August 26, 2019
Our Father Knows Best
Deuteronomy 10
Ginni Beam
Central Truth
Because God is a perfect parent, it's in our best interests to obey His commands.
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 10:12-13
"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?"
Deuteronomy 10
New Tablets of Stone
1 At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments 1 10:4 Hebrew the ten words that the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark that I had made. And there they are, as the LORD commanded me.”
6 (The people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan 2 10:6 Or the wells of the Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with brooks of water. 8 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD to stand before the LORD to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day. 9 Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him.)
10 “I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, and the LORD listened to me that time also. The LORD was unwilling to destroy you. 11 And the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey at the head of the people, so that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
Circumcise Your Heart
12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 10
Our toddler recently started climbing. He loves hauling himself onto the sofa and speed-crawling dangerously close to the edge. When I put him back on the floor with a firm "no," he screams and immediately heads back for the couch. It's not just a toddler thing. My older son whines and complains when screen time is over. My daughter buries her face in a book and "doesn't hear" me telling her to clean her room.
I get it. I'm almost thirty and still trying to climb up sofas God has yanked me off of over and over. I go through the motions of obedience with a resentful heart. I drown out His voice with distractions. I understand how the Israelites failed so spectacularly at keeping God's commands time after time.
Fortunately, as Moses reminds them in this passage, even though God could have started fresh with a new chosen people, He kept His commitment to them—just as He keeps His covenant with us. He wants obedience from His sons and daughters not because He hates us having fun, but because His way is where life is.
I'm not God in this story. Sometimes I tell my kids to do something without having all the facts, or I realize that I've been enforcing a silly rule. I would have trouble obeying me, too! But God, in His awesome might, knows everything. The highest heavens are in His hands; He has the whole picture. We can feel good about obeying His Word, knowing that it is trustworthy and unchanging.
And while my desire for obedience from my children is often motivated by pride or selfishness, God's is always based on perfect love. He doesn't play favorites based on who's behaving that day or let disobedience slide in exchange for peace and quiet. He knew exactly how stubborn and stupid we would be and chose us anyway.
We will never master perfect obedience. We're just children. But we will always be better off when we look to God for fulfillment and direction—and we're much less likely to take a tumble off the couch.
Discussion Questions
1. Which "flavor" of disobedience are you most prone to: full-on defiance, outward obedience with inner resentment, or distraction?
2. If you believe that God wants the best for you, what can you do today to demonstrate that belief?
3. Parents: how does the way you discipline your children reflect God's perfect love, and in what ways do you fall short?