Obedience and Love

If we had to summarize the theme of Deuteronomy in a single sentence, we might say: “Obey the Lord!” It makes sense. The command “obey” appears frequently in this book filled with “laws” and “decrees” (Deut. 4:1). Yet the Lord also uses another, less obvious, word to provide context. It is a “covenant of love” (Deut. 7:9, 12). God’s love is the foundation for our obedience. Obedience is answering love.

God’s call to obey is not a “to- do” list. Nor is it a transactional relationship where we earn God’s love by sheer effort. It is an invitation to respond to the love God has already shown. Deuteronomy begins with a review of all the ways God already demonstrated His faithfulness to His people (chapters 1–3). The Ten Commandments, the foundation for these laws and decrees, have God’s persistent love for sinners in the background. They did not describe a standard that God’s people were expected to live up to in order to be loved by Him. Rather, they were a reminder that He loved them even though they had already fallen short.

As Moses was receiving the Commandments, Israel had sinned by worshiping the golden calf. The Lord rewrote the Commandments after Moses shattered the original stone tablets. The LORD “came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name” (Ex. 34:1–5). He revealed Himself to Moses as “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex. 34:6–7).

Obedience springs from love, and that love has its origin in God. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our obedience has its starting point in God’s persistent love and grace. We love God because He loved us. We love others because God loves them. This is the essence of all the laws and decrees in Deuteronomy: “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matt. 22:40). Every act of obedience is a response to God’s love, just as every instance of love shown to our neighbor is its extension.

For Further Study

To learn more, read Deuteronomy: The Gospel of Love by Samuel J. Schultz (Moody Publishers).