Deuteronomy 4

God had given His people through Moses the written Word at Sinai in the form of ten commandments. As they were preparing to enter the promised land, Moses instructed them to keep the commandments of God.

This was the way that life under the Law would work: Do them and live. Do the commandments and take possession of the land. Do them and keep the land. Don't add to them. Don't take away from them. “Do them and live” turned out to be a burden that neither we nor our fathers could bear.

At Peor, Moses reminded Israel, they had not done the Law. Their disobedience brought death.

Now as they prepared to go into the land, the people needed to keep their souls diligently. They needed to teach their children the content and the context of the ten commandments. They needed to know their heritage, how they came from God, and how frightening it was when the Lord gave the Law to Israel.

The account of disobedience in the wilderness, the failure of idolatry at Horeb, must never again be committed. They must not worship the stars, They must remember their deliverance by God from Egypt. They must not forget the Lord's covenant. Their God, the God who loved them with a holy jealousy, was a consuming fire.

Yet the same God who was a consuming fire, was and is a God of mercy. Even if they faced exile, even if the few that remained in the land worshiped gods of wood, they could still remember the Lord, and call out to Him in their desperation. They could seek Him and find Him if they searched for Him with all their heart and soul.

How much more should you be assured that Jesus, who died for your sins, will hear you when you cry out to him with hatred of your sin and a sincere devotion. It is time, even now, to return to the Lord your God, and to obey His voice.

We have a God who speaks. We have a God who delivers His people from bondage. We have a God who is more powerful than our enemies.

Who is against you today? Is it your own sinful flesh? Even your flesh, which is a very stubborn and powerful adversary to your soul, is not able to withstand the power of the Spirit of the living God. That Spirit is continually being poured out upon the church by the exalted Son of God in our day. We have a Helper who has won a victory for us over sin and death. We have a new way to follow the Lord, for God has provided for us an everlasting city of refuge in His Son Jesus Christ who is in us.

“Do this and live” never worked for us. We needed the cross-bought gift of the Holy Spirit. A better way has now been revealed through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Live and do.” By the mercies of God we live, and by the Spirit of God we follow the Lord.