Hey, You Listen To What I’ ‘m Saying!
Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
If you’ve ever been to New York or Jerusalem, you may have seen devout Orthodox Jews whom you recognized by their long beards, flowing hair, black hats, and dark clothing.
In some cases, you even saw phylacteries—small leather boxes containing pieces of paper with biblical passages written on them.
Orthodox men wear phylacteries strapped to their heads and arms during their weekday morning prayers to remind them of their duties to God and God’s Word.
Passages such as this one from Deuteronomy inspire such devotion. This is from Moses’ farewell address to the people of Israel.
Moses had led these people for decades during their wanderings through the desert. Now he was dying, and it was time to pass on some final words of wisdom.
Two of the major themes Moses talked about were God’s love for humanity and humanity’s need to obey God. Moses also challenged people to study and follow God’s Word.
Often when he spoke, Moses was speaking God’s words. In this passage, there was one simple message God wanted to communicate: “Hey, you: listen to what I’m saying and take it seriously.”
Orthodox Jews who wear phylacteries are taking God seriously. So are committed Christians who try to organize their daily lives around the principles the Bible spells out.
The man who does the right thing at work when others encourage him to take an ethical shortcut is fixing God’s Word in his heart.
So is the woman who perseveres in doing good even when she gets no credit for it.
So is the child who obeys her parents even if the commands they give aren’t always fun to carry out.
Life can be so crazy and hectic that people often forget to do what’s right and best.
That’s why God continually reminds us to focus our attention on the one true rule of life and conduct that he, the Creator of the cosmos, authored.
When we hear and obey what God says, our lives will be blessed. When we forget things that are truly important to focus on things that are merely urgent, we go off course.
Okay, God. I’m listening. Tell me what you want me to do and help me do it.