Choose Life

Two roads dey your front. One dey lead to life. Di other one dey lead comot from am. One old man stand before one whole nation, and with di last strength wey e get, e beg dem. Choose life.

Moses long journey don almost reach im end. E don reach one hundred and twenty years. For forty years e don lead di people of Israel through di wilderness, and now dem dey camp for di plains of Moab, with River Jordan for dia front and di promised land for di other side. Moses know say e no go cross. Soon Joshua go lead dem. Moses don use many days remind dem everything wey God don do and everything wey God don ask. Now e reach di end of im big speech. Everybody dey listen. Parents and children, leaders and strangers wey dey live among dem. And Moses make am simple.

Wetin I dey command you today, Moses talk, no too hard for you. E no dey far. E no dey up for heaven, make you talk say: who go climb go heaven, bring am come down for us, come explain am, so we fit obey am? And e no dey across di sea, make you talk say: who go sail cross di sea go carry am come for us? No. Di word dey very near you. E dey your mouth and e dey your heart, so dat you fit do am. You no need to be hero or big scholar before you know wetin God want. E don already tell you. You know am. You fit talk am. Di question be whether you go live am.

Then Moses spread di choice for dia front. See, e talk. Today I put life and good, and death and evil, before you. Dis na di way of life. Love Di Lord your God. Waka for im ways. Keep im commands. Then you go live and grow become great people, and Di Lord your God go bless you for di land wey you dey go enter to take as your own. But if your heart turn away, and you no gree listen, and dem pull you go bow down to other gods, then I tell you today, you go surely perish. You no go live long for di land for di other side of Jordan. Moses no make am soft. E love dem too much to pretend say di choice no matter.

And then e call witnesses. No be people. Di sky wey dey above dem and di ground wey dey under dia feet. I call heaven and earth to be witness against you today, e talk, say I don put life and death, blessing and curse, before you. So choose life, so dat you and your children go live. Love Di Lord your God. Listen to im voice. Hold am tight. Because na im be your life, and di length of your days, so dat you go live for di land wey Di Lord promise your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You fit picture Moses as e dey talk am, with tears for im eyes? E no talk say, obey because I talk so. But, choose life. Choose am. Na im be your life.

Historians don notice say Deuteronomy resemble di agreements wey kings dey make with each other for di ancient Near East. Dat agreements dey often list blessings for people wey keep di agreement and curses for people wey break am, and dem dey call witnesses, usually one long list of gods. For Deuteronomy, na only one God dey. So Moses call heaven and earth demself to stand as witnesses to di covenant.

Choose life. You go find dis words for Deuteronomy chapter thirty, verse eleven reach twenty. God word dey near, for your mouth and for your heart, and di way of life na to love am and hold am tight. Many hundred years after, apostle Paul quote dis same words about di word wey dey near. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Which one choice you fit make dis week wey go choose life?