The Counsel of the Strawberries

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (Deut. 3-4)

“Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and grandchildren.” Deut. 4:9

The package was waiting for me on my front porch. Paul and Melanie had sent me a very cool birthday present. I opened a box of humongous strawberries that were completely dipped in chocolate – some white and some dark. Not only were they dipped, but each strawberry was beautifully decorated in various colors of pink, white, and red. Every one was artistically done.

Included with the ice packed strawberries were instructions: “Eat within 48 hours!” The (warning) went on to say that since they were fruit they wouldn’t keep - they needed to be eaten. So, I complied. Attractive as they were, I ate them. They tasted even better than they looked. “What a great warning,” I thought, “Eat within 48 hours!”

The next day, while making my bed, I noticed a label protruding from my pillowcase. It threatened, “Do not remove under penalty of law!” I had dutifully hearkened to its warning and left it attached to my pillow for the past year. “That’s the end of you,” I thought as I vehemently ripped it off. “I like the counsel of the strawberries much better.”

There are many warnings in the book of Deuteronomy. The central message of Deuteronomy is obedience. Some form of the words “obey” and “do” occur on an average of five times in each chapter. The whole book is basically a warning both to Israel and to us today. Obedience brings blessings from God and disobedience brings punishment from God. The three messages that Moses pens in Deuteronomy make that pretty clear.

Today’s Scripture gives me four admonitions that I take very seriously. Actually they sum up my life goals and why I write. Here’s how they speak to me.

“Only take heed to yourself,” I am to pay attention to what God tells me to do. A couple of days without reading the Word of God and I start to spoil like the strawberries.

“Lest you forget the things your eyes have seen,” God has done so much in my life. He has painted pictures on my soul even lovelier than the decorated fruit. I don’t want to ever forget the things that He has accomplished since He led me out of my Egypt.

“All the days of your life.” Walking with the Lord is a lifelong commitment. I want to be among those who finish well and never drift away from Jesus.

“And teach them to your children and grandchildren.” That’s why I’m writing. We who have “tasted and seen that the Lord is good” are urged to share our knowledge, insights, and experiences with those who come after us. They may be our physical family or they may be our spiritual family. We all need to remember and reiterate what God has done in our lives, just like the second generation of Israelites needed to hear again what had happened in the forty years since they were miraculously delivered from Egypt.

As we travel though life, we are faced with multitudes of warnings. They may come with strawberries or they may be attached to pillows. There are long lists that we all can name. Some are good and some make no sense. But I’ve lived long enough to know that the aftertaste of obedience to God’s warnings is even better than the sweetness the taste of my birthday berries left in my mouth.

Pay attention to God's Word, don’t forget what He's done, finish well, and teach your children and grandchildren. Isn’t Deut. 4:9 an awesome warning? It's even better than the counsel of the strawberries!

Maybe, though, that advice belongs on all of our Bible covers: "Eat within 48 hours!"