Deuteronomy 4: 25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger:
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land where unto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.
28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
Moses was speaking to the Israelite nation as they were preparing to cross over Jordan into their promised land. An entire generation had died in the wilderness because of their rebellion, murmuring, and idolatrous worship. He wanted to remind them of the danger that lay before them whenever their covetous hearts begin to search for and hold too tightly to other treasures chasing after idols of any kind. The same is true for us. But you may say, oh then I am safe because I have no idols of which I worship. Or do you? Anything that is placed as more important than your relationship with God is an idol in your heart. For some it is their work, others entertainment, others TV, others it may be money or possessions. We desire and seek after many things in hopes that it will fill our hearts with joy or contentment; yet, we find ourselves desolate in some foreign land surrounded by many who have no desire to follow after Christ. We begin to listen to their advice as we begin to look lightly upon sin. After all, we live in a new society; fornication or adultery are not so bad if I do it because of love. So what if I cheat just a little on my taxes, the government is corrupt in their use of the money anyway? It doesn’t matter if I waste time at work; after all they don’t pay me enough to work diligently? He hurt me, so why shouldn’t I be able to retaliate? It isn’t really gossip because I only am telling you so that you can pray for her. So on goes the lies whispering into our minds and we follow with each step drawing us farther from the voice of God–our only source of True Joy, True Hope, and True Righteousness. But there is Good News—
Deuteronomy 4: 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
His covenant promises to His Children will always stand firm. If you find yourself in a desert somewhere or within a foreign land of your heart; seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Return to the God you love and find His Mercy. If you have never known Him? Then I urge you to seek Him and you will find Him–the only one who can provide rest and comfort for your soul. If you do know Him, never forget all that He has done for you in the past. Write it on your heart lest you forget. Then teach your children and your grandchildren. Your most important act of love for your children is to point them to Christ. If you spend a lifetime teaching them how to live on this earth and never point them to Christ who not only is their only source of Joy on this Earth; but their only hope of eternity: what a tragedy that would be.
Deuteronomy 4: 9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;