More on God's Grace to Israel

In the first three chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses has related the goodness of the Lord in bringing the people through the wilderness in spite of their disobedience, defeating nations beyond the Jordan, and once again offering the land as promised.  After all that, Moses, in Deut 4:1-8, asks the people to obey what God has revealed as a reasonable response as recipients of overflowing goodness and grace.  He does this by combining two important concepts into one plea.

First, the people were to stop and understand how privileged they were to have and know God's will.  Some time ago, Daniel Block, mentioned three specific aspects from these verses.¹
•  Torah is normative and canonical by definition (4:1–2)
•  Obedience to Torah was the key to life (4:3–4)
•  Knowledge of Torah was the highest privilege imaginable (4:5–8)

Second, interwoven into the text are phrases describing God's relationship with his people:
•  Land that Lord, the God of your fathers is giving you (1)
•  Word of Lord your God commanded to you (2)
•  Lord your God destroyed all who followed Baal (3)
•  Alive from holding fast to Lord your God (4)
•  Statutes and rules from Lord my God to you (5)
•  Lord your God is near (7)
Each of these describes a separate act or responsibility for the people based on a living relationship with the Lord.

The response of the Christian today should be no less.  The promises and work of God are grand beyond description and his revelation as fulfilled in Christ and explained through his messengers, the apostolic writers, in the new covenant deserves faithful observance.

¹ Daniel I. Block, “The Grace of Torah,” Bibliotheca Sacra Volume 162 (Dallas Theological Seminary, 2005; 2006): vnp.162.645.7-9.