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Daily Devotion: Deuteronomy 30:1-3

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Deuteronomy 30:1-3    "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,  (2)  And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;  (3)  That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee."

Aren't you thankful that God is a patient and merciful Heavenly Father? There is nothing that catches God off guard.  Notice the wording in verse one, "when all these things are come upon thee."  God did not say, "if these things come upon you"; rather He said, "when".  He knows the nature of His children is to wander. That's why He refers to us as sheep. I think of the grand old hymn, Come Thou Fount: "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." I am so thankful our Lord knows these things and in His grace and mercy, He has made provision.

It was based upon these verses in Deuteronomy that King Solomon prayed with assurance, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)  Though Solomon had many faults (as we all do), he was familiar with the Word of God.  He knew God had made this promise through Moses to restore His people if they came back to Him in an humble manner, lifting up their voices in prayer, seeking to do the right thing, and to honor Him.

"If my people, which are called by my name" shall do these things, then I "will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee."  That is a precious promise from the Lord.  I left out the last part of that saying. Notice this, God said I will return thee "from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee."  The Lord allows these "cursings" to occur when His people become disobedient and belligerant toward Him. He even allows them to be overtaken by enemy forces in order to bring them to the place of humility and the mindset to return to the place of fellowship with Him. Remember Israel was in the Babylonian captivity for seventy years. God allowed that to take place in order to bring them back to Him.

Is there hope for America?  According to these verses, yes there is hope.  We can be restored back to "greatness", but it requires the very same steps as God laid out through Moses and through King Solomon, as well as all the other prophets. We must humble ourselves before the Lord God Almighty. We must seek His face to find the proper direction for our nation. We must return to being a nation of prayer. We must turn from the wicked ways that are quickly overtaking us.  God has promised if we will do these things that He will indeed once again bless us. May we return to being that "one nation under God."  And may that be "one nation under (the one and only True and Living) God."

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