The first three chapters of Deuteronomy recount God’s faithfulness to the people. How should people respond to God’s abundant grace and provision? Moses reminds the people – both then and now – of the proper response to God’s grace.
“So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.
You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you (Deuteronomy 4:1-2).
To “give heed” or “hear” is repeated over 100 times in Deuteronomy. God’s gracious activity on our behalf should result in giving God’s guidance to us our full attention. We should focus our entire attention on the message that our Creator has to say to us.
There is a fair amount of debate going on concerning the placement of the Ten Commandments in school classrooms. If Moses were to weigh in on the discussion, I expect he would tell us that the greater issue is living according to the commandments and not displaying them as a museum piece.
Jesus went to the heart of the Ten Commandments when He delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). There are excellent readings of the Sermon on the Mount on YouTube.
I suggest you try listening to one of these readings as if Jesus were speaking directly to you. This may be a good way of “giving heed” to God’s revealed will for how to live your life.
Living Witness
I expect the Israelites were the talk of the nations that surrounded them. The Exodus from Egypt and the defeat of neighboring kings must have stoked fear in them.
God’s plan with Israel was for them to be more than a fearsome army. He called them to reveal the reality of His Being to a witnessing world. Moses reminded the people of their privilege and responsibility.
“See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.
You must observe them and perform them, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’
For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him?
And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8).
The Israelites were more than an army and they were more than a nation of laws. They were people who were covenant partners with the living God. Certain behaviors demonstrated the reality of God to the surrounding nations.
- Obedience: The distinct behaviors of the Israelites showed the observing nations the character of God.
When they obeyed the Ten Commandments, they showed a reverence for God and a love-in-action for other humans. This distinction would certainly not be lost on the nations.
- Prayer: Appeals to the gods was a common feature in the ancient world. However, the nearness of God and His provision for the Israelites as a component of prayer revealed another dimension of God’s character.
- The Law: As we witness the chaos of lawless nations today, we can only imagine what issues confronted people who had no regulations on behavior. In contrast, God did not leave His people without the guidance that laws provide.
When God called Abraham, He determined that Israel was to be a blessing to the world.
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).
When God’s people throughout the ages live in faithful obdedience to His laws, the world receives a witness to the unique character and nature of God.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 