Title: God and the Commandments
Contents
2007.07.22.
Yahweh's word
The words of Deuteronomy we read together today are Moses' sermons preached in the wilderness of Moab just before Israel entered Canaan after ending their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus. After this sermon, Moses died (chapter 34). Deuteronomy is like Moses' will. The point he is trying to say there is that if you keep God's corporate commandments well, you will be blessed, and if you do not keep it, you will get woe. This composition sounds too obvious, like the aphorism of gwonjingak. As you read today's text, you may have passed by saying that it also means that you should also believe in God well. Such thinking is wrong. God's Word is not like that. Although we do not know it well, the Bible, the word of God, does not end with the religious lessons he gave to the ancients, but it is a revelation of God that is alive today and fundamentally shakes and draws our souls. Just as the deep taste of rice comes out when you chew it firmly, so is the Word of God.
Look. In verse 8, the writer of Deuteronomy proclaims that the Israelites will obey the word of the Lord and will carry out all His commands. Yahweh's word, what does this mean? Yahweh God cannot speak. To speak, you need a mouth, you need a vocal cord, and more fundamentally, you need to be able to breathe. No one would think that God has such a vocal organ as humans do. God cannot speak like us, but today's text refers to the word of Yahweh. What does it mean?
We need to understand a little more deeply what ‘word’ is. It's not just what people say. Each world speaks in a different way. Bees also talk to themselves. So are the ants. It is said that sharks and dolphins also communicate through special radio waves. Maybe it's because we don't understand, maybe even the trees, the grass and the rocks are talking to each other. If you think in a broader dimension like this, you will now understand little by little what God's Word refers to. God does not speak out loud like us humans, but through the entire world. We call it revelation. God will speak to man throughout this world, throughout history. Those who understand it are spiritualists and theologians. Moses knew it. It is told in Deuteronomy. He preached the word of Yahweh, the fact that God blesses those who keep his commandments.
Why? Why does God promise to bless those who keep His commandments? We must ask a more fundamental question before answering this question. Are we really blessed if we keep the commandments? Look at the blessings in verse 9a. “The LORD your God will make the work of your hands, the offspring of your body, the young of your cattle, and the produce of your fields abound.” The business is doing well, the whole family is healthy, the children are prosperous, and they are making a lot of money. However, unless you are a blind believer, you will not believe that everyone will receive this blessing just because they keep the commandments. Actually it is. On the contrary, no matter how well you believe in Jesus and go to church, your business will fail and you will suffer a lot.
People on the other side completely ignore these words and live only according to the laws of the world. They claim that God's Word is only advice to lead a good life of faith, and is not actually directly related to life in the world. They live with a dualistic division between the Word of God and the life of the world. They are people who live in the world only with their own wisdom, regardless of God. To them, the commandments of God are not known. Neither of the two types of believers described above have desirable beliefs. The Christian faith is neither blind faith in the commandments, nor unbelief in it. The reason for this extreme bias comes from a misunderstanding of the essence of the commandments.
Commandments and the joy of God
The commandments of God generally refer to all the teachings recorded in the Pentateuch, including the Ten Commandments. They are called laws, commands, commandments, etc. We need to know the core of the saying that if we keep that commandment, we will be blessed. It is the fact that it is the joy of Yahweh God that Israel prospers. See section 9b. “It will be just as pleasing to the Lord as he turns his heart and makes you well. He will do well for you as he did for your forefathers by rejoicing in the past.” This is the essence of the commandment. For example, let's say a mother tells her daughter that she must be home by 11 pm. The mother's heart, who said this, was not to check whether or not her daughter obeys these words, but to rejoice that her daughter is doing well.
However, many believers live by clinging to the commandments themselves. Just like the daughter in the example above is stressed out at 11pm. This daughter makes every effort to get into the house before 11 o'clock. Even after playing with a friend I haven't seen in a long time, I come home alone to keep 11 o'clock. I come in a minute before and sigh, and come in a minute later and look at my mother so as not to be noticed. If those who believe in God today live their lives under stress and insecure about the commandments, they have no idea what the commandments are. God's commandments are based on the heart of God to make people better, not to make them uncomfortable.
Why is it that God is trying to make us better, but it doesn't always work out? This problem cannot be fully explained here. It is an unsolved mystery, a mystery that can only be known after we die or the end of this world, like the question of why the righteous suffer. However, we can only understand this provisionally. Being well doesn't just mean getting rich right away or getting better from an incurable disease. Right now, I would like to win the lottery and buy a nice house and start a business. But there's no guarantee that's the way to go.
We all want to live in God like this. I want to enjoy the true satisfaction of life in God. How specifically is that possible? How do we know that we are in God? The Bible's answer is commandments. To keep the commandments is to abide in God. Verse 10 says that the commandment and God are one. “Of course, only if you listen to the word of the LORD your God, keep his commandments and regulations that are written in this law, and return to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your heart.” Let me tell you a little bit more about the daughter I took as an example above. The mother's words that she should come in at 11pm are not her own, but while this daughter is living outside, her words have the same meaning as her mother. Because the word 11 o'clock at night contains the mother's heart for her daughter as it is (ontologically).
how to stay close
Doesn't it sound contradictory to say that the commandments are not absolute, but change with the times and that the commandment is God? If so, you might be thinking, does this mean that God also changes according to the times? It's not like that. I'll have to explain it again. A commandment is the Word of God limited to the time in which it was presented. In another age, the commandment must be reinterpreted and presented again in a format suitable for that time. Once so set forth, the commandment is now the commandment of God in its time. Again, I am not saying that commandments and laws are meaningless. Since the commandments newly presented in each age are the Word of God, we can live in God by keeping the commandments. What is clear is that we cannot say that we follow God without the commandments. It's like you can't say that you love your mother without taking her words seriously.
In this respect, I am opposed to the position of the atheists. They claim that all you have to do is believe in God purely spiritually, and you don't need churches, organizations, or worship services. It's not like that. Just as essence is contained in form, we need these forms in our relationship with God. To say that you follow God without the commandments is a lie, as if you say you know the taste of food without even trying it yourself. That's not even possible at all. You should always reflect on whether the commandments and forms correctly contain the essence.