The Wise One Follows God’s Commands

Originally published in Issue #12 on June 18, 2021

Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess. Carefully follow them, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god near to it as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation has righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
– Deuteronomy 4:5-8 (CSB)

How does the church, the in-grafted of Israel, display the wisdom of God? By following His commandments. Strangely, this is precisely what many have told the church they must not do.

It is not “accepted wisdom” to follow the commandments of Yahweh God. We are told we will lose our witness if we do what God requires. Yet, the same must have been true of the Israelite people. They, too, were a strange people among their pagan neighbors. They, too, began to become like their neighbors. God’s commandments will always make his people strangers and exiles.