Deuteronomy 29:10-13

10. All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, 11. together with your children and your wives, and the foreigners living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. 12. You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, 13. to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Practice Covenantal Love (Deuteronomy 29:10-13)

 < Do Not Discriminate >
 
  From the beginning of time, it is a human nature to show off himself through discrimination. A bad leader uses that nature for political purpose and creates many different social conflicts. Once you recognize this problem, you should keep your mind not to be captivated by feelings of discrimination. As we look at the Bible, Jesus’ enemies denounced him with feelings of discrimination. Showing off oneself through discrimination is a universal disposition.
 
  Jesus was born in Bethlehem but raised in Nazareth. Nazareth was a small village located in the southwest of Lake Galilee. He grew up in Galilee, north far from Jerusalem—the center of religion, administration, and culture. Galilee was isolated and badly treated as it was called ‘Galilee of the Gentiles.’ Jesus chose this isolated land as his first mission field and chose Capernaum as the base of his mission. There was a bright light in alienated Galilee, not in Jerusalem.
 
  In John 1, Philip says to his friend Nathanael, “I’ve met Messiah who is Jesus of Nazareth.” He answered, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Philip says, “Come and see!” He went to Jesus and confessed, “You are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” He almost missed Messiah because of prejudice.
 
  How many times do we miss truth and good friend and bring difficulty in the relationship with others because of the sense of discrimination? Discard the unjust sense of discrimination. The fact that Christ the Savior was from Nazareth encourages us not to discriminate. Accept the differences in people but do not unjustly discriminate against them. A powerful and blessed community exists when there’s no unjust discrimination.
 
  During the census among the Israelites, only adult males, who could fight in the battlefield, were counted. However, when the covenant was in the process of renewal in the land of Moab, everyone participated without discrimination (v.10-11). The covenant with God was valid for all the members of the community regardless of their age, gender, class, rank, ethnicity, and ancestry. This is an antitype of the truth of the gospel that salvation does not discriminate between the Jews and Gentiles.
 
  < Practice Covenantal Love >
 
  Moses ordered every single person to enter into a covenant with God and a covenant He was making with them that day (v.12). “Enter into a covenant with God” and “enter into a covenant God is making” have a similar meaning; these two commands emphasize that the people shouldn’t break the covenant with Him. God made the Israelites as his people and promised that he would be their God (v.13). He promised to bless them and even swore. Thus, it is a command: Actively enter into His covenant and promise, and do not betray Him.
 
  The first love casts a long shadow. When one is in first love, everything seems good no matter how the other is. For instance, a fiery character turns into an assertive character and self-confident manner. Try to see flaws as merits, and to find good things out of bad things. Try to give more than receive, and to know more than to be known. There is no resentment and complaint where there’s no self-idolization and false consciousness.
 
  During the first love, one always wants to be with the other. They do not want to part because of ardent and sweet love. Once they part, they begin to miss each other shortly after. However, the feeling given by the first love does not last long. The unchanging covenantal love is more important than the first love, so the latter love should evolve into the former love. Why do people marry? The wishful mind to be always with (the lover) grows up, then reaches to marriage to live together eternally. Likewise, entering into God’s covenant means our covenantal love toward Him should never change.
 
  Make your love toward God unchanging covenantal love. It is a genuine love. Nowadays, genuine love is no longer considered a virtue, but it is a cornerstone that keeps our society beautiful. There are three kinds of love: conditional love, calculating love, and genuine love. God wants the genuine love which remains even in terrible circumstances.
   

ⓒ Pastor Lee Hangyu http://www.john316.or.kr