Deuteronomy 13:4, 18b“It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. … doing what is right in his eyes.”
Deuteronomy consists of three speeches Moses gave to the Israelites just prior to their entering into the Promised Land. Moses wasn’t being allowed by God to enter in due to his disobedience to God’s specific command to speak to a rock to bring water forth for the people to partake of. Numbers 20:1-13 reveals to us that Moses, frustrated with the rebellious, complaining Israelites, struck the rock twice with the staff God had given him instead of speaking to it as commanded.
The above scriptures are part of his second speech where Moses speaks of specific stipulations in God’s covenant that the Israelites are to follow. In the thirteenth chapter he speaks of the dangers of idolatry. Idolatry is when we place extreme admiration, love or reverence towards anything or anyone other than God. Note the word ‘extreme’. God is to be not just our savior, but also our Lord. We are to revere Him as such. Just because the above words appear in the Old Testament does not mean it isn’t meant for us today. We are not bound by the law, but will be living it out if we truly are in a right relationship with God.
Let me explain. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were required to follow the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses on Mount Sinai. According to scripture, God Himself etched these commandments on two stone tablets with His own finger (Exodus 31:18). These commandments were to be judiciously followed by the nation of Israel. Once Christ came onto the scene everything changed. His death, burial and resurrection fulfilled the Mosaic Law (which is also what the Ten Commandments were referred to as) and opened up access to God without the presence of a High Priest. Matthew 27:50-51 tells us that when Jesus ‘gave up His spirit’ the veil separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place was ‘torn in two from top to bottom’. The Most Holy Place was where the presence of God resided. The veil was 20 feet wide, 60 feet tall and 4 inches thick*. The renting or tearing of the veil from top to bottom meant that no man could have done it. This was symbolic of direct access to God being made forever available to all who would believe. As Christians, when we receive the Holy Spirit upon salvation, our natural inclination over time begins to become a living out of the Ten Commandments even though it is not required of us.
Doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord God should be the goal of each and every believer; for He is the one who saved us from eternal fire and damnation. We could never have paid the price required to remove our own sins. We give Him lip service as if He is unimportant, while the reality is nothing and no one could ever be more important.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!!
*When the prototype of the first temple was built, the tent of meeting, they hung a curtain to separate the Holy of Holies where the Ten Commandments were in the ark. It was believed that God stayed in this area of the temple. Once a year, the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies. The veil represented a self-imposed separation. It went from being 15 feet wide by 15 feet long with a linen veil in the time of Moses to 20 feet wide by 60 feet long and 4 inches thick in the Temple of Jesus’ day. These dimensions would dispel the myth that someone just ripped it in two. The veil was torn apart to show that people had direct access to God. Jesus’ statements before the cross, introduced his disciples to the idea of being at one with God. Now everyone could go directly to God. It looks as though they kept making the veil thicker to have a greater degree of separation from God. (http://www.biblewise.com/archives/2006/april/overview/veil.htm)
