October 25 – Keeping the Commandments on the Outside

        1 Kings 15:5 – " For David had done what was right in the eyes of Yahweh and had not failed to keep any of Yahweh's commands all the days of his life – except in the case of Uriah the Hittite." © 1973, NIV

        On the surface, this verse sounds as if it implies that King David was nearly perfect all his life, only failing to keep two commands from the law of Moses – adultery and murder. Well, David knew his heart better than that. Including the obscure sin of taking a census of the army in 2 Samuel 24, David repeatedly in the Psalms, both claims reliance on his own uprightness as well as confesses his own sinfulness, which was in him at birth (the concept of an inherited sinful nature). Is it possible that the above verse was written instead as an example of David's otherwise lifelong devotion to God as a man who "pursued God's heart" (Acts 13:22)?

        One can also look at this verse in light of how Jesus explained how our motives were part of keeping God's commands. The Pharisees were known for their penchant for obeying the letter of the law, but their hearts were far from pleasing God. In Matthew 5 Jesus gives us several examples of keeping the letter of the law, but utterly failing to do so, when the real motives of the heart are revealed. He mentions adultery of the eyes, murder of the heart, loving others in the smallest way possible, divorcing quietly, and bringing gifts to God's altar, while a dispute is still brewing with a brother. In verse 20, Jesus states, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

        Pleasing God is more than just keeping his commands. It requires a change of heart, a desire to go beyond keeping the letter of the law, and to possibly sacrificing, in order to keep the spirit of the law.