ROOTED - Saturday, February 14, 2026

Deuteronomy 5:1, 33
1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
33 You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

Reflection: The Reason for Obedience
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
I am a little uncomfortable with a modern trend… one in which “obedience” is looked on as a heavy handed, and domineering term. The inference among some Christians is that God demanding us to “obey” is out of step with a God who is love… or a God who is gracious. When you were in school, did you have an old-fashioned chalkboard in the classroom? Did anyone ever run their nails on the board and cause that awful sensation, causing the hair on your head to stand on end? A kind of repulsion? You know the feeling? Ok… that is what happens to me when I hear someone diminish “obedience” so recklessly. Chalkboard!
The misconception with obedience is that God demands obedience merely to “Lord” over us. But God is not simply trying to put his heavy-handed thumb on us! Deuteronomy 5 (and 4) begin a long section of Deuteronomy recounting God’s Law. In fact, Deuteronomy literally means “a second telling.” Moses recounts the Law of God to the Children of Israel over a multi-hour sermon… to people who did not hear it 40 years before when the Law was first given. And chapter 5 begins and ends with a clear command to obey God’s Law. However, if you notice verse 33 (the last verse in the chapter) we see that God’s heart is to give us a good life… a long life where things “go well.” God’s Law and obedience are not antithetical to happiness! God’s Law and obedience are instrumental to happiness. God is not rude or patriarchal for demanding obedience… He is loving and kind to give us ways that lead to life! Please reject a negative view of the word “obedience.” Obedience to God’s commands brings life! As the Psalmist will later tell us, the Law is “sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb.”

Prayer
Lord, help us to embrace obedience and not reject it. May we learn to trust that your ways are perfect and lead to life!