Love
the Lord your God, ...walk in his ways, and . . . keep his commands, decrees
and laws. (Deuteronomy
30:16)
Chapter
30 is where the Deuteronomic Covenant comes to a head. The basic idea is that
those who do right will be blessed while those who do wrong will be cursed. The
rewards for compliance and the consequences for disobedience have been spelled
out, and Moses asks for a decision. Choose
life.
It
would be easy to suppose that Moses’ words in verse 16 are ordered in an arbitrary
manner. In math it would be called the commutative property: a + b = b + a. That
works with addition, but not in growing a relationship with God. The sequence
in which Moses’ words are delivered is by no means coincidental, but deliberate.
Legalism begins with summoning up the strength to keep a list of rules (commands, decrees and laws),
thinking this is how we walk
in God's ways, and that somehow through this we'll learn to love him. Holiness, on the
other hand, begins with a heartfelt love for God, which can only be satisfied
by walking with him. And if we walk with him, keeping his commands, decrees and
laws will come naturally.
So
what sounds better: struggling to follow a list of rules and regulations and
seeing how far that gets you? Or falling in love with God and seeing where that
leads?
What
will you choose?
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