Day 72: Deuteronomy 5-7

Welcome to 5-Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today's March the 13th and we'll be looking at Deuteronomy 5 through 7. Now today's reading continues Moses' great sermon to the generation that's about to enter the Promised Land.

The people are standing just outside of the land, preparing to cross the Jordan River after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. But before they enter, Moses is going to remind them of the covenant that defines their relationship with Yahweh.

And in that way, Deuteronomy 5 through 7 moves from the Ten Commandments themselves to the deeper heart behind the law and all of its applications. These chapters show that the covenant is not merely a list of rules, but it's a call to love and to loyalty and to exclusive devotion to the Lord who redeemed his people.

Now, Deuteronomy 5 begins with Moses repeating the Ten Commandments that were first given at Mount Sinai to the previous generation. And many of the people listening were children at the time or had not even yet been born when those events occurred.

Moses, therefore, reminds them of the terrifying moment when God revealed his law with fire and thunder and earthquakes and a mountain shaking and a voice that spoke from the mountain that terrified their forefathers.

And the commandments, he says, establish the foundation of Israel's covenant life, and they show what it means to live in the presence of God. Then Deuteronomy 6 moves from the commandments themselves to the heart behind the commandments, because Moses delivers one of the most famous declarations in the entire Bible.

It's called the Shema. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Again, that statement is called the Shema, and it declares that the Lord alone is God and he deserves total affection and devotion.

Because of that truth, the people are commanded then to love the Lord their God with all of their heart and their soul and their mind and strength. And God's words are not meant to be distant laws written on tablets of stone somewhere in the Holy of Holies inside of the Ark of the Covenant.

But they're actually meant to intersect with and shape their daily life. Parents are commanded to teach their children diligently when they come in and when they go out and when they read and they lie.

And in every facet of the life of a child, they're supposed to be taught the law of God. Parents are supposed to speak these things in their home and remember them throughout all of the daily rhythms and routines of ordinary life.

They are to be a word saturated people. Then in Deuteronomy 7, Israel is being prepared for the challenges that they're going to face once they enter the land. The surrounding nations worship other gods, demonic gods, and they practice a gross and disgusting kind of idolatry.

And Israel, for who it is, shall never adopt these practices or form any kind of alliances with these nations that would pull their heart away from the Lord. We know that they do that, but God reminds them that he didn't choose them because they were powerful or numerous.

He chose them, in fact, because they were the smallest and most insignificant people imaginable so that they would have to trust in him for their success. And God chose them because of his covenant love and his covenant faithfulness, because he is a promise keeping God, even when his people are promise breaking people.

Now, as you read today, I want you to ask the following question. What does it mean to love God with all of your life? And Deuteronomy 5 through 7 is beginning to answer that question. That covenant obedience is not merely about following rules, but it's the outward expression of a heart that is devoted affectionately to God.

And it works itself out in the fingertips of all of life because we love this God. We don't want to offend this God because our hearts are inflamed with affections for this God. We want our fingers and toes and bodies to follow suit.

Now, the central pattern in these chapters is love that is expressed through loyalty. Israel's obedience is not just about what they say with their lips, and it's not even a mechanical kind of legalism.

It is a response of a people who belong to this God and who are called to love this God. And because of that love and that relationship, they will experience redemption. Yet Moses also understands the dangers that are going to lie ahead for the people.

The nations living in the land worship demonic gods and their cultures are very powerful, seductive and attractive. And if Israel forgets who they belong to, then their devotion to the Lord will slowly erode and it's going to lead to catastrophic consequences.

Now, the pattern in this intersects directly with our life as well, because faithfulness to God often requires resisting the cultural pressures that look good and appealing and exciting in order to adopt the values of God.

Loving God with all of our heart means being loyal to him even when other influences are competing for that loyalty in an almost nonstop fashion. And these chapters ultimately also point to Jesus Christ, because when Jesus is later asked what the greatest commandment is, he quotes Deuteronomy 6.

He says, Loving the Lord your God with all of your heart and your soul and your mind and strength is the entirety of the law, which comes right out of our chapter today. And yet human history shows just how difficult that command truly is to love God with all of you, because we're divided people.

Israel repeatedly struggled to maintain covenant loyalty and humanity itself continues to struggle with the exact same problem today. And yet Christ fulfills this command perfectly. His life demonstrates complete devotion to the Father in every thought, every word, every action and everything.

Where Israel's love for God often faltered, Christ's love for the Father remained unwavering and steadfast. Through his obedience and his sacrifice on the cross, the promise of the new covenant not only becomes possible, it becomes actual.

Where God's law is no longer written on tablets of stone, but by the Spirit of God, the tablets are written on our heart. So as you read Deuteronomy 5 through 7 today, I want you to listen closely to Moses's emphasis on love and remembrance.

And tomorrow I want us to see him warn Israel about another danger that often comes after victory, the temptation to forget God once life becomes comfortable. But until then, I want you to read your Bible carefully, devotionally and joyfully.

And may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely and we will continue our journey tomorrow. God bless you.