“Go, tell them to return to their tents. But you, stand here by me; and I will tell you all the mitzvot, laws and rulings which you are to teach them, so that they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.”-Deuteronomy 5:27-28
Today we’re going to finish up Deuteronomy Chapter 5.
But, before we do, there are a couple of important and fundamental God-principles contained in the closing verses of this chapter that I don’t want you to overlook.
FIRST, the Lord makes it clear that He will greatly bless those who revere and respect Him by following His commandments.
SECOND, God has also given man the free choice to NOT obey His Torah if he so chooses.
The Lord has not created us like robots.
We are not puppets whose strings are being pulled left and right minus our permission.
God is NOT going to force us to obey Him or serve Him.
He is not like Pharaoh in Egypt.
He wants our service willingly or not at all.
Next, what did God mean when He told Moses to tell the people to go back to their tents?
God told Moses to do that because that is what the people requested.
The people requested that Moses receive the remainder of the Torah for them.
This is God’s kindness at work here.
The people weren’t ordered to leave while Moses received the Law.
No…the people were given permission to return to their desert dwellings instead of having to stay and listen to the rest of God’s Words.
Of course, Moses had to remain in order to receive ALL of God’s instructions.
Finally, the end of Chapter 5 ends with the final and main point of Moses’ sermon and this is something we should all take to heart.
“Therefore you are to be careful to do as Adonai your God has ordered you; you are not to deviate either to the right or the left. You are to follow the entire way which Adonai your God has ordered you; so that you will live, things will go well with you, and you will live long in the land you are about to possess.”-Deuteronomy 5:29-30
In concluding, Moses tells the people they are to learn from and NOT repeat what happened at Sinai.
This new second generation of Israelites is urged to not be disobedient because it was disobedience which caused the death of scores of thousands of their forefathers.
Moses tells them that if they do not obey this Torah, then the unfortunate consequences their parents suffered, they too will suffer.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER SIX
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