Deuteronomy 15:15 "And thou shalt
remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God
redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day."
In the past few chapters and in this 15th chapter, God has been speaking
through Moses concerning their dealings with one another. He had spoken
concerning their diet, their dealings with the poor, and their dealings with
the indebted servants. He had told them that all debts were to be forgiven in
every seventh year. He even warned them concerning the manner in which
they were to deal with someone who needed help in the sixth year. They were not
to withhold their blessings from another when they knew it was to be frankly
forgiven in the next year. God knows us pretty well, doesn't He?
What did God intend to be their motivation for dealing with others?
"Remember thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt". Don't forget
where you came from. This is not the first time we have encountered that
reasoning that was shared from God to them. It seems we can be very forgetful
about some things. We must be careful concerning our calculations in trying to
take shortcuts in our service unto the Lord.
"The Lord thy God redeemed thee." The Lord brought them out of Egypt
with a mighty hand. He had led them through the wilderness journey for these
forty years. The Lord gave the firstborn of every household in Egypt for
the release of His people. This included the house of Pharaoh who also lost his
firstborn son. God brought them out because He had made a promise (a covenant)
to do so. We saw back in chapter 7 that God's motivation was not found in
the people of Israel. In fact, they gave every reason why God should not have
brought them out. But God is faithful. He brought them out and was going to
give them a land that flowed with milk and honey.
"Therefore I command thee this thing to day." You are to walk
in my statutes and commandments said the Lord. You were bondmen, but now
you are the children of the Lord. You are to conduct your lives in such a
way that reflects that honor bestowed upon you. I am giving you
these instructions if you, by chance, think that you do not know how to live as
children of the Most High God. There can be no question as to how you are
to show yourselves to others.
This is a nice lesson concerning the children of Israel. But let us be reminded
that we are to live according to the Word of God. What is our motivation? May I
say that it is the same as the motivation that was given to the people of
Israel. First, we are children of the Lord. Therefore, we are to live as such.
Second, we are to remember where we were before the Lord came to us and brought
us out. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We were fully incapable of
bringing ourselves out. We were spiritually dead to the things of God. It was
only AFTER God came to us and imparted spiritual life that we were able to have
any thoughts of going to Him. We were in bondage to sin; but the Son of
God has made us free, which brings us to number three: We were redeemed (bought
back) by our Heavenly Father. His love for us is so great that He gave
His OWN Firstborn, the Lord Jesus Christ to pay the debt of sin which was owed
by us. We could not pay it. Jesus paid it ALL.
Is God asking too much to require us to live our lives in a manner that reflects His love and glory? That glory was placed in us when Christ came into our hearts by His Holy Spirit. I quote once again from the Prophet Isaiah: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." (Isaiah 60:1)