(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 5:23–33, “And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Go say to them, Get you into your tents again. But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”
As the new generation of Israelis were ready to move into the Promised Land they had to be reminded of their parents’ failures. They would need to be very careful if they were not to repeat these failures themselves. It is always easy to start something well but as time goes by it is much harder to finish well. The generation of slaves saw the Lord’s majesty in the plagues that came to Egypt. They had to leave the land of slavery in a great hurry. They saw the armies of the largest superpower of their time destroyed in the Red Sea. They saw the majesty of the Lord as He visited Moses on the top of the mountain to give him the Law. Never the less, they were not properly impressed by all this. They asked Moses to speak to the Lord on their behalf and then they promised that they would do all that Moses told them from the Lord. The Lord told them that they would have to be obedient if they wanted to live a long and prosperous life in the Promised Land. This new generation had to understand the seriousness of making commitments to the Lord.
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