Passing Down God's Covenant
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 4:9-14 (NASB)
9 “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 The Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it.
SUMMARY
Moses commands the Israelites to keep their soul diligently so they do not forget what they have seen all the days of their life, and to make them known to their sons and grandsons. Moses reminds them of the time they were assembled before God at Mount Horeb when the Lord said to Moses to assemble the people to Him so they may hear His words and fear the Lord all the days of their life. Also, that they may teach their children about how God declared His covenant to them in the form of ten commandments written on two tablets of stone. Moses says God commanded him to teach the Israelites the statutes and judgments so they may perform them in the promise land.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
In verse 10 God said, “Let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth.” God wants us to fear Him and to fear Him is to love Him. When we love someone, we care about what they think and we fear offending them. To fear God is to love God and wanting to please God so we may have a relationship with Him. I am so moved by the fact that God wants to have such a relationship with not only us but our children, because our relationship with God Himself is an immeasurable blessing.
“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6). How wonderful it is that God not only wants to love me and bless me if I love Him and keep His commandments, but He wants to love and bless my children to the thousands in future generations!
APPLICATION
When I think about the ten commandments, I am reminded of what happened in the garden of Eden, how Adam and Eve could not keep the one commandment to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In that moment Adam and Eve idolized that fruit and disobeyed God and from there came the sins of Cain not loving his brother. Now, God has ten commandments for the Israelites to keep to guide them in the way they should love the Lord and love their neighbors. Starting today, I want to simplify my life, get rid of all my idols so that I may focus on God more. Our house is very cluttered with many things, all the books I wanted to read but never read, crafts I never finished, clothes I hardly wear, and gadgets that turned out to be useless. Covetousness is idolatry as Paul says in Colossians 3:5. I have many books but there is only one book that is truly essential, the Bible. Starting this week, I want to organize our house and our schedule so that I can read the Bible with my children.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You for wanting to have a relationship with me and my children, and my grandchildren. I am sorry for our sins that have caused Your Son to die on the cross. I must confess it is hard for me to even keep one of the ten commandments. Without even being aware I have been repeatedly coveting, committing idolatry. I want to just focus on you, Lord, and get rid of all the idols of my heart. I also want to raise my children so they will fear You all the days of their lives. Help me to guide them in the right direction. Please keep them and bless them, and their children, too. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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