the Road” are not hard nor beyond our ability, why won’t we obey them? I think the problem comes down to the word “Control”. As children, our parents made the “House rules” and we obeyed them often begrudgingly. Then as we approach the magical “adulthood” and the mystical “Promised Land” is within our grasp, out come the laws and we have disdain for them. A common lament among adults, just as it was in school, is that not everyone played by the same rules and those who disobeyed the rules seemed happy until the wheels came off. The rub and my encouragement for you today is that nowhere in God’s word will you find, “If everybody else does it, go ahead and do it”. The reason you won’t find that in scripture is that the Lord wants more for you and me than to just “cross the line”, he wants us to set the bar and that requires obedience.

I.H.S.

MK

Father,

Your laws are eternally written down in the annals of the ages. When we are obedient to your laws and “Rules for the Road”, you make our mountains stand still and you help us to succeed where others have failed (Psalms 30:7). Lord please be with my family, city, state, and nation as the grounds are crumbling from disobedience but in You I find Jachin and in you I find strength.

In Jesus’ Name

Amen