Deuteronomy 4:45
These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt, These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt,
These are the testimonies, statutes, and judgments Moses spoke to Israel after their deliverance from Egypt.
They were given at Sinai as sacred expressions of God's mind to make Israel a holy people, with the promise that keeping them would bring blessing, prolonged life in the land, and heart knowledge that the Lord alone is God in heaven and earth.
Israel's disobedience proved their sacredness, when all but two of the adults who left Egypt died short of Canaan as a warning that God will uphold and vindicate His word.
The record in chapters four through eleven, especially chapters four through eight, is to be carefully studied today, for its lessons belong to present readers as truly as to Israel and call God's covenant people to obey the law proclaimed at Sinai including the true Sabbath.
Its charge is to be read, searched, heeded, and obeyed in every detail, not taken up and set aside at will, but kept through purified souls, prayerful homes, family instruction, and an example that leads children and households to serve God.
Its directions remain in force and every word is to be cherished and practiced in worship, in just and compassionate dealings with others, and in works of service and education, for the day of God's great final review is near when every character will have been investigated and decided for eternity.
Meaning and Historical Setting
These are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments, the instruction Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came forth out of Egypt. The whole fourth chapter sets out that instruction, and with chapters four through eleven it records God's dealings with His people. Its setting is Israel at Sinai, where the Lord gave and proclaimed His law with the promise of blessing if the people kept His commandments. There they were to know in the heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath with none else, and by keeping His statutes and commandments it would go well with them and with their children after them and they would prolong their days upon the earth the Lord gives forever.
Those laws are sacred expressions of God's mind. They were given to show what God required of ancient Israel so that they might be a holy people unto Himself. Their force does not pass away, and every word remains to be cherished.
Israel's disobedience itself showed the sacredness of that law, for all but two of the adults who left Egypt died before entering Canaan. That history warns that God will uphold and vindicate His word if His people depart from His commandments, and especially if their leaders depart from them.
Study and Obedience Today
The fourth chapter, together with chapters four through eleven and especially chapters four through eight and chapters eight and eleven, records God's dealings with His people and is to be studied carefully for instruction. Its lessons belong to present readers as truly as to Israel. For God's covenant-keeping people the chapter is a call to obey the law proclaimed at Sinai, including the true Sabbath God gave humanity to keep holy.
Its charge is to be read, searched, heeded, and obeyed in order to avoid rebellion. It is not to be taken up only when convenient and set aside at will, but to be observed carefully from the greatest direction to what may seem the least. This requires purified souls, consecrated loving service, prayer for the home, instruction of the family, sanctification of God in heart and life, and an example in word and deportment that leads children and households to serve God.
The directions remain in force and every word is to be cherished and put into practice in religious service and in dealings with others by doing no injustice and showing love, liberality, tenderness, compassion, and courtesy. Belief is not to remain merely theoretical but is to be joined with works in medical missionary service and in educating students to serve the Lord, walking in the light shining across the pathway rather than carelessly neglecting the light and failing to set a right example. This is the very work specified for these last days.
Studying these chapters is needed now because the day of God's great final review is near, when the people of this world must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for their deeds. The present is the time of investigation when every character will have been investigated and every case decided for eternity, so the words are to be read with profit for preparation.