Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing all these laws will say, “Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.”  Deuteronomy 4:6

Surely – The nations will be amazed.  That’s what Moses says about an obedient Israel.  “Surely,” is the Hebrew raq.  In this context, it announces the wonderful surprise that this tiny nation of Israel has such a close relationship with God that everything it does just seems to be blessed.  Now you know the goal of the real purpose-driven live.  Moses exhorts the people to keep all the instructions for God’s way of living in order that God may use Israel to attract all the nations of the earth to Him.  The purpose-driven life is not about how blessed I will be.  It’s about how blessed others will be through me.  It’s the lesson of the fruit on a national scale.

There are 613 commandments in the Torah, but if you really inspect them, you will find that a great number of them do not apply to you.  Of those that do apply, the majority are clear, moral imperatives required for the existence of any society (for example, not murdering others).  Then there are a handful that might not seem to make sense to us today (like diet and clothing) but are still important because God asks us to be His magnets in the world.  As Paul says, we who believe in the Messiah are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel.  That means we take on the same obligations as any other citizen of God’s government.  We live under His constitution and His constitution is the Torah.

So, let’s leave behind that worn-out idea that the reason I serve God is so I will be blessed.  Blessings in my life are an accident of on-purpose living and on-purpose living is about reaching the world through God’s involvement with me and my community.  Will I be blessed?  Of course.  That’s the consequence of obedience.  Why?  Because it is through this blessing that God attracts others.  Of course, blessings do not always come in the form that we would like, but they always come in a form God can use.  If we focus our attention on the purpose of His blessing instead of the results, then we can understand why sometimes a blind man must be born blind, why a child must die and why a man must hang on the cross.  Just like the lesson of the fruit, blessings are designed to pass through you to attract and nourish others.

Why do we keep Torah?  First, because God asks us to.  He is the King of this kingdom and His will is the law of the land.  But secondly, we keep Torah because God promises that our obedience will become the vehicle that brings the lost to Him.  We keep Torah for the sake of the lost.  It is our guaranteed means of evangelism in the everyday walk of life.  It is the basis of the Great Commission – “as you are going, disciple”.  As you are walking according to God’s instructions, He will bring you into contact with those who will look at your life and say, “Something wonderful is happening here.  Tell me about it.”

Topical Index:  Torah, commandments, purpose, Deuteronomy 4:6, evangelism, raq