Deuteronomy 4:1-14
Moses Commands Obedience
1 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you.
5 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? 9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, 10 especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.
Do we listen to the commands and obey the instructions of God that we read in the scriptures? That was what Moses took the time to tell the vital importance of to God’s people then, and it holds just as much now. The only difference is that we know we cannot keep the law perfectly to earn salvation from the just due on our sin, for we now have the Son of God who kept the law perfectly for us so we live by faith in His work and not, “if a man does these things he shall live (Ezekiel 20:11).” Now we hear Leviticus 20:8 more clearly that tells us to keep God’s word but know it is He who sanctifies us, makes us holy, in the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22, 26, 4:11, 1 Corinthians 1:30, Philippians 3:9) and not in ourselves or earned by doing good alone. Certainly we are to do good (Ephesians 2:10) as a response to such grace of righteousness and deliverance from the law’s bondage to endless efforts to do enough good to deliver ourselves from judgment. But that doing good is not the determining factor of our eternal standing in Christ, for we stand in His righteousness and not our own now as we then obey the commands of scripture to please God and not earn or maintain our standing with Him in the final judgment. Just as Moses taught the people the statutes and judgements of God that they might enter into the promised land set before them with wisdom and understanding, so we are given the word of God with the knowledge that we are already given access into the promised heavenly land to come and that our failings only determine loss of rewards (1 Corinthians 3:12-13, 14-15) to give glory to the Lord and not as a determination of our entrance there. Our willingness to obey His word reflects His glory and grace to the world (Isaiah 43:7) and pleases Him as we have been created (Ephesians 2:10) to do as we lay up treasures in heaven for His name’s sake. Like Israel of old, we are to constantly be reminded of His word through regularly hearing it taught and preached and by attention to reading, studying, and meditating on all things we have been told so we never forget the glorious grace that opened the eyes of our hearts to know Him and our place in Christ for eternity and to pass it on to our children (2 Timothy 2:2) of flesh and spirit alike. The people then trembled in fear of the judgement of the LORD before the burning mountain as they received God’s word, but we know our certain hope of an unshakable kingdom (Hebrews 12:18, 22-23, 24, 28) that gives us eternal assurance of immutable salvation and a place in the heavenly promised kingdom to come, and so we willingly and joyfully listen and are eager to obey form His name’s sake out of abundant thanksgiving. We are now free and eager to hear and obey God’s word because we are safe and secure from all alarms in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!
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