Years ago, a train carrying 218 people derailed in north-western Spain, killing 79 people and hospitalising 66 more. The driver couldn’t explain the accident, but the video footage could and did. The train was going far too fast before it hit a deadly curve. The allowable speed limit had been created to protect everyone on board the train. Despite being a thirty-year veteran of Spain’s national rail company, however, the driver had for whatever reason ignored the speed boundary and many people lost their lives.
In Deuteronomy 5, Moses reviewed God’s original covenant boundaries for His people. Moses encouraged a new generation to regard God’s instruction as their own covenant with Him (v. 3), and then he restated the Ten Commandments (vv. 7–21 ). By repeating the commandments and drawing lessons from the previous generation’s disobedience, Moses invited the Israelites to be reverent, humble and mindful of God’s faithfulness. God had made a way for His people so they wouldn’t wreck their lives or the lives of others. If they ignored His wisdom, they would do so at their own peril.
Today, as God leads us, let’s make all of Scripture our delight, counsellor and the guardrail for our lives. And as the Spirit guides us, we can keep on track within His wise protection and devote our lives wholeheartedly to Him.
By Marvin Williams
REFLECT & PRAY
When do God’s boundaries seem strict, rather than liberating? How do His boundaries show His love for you?
Dear God, help me to show my love for You through my obedience to You.
The setting for the book of Deuteronomy occurs after the Israelites’ forty years of wilderness wanderings because of their unbelief (1:3; Numbers 14:33–34). Geographically, the place was the Plains of Moab (Deuteronomy 1:5; 29:1) on the edge of the promised land. The English title Deuteronomy literally means “second law.” The book includes the reiteration, exposition, and interpretation of the law (in Exodus and Leviticus) that was previously given to the Israelites. Deuteronomy is quoted in the New Testament more than eighty times.
