You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
- Deuteronomy 6:8-9
Moses had just finished revisiting the Ten Commandments with the Israelites. ‘The Law,’ as God gave it to Moses was complete and without error. Ten objective commands to be followed to the letter by the inheritors of the Promised Land. And what many have interpreted as merely a way to remember the commands is actually the way to keep the commands.
As “a sign on your hand,” the Commandments are to be seen in our actions and deeds. The unbelieving world must be able to see our commitments to God’s laws by our behavior, on our bad days as well as our good days. As “frontlets between our eyes,” they must be able to see our obedience to God in our faces. In fact, as written on the doorpost and gates of our homes, our very lives, at home and abroad, should reflect our obedience to God’s Commandments for all to see. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” - James 1:22.
As James tells us, we must ‘doers of the word,’ not just hearers! And if we follow Moses’ instructions in Deuteronomy 6:8-9, we will no doubt be doers because God’s laws will be apparent in our homes as well as in our lives. We must do away with the notion that despite our imperfect fulfilling of the law that we still ‘pretty good people.’ That is not to say that we must be perfect in all our ways. What it does say is that ‘the Law’ must be evident in our thoughts, words, and deeds.
The words of the Apostle John point to the truth. “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” - 1 John 2:3-6. Perfect as Christ is perfect? As has been said so often, “Di-rection, not per-fection.” And make no mistakes: God knows the human heart.
Can you imagine a world where everyone followed the Commandments of God? There would be no need for prisons or war. Greed, hatred, poverty, and racism would be unheard of. Of course, sickness and death would remain because we still live in a fallen world, but can you imagine the quality of life compared to living as in the days of the Judges? “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” - Judges 21:25.
God’s laws present us with a minimum standard for moral behavior. The Commandments are the very minimum we should or shouldn’t do. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus showed us how much further we should go to fulfill God’s holy mandate. Quoting Scripture, Jesus set the stage with the words, “You have heard it said.” Christ then goes on to describe how much more God’s laws entail. Murder is forbidden but so is anger and hate. Adultery is forbidden but so is lust and coveting. Loving our neighbors is commanded but so is loving our enemies.
The understanding here is simple - “But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” - Luke 11:28. Jesus never minced words.
The world has enjoyed a time of God’s blessing upon the world since Jesus came to save us from our sins. A revival of living by God’s Holy Commandments couldn’t hurt and would certainly bring the most welcome blessing since Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee. Can you imagine?
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