God’s got your back (Deuteronomy 25)

When I was little, I really wanted an older brother.

I’m not even sure what triggered it in me. But somewhere along the line, thanks to one TV show or another, I got it in my head that big brothers were the best.

A big brother would protect me. A big brother would take care of me. A big brother would make me feel safe and cozy.

Now I know that what I wanted was not so much another sibling, but to feel worried over, fiercely protected, and constantly noticed. What I didn’t know was that I already had that.

And if I wasn’t so sure about that, I should have read Deuteronomy 25.

Because even the ancient words, archaic concepts, and ceremonial laws found in this chapter of the Bible reveal the character of the Most High God.

They reveal that the Most High God has got your back.

Lookin’ out for me

Deuteronomy 25 gives examples of three very important characteristics of the God we serve.

One, He protects us.

We’re not necessarily talking in a weird Edward Cullen way, swooping into the path of a speeding car.

Even on an everyday basis, God protects us. The law in verses 5-10 explains how a man is urged to marry his brother’s wife if his brother dies without leaving an heir.

This law makes us uncomfortable today because the meaning and purpose of marriage has changed so much. But the Israelites could see that this law protected the widowed wife from poverty and homelessness by instantly providing her another home.

Widows could easily be overlooked – but not by God.

And that’s not all. God also gives us justice.

Verses 1-3 about punishment for the wicked and verses 13-15 about honest and fair business transactions are just two of millions of pieces of evidence that God desires justice. He punishes the evil. He blesses the good. And when He comes back, we’ll all be able to look around and see that evil has lost and good has won, once and for all.

And just when you think you can’t feel any safer, God draws one step closer – He stands up for us.

He went out of His way to promise the embattled Israelites that their suffering at the hands of the awful Amalekites (who attacked the Israelites when they were moving peacefully through the land) would not go unnoticed.

God said “not my children”. He would stand up for them. He would “blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven”. “Don’t forget this!”, God insisted. He would do what He said.

And as the upcoming chapters of the Bible triumphantly prove, God indeed did exactly what He said.

That’s safe. That’s cozy. Because God is a God who has got our back.

Safe Space

I’ll be straight up. There is no thing, no place, no person, no institution on this earth that will give us what God can and will.

Family can be toxic. Friends can flake. Significant others can break up with us. Society can feed us lies. The justice system can take the lives of the very ones it claims to protect. Organizations can turn corrupt. Grassroots can run out of money. Literally everything can and ultimately will fail us.

But God never will.

From day one, He has been protecting us, promising us justice, and standing up for us.

There is no one like Him. He is the big brother, the safe space, the open arms, the understanding heart that we have always wanted.

Hands down.

“I will NEVER fail you, drop you, or step out on you.”

There’s a Kirk Franklin song I love, called “A God Like You”. My favorite part is at the end. (4:40).

The chorus sings over and over “there’s no one like You”. And it’s so true. All it takes is a peek inside the Bible, at the stories of His miracles, at the patience and loving kindness He shows to people who hate Him and ignore Him and disown Him, to see that there is no one like God.

But instead of acknowledging that, we’d rather look at the mess around us, the mess we created, and blame it on God.

The atrocities, the horrors, the injustices that mankind instigated and caused all by themselves we blame on God. As if He hasn’t given us free will! As if He hasn’t given us the Bible, which is only so thick and long because He knew we needed to be told over and over what is right and what is wrong.

As if He wasn’t God, we blame Him. We spit in His face. We turn our backs on Him. Then we congratulate ourselves for being so reasonable and open-minded.

And yet. And yet! God. Still. Has. Our. Backs. And like Kirk Franklin sings in this song, He supplies our needs. He wakes us up. He makes a way.

OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER. OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER.

Let that sink in. The constant love and care He shows us despite what we’ve done, are doing, and will do?

Naw. There’s no doubt about it.

God’s got our back.

There is NO God like our God.

Do. Not. Forget. It.

What do you think? Do you believe God has your back? What are you going to do about it?