Very Nigh Unto Thee

“For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” Deuteronomy 30:11-14

Moses is making his final appeal to the people to obey the law of God. Moses had been frustrated with the people many times because of their unwillingness to follow God. He had heard them complain for forty years. After they crossed the Red Sea, they thought that they would die in the wilderness. When God gave them manna, they wanted meat. When God spoke to them audibly from Mount Sinai, they said that they would rather God speak to Moses. They promised to do whatever Moses told them; but when Moses came down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, they were worshipping a golden calf. When the people had the opportunity to go into the Promised Land at Kadesh-barnea, they turned back in fear. Moses is pleading with them to obey God’s law, and he tells the people that it should now be easy for them to obey. They don’t have to climb a mountain or cross a sea in order to find out what God wants them to do. His Word was very close to them; it was in their mouths and in their hearts. Most of us have a copy of God’s Word, but do we keep it near to us or far away?