D.L. Moody, a prominent evangelist of his era, is reported to have said that he needed to keep being filled with the Spirit because leakage tended to take place in his spiritual life. I'm sure many of us could identify with Moody. We can easily let other things crowd our lives to the point of neglecting our commitment to God. Therefore, it is good to have times when we remind ourselves of what our relationship with God entails, and commit ourselves afresh to Him. In my church, we do that on the first Sunday of each year. We call it the Covenant Service.

Before he dies, Moses gathers the people to renew their covenant with God (Deuteronomy 29-30). He summarises the whole message of Deuteronomy and presents items for Israel to include when renewing their covenant with God.

Moses first reminds them of how God provided for them in their recent history (29:1-8). This serves as an incentive to obedience, that they ″may prosper in everything″ they do (v. 9).

The list of those who attended the renewal ceremony ranged from leaders to the ″foreigners who chop . . . wood and carry . . . water″ (v. 11). These were the lowliest people in that society. Yet, they all stood ″in the presence of the Lord″ (vv. 10, 15), who graciously initiated the covenant (vv. 12, 14). The covenant of grace was a great equaliser.

Moses then reminds the people of the horrors of idolatry (vv. 16-17). While we treat people of other faiths with respect and seek to reason for the truth with them, we must never lose the horror with which the Bible regards idolatry (see Acts 17:16-17).

Moses also warns that people who persist in disobedience, while pretending to be committed to God, deceive themselves into thinking, ″I will be safe″ (Deuteronomy 29:19). The church must be alert to the dangers of people who, while claiming to be Bible-believing Christians, confidently flout God's ways and lead others along treacherous paths.

Next, Moses details punishments for breaking the covenant (vv. 20-28). He says, ″The Lord will never be willing to forgive″ defaulters (v. 20). This is probably because, in their arrogant attitude of rebellion, they would not be willing to repent.

Finally, Moses says, ″The secret things belong to the Lord″ (v. 29). We should not bother about these things. For example, though many teachers speculate about the date of Christ's return, Jesus told His disciples that it was not for them to know (Mark 13:32). Instead, they should concentrate on being witnesses to the whole world (Acts 1:6-8). We should ″follow″ ″the things revealed″, which ″belong to us″ (Deuteronomy 29:29). God's revelation, with the Spirit's empowering, is sufficient for a life of obedience (2 Peter 1:3). This revelation ″will never pass away,″ that is, it is eternally true and relevant (Mark 13:31). One of the best ways to renew our covenant with God is to keep reading the Bible!