- Chad Werkhoven
Deuteronomy 10:12-22 - God's Law Benefits You
If even secular Uncle Sam can trust God, how much more can you?
Read / Listen
Read Deuteronomy 10:12-22
12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your fathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your fathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 101
Q. But may we swear an oath
in God’s name
if we do it reverently?
A. Yes, when
the government demands it,
or when necessity requires it,
in order to maintain and promote
truth and trustworthiness
for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good.
Such oaths are approved in God’s Word
and were rightly used by Old and
New Testament believers.
Summary
Our passage today comes in a context in which God's magnificent grace has been on display. God had brought His people, seventy in all, into Egypt four centuries earlier, and they had grown into a large nation. He overthrew their slave masters, and all the people had to do was watch the miracles unfold. He gave them His law, and then extended them mercy when they immediately broke it in one of the most heinous ways possible.
God's grace came freely to them as it has to you, but though you've obtained it no cost, there are obligations you must fulfill as a recipient of this grace:
Fear the Lord your God;
Walk in obedience to Him;
Love Him;
Serve Him with all of your heart and soul;
Observe the Lord's commands and decrees.
Notice why Moses says you must keep these obligations:
The heavens, earth and everything in them belong to the Lord (v14);
The Lord set His affections on you and loves you (v15);
He is the God of gods and the Lord of lords (v17);
He defends the defenseless among us (v18);
All of those things, AND:
The Lord's commands and decrees have been given for your own good (v13)
Dig Deeper
We come to this passage today in the context of understanding when it's proper to swear an oath in the Lord's name. Granted, of all of the worries, challenges, and problems you have on your plate right now, knowing when it's ok to put your hand on the Bible and swear "So help me, God" probably isn't high on your priority list.
But take a moment to just take in the fact that even our highly secularized government and society recognize the power of God's name and ask people to officially obligate themselves accordingly by swearing an oath in God's name. If Uncle Sam can trust God in this way, how much more can you?
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the God of gods and Lord of lords;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for His massive displays of grace, both in the Bible and in your own life, and pray that whether under oath or not, you will live up to His expectations;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Timothy 1
