Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-9          

Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-9 

Each time I open the book of Deuteronomy I think, “Oh, I need to spend more time here.” It is a wonderful collection of, not just sermons by Moses, but even beyond that, to his musings and considerations as he learns how to speak to God’s people. Moses was much like any of us. It shows in his communications with both God and people. And I am glad we have a record of it.

Here we have a great exhortation from Moses to hear and heed God’s statutes and rules. So we don’t get an overly clinical view of those things, perhaps it is good for us to remember that God is not just checking boxes where we “hit or miss.” When He speaks the Word to Moses He is doing so that we might find life in it. God’s life and salvation are always tied to His Word and that is also true for those under the tutelage of Egypt's former prince.

God’s Word is a clear reflection of His being and a display of His power. So in verse nine Moses writes,”Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children–.” Dr. Mitchell at the seminary always used to remind us, “We all have good forgetters.” There’s something about the Word of the Lord that, though precious beyond measure, is “forgettable.” I know it isn’t only us. We have an enemy that takes every opportunity he can to distract us and turn our minds away from the Word of the Lord. But sometimes it is us. And sometimes the forgetting is willful and planned. Good Lord, deliver us from such bondage so that we may, today, this very moment, remember all You have spoken to us. Amen!