In preparation for entering the promised land, the Israelites have much of the Lord's law repeated to them with warnings about what will happen if they fail to keep God's commands. We even have a reminder of the Ten Commandants in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Why would stories, laws, commandments, etc be repeated in the Bible? A couple of thoughts came to my mind: a) The Israelites needed a refresher after wandering in the desert for 40 years; b) We need a reminder; and c) It's a sort of proof of the authenticity of the story. If more than one person is writing similar events and stories there is some credibility to it. Now I know there is more to repeating something to making it true, but I gotta believe that some of this repetition is happening for a reason. I'm not entirely sure what reason (not a Bible scholar), but I think that my couple of hunches are not entirely off-base. If they are, please some one correct me.
The section of verses that most struck me this week is Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
"Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God will all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."We are called to be people of the Lord at all times, not when it's convenient, not when it's easy, but always. I pray that we may have the passion to love the Lord with all our souls, hearts and strength - especially when life is working on an everyday basis to distract us.
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