Daily Devotions – Remember what God has done in the Old Testament

Daily Devotions – Remember what God has done in the Old Testament

Image by Barbara Jackson from Pixabay

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

 

Remember what God has done: Before reading the text, try determining the greatest remembrance in the old testament

 

Deuteronomy 7:17-23 (NIV)
17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.

 

Almighty God, You are the Creator of the Heavens and the earth and all creatures that move on the earth. You created man and woman in Your image. You loved them so that even when they became so corrupt that You had to wash them with off the face of the earth with floodwaters, You still preserved Noah’s family and all of the animals in the ark. The Old Testament is filled with amazing stories about how You demonstrated Your power through miracles the plagues Moses used to set Your people free and how the Israelites crossed safely through the middle of the same sea that drowned Pharaoh’s army. I wonder what it would be like to directly hear from You, and to know the covenant about my future like Abraham and David did or to be able to know where to go by following Your cloud by day and fire by night. But I have to admit that some of the stories in the old testament are sad, scary and hard to read. I don’t like all the blood for sacrifice and how people were actually put to death for disobedience. But the Old Testament does help me to understand why sending Jesus to die the way that he did was necessary. Jesus, You are the sacrifice for sins once and for all!. It helps me see that even today, Your timing is not the same as my timing. It helps me see gigantic faith in people with very hard circumstances that give me encouragement.  Thank You that was then and this is now. But You are the same Almighty God but now You have given me a covenant about my future in eternity through forgiveness on the cross. I am able to hear directly from You and can follow You day and night through Your Word. I thank You for knowing that we need to know what You did in history to better understand how merciful and magnificent You really are right now. All I can do is praise You. Amen.