Toni and I are building a house near our children and grandchildren in Kansas. We have an agreement with the builders. They will supply the materials and labor to construct the house. Our job is to pay them for their services.
In Old Testament terms, this would be referred to as a covenant. We have one part of the agreement, and they have another.
God chose Israel to be his special people to help fulfill his purposes on earth. He promised to bless them, give them the promised land, and provide for them. That was part of the agreement.
In return, they were to follow the Ten Commandments as outlined in chapter 5 of Deuteronomy.
Moses once again goes over the key points of the covenant. He encourages the Israelites to honor their part of the agreement with God.
“Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy,
So that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you” (Deuteronomy 6:1-3).
Moses’s advice to the people about to enter the promised land focuses on three important words.
Fear the Lord your God
The fear of the Lord is a fitting reaction for people who experience God’s glorious presence.
- When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, he removed his shoes and honored Him.
- Isaiah, in his vision, believed he would die because he sensed his sinful nature in the presence of the holy God.
- Even John, who was close to Jesus during His earthly ministry, fell on his face like a dead man when he saw the heavenly vision in Revelation.
These are all proper responses to a holy and powerful God, the creator of everything.
One way to understand the fear of the Lord involves three key elements.
(1) The fear of the Lord begins in a relationship with God.
(2) Our relationship with God is one of continual humility.
(3) As we humbly live with God, we willingly and obediently follow His directions.
Together, these three elements paint a good picture of someone living in the fear of the Lord today.
Keep all His decrees
Returning to our house-building analogy, both sides have responsibilities to uphold. The construction company must provide the right materials and labor, while the customer needs to pay on time.
Similarly, God promised his people He would be their God, they would live on the land, He would care for it, and He would bless them abundantly. In return, they needed to keep the Ten Commandments He gave them.
These commandments can be found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.
People often expect God to keep His promises while they don’t do their part. In Deuteronomy, we’ll see how the Israelites often disobeyed God. This has happened throughout history for both Israel and other followers of God.
It’s important to be different, to accept God’s grace, rely on the Holy Spirit, and try to follow God’s guidance.
For Christians, this means learning how Jesus lived and trying to live like Him. Dallas Willard calls this “living a Jesus-kind-of-life.”
Hear, O Israel
We often come across the phrase “hear O Israel” when God really wants people to listen.
Hearing isn’t just letting sounds enter our ears and get processed by our brains. True hearing touches our mind, heart, and then moves us to action.
It means doing something about what we hear from God. In other words, hearing from God means obeying his words in our lives.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 