One of the reasons that people so commonly reject Christianity—or at least one of their excuses—is that they don’t want anyone to tell them what to do. They don’t want to follow God’s commands. People today want to be autonomous—they want to set their own rules and do their own thing. Their highest and ultimate authority is themselves—their own feelings, desires, and appetites. They refuse to even consider God’s authority over them.

Deuteronomy is a very authoritative book; it runs directly contrary to sinful human nature. The focus in the book is on the stipulations, decrees and laws, the commands God gave to Israel which he expects them to keep. If they want God’s blessing, they must obey his commands, statutes, and judgments.

That’s still true for us today. We must obey God’s commands if we want God’s blessings. If you are a Christian, you have obligated yourself to obey God’s commands. None of us obey them perfectly, but our desire and goal is to obey the biblical commands that pertain to us.

A significant part of the Christian life is simple obedience—do what God commands us to do. Failure to obey biblical expectations amounts to a denial of the faith. And so we must commit ourselves to simple obedience to God’s commands.

At this point in Deuteronomy, Moses begins reviewing God’s commands to the nation of Israel. Since they are standing at the border of the PL and just about ready to cross the Jordan and begin the conquest, Israel must understand how important it is to obey God’s laws. If they obey, they will enjoy success; if they disobey, they face disaster.

And we’ll also note multiple warnings in this section (4:9, 15, 23). Moses tells his audience to observe, to be very careful, and to take heed to God’s commands, lest they experience God’s chastisement—vs. 24—“the Lord your God is a consuming fire.” So we see here both the carrot and the stick—both rewards for faithful obedience and the threat of punishment for disobedience.

Let’s consider how Moses exhorts and warns the people here. And this is an exhortation and warning to us as well.