WHAT MADE Israel so great, above all nations, was the presence of the Lord, the living God. He was nigh unto them at all times, ready to meet every need and to answer whenever they would call upon Him. (v. 7). We as Christians know Him better and have proved His love in a richer and more wonderful way.
Furthermore, Israel was the only nation under heaven who had had such righteous statutes and holy judgments given to them (v. 8). What honor and privileges He had put upon them!
The great point of this chapter is attention to the Word of God, and this carries all through the book. The words “commandments,” “statutes,” &., occur more frequently in Deuteronomy than in any other portion of Scripture, except in the book of the Psalms. What a place the Word of God should have in the life of the believer. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path,” Psalm 119:105105NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105). We ought to read it faithfully morning and night.
After this comes a solemn warning against idolatry. It is entirely forbidden. Moses reminds the people of the day when the Lord spoke out of the fire in Mount Horeb, when they saw nothing, but only heard a voice. God did not permit them to see anything because His Word was enough. If they had seen anything in the Mount they might try to make something like it. The one true God who had spoken to them was not to be represented by works of men’s hands.
How sad to think that idol worship will yet be established in these Christian lands (Rev. 13; Dan. 11:36-3936And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. (Daniel 11:36‑39)). Satan is busy preparing the world for it now, and his chief instrument is the false, idolatrous, professing church.
Christianity presents a Saviour to faith, not to sight. We walk by faith, not by sight. One day soon we shall suddenly be called away from earth and gaze into the face of that blessed One who has loved us, and whom we long to see. Then faith shall give place to sight, and prayer to praise.
Moses told the people that God was a jealous God because He loved them and wanted them for Himself. But he warned them that if they went after other gods to worship them, He would have to drive them out of that good land He was giving them. They would bow down to idols in a far off land and suffer the sad results of their choice.
Nevertheless if in the land of their captivity, they turned to Him with all their heart, He would hear them. How gracious God is! Even if it takes sorrow and trouble to turn us back to Him, He will hear us when we do.
Long years later, when Israel was suffering for their rebellion, the Lord reminds them, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.” Jer. 31:33The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 31:3). What a day is coming when He will give them a new heart, and having turned them back to Himself, they shall respond to His love in grateful homage and praise.
How wonderful the grace of God to give His people this little glimpse of His restoring grace and their future blessing before they had even entered the land or had been driven out of it.
ML-12/01/1974