Deuteronomy 6:10-12 “When God, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant. When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there—God brought you out of slavery in Egypt.”
President Harry S Truman used to describe something he called “the Potomac Syndrome.” The Potomac syndrome refers to a phenomenon where individuals, particularly in political or bureaucratic contexts, become disconnected from the realities of their constituents or the public they serve. According to Truman, once politicians got into office, they immediately forgot the people who had helped them get elected. Now God is warning the Israelites that they should not get so involved in reveling in the blessings of the Promised Land that they forget the God who has delivered them from slavery, protected and fed them for forty years, making it possible.
13-19 “Deeply respect God, your God. Serve and worship him exclusively. Back up your promises with his name only. Don’t fool around with other gods, the gods of your neighbors, because God, your God, who is alive among you is a jealous God. Don’t provoke him, igniting his hot anger that would burn you right off the face of the Earth. Don’t push God, your God, to the wall as you did that day at Massah, the Testing-Place. Carefully keep the commands of God, your God, all the requirements and regulations he gave you. Do what is right; do what is good in God’s sight so you’ll live a good life and be able to march in and take this pleasant land that God so solemnly promised through your ancestors, throwing out your enemies left and right—exactly as God said.”
God demands respect, not tolerance or disinterest. All the time God is giving these warnings, the Israelites are standing around, shifting from one foot to the other, waiting for Moses to finish warning them. “Surely,” the Israelites think, “there’s no way we are going to worship idols. Our fathers might have paid for their lack of faith, but we will be different.” God, on the other hand, knows full well that given the chance, these people will run off and join any fertility rites going. That’s why God is warning them.
20-24 The next time your child asks you, “What do these requirements and regulations and rules that God, our God, has commanded mean?” tell your child, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and God powerfully intervened and got us out of that country. We stood there and watched as God delivered miracle-signs, great wonders, and evil-visitations on Egypt, on Pharaoh and his household. He pulled us out of there so he could bring us here and give us the land he so solemnly promised to our ancestors. That’s why God commanded us to follow all these rules, so that we would live reverently before God, our God, as he gives us this good life, keeping us alive for a long time to come.
25 “It will be a set-right and put-together life for us if we make sure that we do this entire commandment in the Presence of God, our God, just as he commanded us to do.”
Once more, God is warning His people that they need to teach their children the entire story about slavery in Egypt, forty years of miracles, and all God’s commandments. Teaching children will help adults remember these things as well. May God help us so that we will not only study His Word for ourselves but also teach our children and grandchildren.
PRAYER: Father God , thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to teach You Word to our friends and families. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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