“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your fathers” (Deuteronomy 8:1).

Moses is speaking to the second generation of the children of Israel who came out of Egypt. They would be entering the Promised Land. The great leader, Moses, pleads with the people to pay attention to what God has said and commanded. He used the word shamar which means “to guard, to keep, to pay attention to.” The problem was not that God withheld His commandments. The problem was not that God’s commandments were unreasonable. The problem clearly was that the children of Israel did not pay attention to them. Sam, Gary, Tim, and Marcia will never forget that warm summer afternoon two years ago. They were the first responders who arrived at the intersection just outside of Centerville Village. A precious family was heading north out of town and had the right-of-way. A distracted driver who was texting headed west. She flew through the stop sign causing the horrible, horrible crash. The problem wasn’t a lack of laws on the books. The problem was that this driver chose to ignore them. Moses reminds the second generation that they needed to observe God’s commandments or there would be serious repercussions. May God help us and our beloved country to “observe” what He has commanded.

For today: “Don’t forget to pay attention to God’s Word today. You’ll be glad you did!