“You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised….to obey his decrees…The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised…And if you (obey), he will set you high above all other nations…You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.”
Deuteronomy 26:17-19
Standing at the door of the long-awaited Promised Land, God and His people made declarations and promises to each other.
Like the Declaration of Independence formally announced the beginning of independence from another country, so the Israelites formally declared the Lord to be their God from that day forward. And God declared they were His people, His own special treasure.
And like a bride and groom make commitments on their wedding day, so Israel promised to obey God, and HE promised to honor them above all other nations.
These declarations and promises marked the beginning of Moses’ final dying words…his persistent plea for the Israelites to live in relationship with the God he had showed them the past forty years. Moses encouraged his people to publicly declare their commitment to this relationship and promise to obey, ensuring the relationship would last.
Declarations and promises are still important in relationship with God. Through baptism in water we publicly declare that Jesus is our Lord and we promise to serve him for the rest of our lives. And why not? Afterall, HE declared we too are HIS treasures and HE promised His unfailing love will never change!
So, to THAT relationship…I declare I am in…and I promise to stay!
