The Lord Your God Will......Deuteronomy 12

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I can remember when my kids were younger the routine of the restaurant experience. With seven kids it was no small task (or bill) eating out. Whenever we would go out to eat it was the same drill. I spent several minutes preparing them to go into a sit down restaurant. I would pull into he parking lot, turn in my seat to face my beautiful children and recite the memorized drill; "this is a restaurant, how do we talk in restaurant? how do we act in a restaurant?, do we run in a restaurant? do we yell in a restaurant?"  The kids knew each word by heart. I said it over and over again, not because I thought they had forgotten, but because I wanted them to be sure they remembered the results of each behavior choice: the blessings that follow if act right (eating out and possibly dessert)and the consequences if you did not (sitting in the car with mom or dad, while everyone else had fun, followed by a trip straight to bed when we got home). We all need reminding.
Deuteronomy chapter moves from the general and into the core the book. Moses continues his sermon to the "next generation" of Israelites as they are getting ready to go into and conquer the promised land. He needs them to remember who brought them this far, and to obey because they are grateful. As I worked through and marked the repeated phrases in this chapter the pattern quickly emerged. Moses repeats, over and over and over again one phrase"The Lord You God will....". Moses wants them to remember that God is the giver of the land, the blessing, the food and their freedom, not because they earned it, but because He does what He says He will do. He then helps them recall a crucial point in the covenant with Yahweh. They are NOT EVER to look around them at other gods. THE LORD YOUR GOD is not like those gods and He doesn't want to be worshipped like one of "those gods". He is THEE GOD and He is THE LORD YOUR GOD, and don't you forget it! Worship Him the way He has instructed you to. He is unique as are His chosen people.
Just like my kids there were blessings if you remembered and consequences if you did not. If they forgot and acted badly we all suffered. I wanted to enjoy my family and our night out together, however it was more important as a parent to help them learn to be grateful and to obey from a grateful heart.

DIG DEEPER:

Read Deuteronomy Chapter 12.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+12&version=NIV