Days 13-15: Deuteronomy and Sharing our Stories

So I'm back and it was a lovely, fun-filled weekend.  In the meantime and even as I was waiting for the fireworks, I was pouring over and in Deuteronomy.  With a cursory glance, one could simply say, this is just a rehashing of Exodus-Leviticus.  That would be trite and incomplete.

Deuteronomy is a retelling, but it's a retelling with a purpose.  It's a retelling so that the Israelites learn for the first time, some of them, and remember what they've been taught.  Remember that the LORD your God brought you up out of Egypt.  Remember that He gave you His law.  Remember that He chose you out of all the other nations and that He set you apart.  Remember that He loves you.  Remember.

Deuteronomy is also a warning.  I see the refrains throughout and it seems that God is almost pleading with them, "You are a stiffnecked people, BUT if you only seek after me with all your heart and all your soul and remember and follow my commands, I WILL BE WITH YOU."  That was the desire of God's heart.  He knew they would forsake Him and prostitute themselves to the other nations and the gods they did not know.  It's heartbreaking.

I go through that with my kids all the time.  This is what I desire for you to seek and follow.  I really want you to follow through with school.  Enroll in college and attend your classes and if you struggle, get help!  They don't, some of them try, but for most of them, it's a lost cause.  So I get that.  I understand a little of what God is probably feeling.

I think Deuteronomy is really the heart of the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible).  Just this simple sharing of stories, it reminds me of how we are so good and not so good at this.  I've gone on many mission trips in my life, but they mean nothing if I don't share those stories.  I've made many mistakes, but it means nothing if I don't share those stories.  I have many friends, but that friendship means nothing if I don't listen and learn from their stories.  I have the Bible, but it means nothing if I don't listen and learn from it's stories.  I have God's heart pouring out before me and I've neglected it for so long.  For that I am truly sorry, forgive me.

As I was reading these passages I was struck by this, how important for us to share our stories and histories, so that we remember.  So often we relegate it to some ancient or tribal cultures.  We think of those nights around the campfire, where the wise ones share their stories.  Well, that's nice, but really, we all need to be doing this so that we remember.  And we don't need to do it in front of a fire or at some secret camp meeting.  It can happen at the lunch table or coffee shop or your friend's couch.  God is a good and AMAZING God, let us not forget all that he has done.  We would not be a nation without our story, part of which many of us experienced in different, but perhaps similar ways this holiday season.  We would not be a nation without the sacrifice of so many who have come before us.  We would not be a nation without Christianity (I'm not saying we're a Christian nation, but our faith has ties to the growth of this country).

I mean, how often do I remember that the God I serve is the God who wrought havoc on the Egyptians, to set his people free and show his might.  I'm very conscious of that recently reading these passages, but on a normal day, don't really think about it too much.  Still it's the same God and he's just as AWESOME.  We have a great history and a great cloud of witnesses who speak to that.  Let us not forget the stories of our faith and the stories of our lives.  My prayer is that we may be strengthened by them, girded up in our faith by them and sent out to share and write more stories.