“Oh, that they would have such a heart that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it would always be good for them and for their children!” (Deuteronomy 5:29)
When the people of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and heard the true voice of God, fear filled their hearts. At that moment struck by the glory and power of the Creator, they pleaded that God would no longer speak directly to them, saying to Moses, “Surely our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire… So now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God again, we will die… You draw near and listen to all.” So that the LORD our God may say, and whatever the LORD our God says to you, tell us, and we will listen and do it” (Deuteronomy 5:24-27).
These were reverent words. God acknowledged their justification when He said to Moses, “I have heard what these people have said to you. Everything they have said is right” (v.28). But God also knew that once the emotion of that moment passed, people would lose faith and turn to disobedience. He wanted them to not only speak the right words, but to have true reverence in their hearts that matched the reverence for their words: “Oh, that they had such a heart to fear Me and always keep all My commandments, so that it would always be good with them and with their children!” (v.29).
The idea of a heart that respectfully and gratefully humbles itself before its Maker is such a simple idea that we are in danger of underestimating its importance. We can make the mistake of believing that we already have this kind of heart, just because we have said a lot of words that confess to God. But if we really had such a heart, what a difference it would make! Not only would our loyalty to God be more stable, but we would have given God the single most important thing He wants from us: A heart that is ready to find salvation.
The noise and shouting die down,
The captain and the king are gone,
The ancient sacrifices still stand,
A humble and sad heart.
(Rudyard Kipling)
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
