Bible Discussion Thread

In this chapter Moses is setting the stage for the delivering of the Law to the people of Israel who were too young when the nation was gathered at Sinai to fully understand what God was asking of them in regards to worshipping and serving Him individually and as a nation.

First, God calls the Israelites to fear Him. This means to revere Him and understand that He is able to make alive or destroy, raise up or bring down, bless or curse. Recognizing His worthiness for obedience, worship, and service is emphasized in the term: fear. Remembering his mighty, miraculous, and awesome deeds done in the flight out of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the water coming forth in the wilderness, the descent of God upon Sinai, the pillar of cloud and fire, quail and manna each morning, the deliverance from enemies, reminds that He is not a God who is weak and unable to do as He pleases or so congenial that one can take sin lightly and He will not require judgment, and that He is a God who cannot be stood up to and prevail. He puts down the proud and haughty, disciplines those He has chosen, and brings calamity upon the persistently disobedient. He takes offense at idolatry and His anger and wrath is fearsome. The Israelites needed to know all of these things in order to take Him seriously and, knowing that there is no other God to serve, they are obligated to obey, love and worship Him alone.

Then God says that His commands and statutes are ongoing. They pass on to the lives of one's children and grandchildren and future descendants. They are sure and consistent. God will not change nor amend them as time passes. They are for the good of the individual and the nation. (vs. 3)

God tells the people to hear Him, listen attentively and soberly with the intent to obey God's commands. In doing so, life will go well for the obedient. There will be increase of blessing in the life of the obedient, and prosperity in the land they will be entering, as promised to the forefathers.