Wednesday after the Twenty-Second after Trinity Sunday
Posted on November 3, 2021 by under
Scripture: Deuteronomy 7:9-12 (NKJV)
7:9 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.
12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.
Devotion
The Law and Gospel of our Lord has been proclaimed even from the time of the Old Testament. Luther’s Small Catechism teaches us to remember the warning and promise of God from Exodus 20:5-6, which are similar to today’s verses. The Word of our Lord consistently teaches that He calls His people to faithfulness and righteousness, and He promises to show great mercy toward those who abide in this faith and obedience. But those who reject His commands and hate Him are subject to the harsh consequences. This was true at the time of Moses, and it is still true for us as the people of Christ’s Church.
Sin makes us all guilty of hating God and His righteousness. We all fall short and rebel against His Commandments. But His mercy is expressed in our time through the preaching of Christ crucified. All people are called to repent of our failure to observe His commands. And we are called to believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our forgiveness. When we do come to faith in the Gospel of Jesus by the work of His Spirit, then we are again called to keep His Commandments and walk in His righteousness. We have the prophecies of Moses fulfilled in Jesus, but the mercies and blessings are still from the same Lord!
Prayer: O God, our Refuge and Strength, Who art the Author of all godliness: Be ready, we beseech Thee, to hear the devout prayers of Thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
