Righteous Decrees
Now,
You saw with your own
eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your
God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are
still alive today.
See, I have taught
you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow
them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them
carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who
will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise
and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods
near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what
other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this
body of laws I am setting before you today?
Only be careful, and
watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have
seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your
children and to their children after them. Remember the day you stood before
the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me,
“Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere
me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”
Deuteronomy
4:1-10
God created righteous
decrees so that we would have standards to live by. Just as it was important
for the Israelites to have decrees to live by then, it is just as important for
us to have the same in place today. Without law there would be anarchy.
Today, to bring order
out of the chaos of our sinful, selfish world, believers submit to the law of
Christ, who Himself is the fulfillment of the law. When we submit to the
standard established by Christ and love others as God loves us, we will live in
peace with one another and thus provide a witness to the world of how great God
is.
The world
will know by our love for God and others that He is great.
Our Daily Bread –