At the beginning of chapter 6, Moses is saying what looks like it is the purpose for these statutes and rules God has given them. I'll start in verse 1, "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to posses it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long." So it looks like the purpose is so they fear God. Which would be consistent with everything else I've heard so far. Fearing the Lord and praising His Name go hand in hand. If you don't fear God you aren't realizing His great power and therefore, aren't praising Him accurately. So they are told that when they think of the Law, it should bring back this fear of God to their minds. And that is a good thing.
Verses 4-9 are the famous verses that are known as the greatest commandment. I won't write them out because it is pretty long, but this is basically what it says (check me on it), The Lord your God is one. Love Him with everything in you. You do whatever it takes to remember these things that I've commanded you. Write them on your door, put them on your head, etc. And teach them to your children whenever you get the chance. So again God is saying, this isn't trivial. The things I am telling you are important. You do whatever it takes to remember them and remember that I am your God. Then He tells them to be careful not to forget Him when they come in to this promised land. He warns them not to serve the gods of the people of the land, but Him and Him alone. Again, He says in verse 13, "It is the Lord your God you shall fear." Then He says something that shows His wrath again. In verse 15, He says that if they do forget Him and worship these other gods, He will get angry and destroy them from off the face off the earth. Boom. That's power.
Verse 20 is so cool to me. I think it is great that I have been asking, "What's it for? What's the law for?" And searching for it. I've found those purposes, but this is just so explicit. It says, "When your son asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?' then you shall say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. And He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in and give us the land that He swore to give to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God." So the kid asks his dad why God gave them all these laws. The dad starts in about what God did for them in Egypt and how it was Him that brought them out and Him that showed signs and wonders so He could show His faithfulness and give them the land He promised to their fathers. Then in 24 it's almost funny. It seems like the dad says, 'Basically He gave us the law so we would fear Him.' That's it. The reason that God has done all of this is so the people would fear Him. It fits perfectly. I said earlier that proper worship and glorifying of God cannot be done without acknowledging that God is the one responsible for everything that was done and fearing Him because of that power.
Chapter 7 is so cool. I feel like I am writing too much so I won't give many examples, just a basic summary. Moses starts off talking about how they will completely destroy the people in these lands that God is giving them. Wipe them out completely. He warns again of staying away from their idols so they won't be ensnared by them. In verses 6 and 7, He tells them that He chose them from all the nations of the world. Not because of anything they did. So He goes in again, commanding them to know that He and He alone is God. After that, Moses goes in to this big long thing about what God will do for them and to their enemies when they go in to posses this new land (verses 12-24). It's so cool. There is no doubt by the end of it that God is in control. Verse 25 is another command to beware of the gods of the people. They are to smash and destroy ever idol that they find.
I cannot write out all of chapter 8 even though I really want to. Here is a link. Read it. It's only 20 verses and it's totally worth your time. It is this entire chapter of the Lord saying to remember Him and all the works He's done. Don't forget, don't forget, don't forget. It's like He is just saying, "I AM GREAT! AND DON'T FORGET IT!" Verses 17 and 18 make extremely clear who deserves the credit. "Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the Lord you God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth." That is so blatant. You didn't do it. God did. He ends the chapter with a warning. If you forget what I have done and go after other gods, "I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish."
I'm sorry that this is all taking so long. This last week I was at school and it was pretty hectic. It was a reminder for me that I am going to have to work a lot harder to keep this up when I leave for Chile. Pray for me that I won't lose the desire to know God and His Word. Also, let this continue to challenge you to do the same.
For His glory,
Mitchell
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