The Purpose of a Watch

Deuteronomy 5:1 “And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.”

Moses has just given the Israelites direct instructions from God, and now God tells them how He wants them to respond. Deuteronomy 5:1 sets forth the steps of response in a very clear progression: hear, learn, keep (or remember), and then do. Which of these steps do you think is most important? “Well,” you might say, “if you don’t learn what you are hearing, then it’ll do you no good.” True. Someone else may say that hearing is the most important because it’s the first step…you can’t really get to any of the other steps without the first one. That is also true.

Hearing, learning, remembering–all of these are good, but none are ends in themselves. They are all for the purpose of preparing us for action.

What good is the alarm clock by your bed if you keep hitting snooze in the morning? The purpose of every clock is to get you where you need to be on time. Just like a watch, the purpose of my hearing, learning, and remembering is that I will DO what I’ve been instructed to do.

Let’s look at other verses in this chapter that emphasize this truth: verse 27 says, “…we will hear it, and do it.” Verse 31 says, “I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them….” Verses 29 and 33 spell out the blessing that comes with active obedience: “That it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!” and “That it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”