Change of Heart
Devotions:
“O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”
Deuteronomy 5:29 KJV
God's desire for the Old Testament saints was that they had a heart to hear Him and obey Him! This is exactly what He gave us in the New Covenant when we were born again. He gave us a new heart and a new spirit that wants o do His will. As we hear and do His will, it goes well with us because this is the principle of the universe. God is love and He created the universe to operate on the principle of love. The opposit of love is selfishness. The world, under satan's rule operates under selfishness. The basis of the law of God is to love God with all your being and to love your neighbor as yourself.
As we see here, to fear God is to keep His commandments. The Old Testament saints had a limited love for God because they had a limited knowledge of His love for them. They had only a vague picture of the extent of God's love. Only in the gospels do we see how great that love is when we see Jesus, the Son of God going to the place of judgement in our place to become our sin and suffering the full punishment for that sin. In the epistles it is more deeply explained.
Oh, that God's people would recognize the new creation in ts fullness and by it's strength walk in God's ways that it may go well with us and our children.