“And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.” (Deut. 6:24)
As a child, when I was sick, my mother used to make me take medicine. Now, I never remember ANY medicine ever tasting good. It usually had a nasty taste to it, but mom would make me take it anyway and she would say that it was for my own good.
God gave Moses some commandments for Israel to keep. When Moses gives the commandments to Israel, he says to them that they are “for our good always.” Usually, when children receive rules they are to follow, they ask, “Why do we need to do this? Why is it necessary?” So Moses tells them that they are to keep the commandments of God for their own good.
FIRST—Obeying God Would PROTECT Them.
Moses said, “that he might preserve us alive.” There were commandments given that would literally protect their lives if they would obey them. When we read and obey God’s Word, it will protect us from many of the fatal mistakes made by unbelievers. For instance, the command to “abstain from fornication” (1Thess. 4:3) will protect a person from sexually transmitted diseases that a sexually promiscuous person may contract.
SECOND—Obeying God Would PURIFY Them.
Not only will obeying God’s Word protect us physically, it will protect us spiritually, as well. In the next verse, Moses said, “And it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.” God’s Word has a purifying affect on us. It purifies our spirit, our mind, and our soul.
It is human nature to discredit the value of Divine commands. Our flesh wants to question and say, “Why is this important? Is this really necessary?” But Scripture tells us that God’s commandments will always do us good! Obeying God’s Word will not only protect us, it will purify us as well!
So, read and obey God’s Word…it’s for your own good!