“10And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.’” – Deuteronomy 31:10-11 (ESV)
We are to come back again and again to refresh on what the LORD has commanded us. Notice that in verse 10 above, we are to read the law of the LORD every seven years. Not once and move on, but every seven years we are to reacquaint ourselves with the law.
It is easy to forget things. In our world today, we tend to not even commit things to memory or even practice as we have such ready availability to things that we engage with them when we need them. Where this may see as though it is in accordance with what Moses is saying here, it is really not. Isn’t this more the approach to the law of hearing about what we did, had done, or should have done after the event took place. We use the now to adjudicate the past or tell us about what to do in the now. We tend to lack the knowledge of how to avoid thing in the future.
I am a professionally trained baseball umpire and have called games at a pretty high level and consider myself very astute as to the rules or laws of the game. I studied the rules to know them and was tested on them and demonstrated application of the rules. I have been thinking of getting back on the field and before doing so I have to refresh on the rules of the game. Some things in baseball do not change, and yet others are amended with adjusted for the now as the game has evolved. This refresh is going to take some time and effort on my part as I have been away from the rules of the game for some time. If I had been doing a regular refresh or reading of the rules, my knowledge and understanding of the rules would be deeper and I would be more prepared to jump right onto the field.
Where God’s Law is much more important than the rules of baseball, the concept is much the same. We have to know the law and be familiar with it to apply it correctly as He intended. We maintain our knowledge and familiarity with the law by reading it regularly. We have to study it and commit it to memory. We have to stay in touch with the law to ensure that it does not pass us by. We have to know the law so that we are not tricked or deceived by others as to the application of the law.
Moses indicated to the people to read the law every seven years in the public square for all to hear and refresh. This public reading was also for those who had not heard the law and would be acquainted with it and know it to apply in their lives. Today, we have God’s Law, the bible, available everywhere. Everyone can have their own copy, either in physical form or electronically. There is less dependence on the public reading of the Law due to this availability. But, even as the dependence on the public reading is lessened, the need to read regularly God’s Law is not lacking importance at all.
We are to regularly engage with God’s Law to know and understand it. Where seeking the information in the moment is useful to our application of the Law, we would be able to avoid or achieve so much more with our deeper understanding and the commitment of God’s Law in our lives. We should be in God’s Word studying it daily. Even if only for five minutes a day on average every day would add up to over 30 hours of study a year. That is almost the equivalent of a full work week studying God’s Law. So get out there and read God’s Law regularly to know and understand how we apply all that He has commanded us.
What does your reading of God’s Law look like? Are you in the mode that you have it available to engage when needed? What if you were to regularly read God’s Law to know and understand it so that you can apply it always and not just in the moment?
Trevor's Thoughts 