Set your hearts

“And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.” - Deuteronomy 32v46

“Set you hearts,” God said in relation to receiving His words and instructions. We can note here that simple compliance to the rules is not enough.

The context for these words is right after a lengthy song by Moses warning the people of a future falling away and the results of such a falling away. In order to avoid such a falling away Moses gives a clear instruction, “Set your hearts.”

Even though we are no longer under the law as laid out here, there is a principle of heart compliance rather than outward compliance. All through the word of God we see the stress on obedience from the heart. Following in the flesh is always going to end in failure. However, if we could ever learn the lesson of “setting our hearts” all the rest would fall into place.

Even today these are marvellous words of advice. Don’t just use the rules as a standard to follow, but instead, set our hearts to obey the Lord. If we do that , then the actual following will come easily.