Cn – Circumcise Your Hearts 10: 12-22

Circumcise Your Hearts
10: 12-22

Circumcise your hearts DIG: How are verses 12-16 like the first part of the Ten Words? How are verses 17-22 like the second part of the Ten Words? What four responses does God want from His people? How would you define each? What kind of relationship with YHVH would these produce? What are the two groups who fear ADONAI? What does it mean to have a circumcised heart? In what way do these explain the quality of relationship God seeks with Isra’el?

REFLECT: Is your heart circumcised? If not, what is building up that callus? What can you do to soften your heart once again? What does God ask of you? Do you think the description in verses 12-16 still holds true for God? In verses 17-22 for His followers? Do you fear ADONAI? How is obeying the LORD for our own good? Who can you help this week with an uncircumcised heart? Are you ready for Him to return today? How so?

For Isra’el to circumcise their hearts, it meant giving ADONAI their undivided loyalty, which He not only deserved, but demanded.

So now, rather like when Paul uses, therefore, the word indicates a transition from Moshe’s first address to the practical implications that follow them. In the same identical way, 4:1 opens with the same words that link that chapter to the preceding historical recollection of Chapters 1-3. In other words, the Ruach ha-Kodesh, speaking through the prophet, was saying: Because all these blessings have been given to you (to see link click Bj – The First Address: The General Stipulations of the Covenant), O Isra’el, what are you going to do with them? These words mark a turning point from historical reminiscence to command.²⁷³

Our relationship with God (10:12-16), like the first part of the Ten Words: So now, O Isra’el, what does ADONAI your God require of you (10:12a)? Micah said it this way: He has told you, O man, what is good, and what ADONAI is seeking from you; only to practice justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). The intention is to get down to the basics and show that the claim of God upon the covenant people is not complicated or mysterious, but fundamentally simple. Not simple as in easy – because if obedience were easy there would be little need for these chapters full of encouragement, warning, and promise. No, the motivation for obedience would be their undivided loyalty to ADONAI.²⁷⁴ Therefore, in this passage, Moshe lays out what ADONAI requires of them:

They were to fear ADONAI your God (10:12b): This does not mean that the Isrealites were to be frightened, or afraid, of Him. It does mean that they were to possess an attitude of deep respect for Him – respect in response to His faithfulness to them over the years. This fear, or respect, begins inwardly but eventually will show itself outwardly. Isra’el’s constant disobedience was the outward evidence of an inward rebellion.

Practically speaking, we can divide those who fear ADONAI into two groups. The first group fears ADONAI when they meet Him as their Judge. The Father does not judge anyone, but has handed over all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). Paul declares that there is no fear of God before the eyes of those who reject God (Romans 3:18). When Yeshua returns at His Second Coming they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, hiding from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb (Isaiah 2:10 and Revelation 6:16). For the second group, the fear of the LORD is always associated with long life and wisdom. Proverbs 19:23 says: The fear of ADONAI leads to life, and the one who has it rests satisfied, untouched by harm. To fear ADONAI in this way is to allow Him to take control of the steering-wheel of your life.

Dear Great and Wise Heavenly Father, You are so wonderful! It is a joy to let You guide my life. You always want the best for Your children, and will never withhold anything good from Your child (Psalms 84:11). When You drive the steering wheel of our lives, you drive us to the best places where we will have joy for all eternity. Yes, you may allow trials in our lives, but you use them for our good.  These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua (First Peter 1:7). Though they seem long to us now, they are really only momentary in light of all eternity of joy with You. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). Please take the steering wheel of my life and drive me to wherever You think is best for me- for Your love and wisdom are so great for each of Your children. I love to worship and obey You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Those who reject God will eventually dread Him; while those who are His will willingly follow Him and be blessed. So, having this fear implies a proper knowledge of Ha’Shem, knowing the proper way to approach Him and worship Him. When those in the Scriptures saw ADONAI, they realized their own sinfulness. When Isaiah saw ADONAI-Tzva’ot, he said: Oy to me! For I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). Then, he was able to go and preach the Word. And Job, when he finally had his wish granted, and he was finally able to meet God, said: Now my eye has seen You. Therefore, I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:5-6). They had a proper understanding of the fear of ADONAI. This is an important concept, not only for the Israelites, but for all of us today. It motivates us to study our God, to know Him, so that we might also walk with Him and love Him more. This love for Yeshua will be reflected in all areas of our lives. Solomon agreed with Moshe, and as he came to the end of his book he said: A final word, when all has been heard: Fear God and keep His mitzvot! For this applies to all mankind (Ecclesiastes 12:13).²⁷⁵

Isra’el was to walk in all His ways (10:12c): Our inward respect for God will reveal itself in our walk with Him. The Torah always emphasizes lifestyle. If we say we have fellowship with Him and keep walking in darkness, we are lying and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of His Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin (First Yochanan 1:6-7). Both Moshe and Yochanan understood that our talk and our walk must be consistent. The world can smell a phony a mile away.²⁷⁶

To love ADONAI (10:12d): The word love here means more than merely an emotional term. It serves as a synonym for election. As Paul teaches us in Romans 9:13, “Jacob I loved, Esau I hated. God’s love for Jacob was revealed in His choice of Jacob, and God’s hatred of Esau was seen in His rejecting Esau as the son of promise (from Malachi 1:2-3). YHVH’s choices reflect and express His love. But God’s love must find its response and counterpart in the commitment of the chosen one to love, or choose, the LORD in return. Throughout Deuteronomy, love is demonstrated in deeds, or loyalty, to the covenant (5:10, 6:5, 7:9 and 13, 11:1, 13 and 22, 13:3, 19:9, 30:6, 16 and 20; First Corinthians 8:3; Second Thessalonians 3:5; First John 2:5, 3:17, 4:9, and 20-21; Jude 21).²⁷⁷

And to serve ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul, meaning with undivided loyalty, which YHVH deserved and demanded (10:12e). This statement is found in the Talmud. Rabbi Hanina said: Everything is in the hands of heaven except the fear of heaven as it says, “And now, Isra’el, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear” (Masiah Megilah 25a). While this concept of free will was disputed by the Jews of that time, as it is among believers today, according to Josephus, the Pharisees believed in both the freedom of mankind and divine providence. The Sadducees, however, attributed everything to chance and denied providential guidance (Josephus, Wars 2, Antiquity 13 and 18). Those rabbis in the Talmud understood the importance of this verse and took special interest in the concept of the fear of ADONAI, which is the first requirement of the people of God. But what exactly does that mean?

Moses said that the fear of ADONAI would help the Israelites to keep His mitzvot and His statutes that he was commanding to them on that day, “for your own good” (10:13)? Only two words in Hebrew (letob tak, meaning for good for you), this phrase condenses all the blessings that Moshe elsewhere describes extensively. Through obedience, Isra’el would enter into secure possession of the Land, long life, and enjoyment of God’s gifts. It also condenses the important ethical point that the Torah itself was a gift of the grace of ADONAI for the benefit of mankind, not the imposition of an arbitrary set of rules to be a burden. Today, the Torah is our blueprint for living (see the commentary on Exodus Dh – Moses and the Torah). And so, for your own good may not sparkle as an advertising slogan, but it captures the human perspective of ethics in the TaNaKh.²⁷⁸

Why should Isra’el respond to YHVH her God with such complete undivided loyalty? It was not merely because of His saving acts, or because Isra’el’s God was bound up with such obedience. The real reason was more profound. It was because He loved her first. Here is the magnificent picture of the grandeur of God. Behold, to ADONAI your God belongs the heavens and the highest of heavens, the earth and all that is in it. The contrast with the insignificant Isra’el is striking. Yet, YHVH loved her.²⁷⁹ Only on your fathers did ADONAI set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them – you – from all the peoples, as is the case this day (10:14-15). So, the first reason Isra’el was to love the LORD is that He had initiated a relationship of love with His rebellious nation. This same principle is true of God’s relationship with believers’ today. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us (Romans 5:8).²⁸⁰

The proper response to their election by YHVH was to circumcise their hearts. God had commanded that on the eighth day the flesh of a male child is to be circumcised (Leviticus 12:3). But here, Moses lifts up the mere letter of the Torah, and brings it to greater heights, saying: Circumcise the foreskin of your heart, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked and imitate the stubbornness of your ancestors (10:16). God never intended circumcision, or any other commandments, to be merely ritual. There is intent and meaning behind all of these commandments. Here Moshe takes a commandment and expands it beyond its physical significance. Yeshua did the same thing (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Da – The Sermon on the Mount).

But, Isra’el had so magnified the physical ritual that they forgot the spiritual reality, that circumcision marked them as God’s people with spiritual privileges and responsibilities. Circumcision wasn’t a guarantee that every Jewish man was going to be with Abraham in sh’ol (Matthew 3:7-12). Unless there was a change in the heart, brought about by YHVH in response to faith, the person didn’t belong to the LORD in any real sense. That’s why Moses exhorted them to let God “operate” on their hearts and do a lasting spiritual work: ADONAI your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants – to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live (30:6). This message was repeated by the prophets (Jeremiah 4:4; Ezeki’el 44:7 and 9) and the apostle Paul (Romans 4:9-12; and Acts 7:51).

Unfortunately, this same spiritual blindness is with us today, for many people believe that baptism, confirmation, church membership, or participation in communion automatically guarantees their salvation. As meaningful as those things are, the believer’s assurance and seal of salvation isn’t a physical ceremony, but a spiritual work of the Ruach ha-Kodesh in the heart (Philippians 3:1-10; Colossians 2:9-12). Salvation = faith + nothing. Jewish circumcision removed but a small part of the flesh, but the Spirit of God has stripped away the body of the flesh through the circumcision of Messiah. You were buried along with Him in immersion, through which you also were raised with Him by trusting (Greek: pistis, meaning faith, trust, or belief) in the work of God, who raised Him from the dead (Colossians 2:11-12).²⁸¹

Our relationship with our neighbors (10:17-22), like the second part of the Ten Words: For ADONAI your God is God of gods and Lord of lords – the great, mighty and awesome God, who does not show partiality or take a bribe (10:17). The majesty of YHVH and His awful justice provided further motive for obedience. God does require love; but those, for example, who outwardly obeyed the mitzvot, but did not love God, were in effect, offering God a bribe. It was as if they were saying, “Look, I’m doing this and that correctly, so taking these good deeds into account, perhaps the rest can be overlooked?” Ha’Shem required the wholehearted commitment of love, from which all the other godly behavior flowed. ADONAI saw what was in the heart and could not be persuaded, or bribed, into reducing His requirements of His children.

The impartiality of YHVH and the impossibility of bribing Him are now illustrated with a specific example, to a mitzvah is added. The more detailed mitzvot concerning orphans, widows and aliens will be found in 24:17-22). Moses demands that the Israelites conduct themselves toward the weaker members of their society just as God Himself does, with justice and love. He enacts justice for the orphan and widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. Earlier, it was stated that God loved the patriarchs (10:15), whose descendents were gathered on the plains of Mo’ab; now the impartiality of God is shown in His love for the resident alien, a person in the Jewish community who did not share full civil and religious rights with the Israelites. ADONAI provided food and clothing for the alien, just as He had done for His own people. Therefore, love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt (10:18-19). Having experienced God’s love and care during their own time as aliens, they were to express similar love and care to aliens in their midst.²⁸²

The passage reaches its climax with the repetition of its main points. ADONAI your God you will fear – Him will you serve. To Him will you cling, and by His Name will you swear. He is the object of your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your eyes have seen. Other gods have other ways, but Isra’el must keep the way of ADONAI by doing righteousness and justice, so that ADONAI may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him (Genesis 18:19b). One part of the covenant promise to the patriarchs had already been fulfilled by the growth of Isra’el’s numbers. Your fathers went down to Egypt with 70 persons (see the commentary on Genesis Km – Jacob’s Genealogy), and now ADONAI your God has made you like the stars of the heavens in number (10:20-22). This fact alone was a reason for Isra’el to give ADONAI their undivided loyalty.