February 11

Deuteronomy 10:20, 21 is an amazing declaration of God’s dealings with man. Here He says to His people, “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him only and by His name you shall swear. HE is your praise, HE is your God; HE has done great and mighty things which your eyes have seen.”

First, man is to hold the Lofty One who inhabits eternity in fear—in reverential awe. His people are to serve Him and relate to one another honorably because they count Him holy. They would not dishonor Him by betraying one another. The Lord God deserves all praise—first of all because of WHO HE IS and secondly because HE has proven Himself to them by amazing things He has done for them.

The relationship laid out here is one that has followed throughout both the Old and the New Testaments. God has never wavered in His requirement that mankind honor Him and serve Him only. He will not share His glory with another and He will not abide the worship of false gods, be they pagan deities or the modern gods of self aggrandizement and carnal lust and monetary gain and their attendant power over people and circumstances.

He still requires our praise—and because He loves us and understands our frail frame, He has not required us to comply without giving us great evidence of His worthiness. Whether by parting the Red Sea and delivering His people on dry ground or by hanging on a cross to deliver His people from their sin, our great and glorious Savior God has shown us His majesty, His care, His provision, His love. Worthy is He of all He requires of us!