That it might be well

Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! – Deuteronomy 5v29

You can almost sense a yearning in God’s heart here. There are a couple of reasons why it is important to ‘fear God and keep His commandments.’

First, obviously, we obey God because He is God. He is holy, righteous, just, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and so much else. Such a God, but the very virtue of who He is, deserves our obedience.

But there is just a little more here. God gives more of a reason why His people should obey Him. What does this mean? ‘…that it might be well with them and with their children forever.’

Before we look at that, I think it is interesting to note that God has not created us to be some sort of robot that must follow His commands. He was yearning for their obedience, not forcing it. ‘Oh that they would have this kind of heart lets us know that He created man with the ability to make choices.

But back to the question. What does it mean that it ‘might be well?’

I guess there are two possibilities, and maybe they both apply here. First is that if they obey Him God will make sure that things go well for them and hold off His judgment. I am sure that there is some truth to that. He does act in response to the behaviour of His people.

I also think that there is another application. Perhaps, if God’s people will just follow Him their lives will, as a result, just be better.

In my mind at least this makes sense. God designed this world. He knows it best. He knows how people are best going to relate to His creation. He created both of them and knows how one will relate to the other.

How does this apply to the ‘real world’ and believers in the 21^st century? We of course are no longer bound by the law. As we read through the law though, we see that so much of it makes sense. Laws of food preparation and human sanitation lay the ground work for much of what we now practice as a matter of course today.

When we look at God’s word in both Old and New Testaments we see God giving all kinds of instructions for living. Don’t lie, don’t steal, work hard, take care of your body, watch your mouth when you speak, etc.

We can’t build a doctrine over this. We can’t make an absolute statement, but following God’s way is just smart.