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\u201cThe Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, \u201cI have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!... Then Moses said, \u201cSo be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess\u201d (Deuteronomy 5:28-33).

There are two things about the character of our covenant God that are worth paying attention to in today\u2019s Scripture.

First, he is a responsive deity. This is not something we spend enough time pondering. Israel wanted Moses to be the meditator between God and his people. And God answered, \u201cYa, that is a good idea.\u201d His response is warm and positive. Something similar happened when Israel wanted a king. That was not such a good idea; God\u2019s response was not warm, but he still told Samuel to go along with it.

Christians tend to think that God has history all figured out. But that does not seem to square with the testimony of Scripture. There is interaction between God and his people, there is dialogue, there seems to be room for give and take. This, I think, gives us courage in our praying. It gives us freedom to ask God for things. Jesus taught us that we receive when we ask. Israel asked, and they received.

It is wise to pair this teaching with the reminder that we, the covenant people, need to \u2018fear the Lord.\u2019 This fear of God is not the same as being afraid of a monster or a bully. Israel had learned the fear of God because of two things. She had seen the tremendous power of God as he delivered her from the oppression of the Egyptians. Then she had stood before the Lord at Mount Sinai. The people had heard God speak to them and lived to tell the story. Seeing God\u2019s power at work and standing in his awesome presence are the experiences which produced the fear of God.

This fear is mingled with thanksgiving for God\u2019s saving work in our lives. It is the proper response towards our glorious and gracious God. Fear belongs to those who know God\u2019s saving work on their behalf. This sort of fear should be ours after we celebrate Good Friday and Easter this weekend.

And now, a second quality about God that we find in this passage. He displays a divine wistfulness, \u201cOh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always.\u201d God knows his people. He knows our propensity to give up on fearing him. When fear falls away, obedience becomes mere duty. And that sort of obedience rarely lasts long. God knows that; he longs for it not to be so.

This is not the only place we find this quality of God. It surfaces regularly in the Old Testament, and it moved Jesus after he entered Jerusalem on that donkey. We find him weeping over Jerusalem\u2019s unwillingness to experience God\u2019s redemption (Luke 19: 41-44).

A deep sense of awe in his presence is the only thing that will produce the worship of daily obedience. God wants his people to prosper. He wants to bless them so that they prosper. But he knows that they will disobey him; they will not keep covenant. As a result, he will need to withhold his blessings and his people will suffer. He is grieved by this knowledge.

Moses calls on Israel to remain faithful. We need to hear that challenge too. Obedience follows godly fear. For us, the only way to godly fear is to keep our eyes on Christ. As the writer of Hebrews says, \u201cAnd let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God\u201d (Hebrews 12:2-3).

Let us make it a habit to begin each day at the mountain. Israel had Mount Sinai. We have the cross and the mountain of the Ascension, Jesus\u2019 suffering and glory is our salvation. Let us go there and fear the Lord.