Moses spoke to the people, saying:
This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God,
as he promised.
The peace of the Lord be with you.
The book of Deuteronomy is a reinstatement of the law given to the chosen people in Exodus. In Deuteronomy, Moses is reiterating the law for the people as they were about to move from a land of scarcity to a place of prosperity wealth and plenty. It’s a place where their appetites could easily get out of control.
I think, as Americans, if we look carefully at ourselves we could also see how we have something in common with these chosen people to whom Moses is speaking. We live in a place of great wealth and prosperity and it’s easy to make those things into the demigods and to lose track of the One who gives us these gifts. Our lives are to be opportunities to glorify God and God’s goodness.
May we not forget how to worship Him, thank Him, and share His generosity with those around us. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.