Day 71 – Deuteronomy 3-4

Talking Points

• Moses continues to retell the events leading up to where the Israelites are then found. “For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?” (3:24) God’s history with His people reveals His nature and character. Because God does not change, today, we can count on the same attributes of God revealed to the Israelites.
• The warning is given not to add to or take away from the Word of the LORD, but to keep His commandments as a witness for His name in the world. God’s people are to hold fast to the LORD our God! We see that, as God reveals Himself through written words, to change the words, even slightly, is to change our understanding of God.
• Again, there is the reminder that God’s people are not to make representations of the LORD or to worship any created thing. It is interesting that any object used to represent God falls drastically short of the true glory of God. He is to be held and understood in our hearts and minds as He revealed Himself by His Word, not in something we built with our own hands.
• Two unchanging truths about our God: He judges sin (He is just), and if we repent and seek forgiveness, He restores (He is compassionate and gracious).

Thoughts

As the Israelites are about to go in and take possession of the Promised Land, Moses charges them to keep the commands of God in the land. He gives them this reason — the world is watching. God’s people carry the name and the commandments of the one true God. Moses tells them that, if they are wise and understanding, they reflect laws that are wise and righteous, which reflects a God who is wise and righteous. “So, keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'” (4:6).

See, Israel was God’s chosen nation — a people set apart, holy, different, peculiar. As they carried the name of God into a lost world, they were to reflect His character. They were to stand out. And, it was to attract people to God and His ways.

Today, the same is true of all believers. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Believer, the world is watching. We are to be a people set apart, holy, different, peculiar. We are to carry the name of Christ into a lost world, reflecting His character in such a way that it attracts people to Him and His ways. His laws are wise and righteous. They truly are for our good and for His glory — the good opinion of His great name!