BROADCASTS.com

\u201cWhen you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead\u201d (Deuteronomy 18:9-11).

Moses\u2019 farewell sermons to Israel do not stray far from familiar themes. Oddly, these are themes that Christians need to hear and meditate on as well. The rest of the Biblical writes come round to them too. Jesus himself picks up on them. The specific theme of our text is simply this: God\u2019s people are not to imitate the ways of those who practice different religions.

It\u2019s probable that the list of forbidden things mentioned here are not things many of us have engaged in. Thus, at first glance our eyes may glaze over, and our minds wander off to things more familiar. Yet, if our historians are correct, then there is a common purpose to all these practices. Ancient folks engaged in such things to get a peek into the future. They wanted a little information so they could properly prepare for what was to come, circumvent potential catastrophe and ensure that the gods were on their side.

Which of us cannot understand the impulse to do this very thing?

But what would happen if we knew the future, even just a little bit of it? We wouldn\u2019t need to trust in the Lord anymore. The essence of Proverbs would be negated, \u201cTrust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight\u201d (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Jesus put it this way, \u201cTherefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. If\u2026God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you\u2014you of little faith?\u201d (Matthew 6:25, 34, 30).

A missionary was having trouble translating the word belief into the language of the people he was ministering too. One day as he sat in his hut filled with frustration, a man entered and slumped down in a chair. Exhausted from a long journey, the man said, "I'm leaning my whole weight on this chair." "What did you say?" asked the missionary. The man repeated, "I'm leaning my whole weight on this chair." "That's it!" cried the missionary. And from that day forward, "Believe in Jesus" became "Lean your whole weight on Jesus."

This is what Moses is getting at when he tells Israel not to imitate the people who live in Canaan, who trust in many things to find security. Some of which were very vile. God\u2019s people learn not to worry about the future because it is in God\u2019s hands. Moreover, they themselves are in God\u2019s hands. They learn to lean their whole weight on Jesus. He is much more able than we are to bring security.

The things people did back then may sound silly to us. With some pride, we may think that we are too sophisticated to put our trust in such things. But what things do we put our trust in? Yet, a cancer diagnosis, a virus, a downturn in the markets, an accident and the chair we thought secure falls over. Moses reminds Israel and he would remind us, that we ought not to follow in the footsteps of other people. Rather, we need to put our trust in God alone, lean our whole weight on Jesus.