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DEUTERONOMY 4–5; PSALM 49

Week 9, Day 7

The laws of God are not arbitrary restraints, but directions to a fulfilled life. So Moses warns Israel that they must give heed to the statutes he is teaching “so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you” (4:1). As an introduction to the laws, Moses reminds the people of the miracles God has done on their behalf. What other great nation, he challenges, has a God so near to be called upon; and what other has a Law as helpful as the one he is about to review (4:7-8)?

But with all that God has done for Israel—bringing them “out of the iron-smelter . . . of Egypt” to be God’s own people (4:20) and making them a nation “by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (4:34)—there is nevertheless the danger that their descendants will go astray when they “become complacent in the land” (4:25). Our spiritual memories tend to be very short. Yesterday’s miracle easily becomes today’s non-event.

The commandments in Chapter 5 are in the same order and possess essentially the same content as recorded in Exodus 20. It is interesting that the laws of measurable conduct (murder, adultery, theft, false witness) are stated directly, without commentary, while those that have to do with the more subtle issues of our minds (the sabbath and coveting) are spelled out with specifics.

PRAYER: I want to remember, O Lord, that your laws are for my benefit, and that my best happiness is in loyal obedience; in Christ. Amen.

What difference, if any, do you find between the Ten Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5?