Re’eh – See . . .

This portion of Scripture begins with God setting before us ‘blessing and a curse’ and then He begins to meddle. That’s right, meddle. After offering us a Blessing, God begins to work under the assumption the Gift gives Him the right to tell us how to live our lives.
He begins to tell us how we are allowed to approach Him. He tells us what we can eat and what is not food. He tells us how to determine if a prophet is true or false, as if we’re not capable of knowing the difference on our own. He then dictates what we should celebrate as holidays, where and when, and then, to top it all off, He starts talking about offerings and how we should spend our money. I would call that meddlin’, wouldn’t you?
Now that we have your attention – No, it is not meddling if it’s God doing the telling.
Much of this passage, Deut 11:26 – 16:17, deals with concepts that we have not been taught or have been taught in part. The first thing He says is “ Behold . . .” That’s an intriguing word, “Behold”. It gives an air of anticipation and excitement ! It is the Hebrew word ‘ra-ah’ which means to ‘see, perceive, look at, give attention to’. God literally begins this passage this way – ‘look here and pay attention. I’m getting ready to show you something really important.’ And then He goes on to explain there’s good news and there bad news. The good news? Behind door #1 is a Blessing. And the bad news? Well, you should have the picture by now.
And as we read through this passage as well as Isaiah 54:11-55:5 and John 7:37-52, we should remember from the Beginning it has been an ‘open book test’. God says ‘I set before you two options, one good and one bad . . . choose the good one’. “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you; I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;”
(Deut. 30:19) Pretty neat, huh, when the Teacher gives you the answer to the test questions before you take the test . . . and the test is coming.
So, why are these concepts important for us to understand today ? Why should I care what God says is and isn’t food ? Why should I be concerned how to discern a false prophet from a true one? Why should I understand proper protocol in approaching the Creator of the Universe, or what He says are acceptable holidays and what to do with my money? The answer? We are stepping into a time period that the Bible has pointed to for roughly 6,000 years. The challenge is most of us have only read part of this ‘End-Time Survival Guide to the Supernatural’ we call The Bible.
It’s kinda like reading a map. On every map there is that little thing down in the corner called the ‘Legend’. If you attempt reading the Map without understanding the Legend, you might get a few things correct but you will usually wind up lost. But once you understand the Legend, that understanding gives clarity to the Map and you’re able get where you want to go.
Understanding God’s ways and expectations in these upcoming days may just make a world of difference when the chips are down. Expectations ? Like any Good Parent, God has the right and responsibility to delineate and realize a level of behavior of His children for their own good. As kids, we, many times, thought our parents were meddling . . . but they were just being good parents. When it seems as if Abba is meddling . . . He’s just being a Good Dad; for our own good; even if we don’t realize it until later. Shalom –