March 18

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the
LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the
LORD your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own
well-being.
Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the LORD your
God, the earth with all that is in it, yet the LORD set his heart in love on your
ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples,
as it is today. Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn
any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great
God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes
justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them
food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the
land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God; him alone you shall worship; to
him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen.
Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.

DG comment: The concept of love takes place in three ways in this passage. God loves us. God loves God’s people. “The Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors.” And how should we respond? By "loving God, walking in God’s ways and serving God with all our hearts." And by loving others, that is "loving the stranger." From this ancient passage, we hear echos of the Great Commandment in Matthew 22, that we should love God with our whole heart and love our neighbors as ourselves.