They Are Fortunate Among The Nations because of What They Have Received (Deuteronomy 4:6-9).
This may be analysed as follows:
a They are to keep (shamar) Yahweh's statutes and judgments and do them for in doing so the nations will recognise that they are wise and understanding (Deuteronomy 4:6).
b For no other nation, however great, has a God so near to them as Yahweh is when they call on Him (Deuteronomy 4:7).
b No other nation has statutes and judgments so righteous as this Instruction (torah) that Yahweh has set before them at this time (Deuteronomy 4:8).
a They are to take heed to themselves (shamar and keep (shamar) themselves diligently in case they forget what they have seen and lest those things depart from their heart all the days of their lives, and are to make them known to their children and their children's children (Deuteronomy 4:9).
Note that in ‘a' they are to keep (shamar) His statutes and judgments and do them, and in the parallel are to keep (shamar) themselves with greatest care in case they forget them, and forget what they have seen, and so as to ensure that they make them known to their children and their children's children. In ‘b' no nation has a God like theirs Who is so near to them when they call on Him and in the parallel no nation has such righteous statutes and judgments as Yahweh has given them.
‘ Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear all these statutes, and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
So they are to keep (shamar) Yahweh's words and do them. Then will the peoples admire their wisdom and understanding. They will hear the statutes that they live by and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'. They will be full of admiration for their way of life, and their wondrous laws, and the benefits that would result as they revealed that they were a rejoicing people and greatly blessed.
This claim is quite remarkable. Every nation thought that its wisdom and its laws were superior to those of all others, as Hammurabi makes clear in his law code. But here it is pointed out that when it comes to the Instruction of Yahweh all else will be seen as secondary and will be conceded to be so by the nations.
This superiority was in fact actually recognised by many Greeks (and others) who would later become God-fearers because of the superiority of the Instruction (Torah). The same was true of the Christian world when it responded to Christ. Both were a declaration of the superiority of the teaching of Yahweh.
‘ For what great nation is there, which has a god so near to them, as Yahweh our God is whenever we call on him?'
He now brings to their attention two of the ways in which Yahweh is superior to the so-called gods of the nations. Firstly because He is near to them and acts on their behalf. And secondly because He gives them such superior teaching.
He asks firstly, ‘What other nation has a responsive God like Yahweh, and One Who when called upon is so near?' They only had to look at their past history in order to see that this was so. The nations would therefore recognise that Israel had in Yahweh their God what none other had, a God Who was near, a God Who truly heard when they called on Him, a God Who acted, a God Who was there, a God Who bound them to Himself. ‘Yahweh our God'. ‘Yahweh' means, ‘the One Who will be whatever He wants to be', ‘the One who is there'. And He would be seen to be their God. This would especially be so in the light of His great deliverance from Egypt in response to the cry of His people (Exodus 2:23; Exodus 3:7; Exodus 3:9), and many of their enemies would experience a similar thing personally as they fought against Israel.
The verse is not saying that Israel believed in the existence of other gods. It is rather making clear that the gods other nations believed in were far off and unreal. We equally today speak of the gods of other religions without believing in them. But the history of Moses demonstrates that he certainly believed and knew that there was only one God Who was totally irresistible and unique. And this will be demonstrated further when he declares that the true God has no form or shape. (Deuteronomy 4:12; Deuteronomy 4:15). The corollary is that those with form or shape are no gods, but are of the earth.
‘ And what great nation is there, which has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law (torah), which I set before you this day?'
Furthermore what great nation had statutes and ordinances that were as righteous as those given to Israel? In spite of the great law codes of the ancients, none compared with the compassion and mercy, combined with the purity and righteousness, of those of Israel as revealed in God's instruction (torah) through Moses. This was a direct challenge to the nations, and a claim for ‘the instruction of Yahweh' that expressed its superlative content. It claimed that it was unique and unearthly, beyond the wisdom of even the greatest of men.
‘Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.'
“Take heed to yourself (shamar), and keep (shamar) your soul diligently.” Paul put this, ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (with greatest care)' (Philippians 2:12) because of Who was at work within them (Deuteronomy 4:13). Thus Israel too must take careful heed to themselves and keep themselves diligently (compare Deuteronomy 4:6) and their attitudes and behaviour, and ensure that deep within them they remembered all that they had seen when God had revealed Himself at the Mount, lest His words at some stage in their lives slip away from them (compare Hebrews 2:1-4). They are by this to remember how serious a matter it is to do God's will.
‘But make them known to your children and your children's children.'
And they are not only to remember, but to ensure that their children also remember, and their children's children also. It was as a result of such instructions that the Jews were famed as those who taught their children from their youngest days so that Gods truth was burned within them (compare Deuteronomy 6:7; Deuteronomy 11:19; Deuteronomy 32:46; Exodus 12:26-27; Exodus 13:8; Exodus 13:14).
“Lest you forget.” Such forgetfulness could be avoided by constantly stirring each other to remembrance, especially at their great feasts. By reading and remembering His word, and considering it constantly, they would prevent themselves from falling into forgetfulness. How important it is for us to constantly read His word and thus ensure that we too do not forget.