Mar 13 (Daily reading: Deuteronomy 5-7) “He will love you and bless you and multiply you” (7:13). Chapter 7 emphasizes two things that flow out of God’s love. First, there is God’s grace: “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you” (7:7-8). He delivered His people because He loved them and had chosen them, and not because of any merit on their part. They could not do anything to earn His love. Nor can we!
The second thing flowing from God’s love is His power: “(You have seen) the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid” (7:19-20). God’s power on our behalf is proof of His love. Moses told them to not be afraid of the nations that they would confront because God would do the same to them that He had done to Egypt. God is always greater than the obstacles!
After declaring God’s love for His people, Moses wrote the proper response: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (6:4-5). Jesus called this the first and greatest commandment in Matthew 22:38. It is the ultimate expression of what it means to love God supremely, holding nothing back. It is a natural response to God’s awesome love for us!
(A more extensive commentary is given in my chapter 2 of my book, “We Love Because God First Loved Us”).
– Al Gary
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