Deuteronomy 10:1-22 NKJV
10 “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.’
3 “So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. 4 And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, just as the Lord commanded me.”
6 (Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stead. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of rivers of water. 8 At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day. 9 Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised him.)
10 “As at the first time, I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; the Lord also heard me at that time, and the Lord chose not to destroy you. 11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? 14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it. 15 The Lord delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. 21 He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.
Today’s reading is a continuation of Moses’ instructions to the Children of Israel just before they were to enter the Promised Land. Here Moses reiterates how God told him to make two stone tablets and go back up the mountain so that He would re-write the Ten Commandments on those tablets. And with the words, “which you broke,” God reminded Moses that he had destroyed the first two tablets in his rage at seeing the Israelites worshiping a golden calf.
In verses 12-22 there is a beautiful exhortation to the Israelites to walk in God’s ways, to love and serve Him, and to keep His commandments “for your good.” God had made it clear that He would indeed bless and protect the Israelites as long as they obeyed Him. They had nothing to fear – no enemies, no misfortune – as long as they remained faithful to God, His ways, and His Word.
God also exhorted them to repent of their being stiff-necked, for He had kept them in safety and promised them wonderful things for which they were to give Him thanks and praise, and by which they would continue to see God’s blessings.
Because of these things – God’s protection and promises – the Israelites were to love the stranger precisely because they themselves had been strangers in Egypt. They were to thank and praise God by being kind to others. In essence, they were to love God by loving their neighbor.
That’s your task as well, dear saint. You get to review your life in light of all of God’s blessings to you, the most important of which is His inestimable love demonstrated toward you by giving up His Son on the cross to pay for all your sins. In faith continue to believe in Christ’s love and forgiveness, thank God constantly for all His blessings toward you, and regularly receive His forgiveness and strength in His Word and Sacramental gifts, for “He is your praise, and He is your God who has done for you these great and awesome things.”
Let us pray: Thank You, Lord God, heavenly Father, for all Your benefits; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.