Moses is instructing the people to think upon and obey all the commandments and laws of the Lord.
"See, I have taught you the decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it." (Deuteronomy 4:5) Moses faithfully relayed the Lord's words to them so they will be prepared to take over and inhabit the promised land. In order to enjoy the Lord's best, they must give Him their best, and that means honoring Him with their obedience. Moses will say when the book of Deuteronomy begins to come to a close, "If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book...You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess." (Deuteronomy 28:58a,63b) Chapter 28 details all the fearsome things that will befall Israel if her citizens do not regard the Lord as holy and revere His commandments.
If we don't honor God as Lord in our hearts, and if we don't display our respect and love for Him by obeying His words, we can hardly expect to receive all the good things the Lord longs to give us. We block blessings by being disobedient. Just as a parent can't reward bad behavior without reinforcing the behavior, the Lord can't reward disobedience because that only encourages us to be more disobedient. He is our Father and He disciplines us as His children. Usually the discipline begins as a warning from the Holy Spirit telling us to immediately stop the behavior, repent of it, and turn away from it. This manifests as a very unsettling feeling of unease and guilt. It produces an awareness of the distance we've placed between ourselves and our God. It's intended to make us want to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. But if we don't remedy the situation, there's a tendency to become hard-hearted. If we can tolerate feeling like we're not as close to the Lord as we used to be, and if we can ignore our consciences so much that we are no longer troubled by them, we will fall deeper and deeper into sin. At that point the discipline for our disobedience may become more severe. The Lord is far more concerned with the health of our eternal souls than with our temporary worldly comfort and prosperity. Hardships usually befall us when we're deliberately living in opposition to His laws and commandments. He may allow us to go through a very unpleasant season in life for the purpose of helping us to acknowledge and repent of our disobedience. When troubles come, we have a tendency to wonder why, and sometimes we find that it's because we haven't been living like the children of God. The sooner we repent and get back on the right track, the sooner we can expect a positive change in our circumstances.
Not only will obeying the Lord cause Israel to prosper in the promised land, but the fame of Israel's God will spread far and wide. Regarding the importance of observing the Lord's laws in the sight of unbelievers, Moses says, "Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near to us whenever we pray to Him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?" (Deuteronomy 4:5-8) Moses says, "You are privileged in a way no other nation on earth has ever been. The other nations worship gods who do not exist, gods who cannot speak to them or hear their pleas or do anything for them. Your God speaks to you. Your God listens to you. Your God has provided you with a guidebook for holy living. No other nation on earth can say that! The fame of Israel's God will cause your enemies to think twice before trying to attack you. Not only that, but heathen peoples may turn to the one true God when they hear how He blesses you for honoring and obeying Him."
Unbelievers watch believers. If they see us obeying our Lord as best we can day after day after day, and if they see us remaining faithful to Him no matter what comes our way in this fallen world, and if they see the way He blesses us with comfort and peace, and if they see the way He comes through for us time after time after time, there may come a day when they seek Him themselves. It's vitally important that we lift up the name of our Lord by representing Him honorably in the sight of unbelievers. If we don't revere Him in word and deed and attitude, we can hardly expect to lead others to Him. They must find Him lovable and loving. They must find Him righteous and holy. They must find Him worthy of honor and obedience.
Moses reminds the Israelites that they are blessed beyond any other nation on earth and they must never forget that "to whom much is given much is required". (Luke 12:48) Because they know the Lord in a way no one else has ever known Him, they have a great deal of responsibility to worship and honor and obey Him and to lift His holy name up to all the peoples on the earth. They must lift up the holy name of the Lord to their children and grandchildren and to every generation to come. "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them." (Deuteronomy 4:9)
Our frail mortal minds are so prone to focusing on the here and now---on the daily grind---that we are in danger of forgetting to meditate on all the good things the Lord has already done for us. It's extremely beneficial for us to regularly take time to think back over our lives and thank the Lord for all His provision and protection. He comes through for us every minute of every day by holding our souls in this life and by providing our basic needs. He rescues us time and time again when we encounter urgent or dire circumstances. How many times did a bill get paid when you weren't sure how it was going to get paid? How many times has He healed you and your loved ones of sicknesses and injuries? How many times has He repaired relationships you didn't think could be repaired? How many times has He come through with a job or a good report from medical tests? He's been so merciful to us! He's been so faithful to us! We must be careful and watch ourselves closely so that we do not forget the things our eyes have seen or let them fade from our hearts as long as we live.
Moses reminds the congregation that they accepted the Lord's covenant with them by agreeing they would do everything He said. (Exodus 19:8, Exodus 24:3, Exodus 24:7) They are obligated to keep their word. "Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when He said to me, 'Assemble the people before Me to hear My words so that they may learn to revere Me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.' You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you His covenant, the Ten Commandments, which He commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess." (Deuteronomy 4:10-14)
This God is not a God to be trifled with. This is a God who shakes the earth and speaks from the midst of a blazing fire. This is a God whose voice thunders and makes mountains quake. If the goodness of the Lord is not enough to make us want to obey Him, the fear of Him---the awe and reverence of Him---should compel us to honor Him with our obedience. Our covenant with Him is not something to be taken lightly. It is something to be kept with our whole heart.
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