Moses was giving the children of Israel his final instructions before he died and before the Israelites went on to occupy the land of Canaan. Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” What can we learn from this instruction?
“What does the LORD your God require of you?” After reading the Bible throughout, If we were to summarize what God requires of us, what would that be? Following is a list which summarizes just what God required of the Israelites. I believe that these requirements also apply to us as Christians, His people of today.
The first requirement is “to fear the LORD your God.” We are told in Acts 9:31 “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” The early church walked in the fear of the Lord and so should we. This is not a fear of terror. Instead, it is a fear of respect and reverence. He is God; we are His creation. It is true that He is our Father in heaven and He loves us, but there still should be respect and reverence. He is holy. We must take God seriously and not treat Him casually or play with sin. We should have an awe for Him that produces joyful obedience in us.
“To walk in all His ways.” I am reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” What are God’s ways that we should walk in? I believe that Jesus is basically saying “Come and learn from Me and I will teach you God’s ways.” His ways will bring rest for our souls. Jesus also said in Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” It should be a mission of our lives to understand God’s ways and to walk in them.
“To love Him.” When asked what is the first commandment of all, Jesus said in Mark 12:29-30 “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” That was the first commandment then and it is still our commandment now. We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Because of His great mercy and grace, we love Him. We desire to please Him and keep His commandments. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is what God has always required of His people.
“To serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” To some extent, this is redundant with the previous requirement “to love Him.” But it specifically says to serve Him. There should be no doubt that He wants us to serve Him: to do what he asks us to do. And to do what He asks us to do with all of our heart and our soul. That is, not reluctantly, but willingly. When we understand the grace that God has given us, His grace teaches us to deny ourselves and willingly do what He asks us to do (Titus 2:12).
“And to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today.” Many of the commandments and statutes that Moses gave to the Children of Israel do not apply to us today. Colossians 2:14 “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” However, whatever commandments that the Lord has given to us today, God requires that we keep those commandments. One of the most important commands we are given is to love one another. This is what Jesus said in John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” We are to keep the commandments of the Lord and loving one another as Jesus loved us is a primary commandment.
“For your good.” The full statement is “To keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good.” Over my years as a Christian, I have come to realize that the commands of the Lord are for our good. God’s way is the best way. It builds my faith in God to realize that what God tells us to do is the best way to live our lives. He knows best and in love He gives us commandments so that our lives will be the best. For example, when He commands us to love, living in love is the best way to live. When He tells us that “Vengeance is mine” in Romans 12:19, it is best not to take vengeance. When He tells us “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” in Romans 12:21, overcoming evil with good is the best way. I could give many other examples of how God’s commands are the best way to live life. Even when it doesn’t seem to make sense to us as humans, we need to have faith that God’s ways are best – that His commands are for our good. He is all wise and He seeks to pass that wisdom down to us through His commands.
Any time you or someone else wonders what God requires of you, consider what is given in Deuteronomy 10:12-13. Permit me to substitute “Christian” for “Israel”. “Christian, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord for your good?”