Deuteronomy 10
TLBCDeuteronomy 10:12-11
Summary of Israel’s Obligations (10:12-11:32) The warmhearted Deuteronomic preacher now attempts to summarize his appeal to the national conscience and move his readers to action. In view of God’s gracious deeds in the national history, what should be Israel’s response? The summation of God’s requirements in 10:12-13 is worthy to stand alongside that in Micah 6:8. Both contain high expressions of Israel’s majestic faith. To “fear” God is to reverence him, to have high regard for what he is, what he has done for men, and what he requires of them. It suggests the kind of veneration and respect that issues in obedience to his will. To “love” God involves more than sentimental response to him. It means to serve him with all one’s heart and soul (vs. 12), to offer one’s total self to him in exclusive loyalty. The proper issue of fear and love is obedient service, a service which itself issues in wellbeing (vs. 13). To circumcise the foreskin of the heart (vs. 16) means to open the self to God’s word and direction, as the expression, “be no longer stubborn,” immediately following implies. Uncircumcised ears are closed ears (Jeremiah 6:10; see margin); uncircumcised lips open and speak only with difficulty (Exodus 6:12; Exodus 6:30). God’s openhearted love to Israel should evoke openhearted love to him. This will mean loving what he loves: justice for the fatherless and the widow and mercy toward the sojourner (vss. 18-19). God’s concern for the weak and the oppressed is a strong note in Deuteronomy. Chapter 11 summarizes emphases of the preceding ten chapters: the mighty deeds of the Lord in Egypt and in the wilderness; the promise of the land and God’s guaranteed assistance in its conquest and cultivation; warning against idolatry and its fearful consequences; the injunction to meditate on God’s laws and to teach them to the children. The summary concludes with a final appeal to consequences. Obedience will lead to “a blessing”; disobedience will bring “a curse” (vs. 26), a subject given full treatment later (chs. 27-28).