It’s probably a little bit strange, but one of the impressions that has been circling around in my mind while I have been re-reading these chapters in Deuteronomy – chapters that are full of laws that I can not really understand and actions that seem so brutal and harsh – is the underlying and overriding immensity of God’s love for these people. He wanted to protect them from themselves as well as from the idolatrous people who would be surrounding them. He wanted them to have times of celebration and joy and to experience the great blessings that He had prepared for them. He wanted to provide for them guidelines that would enable them to love Him and love each other through marital faithfulness and a life of generosity. The lengths that God will go to protect and provide for His treasured ones gives me a great incentive to trust Him even when I do not understand some of my circumstances.
Amen!