Not To The left OR The Right

Deuteronomy 17:18-20 -  When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.  It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

Just after Moses reminded the people to seek the counsel of the priests in hard judgments…he reminded them that if they ever felt the need to have a king of the Israelites…he needed to be the one God chose. He needed a copy of the law God had given them…and needed to read it every day of his life…and follow all its commands…not turning to the right or the left.

It was the words…not to the left or right…which Moses put twice in this chapter…that caught my heart this morning. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 …  “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Moses knew the only way to stay focused on that narrow passage was to keep the words of God close….and study them every day. If we stray one bit to the right or the left…we run the risk of being tempted by some worldly thing…and will let it lead us down the wrong path for a time.  We can’t allow our heart to think that this is ever okay…just because God forgives and shows us mercy. We lose valuable time with God…every time we stray off that narrow path. 

I needed the reminder to keep diligent in my study of Gods words…and never be satisfied that I know enough.  The deeper I dig into what God left for me in his Bible…the easier it will be to stay on the narrow path…and serve him daily by staying completely in his will.

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to be diligent in my study of the word of God. Forgive me when I have let the world trick me into straying from your narrow path.  Help me to digest easily every word of God that will help me to stay focused on you and the narrow gate that leads to eternal life.  Amen.