“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days,. . .” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20a)
As Israel entered into the Land of Canaan, the Lord knew that the chosen people would lapse into disobedience and idolatry. So at this point He offered them a choice: serve Him wholeheartedly or serve false gods. There ought not to be any compromising or mixing of truth with idolatry. Their loyalty to the Lord could not be shared with any thing, person or deity. Yet if the people of God declared their choice to serve Him and walk in obedience then they would have to understand what their choice meant: there would be consequences for apostasy and idolatry. These sins the Lord would punish with great severity.
We believers today must realize that we are faced with that same choice. We have, by God’s grace, faith in Jesus alone. We declare by faith we will follow His way of discipleship, the way of love, humility, kindness, grace and selfless giving. We declare we will not serve other gods, which in our case are not idols of stone or wood. Our idols are the self, our intellect, celebrities, politicians, and those desires of the flesh for wealth, power, fame and pleasure. By following such idols we shall surely reap the consequences of our sin as Israel did.
The good news is that these consequences, at least for the faithful, are God’s way of disciplining His own and are designed to lead sinners to repentance. The Lord promises that there is always a way back, a means of restoration, for His punishment is merciful and kind, designed to lead sinners back to Him. After all, He loves them and cares for those who are called by His name. When we acknowledge our sinfulness and ask the Lord for help and forgiveness, He grants mercy and grace. He enables us to obey and to live in righteousness.