May 13th: Deuteronomy 30, Isaiah 2 and Acts 28

"Choose life."

As I read Deuteronomy 30, I imagine Moses almost in tears. Like a father knowing he doesn't have much time, Moses cries to the people to choose not just living over dying but a quality of life. Moses is one of three people alive that saw God bring them out of Egypt. He knows the brutality and completeness of God's judgment. Moses has seen God's glorious righteous judgment. He knows the pain and hardship that can happen. He knows the plagues. The boils, the hail, the flies, the utter blackness... the death. The full scope of suffering. So Moses reminds them over and over of what it was like for Egyptians. He reminds them of who God is. Maybe with a knowing hand, he points at the cloud. And then in one final sermon, he begs and pleads for them to choose happiness, peace and plenty. To chose life.

But in the back of his mind, I think Moses knew. He knew these people he led for forty years. He knows they'll be led astray. But that doesn't stop him from pleading. From grasping to one last truth. If they fall away, if they choose death. God is gracious. When the people realize their error, their stupidity, they can repent. They can come around... and finally... after trying it their own way... they can choose life.