Moses had reminded the people of God’s guidance
in chapters 1-3. It had taken the people forty years to
get to the Plains of Moab, yet chapter 1:2 states that
it was only an eleven day journey. This is the tragedy
of unbelief. It wastes time, energy, and manpower, and
it robs God of the glory due His precious name.

In chapters 4 and 5 Moses reminds the people of
God’s glory and greatness. In this section, Moses takes
the nation back to Sinai where God’s glory and greatness
were revealed, and where the nation trembled at God’s
law. They were in danger of forgetting the glory and
greatness of God.

Moses points out three dangers that can also be
applies to our lives today. First, he warns them against
forgetting God’s Word. If they obeyed His Word, He would
bless them and they would possess the land. However, if
they changed His Word, or disobeyed it, He would chasten
them and they would lose their land. When God’s Word
becomes commonplace to the Christian, and he no longer
respects it, he is headed for serious trouble.

Moses also tells the people to take heed against
turning to idols. He reminds them that God had proved
Himself greater than all the gods of Egypt. If they
turned from God to idols, they would be chastised again.

In chapter 5 Moses warns the people against
neglecting the law. He repeats the Ten Commandments, the
basis for God’s moral law. In fact, the remainder of
Deuteronomy is actually an amplification and application
of these commandments. Israel was to hear, learn, keep,
and do these laws, for in obeying the law they would be
honoring God and opening the way for victory and
blessing.

Finally, in chapter 6, Moses reminds the people
of God’s goodness. Verses 10-12 illustrate a basic
weakness of human nature–we take God’s blessings for
granted. How prone we are, as were the children of
Israel, to think that our wisdom and strength have
gotten us where we are today. Satan would puff us up and
have us believe we are something within our own
strength.

God’s warning against such temptation is found
in I Corinthians 10:12: “Wherefore let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Never let Satan get
you to the place where you are depending on self-
ingenuity, self-will, and self-motivation to carry you
through this wicked life. Only through daily prayer,
Bible reading, and total dependence upon God can any
Christian anywhere be successful for God.