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!