“See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?” (v5-8)
Moses prefaces the law (God’s commands) by reminding the people of who God is, who they are, and why the law exists. One of the secondary reasons for the law is so Gentiles would observe the Israelites, and notice what a wise and blessed people they are. By the way Israel obeys God, others would see just how powerful and close Israel’s God truly is, in comparison to the gods that they serve. In this way, obedience is Israel’s testimony to their walk with God.
The same is still true today – we testify about who God and Jesus are by the way we conduct ourselves. We differentiate ourselves from those who are of the world, through our words and actions. We sound different, and we behave differently – at least we’re supposed to.
Moses warns what would happen if Israel fails to keep the commandments: “if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger… The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.” (v25b,27-28 abr)
Unfortunately, we see this all too often today. Many followers (entire nations in fact) have fallen away from worshiping the one true God of Israel, and have Begun acting and sounding exactly the same as those who have never followed God. The idols served today may not look like a golden calf, but nonetheless they take people’s attention away from the one true God.
Yet, there is hope: “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. …then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant…” (v29-31 abr)
My challenge today is to remain strong in the faith (or bolster our faith if we have stepped back), obeying God and submitting to Him to the utmost of our ability. We are to be a living testimony, a light on a post, a city on a hill, a beacon of hope for those who do not currently follow God. We need to be the salt of the earth and Jesus’ ambassadors until He comes again. We need to do this not because we’re afraid of the consequences (which could be severe), but because our Sovereign King has commanded it for the well-being of others around us and we wish to serve Him and them out of love (the two greatest commandments). We’re not salt and light for our own benefit, it’s for the benefit of those who do not currently follow Jesus.
Father God, O Mighty Lord of Israel, holy and magnificent is Your name. Father we ask that You please give us strength – we confess we cannot fully obey You of our own ability, we need Your help to do so. We submit ourselves to Your care, provision and guidance. Jesus please model for us how we can obey the Father, for we lack the discernment we need. In Jesus’ name we ask this, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training