Joel M Bradshaw

26“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, 28and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.–Deuteronomy 11

I do a weekly nursing home worship service. After the service ends, I stay for a time to chat with the residents. Usually they want to share about the news or give me prayer requests. But yesterday, one of the tables had a sweet moment.

The topic had gotten to the Oscars that would be on TV that evening. What did I think about them and who did I like to win? I instead redirected those questions back at them. And one sweet resident made it known just a little too loudly that the Oscars were her favorite program of the year and she looked forward to going to the TV room that night to watch them. I looked over at our mutual friend who was also sitting at the table. They always sit next to each other, you see.

I looked at him and said in a loud stage whisper, “Our friend just gave you a special gift. She let you know something that means a lot to her. You may not get that information all the time”

“I know, pastor. Women are a mystery to me.”

“So when they reveal what means a lot to them, we listen, don’t we?”

I looked over at our friend and she was blushing and nodding at her buddy one wheelchair away. “I don’t get to see many movies, but I just love looking at the dresses!” I looked back at my friend and told him he ought to wear a nice hat tonight to make it more of an experience. “I look forward to it. And I don’t even like the Oscars!” The whole conversation was adorable.

Women might have just been a mystery to my friend, but God wasn’t a mystery to Israel. His expectations were clear and obvious. Follow his commands and receive covenant blessings. Disobey or rebel and receive covenant curses. In fact, God prophesied a bit at the end of those verses, didn’t he? He linked their unfaithfulness to following gods they didn’t know. Idolatry was going to be a major problem for them, and here was God making his expectations clear right from the beginning.

I like that God is clear about matters of the heart and our allegiance to him. He lets us know what is faithful and what is unfaithful. He expects us to be diligent. He doesn’t make us guess about what makes him happy. There is no trial and error. On the negative side, the law reveals that we are sinners and just on our own can’t keep it. But on the POSITIVE side, the law reveals God’s expectations. God is blessedly clear.

I can’t wait to find out how the Oscars went for my friends. What was her favorite dress? And evidently there was some drama at this year’s event. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it next week.–JMB