10:1 Moses recounts the moments immediately following his discovery of their betrayal to God. In frustrated, Moses had thrown down the tablets containing God's commandments. They were shattered, symbolic of the faith the children of Israel had thrown out the window.
10:2 Yet after praying on their behalf for restoration in their relationship with God, Moses began to carefully recreate the tablets. Even though we frequently toss our faith down with neglect or rejection, the truth remains. God's love and promise remains every single time we authentically begin to rebuild.
10:3-5 Moses finished the second pair of tablets and placed them into an ark of acacia wood; he made every attempt, following God's leadership, to encourage the children of Israel to take their faith seriously. Our spirituality is a lifestyle not a hobby. We must completely absorb, evoke and emit it.
God allowed us the freedom to be leash-less in the world; the children of Israel constantly wasted their freedom on aimless wandering. Their experiences teach us to use our freedom to establish and pursue purpose in faith. For whenever they purposed for and toward God, they thrived.
10:6-9 Moses is an intercessor between the children of Israel and God. Yet God's ultimate purpose, emphatic in the New Testament, was to have a personal relationship with each individual. The tribe of Levi began to build the rudiments of this relationship. Appointed as the zealous organizers of the faith, their responsibilities are protecting and propelling the faith.
Like all of God's most faithful children, their inheritance, rather than apportioned land, is God. Those who love Him and do His will with all their heart, all their soul, and all their mind receive Him as a dwelling place. For those who love Him so want nothing but to be with Him.
10:10-11 God's forbearance is revealed through the children of Israel: despite being undeserving, God consistently chooses not only to not destroy us... but also to love us.
10:12-13 Moses asks a rhetorical question: What does God require of you? Moses answers the question, lets examine his answers:
- To fear/revere God: This word is translating in the original as both fear and revere. Opposition should wisely fear Him but His children should revere Him (He's earned it).
- To walk in all His ways: Follow His compassionate leadership
- To serve Him with all our heart and soul: Let ours lives be reflections and expressions of His goodness
- To keep the commandments (for our own good): To listen and learn from Him in order to thrive here
10:14 All of this -- earth, solar system, galaxy and universe(s) -- is His. Absorb it all with wonder. It is in our best interest to take interest in such a creator. In our creator. As a population, we know only increments of His knowledge, wisdom and ability.
10:15-16 It is their (and our) undeserved blessing that God took an interest in humanity. Our offerings are like filthy rags, Isaiah 64:6 but the one pure thing we can offer God is our genuine love. Moses calls on us to stop being stubborn and distracted: God has proffered us each a blessed opportunity. To be His. To be made purposeful, to be loved infinity, overwhelmingly.
10:17 Our God is awe-some. In the true sense of the word, He is awe-inspiring. His ability and compassion is breath-taking...and also life-giving. He is beyond the limits of our understanding, able to both enliven us and reduce us with shattering love.
10:18 Our God exacts perfect justice -- in such a way as we cannot even conceive. He is intently focused on His children, especially on those who have been broken or made weak. He is orchestrating galaxies as well as the atoms within and all around us. As soon as we give Him permission -- the wider, deeper, higher our faith is, the more blessings He can fill in that space.
Our love for Him is our greatest, purest connection to Him. The clearer, broader and stronger our line of faith is, the more quickly and clearly our communication with Him is received. The more quickly and clearly our communication from Him is received.
10:19 He wants us to love others in their weakened states... as vehemently as He loves us in ours. He knows that we falter at this task, frequently finding it difficult, but He asks us to genuinely try.
10:20 Love Him... but also serve Him. Even Jesus came as a servant of God. Servants of God and loved and cared for like kings and queens. But out of genuine love, not desire, should we do the works of His will.
God allows us to choose measure the nature of our blessings: what we do for others is returned to us in equal likeness, Matthew 16:27. We must not be fake, deceptive or cheap with our givings; it is wrong and unkind. We would not like to be treated that way.
10:21 The best, most impactful thing we could ever do is love Him. Through our love for and from Him, we do amazing things while we are on the earth. Children of God realize that the best of themselves is the love they have for Him.
10:22 God's blessings abound. Perpetuate. Long after Abraham's time on earth, God has kept His promised flowing. Generation after generation, God continues to multiply us. Not just with number but with love. Kindness. Patience. Protection. Joy. He has provided us ample reason to trust in Him... all we need to do is accept His proffered hand.
