Excellent Advice from Moses’ Farewell Address

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them…Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath, there is no other. You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.” (Deuteronomy 4:29-31; 39-40. NKJV)

Moses was old and near death. He had been forbidden to enter the Promised Land (see Deut. 4:21-22). He brought the people together and gave his farewell address, filled with the good advice of a wise and faithful leader. He is both prophetic and pastoral in his parting words, being able to see beyond the time when they settle into the new land to a time when they will be scattered again and exiled from the Promised Land. In his impassioned speech before them, he is both loving pastor and unmistakable prophet. But the major gist of his message reverberates even to us today; Seek the Lord with all your heart and soul; turn to Him; in distress He will help you; obey Him, for He will not forsake you; there is no other God besides Him; He will remember His covenant with you. Moses called for faithfulness. He stood firmly on all that the Lord had taught Him and wanted to impart to the people the necessity to be true to God and serve him faithfully.

Today is Veterans’ Day. Many of us will gather in our communities to hear patriotic speeches, salutes of appreciation for the valor and service the military men and women of America have given to America. We will think lofty thoughts and feel a stir of deep emotion that we still know a measure of freedom. Moses’ farewell address somehow seems appropriate for this special day in America’s history. Unfortunately, leaders and authority figures have not always given God allegiance nor sought Him with heart, mind, soul and strength. We have become squeamish about our national motto, “In God we trust,” for fear that to mention it will offend some. On this special day, may we resolve anew to seek the Lord with heart and soul, to pray that America may turn from its self-sufficiency and know that our hope lies only in trusting God. If enough of us are sincere in seeking and following God, maybe our nation will not be ashamed to own up to and live by our motto: “In God we trust.”

God gave us the conditions of our turning back to Him in 2 Chronicles 7:14-15: “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.”

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, November 11, 2010