Week 57, Day 5: Keep your soul diligently
Today’s Reading: Deut 4:1-49
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Moses has now finished doing a very quick summary of the journey of Israel up to where they are now, on the east side of the Jordan. He now turns to the main trust of His admonitions. He will soon be leaving them because he cannot enter into the promised land with them. So he begins to try to reinforce that they need to be careful to keep the commands the Lord God has given to them. He tells them to “give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life;” (9). And he tells them to “watch yourselves carefully” that they are not tempted to create a graven image for themselves to represent God. He includes in this last area the warning that they be careful not to be “drawn away” to worship and serve the sun, moon and stars. Moses is cautioning them to give diligence to keep their hearts true to God. Don’t forget what all they had seen done. God had spoken to them from Mount Sinai and He had taken them as His people from Egypt by trials, signs and wonders, war and by a mighty hand. These people had seen these things (they were young men when at Mount Sinai, younger than 20(Num 1:2-3)). But Moses also states here a knowledge that after they have been long in the land, they will turn away from God. And Moses also knew that God would drive them out of the land to be scattered among the nations (28). How would he know these things unless he was truely a prophet of God.
Question: How is God described in verse 24? Why did the Lord let Israel hear His voice from out of the heavens (vs 36)?
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