Moses now calls the people to obey and fear the Lord, keeping all of His decrees and commands. Obedience and respect seem reasonable responses to an all-powerful God, but they don't make for much of a relationship. Moses doesn't stop there though. He tells the people to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength". Now that's more like it. So often we stop at fear and obedience and we miss out on so much. God doesn't want servants, He wants children. He wants to build relationships with each one of us, relationships built on love. Strong, deep, passionate love. Twenty two years and it still amazes me. I don't think we'll ever get our heads around that fact, but maybe we don't need to. Maybe we should just embrace it and give in to love.
Following from that theme of love, Moses tells the people that the commandments he gives them are to be on their hearts. They need to do more than just learn them, they need to let them sink in so deep that as the heart powers the body, so God's word powers their lives. So do we. Moses also tells the people to tell these commands to their children, to talk about them at home and on the road, to tie them as symbols to their hands and forehead, and to write them on their doors and gates. In other words, they should write them everywhere and talk about them always. There's a sense of excitement here, as though this were as much about celebrating God as about remembering His commands.
The Israelites were subtle as a sledgehammer when it came to their religion. Are we? Or do we like to keep our faith private? We need to respect other people and be careful not to force our beliefs on them, but at the same time we need to be open about what we believe in. There's nothing wrong with adding a Christian perspective to a debate or telling our work colleagues what happened at church on Sunday. And there's certainly nothing wrong with talking seriously about our relationship with God with those who are willing to listen. Moses was excited and we should be excited too. God is awesome, so let's talk about Him.
Moses seems particularly keen that the Israelites should talk about God to their children, as he now tells the people that when their children ask what the law means, they should tell them that God rescued them from Egypt and performed many miraculous signs and wonders, then gave them these commands so that they should prosper and their obedience become their righteousness. For us Gentiles, that isn't our story, but we have another to tell. We too were brought out of exile and made children of God. We should never forget that, and we should never forget to give thanks and celebrate it.
Moses now says that God has told him that when He has driven out the nations that stand between the Israelites and the promised land, they must destroy them totally. But He still doesn't actually say kill them. He talks only of destroying their altars and their idols. I think maybe this is about destroying their sacrilege, that which offends God, not destroying the people. God doesn't smite those who don't love him, He just wants to sweep away their idols and their false gods so that they can see Him.
Moses tells the people that God will bless them if they keep His law. They will increase in number and grow good harvests. No man or woman will be childless and no livestock without young. And there will be no disease. Maybe God really did bless them for their obedience and curse them for their sin. Or maybe when things went right the people wrongly decided it was God's favour, and when things went wrong they falsely attributed it to God's anger. Or maybe, as I suggested yesterday, things went better when they followed God because simply because His was the right path. Whatever the case, it's clear that the Israelites never did live up to the ideal, because even a cursory knowledge of the rest of the Old Testament reveals more sickness and famine and childlessness. They couldn't do it and neither can we. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
Next we have a warning against pride, as Moses tells the Israelites not to forget God. He knows that once they are settled in their new land, living in fine houses with large flocks and great stores of wealth, it will be all too easy for them to grow comfortable and proud, congratulating themselves on their own success. But he also knows that if the people forget God and try to continue in their own strength, they will fall. And so he reminds them of their time in the desert, when they were helpless as babies and relied entirely on Him for food and water. It's a lesson in humility, reminding them that they owe everything to God and are nothing without Him. Sometimes we need lessons like that too. How many times do we pray to God for help with something, then puff up with pride when we actually do it, so forgetting to thank Him? Too many times, I fear.
Continuing his warning against pride, Moses tells them that it is not because of their righteousness that God will grant them victory in battle, but because of the wickedness of the other nations. God shows favour to the Israelites because they at least worship Him, but that doesn't make them perfect. As if to drive this point home, Moses then goes on to remind the people of the times they have rebelled against God, from the making of the golden calf to their refusal to take possession of the promised land. We shouldn't dwell on our mistakes - guilt and regret are not healthy in large doses - but we shouldn't forget them either. If we do, how will we learn from them?
And now Moses calls once again for the Israelites to "fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees". The word "fear" can cause some difficulty in this context, but I don't think it's about being scared of God, it's about respecting Him. So all He asks is for us to respect, love and obey Him. Not too much for the omnipotent creator of the universe to ask, is it? It's not easy, but it's not unreasonable. Moses tells the people that to do this they must circumcise their hearts, because their physical circumcision means nothing if it does not affect them on an emotional and spritual level, just as a baptism is just a bath if it doesn't change our hearts.
Moses then gives the people this beautiful description of God - "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing...Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes". And I'm going to leave it there, because I don't think I could better that.
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