Take a moment to read Deuteronomy 11 before reading the devotional below.
My wife and I sat on the couch together, munched on popcorn, and watched a TV show called The Amazing Race. The idea of the show is that a bunch of teams have to race from checkpoint to checkpoint around the entire world. The first team to reach the finish line wins one million dollars. In this particular episode, the teams were in Zambia, and they had to drive a truck to a wildlife preserve several hours away. As the episode began, the camera zoomed in on the truck’s gas tank, where the words “Diesel Only” were printed in large letters. Several teams followed the directions, and their trucks worked fine. Several teams ignored the warning, and their trucks stalled.
In this chapter God is leading Moses to help the Israelites think in a similar “either/or” mentality. The contestants on The Amazing Race encountered a simple either/or choice. If they followed directions, things would work out generally fine. Now, even if they filled up with Diesel gas, their trucks could still have problems like a flat tire. But filling up with Diesel gave them the greatest possible chance of success. Alternatively, they could not see or ignore the directions and put unleaded gas in the truck. In that case, they were guaranteed to fail. God’s people must make a similar choice. If they follow God’s directions, they have the greatest possible chance of success, even though things might still go wrong along the way. If they don’t follow God’s directions, then there is a guaranteed chance of failure.
Following God’s ways doesn’t guarantee a life without problems or challenges. It does guarantee the best possible outcome in life, however. God’s rules simply point out the easiest possible life path. There could be not greater freedom than that.