Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
When we walk past a condemned building or a construction site, we are apt to see the tell-tale yellow tape that says, “Caution”. This is to warn us as we enter that area that there is potential danger. We wish we could put this tape around colleges when we drop off our kids for the first time, such are the snares and pitfalls on campus. These words from Joshua serve as the yellow caution tape for Israel as they enter the Promised Land. God had kept his promises to them and Joshua commends them as ‘so far so good” on their part as well. Then comes this warning, a summation of the Law and the Shema, to love the Lord and keep his statutes. They were careless.
When Jesus walked the earth, he taught us the Great Commandment. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Just as in the case of Israel, we are not careful to observe these commandments. We forget the Lord at the most important moments and we are at strife with our neighbors on a regular basis. If there had been yellow caution tape when Jesus said this, we would have missed it. Thank God Jesus walked right through the barrier into the danger and took the shame for us. Now loving the Lord comes naturally and we walk out of danger and…
In all his ways.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church