NOTES for Deu 4:1-9
Moses gives Israel the law of the Lord as an enduring treasure. God’s law is wisdom and understanding, but above all it is a living testimony to God’s presence among His people. This is precisely why it is a source of life. How often we perceive the commandments as a set of prohibitions invented solely to make our lives more difficult... But for Moses, the law is an astonishing gift. No other nation has such wonderful commandments! To no one except Israel did the Lord reveal His will for humanity; to no other nation did He show how He intended relations among people and their relationship with Him to be. All nations wander in darkness, trying to find a way to reach their gods, and only to the people of Israel does God explain how to live so as to remain constantly with Him.
But Moses not only calls on the people to keep all the commandments and rejoice in the Law. He reminds them of gratitude. How easily we forget God’s blessings! Moses, knowing this human trait, calls on us to guard our soul so that we do not forget God’s wonders in our life, but preserve them in our heart.