Remembering His Words

Author: Joseph

Date: February 3, 2019

Moses is retelling the history of Israel and along with it, all the commandments that the Lord instructed Israel along their journey through the wilderness. This new generation of people that were listening were either too young to remember the details of the exodus from Egypt or had not been born until they were in the wilderness. Either way, many of the things God spoke to them in the wilderness may have escaped their memory.

God made a covenant with the people at Sinai and although the new generation may have been young, Moses helped them realize even now that God had made that covenant with them. Moses told them, “The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today” (Deuteronomy 5:3). Those who remained faithful and survived the wilderness journey were the ones who would carry on God’s covenant, whereas those who had been unfaithful to Him were cut off in the wilderness and perished by their sin.

"...He is a living God and therefore can be loved."

Moses was now instructing the new generation, that they should not forget the words that God spoke to them. The foremost of His words was that they were to love God, with all their heart, soul, and might. To even consider His words to be worthy of remembering, Israel had to realize that God is to be loved – He is a living God and therefore can be loved. God has a relational connection with His people.

By desiring to fulfill this first commandment, the rest would follow naturally out of their loving obedience. When someone is loved, a person does their best to ensure that they are doing all they can to show that love. Seeking to do all else that God commands would then follow from loving Him.

Israel is reminded by Moses to “diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you” (Deuteronomy 6:17). The people had to be diligent, not passive, in their obedience to God. It wasn’t something that would happen to them, it is something that they had to seek and do.

If they needed further motivation, they were also reminded that by keeping His words, they were doing what was good and right in His sight. They could be relieved from the burden of having to justify their own man-made laws. God’s words were His own and His authority is above all creation. By doing what is good and right in His eyes, the people knew that they were doing what was truly good and right and no man could tell them otherwise.

By also obeying God out of a desire to love Him with all they had, the Israelites would have a healthy fear of God and do things that benefit their survival in this world (Deuteronomy 6:24). A healthy fear of God emboldens God’s people to oppose wickedness and to have a right respect of who God is – the one and only God. By siding with God in obedience, they would rely on the one who created the universe. Who better to have an opinion of right and wrong and to know what benefits their survival other than the one who is Lord of all?

Lastly, Israel is told, “It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the LORD our God, just as He commanded us” (Deuteronomy 6:25). By being careful to observe all His commandments, that faithful act from loving Him is what accounts for righteousness. Obeying the commandments themselves does not grant righteousness, but by loving Him and faithfully obeying Him as a result, we are made righteous.

We are also far less likely to sin intentionally when we eagerly seek to love Him and obey Him. Our whole being is focused on what is good. When our hearts and minds are set on God and His commandments, we are more readily repentant and humble to receive His mercy when we do sin.

When Moses says “if we are careful to observe all this commandment,” he also means that we should be caring in our faithful obedience to God. We have to care about what God says. We also have to observe, or do, what God says as a result of caring. When we are carefully observing His commandments, and we do inevitably sin, we are able to run to Him in repentance instead of stubbornly or cowardly justifying ourselves and hardening our hearts against Him. This is what separated those that survived in the wilderness and those that did not.

Like the new generation of Israel, God’s words are anew for us today. It was not only with those who came before us, but with us now that God is seeking to be in a relationship with. In order to maintain this relationship, we must not forget what God has said and is speaking to us now. By loving Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, we should be drawn to pursue obedience to Him. Our obedience, when rooted in faithful love, is what accounts for righteousness. Simply doing things because they are “right” accounts for nothing.

Do you consider yourself someone who loves God? How do your relationship with God demonstrate this? By remembering His words, His commandments, His statues, we can have a loving relationship with Him. Learn them, hear the heart of God through them, and then carefully and lovingly do what He has said.

Bible Passage: Deuteronomy 5:1 – 6:25

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). www.lockman.org