Sarah Patton invites us to listen in with her this week:
As I listened to this week’s text, the phrase “heart of my own heart” from the hymn Be Thou My Vision came to mind, lingered, and mingled with Hebrew words that illuminate God’s words spoken to the Israelites.
How do you hear the voice of God in these verses from Deuteronomy?
There was a time when I heard God’s voice in this passage as harsh and punitive – follow the rules or else. Learning the meaning of a few critical words forever shifted and expanded my understanding.
The Hebrew word for good, tov, means regenerative good – life that brings life that brings life, as illustrated in Genesis 1:12. God called the vegetation good after the earth brought forth vegetation from the seeds, bearing fruit with seeds in it with the potential for future life.
Bless and blessing come from the Hebrew root word barak, which means to kneel to receive. Just as a knight kneels in vulnerability to be given responsibility for great things, when we kneel humbly before God, we are blessed – entrusted with the sacred task of loving him and walking in his ways.
Curse derives from the Hebrew root word, qalal, which means to be light or of little account, like chaff that the wind blows away. Curse is not a punishment imposed on the people. God is offering the choice to choose blessing, bringing life to the land, each other, and all the people around them. If the Israelites turn their hearts away to other gods with no substance, they choose curse; they will die a spiritual death and won’t last long in the land. God is calling them to live in the land with his heart.
Remembering anew, I savored God’s love and desire to impart the richness of life to the Israelites, to me, to us, to future generations.
Keeping in mind the meanings of these words, notice how God’s words in these verses land inside of you. Listen freshly to how you hear the voice of God. Whatever is stirring in you, God is with you, welcoming your feelings.
As I pondered all of these things, a prayer arose:
O Lord,
You are my inheritance, my treasure, heart of my own heart.
Oh, that your heart may truly be my heart!
May I walk in your ways,
Filled with your love,
Blessed to be a blessing,
Kneeling before you to be entrusted with your sacred task,
That the tov of my life may come forth.
May I not be distracted by light, trifling matters,
But choose you that my life may be full,
Choosing to love you, your people, and all people who cross my path.
Amen
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NLT
“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.
“But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
For Reflection and Prayer:
As you listened to the text, was there a word, phrase or image which caught your attention? Gently allow it to linger, giving it room to form and settle deeply in your body and heart.
Reflect on what you heard. Relish the words. Notice how the word or words affected you. Which emotions are stirring within you? Notice what is happening in your body as you linger with how the text is affecting you. You might begin to describe that and choose to journal about what you are experiencing.
Respond to what you noticed and reflected on in your prayer with God. Might there a prayer that rises within you?
Rest in God as you simply be and entrust yourself to God in the quiet.
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