“And now, Israel,
what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to
walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the
Lord which I am commanding you today for your good. Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven
and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set His heart in love on your
fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are
this day. Circumcise therefore the
foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord
of lords, the great, the mighty and the awesome God, who is not partial and
takes no bribe.” –Deuteronomy
10:12-17 (ESV).
Imperative is defined as “entreaty,
command, exhortation.” In this focal
passage from Deuteronomy, God gives five strong imperatives: fear the Lord, love Him, serve Him, walk in
His ways, and keep (obey) His commandments.
Note the progression of these exhortations: The first is to fear the Lord; recognizing His reverence and holiness is
paramount to fulfilling the remainder of the entreaties. Next comes the command to love Him. Whom we love, we honor and respect. We love
Him because He first loved us (I John 4:9). Next, we serve Him; no
half-hearted allegiance, but “with all
your heart and all your soul.” Next
comes obedience, keeping His statutes and commandments. Moreover, He reminds us that these actions on
the part of God’s followers are “for your
good.”
Then comes a wonderful reminder of Who
is giving these imperatives: God, maker
and sustainer of heaven and earth and all therein; the loving Father of us all
who called and ordained our forefathers for a special service and continued the
line through us. A further
imperative: “circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart.” The original
physical circumcision of all males was part of the covenant between God and
Abraham and all of Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 17). Here we are asked to cut away all the
stubbornness and rebellious thoughts and actions that prevent the heart from
trusting and loving God. This is an
intentional spiritual exercise to cleanse and purify the heart; but at the same
time it is beyond our human capacity to accomplish. A change in the heart is wrought by faith and
is the work of the Holy Spirit who woos and invites the individual to turn to
God. Then cleansing comes, not through
an outward act, not through good works, but by the change in the heart brought
about by God in response to faith.
Today many will go to houses of worship
throughout our land to call upon the name of the Lord. We are reminiscent of the Psalmist’s
adulation when he said, “I was glad when
they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm
122:1). Statistics of regular church
attendance in America do not coincide with those who state they believe in
God. Putting other activities ahead of
worship in a corporate body can easily distract us from that joyous intention
the Psalmist declared, the joy at gathering at the house of the Lord. If you are reading this, and have allowed
personal interests, seeking after pleasure or entertainment, or other
distractions to rob you of the joy of church attendance, perhaps now is a time
to renew your vows to “neglect not to
meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all
the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). At this crucial time of crossroads in our
nation and in our world, we need to meet together to worship, pray and be
instructed in God’s Word.
Prayer.
God, may we seriously heed these imperatives given so long ago to Your
people. They are still needful and
applicable today as we prepare ourselves to stand firmly for the right. Amen.
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