Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
After leading, humbling, testing and disciplining Israel in the wilderness as a father disciplines a son, God called them to keep His commandments, walk in His ways and revere Him. To keep His commandments is to live ordered by His direction and expressed will, and to fear Him is to reverence Him and honor the sacredness of His law. He fed them with manna to teach dependence on every word from Him, and sustained their clothing and health to teach dependence and obedience for their good and to prepare them for the good land where they should bless Him for His gifts. Strict obedience brings prosperity, happiness, safety and marks of His favor and prepares His people to stand as overcomers, while turning from His commandments brings suffering, curse and loss of the promised blessing, as when only two grown men who left Egypt entered Canaan. This instruction holds with full force now for those upon whom the ends of the world are come, requiring His chosen peculiar people to observe all His directions great and small, to set aside human judgment and standards for Christ's perfect example, and to put obedience into practice in heart, home and daily life.
Wilderness Context and Meaning
Therefore obedience was the fitting response to what God had done for Israel in the wilderness, where He led them, guided them, humbled them, tested them, disciplined them, and cared for them as a father disciplines a son, calling them to keep His commandments, to walk in His ways, and to revere Him. That leading and testing came first, and the keeping of the commandments followed as its intended result. Obedience was required because God’s care and fatherly discipline demanded it.
In that wilderness He humbled the people and fed them with manna to teach dependence on every word proceeding from Him. He also sustained their clothing and preserved their health, so that daily preservation itself taught dependence on God and obedience.
To keep His commandments is to walk in His ways and to fear Him. Walking means living ordered by His direction, and fearing means reverence toward Him. That reverent, directed life shows the sacredness of His law and of His expressed will.
This obedience was required for their good. It prepared them to be brought into a good land, where they would have what they needed and should bless Him for His gifts.
Blessing, Safety, and Warning
Israel's prosperity and happiness depended on strict obedience to God's principles, and the rich blessings in store for a highly privileged people were conditioned on keeping His commandments, walking in His ways, and revering Him. Those blessings rested on His mercy, yet failure to obey brought disloyalty and kept the promised agreement from being fulfilled. Obedience brings reward, and God's instruction in humbling, testing, feeding with manna, and sustaining clothing and health prepares His people to stand as overcomers.
The wilderness journey shows that Christ Himself leads His people and gives them instruction, and obedience to God's commands brings safety and marks of His favor.
Departing from His commandments brings suffering and brings the curse upon people and upon the earth, for His requirements express His will and show the sacredness of His law. When Israel disobeyed, only two grown men who left Egypt entered Canaan while the rest died in the wilderness, displaying God's vindication of disobedience. That same vindication will follow today if leaders turn from His commandments.
Present Call to Obedience
The charge laid upon Israel holds with undiminished force at the present time, and the chapter in which it stands carries lessons of the greatest importance for later generations exactly as it did for Israel. It is to be read together with Deuteronomy 7 and Deuteronomy 1 as direct admonition for those upon whom the ends of the world are come, calling for keeping the commandments of God, walking in His ways, and fearing Him.
As a holy people chosen to be peculiar above all nations, His people must carefully observe all His directions, from the greatest down to what seems least, for their own good. Keeping His commandments, walking in His ways, and fearing Him requires purifying the soul from all commonness and loving and serving God with all the heart and soul. It requires praying and sanctifying God in heart and life, putting away carelessness, cheapness of speech, frivolity, and every hindrance to spirituality. It requires setting before children, households, and associates an example in word and deportment that leads to consecrated loving service and honors sacred truth. This instruction is needed by all, especially by those who carry responsibility in sanitarium work.
Following the Lord's guidance only up to the point that agrees with human judgment, while holding fast to one's own ideas, is forbidden. In its place is required being molded after the Lord's similitude, with everything viewed in the light of the example of Christ. He is the truth and the true light, to be copied in self-denial and self-sacrifice, with human standards set aside because the Lord's standard is perfection of character.
The command stands as a caution for parents preparing their children to remain faithful amid the perils of the last days. Its lesson is to put that obedience into practice, with keeping God's commandments meaning walking in His ways and revering Him. This obedience connects with health and holiness, for God's law sets boundaries to protect people from disease.
After leading, humbling, testing and disciplining Israel in the wilderness as a father disciplines a son, God called them to keep His commandments, walk in His ways and revere Him. To keep His commandments is to live ordered by His direction and expressed will, and to fear Him is to reverence Him and honor the sacredness of His law. He fed them with manna to teach dependence on every word from Him, and sustained their clothing and health to teach dependence and obedience for their good and to prepare them for the good land where they should bless Him for His gifts. Strict obedience brings prosperity, happiness, safety and marks of His favor and prepares His people to stand as overcomers, while turning from His commandments brings suffering, curse and loss of the promised blessing, as when only two grown men who left Egypt entered Canaan. This instruction holds with full force now for those upon whom the ends of the world are come, requiring His chosen peculiar people to observe all His directions great and small, to set aside human judgment and standards for Christ's perfect example, and to put obedience into practice in heart, home and daily life.
Wilderness Context and Meaning
Therefore obedience was the fitting response to what God had done for Israel in the wilderness, where He led them, guided them, humbled them, tested them, disciplined them, and cared for them as a father disciplines a son, calling them to keep His commandments, to walk in His ways, and to revere Him. That leading and testing came first, and the keeping of the commandments followed as its intended result. Obedience was required because God’s care and fatherly discipline demanded it.
In that wilderness He humbled the people and fed them with manna to teach dependence on every word proceeding from Him. He also sustained their clothing and preserved their health, so that daily preservation itself taught dependence on God and obedience.
To keep His commandments is to walk in His ways and to fear Him. Walking means living ordered by His direction, and fearing means reverence toward Him. That reverent, directed life shows the sacredness of His law and of His expressed will.
This obedience was required for their good. It prepared them to be brought into a good land, where they would have what they needed and should bless Him for His gifts.
Blessing, Safety, and Warning
Israel's prosperity and happiness depended on strict obedience to God's principles, and the rich blessings in store for a highly privileged people were conditioned on keeping His commandments, walking in His ways, and revering Him. Those blessings rested on His mercy, yet failure to obey brought disloyalty and kept the promised agreement from being fulfilled. Obedience brings reward, and God's instruction in humbling, testing, feeding with manna, and sustaining clothing and health prepares His people to stand as overcomers.
The wilderness journey shows that Christ Himself leads His people and gives them instruction, and obedience to God's commands brings safety and marks of His favor.
Departing from His commandments brings suffering and brings the curse upon people and upon the earth, for His requirements express His will and show the sacredness of His law. When Israel disobeyed, only two grown men who left Egypt entered Canaan while the rest died in the wilderness, displaying God's vindication of disobedience. That same vindication will follow today if leaders turn from His commandments.
Present Call to Obedience
The charge laid upon Israel holds with undiminished force at the present time, and the chapter in which it stands carries lessons of the greatest importance for later generations exactly as it did for Israel. It is to be read together with Deuteronomy 7 and Deuteronomy 1 as direct admonition for those upon whom the ends of the world are come, calling for keeping the commandments of God, walking in His ways, and fearing Him.
As a holy people chosen to be peculiar above all nations, His people must carefully observe all His directions, from the greatest down to what seems least, for their own good. Keeping His commandments, walking in His ways, and fearing Him requires purifying the soul from all commonness and loving and serving God with all the heart and soul. It requires praying and sanctifying God in heart and life, putting away carelessness, cheapness of speech, frivolity, and every hindrance to spirituality. It requires setting before children, households, and associates an example in word and deportment that leads to consecrated loving service and honors sacred truth. This instruction is needed by all, especially by those who carry responsibility in sanitarium work.
Following the Lord's guidance only up to the point that agrees with human judgment, while holding fast to one's own ideas, is forbidden. In its place is required being molded after the Lord's similitude, with everything viewed in the light of the example of Christ. He is the truth and the true light, to be copied in self-denial and self-sacrifice, with human standards set aside because the Lord's standard is perfection of character.
The command stands as a caution for parents preparing their children to remain faithful amid the perils of the last days. Its lesson is to put that obedience into practice, with keeping God's commandments meaning walking in His ways and revering Him. This obedience connects with health and holiness, for God's law sets boundaries to protect people from disease.