IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

"there is No God Besides Me"

Date: Dec. 10, 2020

Passage

Deuteronomy 32:28-52 (ESV)

28   “For they are a nation void of counsel,
    and there is no understanding in them.
29   If they were wise, they would understand this;
    they would discern their latter end!
30   How could one have chased a thousand,
    and two have put ten thousand to flight,
  unless their Rock had sold them,
    and the LORD had given them up?
31   For their rock is not as our Rock;
    our enemies are by themselves.
32   For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
    and from the fields of Gomorrah;
  their grapes are grapes of poison;
    their clusters are bitter;
33   their wine is the poison of serpents
    and the cruel venom of asps.
34   “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
    sealed up in my treasuries?
35   Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
    for the time when their foot shall slip;
  for the day of their calamity is at hand,
    and their doom comes swiftly.’
36   For the LORD will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants,
  when he sees that their power is gone
    and there is none remaining, bond or free.
37   Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
    the rock in which they took refuge,
38   who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offering?
  Let them rise up and help you;
    let them be your protection!
39   “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
    and there is no god beside me;
  I kill and I make alive;
    I wound and I heal;
    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40   For I lift up my hand to heaven
    and swear, As I live forever,
41   if I sharpen my flashing sword
    and my hand takes hold on judgment,
  I will take vengeance on my adversaries
    and will repay those who hate me.
42   I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
    and my sword shall devour flesh—
  with the blood of the slain and the captives,
    from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’
43   “Rejoice with him, O heavens;
    bow down to him, all gods,
  for he avenges the blood of his children
    and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
  He repays those who hate him
    and cleanses his people’s land.”

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

48 That very day the LORD spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 32:39

  “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
    and there is no god beside me;
  I kill and I make alive;
    I wound and I heal;
    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

1. 'Their rock is not like our Rock' (28-43)

God laments his people's lack of discernment: They foolishly turn away from him, the Rock that shelters them unlike idols. But even the idolatrous enemies know the God of Israel is mightier than the idols they worship. Idolatry is deadly like poison, bringing bitterness. Unless their Rock had given them up, Israel could never be defeated. God's use of foreign armies to subjugate his people was to help them see he is sovereign over the earth. There is no god besides himself, the living Creator God. He puts to death and gives life, and no one can deliver out of his hand. In contrast, idols are manmade.

2. They are not just idle words but your life (44-52)

This song, and all the law written before it by the hand of Moses, was to be kept and recited by his people regularly. Although Moses went up Mount Nebo and did not return, God's law has been given to his people, personally and directly, through Moses. These are not just idle words but life! These words point to the Word made flesh, Jesus who is our life.

Prayer: Father, you are the Rock, in whom we find salvation and shelter. Help me trust in you today.

One Word: Jesus is the Word of Life

Daily Bread

The New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:9-27

Key Verse: 21:22

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

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Intro Daily