Expectations can be tough. From the time we are brought home from the hospital, parents dump expectations upon us. They want us to roll over by three months, crawl by nine, walk by our first birthday and speak in coherent and intelligent sentences before we are two. The pressure is insurmountable. But no sooner do we fulfill their expectations to walk and talk do they tell us to sit down and shut up.

Expectations do not cease with parental hopes. As children in school, teachers expect us to learn to read and write, to know facts about history, science and math. Yet no sooner do we master addition do they pile on subtraction, multiplication and division. We graduate, but demands continue. As adults a myriad of requirements are dumped in our laps. We must juggle jobs, relationships, bills, marriage, children. Expectations may vary. It is said that a woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't. A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change and she does. Still demands never end, the expectations continue. The trouble for many of us is that we lack the ability to fulfill all the expectations set for us.

Then along comes God who puts His own set of demands on our lives. As we have looked at Deuteronomy for the past few months we have seen those expectations mount with each passing chapter. The requirements of the Decalogue overwhelm us as we comprehend the extent to which God demands we be perfect. The minutiae of commands affects every aspect of our lives, every corner of our being. When we take seriously God’s expectations we can be left shaken, realizing how often we fail. Yet, there is in those expectations a pointer to the means by which we are enabled to fulfill the demands.

Our passage this morning boils down the theological and ethical content of God’s Law in a few memorable statements. This pregnant passage richly resonates with the high calling of God in our lives and the power by which we can accomplish His great expectations. Deuteronomy 10:12-22 reminds us how we are to live in light of who God is, but as the expectations are laid down and we see the demands far exceed our own fallen ability, we are reminded of the means by which we can fulfill those expectations.

To walk in His ways:

In Hebrew one’s walk is one’s lifestyle. This summarizes our ethics, our character which flow from our reverence of God. Behavior flows from attitude. Notice the source of that lifestyle: "His ways." We live in a time when personal authenticity is determined by one living according to their internal standards. For many it seems disingenuous to live by an external standard, but this is what God demands.

To serve the Lord:

Again, the word used here may seem harsh, for service implies subservience, ownership. But this makes sense, since we are made by God and despite our rebellion, He has purchased us at the cost of His own Son. So to serve the Lord is reasonable. But notice from where this service flows: "with all your heart and with all your soul."

With that addition, the service becomes difficult. God is not looking for those who accomplish His expectations in an empty and robotic manner. This passage makes it clear that duty must flow from desire.

To observe the Lord’s commands and decrees:

The expectation to observe implies our careful, conscientious and constant attention to the terms and stipulations of the Covenant relationship. It is not blind obedience nor is it mechanical obligation. To do any of this necessitates our knowledge of the God we are to fear, the ways in which to walk, what is entailed in serving Him. To do this, we must observe, must know, what His Law demands.

To love Him:

While in our passage this expectation is listed third, it forms the keystone of all that is stated. The structure of this list places love in the center, so that the terms are not a grocery list of concepts, but a whole mindset which flows from love. Moses uses the term elsewhere reserved for marriage to describe our response to God.

There are those who will eschew the Old Testament as some harsh diatribe of legalism. They would rather have the law of Christ, the law of love. But such a statement shows ignorance of how critical love is to the Old Testament law. You can’t split the Old Testament from the New Testament so easily.

The expectation here is best summarized by the simple term: obedience.

The obedience expected of us is an obedience which is for our own good. We often forget that simple benefit. God’s laws are not capricious or irrational. They are designed for our own good. Obedience to God’s Law not only pleases the Law giver; it benefits the Law keeper. "Obedience is good for you" may not sparkle as an ad slogan, but it captures Old Testament ethics.

That God expects obedience may not seem all that surprising. Ever since Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments, we’ve gotten use to the idea that the God who made us also has the right to set down the Law. But God does not stop there.

Verses 14-19 is parallel sets of triplet verses, verses 14-16 and verses 17-19. The verse opens with a hymn-like exaltation of Jehovah complete with resounding superlatives. Next comes a statement of unexpected action by God and then a concluding command to respond appropriately. But each three verse set points to a different aspect of what God expects.

But before we see what God expects, notice how God is described. The order is important, because the expectation is set in the context of His character. At the heart of what God demands is not the question of our ability or any hint of reward, but rather the character of God. What is the focus in these verses? It begins by reminding us of God’s greatness over all creation.

God’s ownership of all creation extends to the highest heavens all the way to every aspect of this world. There is no place where God’s name is not stamped. There is nothing to which God can not claim belongs to Him. While by virtue of creation God has the right to demand of His creatures that which He desires, this passage is not a cosmic: "Because I said so!" statement. Verse 14 begins with the greatness of God, but verse 15 introduces a contrasting point: "YET..."

Even though God owns all there is, His affection, His love is very specific. If you recall when we looked at Deuteronomy 7, God reminds us of His love, that despite our insignificance, He loved us. Here the description is similar, but now the focus is on God’s greatness.

Once again God’s electing grace is described in terms of love, of affection; not a cold, mechanical choice, but a loving selection out of His own free grace, is described here.

Now, in light of that, what does God expect?

In light of God’s loving election of you, your life should reflect this awesome grace. Yet the way which this expectation is stated is rather interesting.

Moses recalls the sacrament of circumcision here as a metaphor for what should take place in their own lives. The sign and seal of the covenant given to the patriarchs centuries before is to be applied to God’s people now. What takes place externally, points to what should occur internally.

In Jeremiah 6:10, the prophet says the people are not listening because their ears are closed: literally, their ears are uncircumcised. In Exodus 6:12, Moses complains to the Lord about speaking to Pharaoh since he speaks with faltering lips, literally uncircumcised lips. This term is used to refer a hindrance, an obstruction which must be removed. In Deuteronomy, there is something in the way of their hearts preventing them from obeying, keeping their hearts from being pliable and amenable to God’s demands. God wants them to change, to see to it that their hearts are open to Him. The sin must be excised.

The other phrase likewise reminds us that God expects us to be submissive.

To be stiff-necked is to be unbending, unwilling to do what one must. After last Friday night’s gym night, I would suppose there were a few of us who had stiff necks. Our mobility was hampered, our flexibility was reduced. In that same way, when it comes to God’s demands, we are often rather recalcitrant, stubborn, obstinate to God’s desires.

What is at the heart of this command, what God expects, is perhaps most simply stated as repentance.

There is to be an internal change. The heart must be replaced. But what is interesting is that when it came to circumcision, for obvious reasons, one does not do this to oneself. Even the most skilled cardiac surgeon would not open up his own chest. Another must do the work. After volleyball, I needed someone else to rub my aching muscles.

When God commands that that which hinders our obedience must be removed, it is a change which must take place within, but also must be done by another. How is this done? The God who created the majesty of the Rockies, the beauty of the Caribbean, the mighty fiords of Norway, is the God who loves us, who has chosen us, who will change us.

The second triplet begins with another burst of hymnody, similar in form to verse 14, but with its emphasis not so much on God in relation to the created order (heavens and earth) as on God in relation to all other spiritual realties. God is the God over all gods; He is sovereign over anything which may compete against Him. There is no room for rivalry; all reality is subject to God. The God who owns the world (verse 14) is the God who runs the world (verse 17).

God’s sovereignty is then defined in a way we don’t often consider. At the end of verse 17 we are told this God shows no partiality, accepts no bribes. God does not make decisions on selective favoritism. There is nothing outside of God to force His hand. Those who fulfill the requirements of verses 12-13 can not bribe God into accepting them. For this reason, our obedience to certain of God’s laws will not sway Him in our direction. We can’t bribe His favor by doing something good.

The moral character of God continues in verse 18 with the same kind of surprise as verse 15 introduced. One would expect that this great God exalts great people. Instead, He is so great, He exalts the lowest in society. That He need not show any favoritism, Moses describes those He loves, those whom He cares for.

Based on that, the command for us follows.

Just as Jesus summarizes the greatest commandment by combining Deuteronomy 6:4: "Love the Lord your God" with Leviticus 19:18 "Love your neighbor as yourself," so here too in parallel to what it means to circumcise your heart, to cease being stiff necked, is to love the outsider. What does it mean to fear God, to walk in His ways, to serve God and to observe His commands? What does love look like? Here it is, verse 19: "You are to love those who are aliens..." What does God expect? Repent and love the unlovely.

All other aspects of social responsibility are easy when compared to this. The love of the alien, of the one most different, is what is to set us apart. Love for outsiders will always be the first feature of any society to evaporate in times of social pressure and conflict. Xenophobia, exploitation, and precisely the kind of scapegoat politics that Israel suffered in Egypt are much more typical. This is where we fail so often.

We live in a world where people expect everything to be high tech. We want the latest, the best. How many gigabytes does your Hard Drive have, or RAM? Get a cell phone, palm pilot ... you certainly wouldn’t want to be sooo ‘90’s not to have them. But far more important for us than to be high tech is to be high truth and high touch. To be high truth is to have God’s Word at the center of who we are and what we do. It is to observe God’s commands; it is to circumcise your hearts. But high truth must produce high touch, extending God’s truth to God’s world. On any given Sunday there are those here who are hurting, afraid and lonely. Their marriage may be faltering, their health wavering, their emotions trembling. Whether it be depression, disappointment or disillusionment, we, as a church must be willing to reach out with the touch of Christ’s love.