God had raised up Moses to play a major role in creating His nation, he was a prototype of Jesus. We read yesterday how Stephen highlighted the role of Moses in his address to the council, that “he was mighty in his words and his deeds” (verse 22) before God called him from the burning bush for a special role of service in leading His people. In today’s chapter in Deuteronomy we noted Moses’ words to the people allowing them to “set a king” over themselves, but only one “whom the LORD your God will choose” (17:15), David and Solomon are the outstanding examples of God’s choice.

Now note Moses’ rather remarkable instructions about one of the duties of such a “when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God” (verses 18,19). What are we learning as we read?

I have never thought of writing my own copy of at least one of the Gospels, have you? How well would we start to get to know them if we did. Think of how often Jesus quoted from the Old Testament; remember how he refuted the temptations in the wilderness, using three different quotations, “it is written …”.

And then in Acts 8 we read of the Ethiopian who travelled home after worshipping in Jerusalem. He was reading a scroll of the prophet Isaiah and Philip was caused by God’s Spirit to join him and explain it – how it was all about the work of Christ. This led to his baptism, after he asked, “What prevents me from being baptised?” (verse 37).

If you are not yet baptised, ask yourself the same question? If you are reluctant, it may be because you have not read God’s word with sufficient attention, let alone writing out parts of it for yourself. In Ecclesiastes chapter 9 Solomon observes, “how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God”. We should all want to be “in the hand of God”.