Moses recounts The Ten Commandments to the Israelites, and reminds them not to stray from what God has taught them (5). Moses recounts the greatest commandment, to love the Lord with your whole heart, strength, and soul, and urges the Israelites to learn and pass on these teachings, not forgetting them, and to teach their children of all that God has done (6). God will tear down the nations in their way, and the Israelites are not to intermingle with these people, but are to destroy their temples and idols, and they will be greatly blessed for their fidelity to God, including with the destruction of opposing nations (7). Moses recounts how God cared for the Israelites, and that God is leading them to a great land, but when they receive it, they are not to forget all that God has done and think that they deserve the credit (8).
God will protect the Israelites as they face the Anakim, and they will be successful because of God. They are not to forget how they angered God with the golden calf, but should remember how God heard Moses' plea and spared them (9). Moses recounts the cutting of the tablets for the commandments an the building of the ark for which to store the tablets, and he tells of God's glory (10). Moses reminds the Israelites to keep the commandments and remember all that God has done, and God will bless the land they are coming to with rain, and their fidelity to God will be rewarded with driving out nations and protecting them. The Israelites are given this choice of blessing if they follow God or curse if they do not (11). The Israelites are to destroy foreign temples of worship to other gods, for they will have one place which god chooses for offerings and holocausts. Some meals they may have in their communities, but others must be before the Lord (12).
Reflections:
Okay, now this is a big chunk of Bible, and there is so much to be said, but I need to blog this all together so I can move onward.
First off, though I was behind in my reading, I found it amazing that on the day when children from the Cathedral were receiving their First Penance, I was reading about he 10 Commandments. In fact, I read the same reading that was read at the penance service, which was Deut. 6:3-9, about keeping the commandments and "drilling them into your children." Very cool.
I think that these chapters of Deuteronomy are so crucial and amazing. Moses is recounting all these things that God has done and told them so that they can remember and live for God. He urges them not to forget the many things God has done for them, the ways He has blessed them, just as we all should not forget. That is why it is important for us to hear these readings, because these are our forefathers, and God blessed them. And He promises to bless us too.
I like that Moses frequently tells the Israelites to follow the commandments EXACTLY, not straying to the left or the right. First off, I think that this is important that we do not stray far from the law, from the Truth, else we find ourselves straying further and further. Also, I find it funny to read about turning to the left or the right, because it makes me think about our political terms, with left-wing-right-wing politics. Where's the middle? Maybe we ought to seek and live the truth and not be left-wingers or right-wingers.
In 7:13, it is written that God will "love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb..." How amazing is it that the exact same words are spoken from Elizabeth to Mary upon the realization that she is pregnant with Jesus?
When Moses is recounting how the Israelites sinned with the Golden Calf, Moses says that God was so angry even with Aaron and God would have killed him had Moses not prayed for him. This shows the power of prayer. It is not that we can change the mind of God, but God hears the cries of his children, so we must pray to our Father in Heaven, knowing that he hears us and loves us.
Two interesting things regarding meat. One is that in 11:15, God says He will bring forth grass in the fields for the animals. This makes me think about all that I learned in the documentaries King Corn
and Food Inc.
about how the majority of the meat we eat these days is corn-fed non-grazing cows, and it's kind of gross to see what we've done due to driven up demand and desire for low costs. It's not how it was meant to be. This is why I've kind of pushed standard meat out of my diet and will only eat grass-fed organic meats. Also, 12:20 says "when you wish meat for food, you may eat it at will, to your hearts desire" and has a footnote about how this referred to special feasts, and that meat was not eaten every day in Israel, not even by the wealthy. Contrast to today, where we eat meat whenever possible, I think it points out that there is something wrong with the way we eat in America and in the world today. We don't need to be eating nearly as much meat as we do. (Especially not crummy corn-fed beef.)Quotes:
Deut. 5:32-33 - "Be careful, therefore, to do as the LORD, your God, has commanded you, not turning aside to the right or to the left, but following exactly the way prescribed for you by the LORD, your God, that you may live and prosper, and may have long life in the land which you are to occupy."
Deut. 6:5-7 - "Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest."
Deut 7:8-9 - "It was because the LORD loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments."
Deut 8:10, 17-18 - "But when you have eaten your fill, you must bless the LORD, your God, for the good country he has given you... Otherwise, you might say to yourselves, 'It is my own power and the strength of my own hand that has obtained for me this wealth.' Remember then, it is the LORD, your God, who gives you the power to acquire wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the covenant which he swore to your fathers."
Deut 10:16 - "Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked."
Deut 11:26-28 - "I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse: a blessing for obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today; a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today, to follow other gods, whom you have not known."
Deut 12:19 - "Take care, also, that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in the land." (Show your priests some love!)
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