Congratulations, Dear Friends! You have now journeyed through the Ten Words, the moral laws from Exodus 20 that God gave His people to guide them through life with Him and with others. My hope is that you’ve concluded this study with a new or refreshed view of the beautiful relationship the God of the universe longs to have with each one of us. As we’ve explored what expansive obedience to the Ten Words looks like, a list of “shall nots” has become a love letter from our God who…
- speaks to us (vs. 1)
- rescues us from slavery (vs. 2)
- is jealous for our affections (vs. 3-4)
- is just (vs. 5)
- loves us (vs. 6)
- defends His character (vs. 7)
- blesses our rest from work (vs. 8-11)
- promises life when we honor elders (vs. 12)
- guards physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual life (vs. 13-17)
As we moved from the first commandment through the tenth, we noticed how interconnected each one was, how they built upon each other and are summed up in Luke 10:27:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
All.
It’s a word that leaves nothing out, but oh, how often we forget to honor God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and body. The Israelites, who had seen the miraculous acts of God and trembled in fear, still suffered from amnesia and failed to live in awe of Him.
“Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever,” God told Moses.
Deuteronomy 5:29
So, Moses did as any parent must do and reminded the children in his care of God’s character and His love for them at different points in their journey through the desert, including in his final days on earth. While it is a lengthy section, Deuteronomy 4 through 13 is a beautiful scrapbook of God’s faithfulness to His people and His longing for all of us to follow Him with undivided devotion. I encourage you to carve out a bit of time this week to read or to listen to this account and then consider how you will remember — and not forget — the Lord, His commandments, and His great love for you.
