Deuteronomy 6:16-19 – Don’t doubt or test God.

To put God to the test is literally to challenge God to get Him to prove Himself. It stamps from a heart of unbelief. It’s an expression of doubt. This was what happened at Rephidim recorded in Exodus 17:1-7. There was no water in this place where they were camping. Immediately they took it out on Moses. They grumbled and quarrelled with him treating him roughly. In so doing they were essentially grumbling at God. They had forgotten that God had sustained them and kept His promises to them throughout their journey. He had never failed them in any way. Here they were using the lack of water to provoke the Lord. Like spoilt children, they were threatening not to follow God if water was not provided. Moses named this place Massah, which means testing, because of the question the Israelites raised. Their question was, “Is the Lord among us or not?” 

Referring to that incident, Moses warned them against adopting such distrusting behavior as they faced hardship in their forward journey. He was calling on them to be resolute and diligent in keeping the Commandments and instructions of the Lord. He knew that they would face tough times as they sought to possess the land. He wanted them to act rightly even as they confront the enemies in the land whom they were told to drive out. As a reminder, he told them that the land was promised to them. God Himself had already sworn to give it to them. All they needed was to do what was right and trust the Lord as they advance.  

Doubting God, rebelling against Him, and provoking Him are all different variations of putting the Lord to the test. Instead of adopting such negative attitudes, we must instead trust Him to see us through no matter how tough the circumstances we may face in life. These verses tell us the best thing to do in life is to keep and obey the instructions of the Lord given to us. We must seek to obey them diligently, meaning we must be careful, earnest, and consistent in applying God’s Word. The call to do “what is right  and good in the sight of the Lord” in verse 18 suggests that we must rightly respect His Word to us. There is also a promise in verse 18 that if we do what is right and obey God diligently, all will be well with us, and we will surely inherit His blessings. That’s the promise of God!

Deuteronomy 6:10-15 – Never forget God

In Deuteronomy 6:10-15, we see Moses calling the people never to forget God when they had entered the promised land and enjoyed the bountiful blessings that He would shower upon them. And that they must only worship and revere God alone and not be distracted into venerating and serving other gods.  

Moses began by essentially encouraging them to be grateful to God. He was certain that God would keep His word and bless them richly as they entered the promised land. What he feared was that in the time of their prosperity they might forget God. So here Moses was admonishing them not to forget God and to be watchful in times of plenty. Why does one need to be watchful in times of prosperity? Firstly it’s because prosperity can render a person’s heart insensitive to God, who is the source of one’s blessings in life. Secondly, it can cause one to boast about one’s wealth and become prideful. Thirdly, it can unwittingly lead one to live a life of indulgence instead of being watchful about his or her walk with God. No wonder the author of Proverbs 30:8 prayed:       

Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

Secondly, Moses also reminded them to worship and serve only the Lord God who delivered them from their bondage in Egypt. They must always be faithful to Him so that they would not be distracted by the idols in the pagan land that they would soon be entering. They must remember that as His people they must always worship and serve Him only. They must not be attracted and be lured into worshipping those pagan idols and false deities. If they did so, they would have to face the wrath of a jealous God and be destroyed.

We must know that walking with the Lord and obeying Him always come with His blessings. Hence it is important to have a proper attitude towards Him and the blessings that we received from Him. Because a right attitude toward Him and His blessings will shape our gratitude, but the wrong attitude will cause us to become self-centered. There is a Chinese maxim that says that when we drink water always remember the source. It is a call not to forget where our blessings come from and so be motivated to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Remembering the source of all the blessings we have in life is critical to developing a life of gratitude. We must never forget God, the source of our blessings, and to worship and serve Him and Him alone. 

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 – Loving God makes obeying Him easy

One of the most foundational declaration of the Jewish faith is “the Shema.” It is derived from Deuteronomy 6:4 that says “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” It is a declaration of faith and allegiance to the One God. The word “Shema” in Hebrew means “hear.” It is taken from the first word of this verse. It is a declaration for the people of Israel to hear, take note, and to impart to their children in every subsequent generation.

Israel must never forget that their covenant God is One. This assertion is important in the light of the polytheistic environment that they would soon be encountering in the promised land. Unlike the nations surrounding them, Israel owed their allegiance to only this one God. Their devotion must never be shared with competing deities in Canaan that they would be entering. This God had pledged Himself to Israel by covenant. The covenant relationship God had with them was based on His unfailing, undying love. Hence the appropriate response to such a deep love was to reciprocate by loving Him in return. The manner to love God must be whole and complete. It must be given to Him with one’s whole heart, soul, and might. They were not only expected to diligently observe this call to love Him unreservedly, but they must also seize every opportunity to teach their children this very important thing.  

Just as loving God was to be central to the people of Israel, it must also be central to us who have the New Covenant relationship with God through Christ. The Lord Jesus in the Gospel had called on us people who would follow Him to love God the same way. In Luke 10:27, He was seen telling a young lawyer, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” The same thing was said to a lawyer who stood up to test Him in Matthew 22. He told him in verse 37 saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Like the Israelites then, loving God the same way they were told to do is just as important to us today. Our desire to obey God’s Word can only be meaningfully realized when we love Him. Without love, we will grudgingly do what God has said. But with love, our obedience will be given willingly.         

Deuteronomy 6:1-3 – The key to blessings

Deuteronomy 5 recounted the solemn moment when the Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel at Horeb. It was so awe-inspiring that great fear of God fell on the whole assembly whom God had brought out of Egypt to be His people. The awesome, yet terrifying moment stirred within them a desire to obey God. And while there was a desire to obey God, there was also a great fear for God. So the people pled with Moses to be their mediator. They wanted him to approach God on their behalf, to hear from Him, and then relay what God wanted them to do. They also promised to obey whatever God would say to them. Moses then directly addressed the new generation of children of Israel, now poised at the edge of the promised land. He was calling on them to remember to obey the Lord in the land that they were poised to go in. This was a timely reminder for the land they were going into was a land of pagans. The people must always remember that they belonged to God and must worship and serve and obey Him alone.

Here in Deuteronomy 6, Moses began to instruct them on what God wanted them to do. They were expected to be careful to keep them as they entered in to live a new life, in the land flowing with milk and honey. The instruction was not given to them alone but also to their subsequent generations. They, their sons, and their sons’ sons were expected to fear the Lord all the days of their lives by diligently keeping the statutes and commandments of the Lord. And in obeying God, they were promised longevity in the promised land.

In verse 1, Moses told the people that the instructions he was giving them were so that they “might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it.”  The emphasis here is that they “might do them.”  In other words, the instructions must be the rule of life in the promised land for the Israelites. In much the same way, the Word of God must be the rule for our living. Like them, we must obey and live out what God has prescribed in His Word which has been given to us. Then we see from these three verses that obedience flows out as well as culminates in the fear of the Lord. This is an attitude that will enable one to keep God’s instructions. When God, who gives the commandments and instructions, is feared and revered, what He says will be respected and kept. In the same way, keeping His Word will become a delight and desire when we fear and respect God. What is underscored here in these verses is that obedience will beget blessings. They go hand in hand. If we want to stay blessed, always obey the instructions of the Lord. That is the promise of God!  

 

Deuteronomy 5:28-33 – Blessing comes with obedience

In Deuteronomy 5:28-33, Moses continued to recount how God’s people, whom He had brought out of Egypt, responded to Him when they saw His awe-inspiring display at the giving of the Ten Commandments in Horeb. He saw how sincerely they wanted to hear and obey God. The reason they had requested for Moses to be the intermediary between God and them was that they were terrified by the awesomeness display of God’s presence. However, God knew their hearts and how sincerely they desired to obey Him. But He also knew their propensity and would fail Him. So He exclaimed, “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!”

God’s desire for them, as it is for us, is for a heart of consistent obedience. He only wants to dispense goodness to His children. The condition to experience His continual blessing is obedience. So remember, just as God dealt with the children of Israel, He will also deal with us. Just as He expected obedience from them, He also expects obedience from us. And in the same way, God would bless the children of Israel when they obeyed Him, He will also bless us when we obey Him.  

After Moses had recounted the past, he turned directly to address the existing generation now at the edge of the promised land. Verses 32-33 tell us what he said to them, “So you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.” Like their fathers before them, this generation also needed to be careful to obey God and to walk in obedience. And the Ten Commandments were given to facilitate a life of obedience. May the Ten Commandments also be our guide and facilitate us into a life of obedience in our advance with God in the journey of faith. Let’s do it!   

 

Deuteronomy 5:22-27 – Draw near to God to listen and obey

In six verses, Deuteronomy 5:22-27 described the terrifying scene when God handed the children of Israel the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Amid the fire and the thick gloom of dark smoke engulfing the mountain, God spoke with a voice louder than thunder. It was both an awesome scene and a moment of solemnity. It was a great display of magnificence but also a display of terror. Everything that took place not only revealed the glory of God but also called attention to the Ten Commandments He had just given. They were a set of God’s holy will when embraced would set them apart as His people.  

The law, while delivered by Moses, originated from God, the source. They were not the invention of men but came directly from the mouth of God. He spoke amid fire and thick gloom created by the smoke. Hence it must be seriously embraced. The last phrase in verse 22 that says, “He added no more”, indicating the completeness and permanence of the Ten Commandments. God, Himself had them written on two tablets of stones with His own finger. The intention was clear. He wanted them to be a perpetual and pure transmission in their whole entirety.  

The voice and the awesome scene in the giving of the Ten Commandments had an enormous effect on the people. The display of God’s awesomeness instilled a great sense of fear upon them. They recognized that they were in the presence of a holy and awesome God. So they marveled that they were still alive although they had seen the great display of His power and heard from Him directly. So they ran to Moses, the leaders, and elders of the tribes, requesting that he be their mediator. They would rather that Moses hears from God and then relay to them whatever God wanted them to do. They promised that whatever God said they would do.

Mount Sinai was a terrifying scene. The people were fearful to draw near to hear from God directly. Today we thank God for our encounter at another mountain called Mount Calvary. Just as the encounter at Mount Sinai marked the people of Israel out as God’s unique people, our experience at Mount Calvary also marks us out as God’s own people. The difference is that instead of having Moses as our mediator, we have Christ. Through Him we have access to God. We have the privilege of hearing directly from Emmanuel, the God who is with us. If the people of Israel promised to listen and do even though Moses was their mediator, how much more should we listen and obey when our mediator is Christ Jesus. So let us draw near and hear, and enjoy our fellowship with God!     

Deuteronomy 5:21 – Make God our desire in life

The tenth commandment states, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” What is coveting? Coveting is an inner attitude. It is a disproportionate desire for someone or something that belongs to another. Desiring for someone else’s spouse would lead to adultery. And desiring someone else's property, such as the house, field, servants, maids, and animals would lead to greed.

The emphasis of this commandment is on the motivation more than the act itself. Underpinning this attitude of covetousness is the feeling of self-importance. This commandment addresses the attitude that would harm one’s relationship with others. Coveting is usually a hidden inner activity, and it is appealing because one can practice it without any public exposure. Before we think that it is safe to indulge in it, consider the warning of the Lord Jesus in Mark 7:220-23. He said, “…That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,  deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Socrates rightly said, “if we are not contented with what we have, we will not be contented with what we would like to have.” Coveting is a common spiritual virus that attacks everyone. More so in our culture of “grab all you can, can all you grab and sit on the can.” Nonetheless, we must deal with it rigorously. Like every other thing, we need the help of the Lord to deal with our hidden sin of covetousness. We must learn to be contented and live with what we have and not what we do not have. Meanwhile, learn to differentiate between what you need and what you want. Inordinately desiring what we want is often the start of the trouble. Make God our primary desire in life. It will set you up in the right direction. Make Psalm 27:4 our goal in life. Like David make this our yearning in life:  

“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.”   

Deuteronomy 5:20 – Speaking the truth in love

The ninth commandment said, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” What exactly does “bearing false witness” mean? The simplest definition of this phrase is lying or speaking falsehood. But in the context of the Ten Commandment, it is used to refer to giving false testimony as a witness against another, especially in a legal situation. The foundation on which this commandment stands are two. Firstly, it is because we worship the God of truth who never lies. Hence to speak falsehood is not befitting the nature of His children. Secondly, it is because our God is love. He never has any ill-will against another. Hence like Him, we His children must only have the best intention for others and not speak falsely against them. 

The call not to bear false witness is not an intangible concept. It is about the real harm that can be inflicted on another when one speaks falsely against that person. When is a person guilty of violating this law? When one maligns and gossips untruths about that person. We are guilty of breaking this law when we do so. Here’s a thought for the context of the church, when a false doctrine is propagated, it is bearing false witness against God. Hence, we must be sure to share what’s right and biblically correct.

Hear what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:25. Calling on believers not to bear falsehood, he said, “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.” This is a call to embrace the ninth commandment. Lying is never justified. Firstly, it is deceptive. That’s the very method that Satan used to deceive Eve into disobeying God.  When one speaks falsehood, one will be modeling the devil, the father of all lies. Secondly, lying is contrary to the truth. Christ Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the truth. In speaking truth, we emulate and reflect Christ. In lying we contradict Him and the truth He embodies. Thirdly, falsehood is a work of the flesh. It is opposite to the work of God’s Spirit. To speak falsehood will be giving in to the work of the flesh.  

How do we practice this commandment then? We practice this commandment by being honest. Here is a list of a few things that we must not cultivate in life. We must not practice deceit or duplicity. And we must also not exaggerate, fabricate, flatter, speak half-truth, insinuate, or misrepresent. This list can go on ad infinitum. Every time we commit any of these, we have discredited God and our status as the children of God. So let us practice this commandment by speaking the truth in love. We do so to honor and please God. 

Deuteronomy 5:19 – Honoring God the owner of our lives

The seventh commandment embraces the call to respect one’s marriage by being faithful. In this eighth commandment, "You shall not steal' is the message of respecting the property of others, especially what's rightly God’s. The seventh commandment demands that marriage not be violated, the eighth orders that the property of others not be violated. It forbids stealing, which is to take away something that belongs to another person against that owner’s will.

Note that stealing always denies the right of the owner of that something that has been taken away from him or her against the person’s will. It essentially entertains the attitude that the other person doesn’t matter. A thief will be ostracised and alienated by others. That would create disharmony and ill-feeling towards one another and interfere with the peace of the community. Besides, in stealing, a thief will undermine his or her own self-respect by dishonoring honest work. Know it or not, it encourages the habit of laziness.  

Stealing can take on many permutations. It ranges from taking away someone’s goods blatantly, to pilfering small items, to swindling and cheating another person of what’s rightly his or hers. It can also happen when one does not return something which one has borrowed from the lender. An employee who does not put the fair share of time expected of his or her work in the employment agreement is stealing from his or her employer. One common way any citizen of a nation can steal is by submitting a falsified income statement and not paying the right amount of income tax. Stealing can also be seen in taking away the freedom that belongs to another. We can also steal the reputation of another person by lying about that person. Remember, not living a consecrated life is stealing what is due to God. So are also not engaging in worship or giving of our tithes. And by not serving in the fellowship God has called us to be a part of, we are guilty of stealing from what’s due to our brothers and sisters in that fellowship.

Thinking about the stuff brought up, we have more than enough to chew and muse on. We owe it to God not to steal, for the love and mercy that He has so freely showered upon us. We will be stealing from Him if we do not order our lives aright. Underpinning this command is that as His children, we all belong to God. Hence, we must responsibly live our lives accountable to Him. Not to do so will be stealing what is rightly His. So let’s order our lives aright and live a life that’s befitting our calling as His children. Don’t steal what’s rightly His!

Deuteronomy 5:18 – Ensuring fidelity in marriage

The Ten Commandments are essentially a set of standards for the people of God to conduct their lives. Whether we know it or not, these commandments have such a rippling effect that they are mirrored in many constitutions of many nations of the world today. They are a set of values that define the people of God. So anyone who lives out this set of values will develop a righteous and upright life. Basically, these commandments emphasize one thing – esteem. They constitute the call to esteem God, His name, and the Sabbath, which is the Lord’s Day. They also contain the call to esteem one’s parents, the life of others, one’s marriage as well as to esteem the property and reputation of others.   

In Deuteronomy 5:18 is the seventh commandment. It is a call to esteem one’s marriage by not committing adultery. So it states, “You shall not commit adultery.” Breaking this commandment will violate the sanctity of one’s marriage. Adultery is simply defined as a sexual union one has with a person who is not one’s spouse. God is calling for every husband or wife to exercise complete faithfulness to one’s spouse. Sexual intimacy, a one-flesh experience should only be enjoyed within the confine of a marriage between a husband and his wife. God wants us to be faithful people even in marriage. To have sexual relations with another person who is not one’s spouse will violate faithfulness.

The Lord Jesus in Matthew 5:27-30 took this call even further. He did not deal with just the act of adultery but the intention of it. So He said, “…everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Jesus shows us in Matthew 5:27 that the best way to prevent adultery is to deal with the intention. And intention always starts with the eye. So the first thing to do is to guard what one sets one’s eyes upon. In hyperbolic language, Jesus is calling for a radical discipline with the thing we set eyes on. Any unfaithful act in marriage always begins with what one focuses one’s sight on. In our world today, it is so easy for a person to indulge in anything that is pornographic. It is readily available at the click of a finger or the pressing of a TV remote control. Then from incessant ogling of those undesirable materials will come the follow-up actions, if they are not immediately and swiftly dealt with.

The seventh commandment tells us that there is only one place for sexual union and that’s in the marriage. This commandment seeks to protect faithfulness in marriage. The violation of this commandment has led to much of the misery seen in the world today. Societies are teeming with problems such as broken relationships, needless abortions, maladjusted children, the proliferation of single parents, etc. All because of the violation of this call to faithful and responsible sexual relationships. As we conclude, remember that adultery is an irresponsible unfaithful act that always originates from one’s heart. So be sure to guard our hearts with all diligence.

Deuteronomy 5:17 – Take control of our emotion

Deuteronomy 5:17  reads “You shall not murder” in both the New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version of the Bible. In the King James or Authorized Version this verse is translated as “Thou shalt not kill.” What is the difference between a murder and a killing? The distinction between a murder and a killing lies in the intentionality of the one committing it. Murder suggests an intentional act of taking the life of another. Whereas killing is about taking the life of another without intention.  

At the heart of this sixth Commandment is the thought that life is precious and should be valued. It is a call to preserve the sanctity of life, a call to respect the life of others. While we cherish our life, we must also cherish the life of others as well. Whether premeditated or not, no one should take away the life of another. Living in our fallen world filled with hatred and violence, this is an important commandment. The fallen nature of man tends to make a person self-centered and less tolerant. People fly into a rage easily and become aggressive. If not reminded that we should not take away the life of another, there is no telling how many murders would have taken place at the slightest of provocation.     

Thinking about the sixth command not to murder begs two questions. How then is taking the life of another in a war justified?  How do we reconcile the need to take away life during war? Consider this: as people who seek to live life with the law of love, we must also contend with the reality of the universality of sin. There is the need to get rid of evil for the good of the whole. God’s command to annihilate tribes of pagans was to prevent the spread of evil. It is like dealing with cancerous cells. Aberrant cells had to be removed to prevent the destruction of the good and healthy cells in the body. This becomes a needful exercise to prevent a greater evil from happening.   

When we reflect on this sixth commandment, we can never avoid what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22. He said, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” The prevention of murder or killing begins with one being able to control one’s rage. An appalling act such as murder is the result of one’s inability to keep one’s anger under control. This sixth commandment is a call to keep our negative emotions in check. Christ’s command is clear, that we must not let anger fester in our mind and heart. By the power of God, let us let go of any negative emotion.

 

Deuteronomy 5:16 – Honoring our parents

The first four of the Ten Commandments deal with man’s relationship with God, while the next six deal with man’s relationship with each other. One has to do with the vertical relationship, the other deals with the horizontal ones. The relationship established by the first four commandments formed the foundation from which the next six would flow. Honoring God facilitates one’s ability to honor others. The first earthly relationship one has is with one’s parents, this could be why God dealt with it immediately after He dealt with the call to love and honor Him.  

The fifth Commandment reads, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.” Notice God specifically mentioned father and mother. There is a possibility of children who would just honor the father but not the mother or vice-versa. This commandment states that children must honor both the parents. They must do so not only because of the relationship they have with them, but also because this is an instruction from God.

Here God gave two incentives to ensure this fifth commandment to honor their parents be kept. The first incentive is the promise of longevity. And the second incentive has to do with what would happen to society when there’s a solid relationship between parents and children. Homes are the main fabric of society. Hence the strength of a society is determined by the strength of the homes. Just imagine how strong a society will be when it is made up of strong homes where parents and children are living harmoniously in one accord. Then imagine how greatly a society will be affected when parents and children are living in discord in most homes.  A strong parent children relationship would ensure strong homes, hence a strong community.

The more important question about honoring parents is not what will we get out of observing it but how do we do it? Here are three simple things we can do to honor our parents: obey them when we are young, support them when they are old, and respect them all the time. It’s not complicated at all!

 

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 – Observing the Sabbath

The fourth Commandment is a call to observe a day of rest every week. This day is referred to as the Sabbath day. It was to be kept holy. A day set apart from the other six days of the week. On the Sabbath day, everyone including one’s family, servants, and animals were expected to abstain from work and take a rest. Before this command was given, God first observed it. Genesis explicitly said that He rested on the seventh day.  

In creation God had established a rhythm. He created different elements in nature to facilitate that rhythm. From the sun, moon, and stars, and the rotation of the earth, God set in motion the cycle of day and night and seasons. By resting at the conclusion of His creative activities on the seventh day, He set up a work-rest pattern for mankind. In the call to observe the day of rest, God was giving mankind a weekly rhythm for living – to work six days and to keep one day for rest.  The purpose of the Sabbath observation was for man’s benefit. The focus of the first three Commandments was on God, but the focus of the fourth commandment was for the benefit of man.

Here in Deuteronomy, the rest for servants and animals is given more emphasis than the account in Exodus. This call to allow their servants and animals to have a day of rest was probably to ensure that the people of Israel did not overwork them when they had entered Canaan. God knew how much work they would need to do to establish themselves in the promised land. In the pressure to quickly settle in, they might overwork their servants and animals. To emphasize that they must allow their servants the day of rest, God reminded them of their own plight in Egypt in verse 15. Of all people, they should know better what it’s like not to be given a day of rest. Hence, they should accord the rest to their servants and animals as well.

Keeping the Sabbath would certainly be one of the most neglected practices today. That’s because we are not clear on what we should do. In fact on the rest day, most people seem to have more work. Why? There is the notion that it’s a day we take to catch up on those unaccomplished tasks of the week. Instead of resting, we are busier on the rest day. In these few verses, we sense the call to re-establish a sabbath rhythm. Remember to set aside one day in a week to rest. On that day cease from work, rest and relax, catch up with loved ones, and most of all, connect with God. Our whole being, spirit, soul, and body, needs this rest for maximum vitality and health. Don’t neglect it to our own detriment!  

 

Deuteronomy 5:11 – Don’t tarnish God’s reputation

God’s first Commandment establishes fundamentally that He is the only true and living God and has no equal. His second Commandment demands that He must not be made to look like any of His creation. Any worship of any misrepresentation of Him would provoke His jealousy and incur His judgment. Now, this third Commandment has to do with God’s reputation. It is about upholding His name. It says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

Profoundly, Israel’s calling was to be a set-apart people of God amid a pagan world. Corporately and personally as an individual, everyone was expected to conduct their lives befitting God’s people. As a people belonging to God, none should act out of character and tarnish the reputation of God. Remember Israel as a nation had been delivered from Egypt and chosen to be God’s covenant people. They were called to be His ambassadors and spokesmen in the world. How they conducted themselves would provide the correct image of Him or misrepresent Him and inaccurately portray Him.  

God’s name must never be used as a curse or a swear word as if they were magical words with power. Haven’t we heard people expressed words such as “Jesus” and “My God”, when things go haywire? Some would even use the name of God to bring about a guilt trip. The Bible warns us to be careful not to misrepresent God in words or deeds. We must always place God at the center of our lives and seek to love and obey Him in all areas of life. To do otherwise would invite His discipline. We must conduct life in such a way that will not cause His name to be blasphemed. But instead, to live in such a manner that will promote His glory. Remember that He is still the Almighty God! 

Deuteronomy 5:8-10 – Honoring God alone

The first Commandment established that God has no equal. And this God had a unique relationship with the people of Israel. For He had delivered them from their bondage in Egypt and made them His covenant people. Being His people, they must not have other gods before Him. He must always be the only God that they honor, worship, and serve.

The second Commandment demands that God should not be misrepresented. This formless God transcends all His creatures. Nothing can adequately represent Him. Therefore His people must not be like the pagans and fashion Him to look like any of His creatures and venerate it. It will be sinful disrespect to make this awesome God to look like any sea, land, sky, or ground creature. Only a warped and twisted mind will fashion hand-made idols to misrepresent God. Doing that will make a person lose touch with the genuine God. Anyone engaged in worshipping any spurious god will be led to a life of disobedience.    

In verse 9, God explicitly forbade His people to bow down and worship any man-made idol. Why? Because He is a jealous God. Venerating any man-made idol will provoke Him to jealousy. God will not overlook the offense of one who revered a false god. But will discipline him and even that person’s subsequent generations. Unwittingly, false worship is pervasive. Once a person engages in it, there is the tendency to pass this sinful practice to one’s children. This wrongful act will continue to propagate to all subsequent generations. It will do well to be reminded that our children will always emulate us. However, there is one encouragement. For the one who will act faithfully and not deviate to worship idols, God will not let him down. He, and certainly his family, will be the recipient of His loving kindness.  

The call is for us, God’s people, to stay focused, be faithful and honor Him alone. How can we apply this in our life? Don’t put anything or anyone above God. For if that happens, we will have turned that thing or that someone into our God. One way to prevent that is to make God the sole proprietor of our hearts. Guard our hearts! 

 

Deuteronomy 5:6-7 – Loving God, our most important task in life

Moses began in Deuteronomy 5:6-21 by repeating the Ten Commandments God gave to the children of Israel at Horeb. In the New Testament, we saw how Jesus so insightfully summarised the Commandments into two critical calls to His followers. The first is a call to love God with all that one has, one’s heart, mind, soul, and strength. The second is for one to love one’s neighbors as oneself. A scrutiny of the Ten Commandments will show how accurate Jesus’ summary was. In the first four Commandments, we have a clear call to love God wholeheartedly. In the next six, we see a call to consider our neighbors and to love them too.

Bear in mind that the Ten Commandments were given to a people whom God had redeemed from bondage for Himself. These Commandments were never given as a  means for redemption. God gave this set of Commandments after He had redeemed them. So when God’s redeemed lived according to them, they would better reflect their calling as His unique people. Hence, they should live out these Commandments in grateful response to His great overtures.         

In the opening of the first commandment in verses 6-7, God began by asserting His greatness saying, “I am the Lord your God.” Underscoring this declaration was the emphasis of His covenant relationship with them. In telling them that it was He who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of slavery, God was pointing to His mercy towards them. If the people of Israel consider this mighty deliverance of God, it should elicit a deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness to Him. This first Commandment is fundamental. It provides the basis for why His redeemed people must remain faithful to Him. To turn and acknowledge other gods would constitute a betrayal to this only true and living God. Besides, all the other supposed gods would not have any power to do anything for them. It would be foolhardy to turn from the genuine God to the spurious gods.

The first call for all of us is to love God. This begs the question, “How should we love God?” We must love Him passionately, purposefully as well as wholeheartedly. We love Him with all that we have – heart, mind, soul, and strength. Our quest in life must be to know God and to love Him above everything else. Let us put Him before all things in life. He is the supreme God!

 

 

Deuteronomy 5:1-5 – The importance of obeying God’s Word

In Deuteronomy 5:1-5, Moses emphasized to the Israelites the importance of the commandments of God which were received at Mount Sinai and all the subsequent instructions given to them.  Here Moses summoned all of Israel together to remind them of the importance of knowing those commandments and instructions so that they would take care to obey them. He wanted everyone to personally hear the commandments and instructions of God directly from him and not from a third party. This would prevent anyone from giving any excuse of not knowing these commandments and instructions.

Moses specifically referred to the moment the covenant was made with them at Horeb. And just in case anyone of them should dismiss them, thinking that the covenant was only relevant to their fathers, he debunked that thought. Moses told them that while the covenant was promised to their fathers, it was with them who were still alive and listening to him then that God had made the covenant. Hence the covenant conditions would be relevant to them.

In verses  4-5, Moses reminded them of that awesome sight as God spoke to them. When he said that God spoke to them “face to face,” he was simply saying that they heard from God personally and not literally seeing the face of God. He reminded them that God spoke with them from the midst of the fire. All those times Moses was acting as the intermediary between God and them. They did not go up to the Mountain because they were terrified by the awesome sight of God’s presence.   

Here are some thoughts for our application of these verses. If we are to obey God, we need to know what He is saying. We can only know what He is saying when we make time to study His Word and discern His voice through it. The word is discerning and not extrapolating, speculating, or imagining. We need to rightly handle the Word of truth. That would require us to be accurate and clear with the Word of God. From God’s Word, we must learn to cut out a straight path for living so that we can reach His desired goal for our lives. God speaks to us personally! 

Deuteronomy 4:44-49 – Knowing God’s Word

Deuteronomy 4:44-49 suggests that the people of Israel had reached the point where they would be crossing into the promised land. They had already encountered so much in their journey since leaving Egypt. So far, they had overcome kings Sihon and Og and overtaken the stretch of land east of Jordan occupied by these two pagan kings and their people. The land once occupied by them were granted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half a tribe of Manasseh. Verses 48-49 then outlined how extensive the whole stretch of land was which they had already taken.

Meanwhile, the other nine and a half tribes were poised to cross the Jordan to claim their possession. The stage was set, and this was the perfect moment for Moses to put the law and all the instructions of God squarely before them all. So at the valley, east of Jordan just opposite Beth-Peor, Moses spoke to the people of Israel concerning the law and all the instructions God had given. Moses would then elaborate on what he began here all the way to Deuteronomy 26.

Knowing the law and the instructions of God was the logical step to take. Why? So that they would have a set of God-given standards before them as they live life in the land they were about to possess. Obeying the law and standards set out by God for them would mark them out as God’s covenant people. As they diligently obey the law and instructions set out before them, they would be able to distinguish themselves from the pagans in the land.

Bear in mind that God’s word and instructions are given not to inform us but to transform us. And transformation only takes place when we take time to live out God’s Word. The first step to living out the Word of God of course is to know it well. The question that Jesus is still asking us, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say?” How can we ever do what He says unless we first know what He is saying? Underscore for us here is the importance of knowing and obeying God’s Word. And we can rightly obey God when we know what He has said. It is needful for us therefore  to find time to read, study and know God’s Word so that we can rightly obey Him. The is the best way to really know Him is through His Word. Make knowing God through His Word a goal in life!   

Deuteronomy 4:41-43 – Christ, our safest refuge

The details of the cities of refuge had already been described in Numbers 35. In Deuteronomy 4:41-43, Moses set apart three cities of refuge on the east of Jordan. This was needful as he had granted the land on this side of Jordan to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-tribe of Manasseh. Remember these two and a half tribes had requested to remain here because they saw this stretch of land as suitable for them to raise their herds. Moses only agreed to grant them after some agreement on their part. They would settle their families on this side of Jordan and all their valiant men would cross over to help the other tribes to possess their portion of the land. Only after their brethren had inherited their lands would they return to join their families.  

These three verses marked the end of Moses' first discourse. The next discourse will start from Deuteronomy 4:44 and extend all the way to Deuteronomy 26:19. The setting up of the cities of refuge east of Jordan indicated that Moses had acknowledged that Israel was ready to go in and possess the promised land. It was time for them to inherit the promise of God. The two had half tribes were already granted their land and it remained for the rest to go across the Jordan to possess theirs. The appointing of the cities of refuge would be a strong indication for the rest of the nine and a half tribes to go across to possess theirs by faith.    

In these three verses, Moses once again showed the reason for these cities of refuge. It was for a person who killed someone unintentionally. They could run to a city of refuge nearest to him to seek sanctuary till what he had committed was properly adjudicated. The people seeking vengeance from the killer would be filled with emotion and unable to differentiate between an intentional and unintentional killing. If it was ascertained that the killing was unpremeditated, that person could remain and live in that city of refuge till the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest could he return home. God was providing time for the case to be properly considered.

We see the setting up of the cities of refuge as a strong indication of God’s deep sense of justice. The absence of justice would make it hard to develop a harmonious community. Justice allows for good to be upheld and evildoers to be punished. Without justice, the environment would not be safe and people in the community would find it hard to exist peacefully. Justice ensures that evil people will be dealt with and not left to perpetuate what’s wrong. However, it must be said that there will be no perfect justice outside of Christ. On the cross, divine love and justice met. We all owe a debt that we cannot pay. Christ paid the debt He did not owe. The cross is our city of refuge. That’s where our sin was laid on Him. That was where God’s justice was satisfied. He died to set us free. Glory to Him alone!   

Deuteronomy 4:32-40 – Hallelujah, what a God!

In a capsule, Deuteronomy 4:32-40 tells us that Yahweh, the only true God, had chosen Israel as His people. It was He who had delivered them with His miraculous power. He did it not because of any merit of their own but purely because He loved them. The challenge was for them to reciprocate by loving Him in return. This would ensure that they would have a long, satisfying, and meaningful life in the promised land.

Here in these verses Moses was seen prodding the people of Israel to ponder all that God had done for them. He told them to consider all that God had granted them and their fathers to experience and to appreciate what a great God He truly had been to them. He insisted that from the mighty works He had done for them, they surely would realize that theirs was the mighty God. They would know that He had no equal. Since the dawn of creation, there never has been and will never have another quite like Him who could do such mighty feats.    

In three rhetorical questions Moses reminded them it was this God who spoke to them and delivered them from Egypt with His mighty and outstretched hand. No other nation had the privilege like them to hear the voice of God as He spoke from the midst of fire and yet survived. There also had not been another nation that He had granted to experience His mighty works. He literally took them to be His chosen people by delivering them from their trials, performing great signs and wonders, and sustaining them through wars and terrors since rescuing them from Egypt.   

What was God’s purpose? Verse 35 said that He wanted them  “to know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him.” They could stand at the foot of Mount Sinai and hear His voice and experience the awesome sight, was all because of His love for their fathers. So He chose to deliver them to make them His own unique people. What they were granted was an act of God’s grace and not because of any merit of their own. All that the Israelites had experienced was for them to “know…and take it to heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.”

In verse 40, Moses then pressed in the application. God granted them the privilege to know Him through all the slew of amazing experiences so that they would obey all that they had been instructed. They were expected to obey and live-out God’s instructions in the promised land. Like them, we too have been delivered by God. He set us free from our bondage to sin by Christ's awesome works at Calvary. We are called out of the world into His kingdom to be His own people. He has granted us to know Him, enable us to hear His voice, and experience His guidance. We will do well by being obedient to His Word and enjoy a meaningful and fulfilling life with Him. Heed His call!

Deuteronomy 4:25-31 – Never take God for granted

In the previous nine verses, Moses vehemently told the Israelites not to make the formless God into the likeness of His creation. For when God spoke to them at the foot of Mount Sinai, they only heard His voice but did not see His form. Therefore, they did not have any clue as to how God looked like. So they must not make Him to look like any of His creatures. As a follow-up to that call, Deuteronomy 4:25-31 went on to forewarn them of what would happen if they violated what he had told them. Here we sense that Moses wanted to ensure that they would keep faith in God. So he warned them of what could happen should they emulate the pagans to fashion, worship, and serve their own hand-made gods. So he admonished the children of Israel to be watchful over their lives in the promised land.

Here he painted a scenario of what could happen after they had lived long in the land and had children and grandchildren. If they were not watchful, they could unwittingly let their guard down and become acclimatized to the conditions of a pagan lifestyle. With that, they would soon forget God’s goodness. Then they would soon act corruptly and fashion idols and thinking that what they had made was God. When that happened, they would have done what’s evil in God’s sight and He would be provoked to anger. What Moses painted for them was not some far-fetched impossibility. What he painted here could happen to any generation. It is, therefore, needful for parents and church leaders to build a strong foundation in the rising generation to avert such a scene.

 

Moses  was dead serious so in verse 26 he called heaven to witness to what he had painted for them. Though they might be in the promised land, he guaranteed that if they violated what he had forewarned, they would not continue in the land. The nation would be destroyed. They would be scattered with very few remnants left. Then they would experience like the pagans, who called on the idols that they had made of wood or stone, and not have any response. For their handmade idols could neither hear nor respond. However, Moses also put out a lifeline here. He asserted that their faithful covenant-keeping God would still mercifully respond to them. When in their desperation and tribulation, they would repent and return to God, He would still attend to them. The point Moses was making is this: God is faithful, and He always keeps His part of the covenant even though His people have failed Him.  

Having a faithful God should challenge us to be faithful to Him. We must not spurn His love for us and take Him for granted. Don’t allow familiarity and complacency to entice us into a careless disregard for God. We must cultivate a deep passion for God and take time to build a disciplined life. Never take our eyes off God’s purpose and desire for each of us. He only wants the best for us. 

Deuteronomy 4:15-24 – Worshipping and Serving God alone

The second commandment God gave to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai recorded in Exodus 20:4-6 reads, “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Here in Deuteronomy 4:15-24, Moses reiterated and expressed in detail what that commandment meant. They must not make the invisible God into the form of any earthly image. Emphasizing that at the foot of  Mount Sinai, one thing they had experienced was they heard the voice of God, but they did not see Him appearing in any form. Here is Moses’ point. Therefore do not act corruptly by making the formless God into all kinds of images, be they land, air, ground, or sea creatures. Nothing in creation can ever properly represent God. So no one should try and make Him into the likeness of any of His creations.  

Furthermore, Moses also warned them about worshipping the sun, moon, and stars. He told them that whenever they lifted their eyes and looked at these elements in the sky, they must not equate them to God and bow down and worship any of them. These heavenly bodies were made for the purpose of providing light, for marking day and night, and to divide time and seasons of the year. They must not be worshipped.

Why God so unambiguously defined all these is clear.  He was, is, and will always be the only one worthy of our worship. Nothing in His creation must be made to take His place. This was particularly so for the people of Israel. For He had delivered them from Egypt and marked them out as a people for His own possession. They were His covenant people. Being God’s covenant people meant that their loyalty and allegiance must be with Him. None of them should emulate the people of the land they were entering and behave like them and worship gods of all kinds. Knowing that he would not be with them in the promised land, Moses assertively warned them not to deflect from worshipping and serving God. They must never follow the idolatrous people of Canaan. For God, the consuming fire would call them into account and discipline their waywardness.

The crux of this passage is this: the true God is not one we want to trifle with. He is watching over His word to perform it. We must give Him our total allegiance, and never pander to a wayward life. The price to pay for one’s waywardness is too costly, so don’t toy with God’s love nor try His patience. We can ill afford it. Instead, let us offer our lives to Him in sweet abandonment and total surrender.                        

Deuteronomy 4:9-14 – The call to consecrated living

In Deuteronomy 4:9-14, Moses reminisced and recounted for the children of Israel what took place at Mount Sinai described in Exodus 19. It was an astounding sight that was hard to forget for those who were present. Moses remembered God instructing him to assemble the people so that He could speak to them. For God wanted the people of Israel to know and fear Him and then to teach all that they would soon see at Mount Sinai to their children and all subsequent generations.

So that day, they all drew near and stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and faced an amazing scene. The whole of Mount Sinai was engulfed with smoke, fire, and thick darkness. Out of the thick darkness, God spoke to them. They heard His voice, but they did not see His form. That awesome day, God also gave them two tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments that He Himself had written. At the same time, God also instructed them to keep the statues and judgments as a rule of life when they entered the promised land.

Verse 9 contains a serious exhortation to the Israelites that we will also do well to adhere to. The Israelites were strongly urged to heed to themselves and to keep their soul diligently. Why? Firstly, so that they would remember and not forget the things which they had seen and heard all the days of their lives. Secondly, so that they could make them known to their sons and grandsons.

This episode that had taken place at Horeb or Mount Sinai was a critical point in the history of Israel and has much to teach us. From their experience, we learn firstly that God has no form and that He speaks to His people. Hence, it is a needful thing to discern the voice of God. Unlike man-made idols, God has no form. It was needful for God to emphasize that to the children of Israel because they would soon encounter many idols in Canaan. Those man-made idols would have some forms, but they could not speak. We must be mindful of what our Lord Jesus had affirmed in John 4. He said that “God is Spirit and we must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.”

Secondly, Israel as God’s covenant people was obliged to keep the conditions laid down in the covenant. The Ten Commandments capture the essence of how the people of God should live and conduct themselves. Again Jesus summed it up for us in two requirements. We must love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. And we must also love our neighbors as ourselves. We are also expected to keep these commandments.

Thirdly, the set of “rule of life” Moses gave them was also an assurance that they would soon be in the promised land. They were then expected to keep and do what they were instructed so that they could be identified as God’s unique people. Isn’t this what the Apostle Paul also tells us what to do in Romans 12:2? Here’s the paraphrase. Do not emulate the standards of the world. Don’t take on the pattern of ungodly living. Instead, pattern life after the principles of God’s Word. When that is done regularly, one will be gradually transformed to become more and more like Christ the Lord. This lifestyle will help a person to experience God’s will to its fullest. Be sure to live this kind of life!

 

Deuteronomy 4:5-8 – God’s Word and our witness

The “statutes and judgments” Moses taught constituted a rule for life and conduct for the people of Israel. They were given to help them moderate their public behaviors, their religious practices as well as how they, as a nation could be governed. So Deuteronomy 4:6 explicitly told them “…to keep and do” what they had been instructed as they enter the promised land. Bear in mind that these instructions were given because they as a nation was brought into a covenant relationship with God, to be a witness for Him.   

So in these verses, reasons were given on why they should keep and do the statutes and judgments as they had been instructed. Firstly, by keeping and doing them they would show that they knew they have a set of divine guides on how to become a people with wisdom and understanding on life. Secondly, when they lived according to the statutes and judgments, they would attest to the reality of their God. The nations watching them would come to know that God was present with them and ready to come to their assistance whenever they called upon Him. Thirdly, in living out the statutes and judgments they would become a nation with righteous standards like no other nation.

Besides, these instructions would make them a great nation. The greatness would be seen in their coherence as a nation. Living out those prescribed standards would make them stand out as a people of a high standard of conduct. All these would ensure the flow of God’s blessings upon them. All things considered, the key is not in knowing what God had said, but in doing what they had been instructed. The blessings of a wise and understanding life were contingent on keeping and doing what they were instructed. It is one thing to know the instructions and quite another to do them.  

Just like the Israelites, we must also make keeping and obeying God’s Word the primary exercise in life. If we want to be God’s effective witnesses to people in this world, we need to live out God’s prescribed standards given in the Word. Paul has so clearly stated in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 saying that that the Word of God is divinely inspired. It is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Let’s live out the Word!

Deuteronomy 4:1-4 – Living by God’s instruction

The Old Testament uses several terms to refer to the Word of God. Terms such as the Law, statutes, judgments, commandments, testimony, precepts and, etc. Each of these words carries with it a certain shade of meaning. Here in Deuteronomy the terms used to refer to God’s Word are “statutes, judgments, and commandments”. What Moses wanted the children of Israel to know was the fact that God’s Word must be central to their life. Its importance can never be over-emphasized.

Why was the instruction to listen to statutes and judgments of God important? Firstly, it was because the children of Israel were about to enter a land filled with idolatry. And the standards and values of the Canaanites would be vastly different from what God expected of them. Moses didn’t want them to be tempted to live like the Canaanites. Thus, it was needful for Israel to be mindful of God’s required standards. They were warned not to add or subtract from God’s commandments just to accommodate their new life in Canaan.

Secondly, Moses warned them against adopting the worship of Baal. He reminded them of the consequences which their fathers faced adopting the lifestyle of the followers of Baal. Moses reminded them in verse 4 that they did n0t perish because they held fast to the Lord their God and did not follow in their father’s footsteps.     

Listening to God’s Word and obeying it is critical to spiritual life. By obeying God’s Word one will flourish, by neglecting it one will languish. By acting on it one will delight the heart of God. By acting against it, one will set oneself up against Him. Our life must be governed by the Word of God. It is His prescription to a life that will honor and please Him.  So like the new generation of the children of Israel who was poised to cross into the promised land, we must also live the Word. How can we live the Word unless we take time to first read, study, listen to the Word? Our spiritual vitality depends on knowing the Word and acting on it. Hear the call of God through the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”