4 Reasons It is Good to Obey God’s Word

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 4:1-14.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 4:1-5 (NIV)
¹  Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
²  Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
³  You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
⁴  but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are still alive today.
⁵  See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.

On verses 1-5:  Moses is about to spell out the decrees and laws that this current generation of Israelites are to follow, but first, expert leader that Moses is, Moses takes the time to explain why this current generation must follow God’s commands.  People need to know the why if they’re going to do the what.  The reasons the Israelites should obey God’s commands are the same reasons why we should obey them today.

The first reason we see in Deuteronomy 4 as to why it is good to obey God is in verse 1: “so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”   In other words, it is good to obey God because God’s commands are meant to give us life, success and protection.  To emphasize this point, Moses contrasts the Israelites who worshiped Canaanite gods at Baal Peor, engaged in sexual immorality and died (v3) with the Israelites who hung onto God and stayed alive (v4).

God doesn’t give us His commands because He’s a control freak or because He derives pleasure from watching us in pain.  Rather, just as a loving parent gives rules for their children to live by not for the sake of rules or control but so that their children can thrive and be safe, God is the same way.  God’s commands are not prison bars to take away our freedom; they’re guardrails on a highway to keep us from falling into the ditch.

We have a choice: we can either choose to follow other gods and die, as did those Israelites who joined in the worship of Canaanite gods at Baal Peor.

Deuteronomy 4:6-8 (NIV)
⁶  Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
⁷  What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?
⁸  And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

On verses 6-8:  Here we see the second reason: it is good to obey God because when we obey God well, we show others what God is like, other people will take notice and want what we’re having.  In this way, our obedience to God’s Word can lead to other people wanting to know our God as well.  There’s something uniquely attractive, refreshing and inspiring about a person who truly lives out God’s Word the way it was meant to be lived out.  Case in point: Jesus Christ.  No one obeyed God’s Word better than Jesus, and no one attracted and attracts like Jesus.

Deuteronomy 4:9-10 (NIV)
⁹  Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
¹⁰  Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”

On verses 9-10:  Here we learn a third reason: it is good to obey God’s Word because when we obey God’s Word, we’re able to teach God’s Word to the next generation.  You only really teach others, and especially your children, the parts of God’s Word that you’re actually living out.  When you’re obeying God’s Word, you have personal experience to share with your children as to what it means to obey God’s Word and why it is important to do so.  When you’re not obeying God’s Word, you’ll be hesitant to teach your kids, both because you’re unsure what it means and unconfident about your own example.

Deuteronomy 4:11-14 (NIV)
¹¹  You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
¹²  Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
¹³  He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.
¹⁴  And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

On verses 11-14:  The fourth reason it is good to obey God: because it’s God!  He deserves our obedience.  Above and beyond the fact that we and our children benefit when we obey God, the fact is that God is worthy of our worship and His Word is worthy to obeyed.  That’s why when we refuse to obey God’s Word, it’s not just our own foolish personal choice to do so, but even more it is dishonouring and disrespectful to God.  That’s why we obey God: to give Him the worship, the respect and the obedience that He is owed.

Holy Spirit, thank You for showing me through this passage 4 reasons why it is important to obey God’s Word.  For all those reasons and more, may I obey You, Lord.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!