Moses reminded the Israelites often that God was angry with him on account of the people. This humble man blamed the people for God’s preventing him from entering the Promised Land! How humble does that strike you? The lesson from his example is that we are all prone to blame-shifting to avoid responsibility for our own actions. Praise God for the transforming work of His Holy Spirit in us!
Rather than allowing Moses to wallow in self-pity over the consequences of his sin, God told him to focus on someone else, to prepare Joshua to assume the leadership role Moses would leave behind.
We understand that God didn’t want the people to take away commandments from the Law. But He also didn’t want them adding commandments that He didn’t give. We think of doing more as acts of devotion; doesn’t God want more than the minimum in our worship? I believe that the principles He gives throughout His word demonstrate that He does delight in our lavish devotion; however, He doesn’t impose more than is necessary in His requirements, and He doesn’t want man imposing extra requirements on us. That means that the requirements He did impose in the Law are important to Him. That should make them important to us.
God said that their keeping the Law would be their wisdom and understanding, such remarkable wisdom and understanding that people of other nations would not only notice, but marvel at their wisdom and understanding. The Law also trains them in righteousness. These are lovely in the sight of men. Consider the opposite; living in a society characterized by those traits is not desirable to anyone. Wisdom, understanding and righteousness. Where and when we New Covenant people of God feel the lack of a law, seeking to do God’s will is difficult. Let the principles governing His Old Covenant Law guide us. Others may marvel at our wisdom, understanding and righteousness. At the least, we will be distinct.
Moses foresaw the Israelites’ serving other gods and doing other corrupt things in violation of their covenant with God, and suffering the consequences of being removed from the place of God’s promise. But he also anticipated that they would reach a low point at which they would turn to God. Even when outside the place of God’s promise and fellowship, suffering distress, diminishment and God’s anger, they would not be beyond His compassion and faithfulness. If they would “search for Him with all their hearts and with all their souls,” they would be permitted to return to Him. Notice that returning to Him meant listening to Him. Listening implies effort, hearing, and heeding with action. Do you suppose that God might offer the same opportunity to His New Covenant people?
Moses told the Israelites to “know therefore today and take it to your heart that the Lord, He is God… and there is no other.” A good reminder for each of us. Not only do we need to consider, we need to choose. Life in this sin-cursed world wears us down; weariness leads to the next thing, and the next…. We need to choose when we are in our right minds, that the Lord is God and God is our Lord, and there is no other. Then we need to choose again when we are presented with a reminder like this in our Bible reading or in a sermon or in the testimony of another, so that we are ready to choose again when a crisis comes, rather than turning our backs on God in discouragement and defeat.
The Israelites’ experience also teaches us that God can do new things. The Law and the possibility of relationship with God that it provided were new in their day. Might God want to do new things today? Should we be expecting the unexpected from God, that we and others “might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him?”
God chose these people as the people of His ultimate promise, to bless all nations with knowledge of God and ultimately, with Messiah – not because He loved these people, but because He loved their fathers. Imagine the blessings each of us can give our children, our grandchildren, and beyond, by enjoying intimate relationship with God. I have become more intentional about seeking God’s blessings for my children and their yet future children, as I consider the implications of such statements.