Deuteronomy
chapter 10 is an emotional recounting of certain key events in God’s
“courtship” of the nation of Israel. The story picks up just
after the Israelites have been forgiven after their unfaithfulness
and idolatry in the previous chapter. God told Moses, “Chisel
out two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the
mountain“.
I see this as a beautiful picture that God does not change the
standard in spite of our failure. In fact, Moses is told to “also
make a wooden chest”
to protect and hold the tablets. There is an image of storing the
love letters in a safe place forever. Moses continues, “So
I made the ark out of acacia wood … and I went up unto the mountain
with the tablets in my hand. The Lord wrote on the tablets what he
had written before… then I came back down the mountain and put the
tablets in the ark“.
God’s love for His people is steadfast. He does not add any new
conditions or take away promises from the terms of His covenant based
on our behavior. In the same way believers today do not have to
prove themselves worthy of salvation. Jesus is THE example of
unselfish love: “Husbands,
love your wives just as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up
for her to make her holy by the washing with water through the Word
and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or
wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless”
(Ephesians 5:25-26). And that is how God see you!
Moses
continues the history lesson, “The
Israelites traveled… Aaron died and was buried and Eleazar, his son
succeeded him as priest… the Lord set apart Levi to carry the ark
of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord and minister to
produce the blessings of His name… the Lord is their inheritance“.
The people and places change, but God does not. The tribe of Levi
was chosen to carry the ark, but it is not a burden, it produces
blessings, so much so that they had no need for any possession in the
land. They understood God would provide their needs. Moses then
asks the question everyone should consider, “What
does the Lord your God ask of you?”
In the same sentence he answers, “To
walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord… with all your
heart and with all your soul“.
This level of devotion is only possible with unconditional love.
Moses
closes by reminding us that everything on earth and heaven belong to
God, “Yet
the Lord set His affection on your forefathers and He loved them and
He chose you… above all nations“.
Because God chose you, Moses reasons, we must stop resisting and
accept. “God
is mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the
alien… for you yourselves were aliens.”
God loved each of us even while we were ignoring or in some cases
fighting against Him in our lives. Even while being nailed to the
cross, Jesus cried out to God, “Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”
(Luke 28:34). Moses concludes, “Hold
fast to Him and take your oaths in His name. He is your praise“.
If you feel unloved, invite Christ into your life again today.