October 24 | Deuteronomy 26:16-19
DAILY READING
Deuteronomy 26:16-19
REFLECTION
The Right Order
by Pr. Dave Mann
The LORD has declared this day that you are his treasured possession as he promised…you will be a people holy to the LORD, as he promised (Deuteronomy 26:18-19).
The call to obey the Law of the Lord is rooted in a relationship with the Lord. In five different places in the Old Testament, the Lord inspires the writers to remind his people that they are his treasured possession -- Exodus 19:5 (just before the giving of the Ten Commandments), in Deuteronomy three times (7:6; 14:2, 26:18) and in the last book of the Old Testament Malachi 3:17.
In the New Testament, we receive the same message though in different words:
1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light
Titus 2:14 – to purify for Himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds
Notice that in the New Testament, the proclamation of the intimate relationship with the Lord comes as a means of empowerment which leads to obedience to the Lord’s commands. It is NOT a call to obedience which as a pre-requisite to be in relationship with God. The relationship, the adoption, the connection comes first as the way to obedience.
Paul’s letter to the Romans also bears this message. Romans 2:5 and 16:26 both reference this truth: the kindness of God leads you to repentance.
Jesus also makes the order abundantly clear: If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).
Aren’t you glad that you don’t need to prove yourself worthy of a relationship with the Lord? Rather, it is God’s love living in you that gives you the power and the desire to