““And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you. “You saw for yourself what the Lord did to you at Baal-peor. There the Lord your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor. But all of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today—every one of you. “Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today? “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’ “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.”
Deuteronomy 4:1-14 NLT
The nation of Israel was built upon a series of experiences with a real God. Each one was of importance and had to be remembered to be a successful nation. Their success was of prime importance to God because he intended them to be an example among the other nations of his superiority among the gods. This was intended to be a signal to those people to call them back from those gods who had enslaved them after Eden. They needed to remain pure and set apart. Here we see the formula for that monumental task: Listen, obey and remember. This is counted to them as faithfulness. If one simply does this, both personally and communally, they will experience God’s blessings. All of the problems of Israel on their journey from Egypt stemmed from a failure on one, some, or all of these points. All of their successes arose from their compliance as well. This will be the same for us. We must build these into our personal and corporate discipline and teach these tactics to our children if we wish to participate and share in God’s abundant blessings.
Importance of Israel’s Experiences: Israel’s experiences with God were crucial for their success as a nation, serving as a model for other nations to recognize God’s superiority.
Formula for Faithfulness: Listening, obeying, and remembering God’s instructions are essential for faithfulness and experiencing God’s blessings.
Consequences of Disobedience: Israel’s problems during their journey from Egypt were a result of their failure to listen, obey, and remember God’s instructions.
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