The Intentionality of Adonai
You know, I always say there are a lot of things I do not understand, or cannot logically follow from point A to point B in the Bible, but I’ve been reading through the book of Deuteronomy and one thing is consistently repeated through every single chapter, and that is the intentionality of God.
So the thing is, Deuteronomy seems like a pretty tough book. You know, the Book of the Law, all the plenty rules and commandments and “You shall not’s”. Almost every verse contains a version of “the Lord your God”, and to be honest it can be daunting to read through, especially if you’re just here, trying to live life one day at a time. I mean, how do you even remember everything you’re supposed to not do? How did the Israelites ever get things done, doing all the things they should and not doing everything they were not supposed to? I’m not even halfway through and I already know that if not for Christ, omooo I’ll be in serious trouble because I can’t even remember what I ate yesterday, not to mention all the sacrifices, feasts, fasts and segregated areas for everything. Before I waka one day, and end up in the area for people with leprosy or do something by mistake and end up in the Temple for cleansing, because I know myself. But yeah, it’s a lot. It can be.
When you get past that though, one thing smacks you right in the face. Every rule, and every single command that Moses gave to the Israelites, is sound.
Let us start from the beginning, and get a bit of the backstory. So the children of Israel had trekked and trekked through the desert (Deut. 1: 6), eating the same thing back to back for years. Like just imagine it. Manna, for decades??? I mean, there would have been children and young adults who had never eaten anything else, never experienced the beauty of Egusi, or the wonder of party jollof. Or ice cream!! How???? Such a life.
Anyways, God decided that they had wandered enough, it was time for them to go and claim their inheritance. You would think they’d readily accept, be eager even, to finally have some peace and quiet. But guess what??? These people weren’t ready (Deut. 1: 19-26). They even had the mind to grumble against the same God who had delivered them, the One who had led and guided them everyday for years. Pillar of cloud by day, and fire by night, both that they could see by themselves mind you. It’s not like Moses was only sharing the news to them, these people had witnessed the power of God for themselves, but still they rebelled. Talk about the very height of foolishness, right? But let’s move on.
So their rebellion angered Yahweh and He decided that none of them there would ever enter the promised land, except for Joshua and Caleb. This means that every single individual that left Egypt (with the exception of those two) had to die first, including Moses. See how they used their own reggae to burn his blues?? He even tried to beg, to at least enter and see the place he had been trekking around for, but God warned him(Deut. 3: 23-27).
In the meantime they continued their journey. Through the Mount Se’ir, the inheritance of Esau (Deut. 2:5), to the wilderness of Moab, they were instructed not to fight, until they got to Heshbon (Deut. 2:26-37). After this, Moses called an assembly of the people and gave them the Law. Mind you, I think Moses was a no-nonsense person, because he was just dropping the thing left and right, no time to check time. From the 10 Commandments (Deut. 5; which anyone with common sense will agree is necessary for a spiritually balanced and morally just society), to the Shema (Deut. 6), all the way down to warnings against stubbornness and instructions in obedience and consecration in chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10, Moses was giving them pure facts. How to worship their God, to keep His commands, and pass down these instructions to the generations to come after them. He even warned them against idolatry (Deut. 12:29-32), false prophets and teachings (Deut 13:1- 18). God is intentional about our faith.
God even told Moses to outline the clean and unclean food (Deut 14:3-21). And I’m no dietician or nutritionist, but most of the things on the list of unclean foods are not even things that I want to eat on a normal day. I mean, owls? Insects? Bats? Anything that dies by itself??? Abeg, what happened to normal goat meat? How much is cow tail? Don’t even play. But for real though, looking at this from the health perspective, it’s obvious that God’s plan is to keep His people in good health for the whole of our lives. He is intentional about our bodies.
Another thing though, is the Law of the tithe (Deut. 14:22). I call it the Law because that is indeed what it is. I know a number of people are uncomfortable with this, but I’d like the chance to explain. See the tithe was a tenth of the yield of the land and flock, given in thanksgiving to the Lord, to acknowledge that He is the Source of all things. I’m not here to say to give your tithe or don’t, but do. And let’s see what the tithe was used for, at the end of the day. Deuteronomy 14:28 & 29 is pretty clear about that;
“At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in the nearest town. Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work.” (NLT)
Pretty simple, right? God is intentional about those who cannot provide for themselves. And those of us who think we can, need to always remember that it is not our jobs that put food on our table, nor is it the work of our hands that sustains us. It is, and forever will be Jireh, our Provider.
Again, in those days, there was a flourishing economy built on the trade of people as commodities. The topic is one that infuriates me, but that aside, guess who God was intentional about? The slaves. Yuuppp, He declared a Year of Release, to happen every 7 years (Deut. 15). So here’s how it worked. Every 7 years, the Israelites were mandated to release every form of debt or obligation owed to them by their fellow Israelite. So if you owed someone a debt for 6 years, (although why would you do that if you’re not wicked??) in the 7th year, he/she had to release you from that debt (so you can carry your borrow borrow self and go, oni gbese. Ask your Yoruba friends to translate for you). Same thing happened with those who owned slaves. Buy a slave brand new, they’llwork for you for the 6 years, but in that 7th year, you had to let them go free. And not only that, but you couldn’t let them go empty handed either. You must give them liberally out of your pocket. Unless they choose to willingly stay and serve you forever. Talk about a considerate God. The Israelites were warned about taking advantage of this year of release, as men are most likely to do with any good thing, because it was established to release the poor and vulnerable from debt and bondage.
I believe we’ve said more than enough to make any of us realize how intentional God is about each and any one of us, but I’d like us to discuss one more thing that completely sideswiped me in this Book, as I had never heard of it until yesterday, when I saw it for myself. Let me tell you what it is, and why it’s so bewildering. In Deuteronomy 19, Moses (on instruction from Above) tells the Israelites that in that land that they’re going to possess, they’re going to set apart 3 cities. For what, you might ask me? And here’s where it gets wild, because the answer to that is; for manslayers. Before you say, “huh?” like I did, I urge you to check it out for yourself (Deut. 19:3-10). I promise you, I’m not joking. God made provision for people who commit accidental manslaughter, keyword here being accidental. It must have been unintentional, without a hint of beef or any sort of animosity between the accused and the victim. If that was the case, then the accused could run away to any of those cities, and be safe. That is what God set aside 3 entire cities for. And not only that, but He also mandated that when expansion occurred, they were to add 3 extra cities to the initial 3, to make 6. How many people are accidentally killing people up and down abeg??!! But there you have it, further proof of God’s intentionality about even the most unlikely situations and scenarios. Don’t try it if you’re thinking about the person you have been keeping in mind though, because the penalty for that is death, just so you know.
But if you ever doubted that God cares about you, here’s proof to the contrary. If He’s bothered about the widow and the orphan, the flowers in the field and even the accidental murderer, then believe me, He’s more than concerned about you. He’s El Roi, the One who saw Hagar the Egyptian in the wilderness of Beersheba. He’s the One who still sees me and you in the wilderness of this world. God is Jireh, He provides for us, and His Law are part of His provision. But never forget, side by side with the Law is His Mercy. And His Mercy has a name, His Mercy has come to fulfill this Law and reconcile us to the Father. His Mercy is our Lord, our Redeemer, our Deliverer. His Mercy is Jesus. So embrace this mercy today. I promise you, you’ve never seen anything like it, and you’ll never get enough of it.
Calvary Greetings to You and Yours,
Gabrielle…
