Deuteronomy 4
(Vs. 7 & 8) No other Nation has a god like God Who is near to be called upon, or has laws so just and righteous as this Law.
(Vs. 15 & 23) Watch yourselves, it will be easy to be enticed from this path and wander.
(V. 24) For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
When we understand how holy, how separate, God is from anything He created, and how powerful He is, and how dangerous He is to our persons, then we will have that reverential respect that is called "the fear of the Lord." And then we will also perceive how He will not "share His glory" with anything else, He will not permit any created thing to steal the worship only He deserves.
Jealousy is what we feel when we are about to lose something that is ours. Envy is coveting what belongs to another. A big difference. People tend to call envy, jealousy, not realizing what these words actually mean. God is precise in the words He had His writers use when recording His concepts.
(V. 40) You shall keep His statutes and His commands which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you and that you may live long on the Land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.
When we understand how God's rules allow us to cooperate with how He made this World to work, then life will go more smoothly, and we'll know what is right to do about the troubles and problems that come up in life, and things will go well for us.
Since the principle underlying all these regulations is the foundation of Love, so when we love God and love our neighbor, we will be following all the statutes and commands and laws and rules He gave us.
To do this we need to know them, and appreciate how they work out, and implement them into the way we live our lives.
Then, "things will go well for us," and, "we will live a long time."
God will enjoy seeing us enjoying what He does in the workings of this life, just like any parent enjoys seeing their children enjoying their lives. And since He planned it, He will get the credit, the glory, that He deserves. It's a win-win.
O my Father, You are so good, so great, so wise, so understanding; You love us so much, to lay out for us everything we need to do to please You by obeying what You gave us to do, and we will get all the benefits! Thank you, Father, that You are God, and we are not. No other god, no other intelligence, no other thing, that is created by You is worthy to direct us, or tell us what to do; but will be wrong in some point, and deceptive in convincing us to do it.
Help me to "be careful" to understand and live according to the whole body of the Law and the Prophets that You have given us to learn from. Teach me how to love You, and how to love my neighbor as I love myself. Teach me what True Love looks like, so I will not be deceived by any other affection.
I want to "pay attention" to what You say, Father, and to how You love me. Then I will be living according to Your ways, not mine, and speaking Your words, not mine, from thinking Your thoughts, not mine.
Then You will be pleased to see me enjoying all Your good blessings in my life and in my family and in all my relationships. And You will get the credit, because that's how You planned it all out and designed it to work.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
