God renews his covenant with Israel after the initial tablets containing the ten commandments were shattered. Moses created two more tablets and took them up the mountain, again for forty days, while God inscribed on them what had previously been written. When Moses came back down the mountain, he placed the tablets in the Arc, as God had instructed.
The Israelites began to travel from city to city. During their travels, Aaron died and Eleazar, his son, became priest in his place. Got set the Levi tribe aside to carry the Arc with the tablets throughout their journeys. All the other tribes of Israel received an inheritance of land. 10: 9 “Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance.”
There seems to have been a pause between the time the initial tablets were shattered and when Moses came back down the mountain the second time with the second set of tablets. 10:10-11 “I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time. The Lord also listened to me on this occasion; he agreed not to annihilate you. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up. Continue your journey ahead of the people, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to give their fathers.”
Throughout my life, I’ve gone through some very challenging times and have heard the words, “Stop and Listen.” I’m so used to putting blinders on and moving forward, that “Stop” and “Listen” were foreign concepts for me. On several occasions, things got so bad, that I did not have a choice. Those times, where I stopped everything, as bad as it felt, enabled me to listen to the voice within me and were the biggest moments of growth in my life. I’m a natural rebel, so the whole process of stopping and listening took some time – and was very challenging as I was shown my part in all the bad things I had been experiencing; however, when I was finally able to surrender and listen, as hard as it was to acknowledge my part in what I was experiencing, when I did, amazing growth took place and I felt led by God. That is a feeling that really cannot be described. After a period of rest, I was then able to see things much differently – like the lens of glasses that were once foggy, had been cleaned, and the direction was not only clearer, but the path way smoother than what I had previously been on, when I tried to do everything myself.
Moses then lets Israel know what God requires of them: 10:12-17 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good. The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord had his heart set on your fathers and loved them. he chose their descendants after them – he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today. Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don’t be stiff-necked any longer.”
I never liked the phrase to fear God. I’ve always wanted to love God and not fear God. It took me some time to understand this. The fear comes from that inner fear when we do something wrong, whether on purpose or by accident, and we don’t want anyone else to know about it. We know that what we did was wrong; however, rather than confessing that what was done was wrong and taking the energy to make things right, we try to keep things hidden inside and it just eats away at us. There is a fear in doing the right thing. We know what is right – we can feel it inside ourselves. This is a healthy fear to have as it comes from a place inside of us where we are made in the image of God.
We can let that fear direct us in our actions, or eat away at us if we don’t listen to it. By listening and embracing that fear when we have a decision to make or are faced with an uncomfortable situation, we can act out of love that can be felt by others, even if the initial reactions are harsh. That love comes from within. It is God’s love. God calls us to love others as he has loved us. I have made MANY mistakes in my life, and will continue to make mistakes until the day I die. God loved me through mistakes that I just didn’t think were forgivable. The fears that once ate away at me and controlled my actions and decisions slowly turned into love that could be directed towards others, even those who I felt very challenged by.
10:18 – 19 “He [God] executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing. You are also to love the resident alien since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.” The Israelites were resident aliens themselves when they lived in Egypt. God delivered them from very difficult and oppressive situations. As such, they should be able to relate to others in similar situations and be the first to show kindness towards them. God will deal harshly with individuals who take advantage of defenseless people.
Today, I am thankful for all that God has done for me. Let me continue to recognize potential fear when faced with decisions and interactions with others and respond from the love within rather than the fear from my pride. Let me love others as God has and continues to love me!