Sound familiar? These are the words of the Hebrew people when God gave them his law.

He told them to keep the Feast of Harvest and Unleaven bread to remember God’s faithfulness in bringing them out of Egypt, that is, bondage. He gave them several laws governing social life. He told them that when they were to come into the promised land they were to completely destroy the people in it. Because these peoples were not God’s chosen people, they worshiped idols and would certainly drag the Israelites into sin if they were not destroyed. When the people heard all these instructions they said “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.”

Only a short while before,when God was giving the Ten Commandments to Moses and there was a great cloud around the mountain with thunder and lightning, they pleaded with Moses not to let God speak to them, because they were sure they would die if he did.

And weren’t they right? Isn’t the law which God gives exactly that which shows us our sin and condemns us for it? The Israelites were headed for the promised land. This land is a picture of Jesus, the “new creation”. God creates so that he may fill that creation with a relationship with his people. But in order for that to happen we have to abandon the life of sin. What the people saw in the mountain and heard in the law is what we see on the cross: God’s absolute abhorence of sin and uncompromising punishment of it. They rightly feared God’s wrath, for they were a sinful people.

This is shown so clearly in that even when they did inherit the promised land they did not follow God’s instructions to drive out the pagan nations. Even after the law was given, sacrifices were made for their sins, and they had entered into the land of promise and been given a temple where God dwelled among them, they failed to drive out all the pagans and were eventual seduced by their godless living.

Have we also lost the fear of God? Have we forgotten the wrath of God poured out on the cross? If we disregard this life of God’s presence given to us as we are made part of the new creation and do not live according to the mercy given, what else is there for us? How else are we to be saved? Of course we haven’t rejected the truth of God’s word, the message of the gospel, but we also fail to live in it. We have found it easier to make a truce with the hidden sins of thought and habit than to drive them completely out of the land. We say “well they are conquered, under control” but they are not destroyed. What is not destroyed eventual overtakes.

What does it mean to say “All these things we will do”? Certainly we are like the Israelites: we fail. We have failed and continue to. But it’s not just God’s wrath that’s on the cross, it’s his wrath toward us. Why did the Israelites fear? Because they knew in their hearts that they were already guilty of breaking the law that he gave. But what they didn’t know was that the guilt was payed for. Oh they were taught it through allegory in making the blood sacrifices, but most did not have faith in the promise of salvation and so were lost.

We know we are saved, we know that our salvation is sure because Jesus has died and rose again and has given his life to us, and yet, there can be no basis for knowing this is ours if in our practical every day living we are not being vigilant to do all the things the LORD has spoken. Search the hidden sin and tremble before the the mighty God who knows and condemns all sin. For this is repentence. Without the fear of God there is no true repentance and therefore not true salvation. Salvation came through the death of him who knew no sin and yet became sin for us. So now, actively seek to die to yourself and drive out mercilessly every weight and hindrence that would keep you from striving toward the prize of eternal rest in his presence.