NOTES for Deu 4:1-9
Moses gives Israel the Lord’s law as an enduring treasure. God’s law is wisdom and understanding, but above all it is the living testimony of God’s presence among His people. And that is precisely why it is a source of life. How often we regard the commandments as a set of prohibitions devised solely to make our life more difficult... But for Moses the Law is an astonishing gift. No other nation has such wonderful commandments! To no one but Israel has the Lord revealed His will for humanity; to no other nation has He disclosed 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 does not merely call on them to keep all the commandments and rejoice in the Law. He reminds them of gratitude. How easily we forget God’s blessings! And Moses, knowing this human trait, calls us to guard our soul so that we do not forget God’s wonders in our life and may preserve them in our heart.