Every year at the end of a sports season, teams usually evaluate the season and plan for the future. If the team wants to succeed next season, they have to change things. They need to overcome their weaknesses and focus on doing the fundamentals of the sport well.

Israel was not a sports team, but they needed to do the same thing as they faced the prospects of conquering the PL.

In Deut chapters 8-9, Moses had cited a whole list of sins that Israel was guilty of—stubbornness, rebellion, idolatry, independence, and self-righteousness. Their track record for faithfulness was not very good. They had made a lot of mistakes on their journey so far. They had not had a very good season. So Moses is emphasizing the need for their behavior to change if they want to be victorious. In light of their previous failures, he’s exhorting them get back to the fundamentals.

Moses asks a question at the beginning of this passage (10:12): “what does the Lord your God require of you?” This is a very profound question that we can apply to ourselves—what does God want of me? What is the key to success? All of us should spend some time thinking about and answering that question—what does God require? This passage tells us what God requires; it gives us the fundamentals of a proper walk with God.

As we read through the passage, we should consider whether we are fulfilling God’s requirements. Perhaps we need to get back to these fundamentals of the faith.

What does God require of Israel, and what can we learn from this set of requirements?