The day my son first rode his bicycle to school was an important milestone in our family. I gave him several instructions, and then I did the journey with him, he on his bicycle and I on mine. Before the first day he went alone, I repeated certain safety tips to him several times. I knew that if these were drilled into his mind right at the start, there was a good chance that he would be a safe rider.

Moses was like this. In today’s reading, he drills into the Israelites the keys to a life that pleases God. First, he asks a basic question, ″What does the Lord . . . ask of you?″, to frame his lesson. He then explains that they were to obey God in both attitude and action, to ″fear . . . walk . . . love . . . serve . . . observe″ (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). He talks about the need to fear God 14 times in Deuteronomy; the call to walk in all His ways appears 10 times; the call to love God appears 8 times; the call to serve God appears 3 times; and the idea that this is a religion that is practiced with all our heart appears at least 22 times.

Though many would see living by rules as an unpleasant burden, Moses saw it as something good. He says that ″to observe the Lord‘s commands and decrees . . . [is] for your own good″ (v. 13).

Moses arranges the next section in two matching sets of three verses each (vv. 14-16, 17-19). Each set begins with a description of who God is, then records something surprising He has done, and ends with the appropriate response of the people.

Set One (vv. 14-16): God is sovereign over creation → Yet He chose to love Israel → Therefore circumcise your hearts and do not be stiff-necked (stubborn).

Set Two (vv. 17-19): God is great, mighty, and awesome → Yet He sides with the weak and vulnerable → Therefore you must love the vulnerable in society (it is easy, even for Christians, to ignore marginalised people like refugees and migrant workers).

Our passage ends with another summary statement giving six features of faithful people (10:20-22). They (1) ″fear″ and (2) ″serve″ God, (3) ″hold fast to him″ and (4) ″take [their] oaths in his name″, (5) ″praise″ Him and (6) remember His ″great and awesome deeds″ in history. These are the people who would please the Lord.

This exhortation is backed by a reminder of who God is and what He has done. Moses reminds the people that ″he is the one you praise; he is your God″. He also recounts God’s acts on behalf of the people: ″[He] performed for you those great and awesome wonders . . . and has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky″ (vv. 21-22). God’s nature and God’s acts elicit both praise and commitment. Because God is so great and has been so good to us, let us be totally devoted to Him.