In 26:16-19 we have a concluding word of this section to the children of Israel. Moses used thirteen chapters, from chapter fourteen through chapter twenty-six, to cover the rehearsal of the law with certain developments. That day—the day Moses had finished the rehearsal of the law—Jehovah their God was commanding the children of Israel to do these statutes and judgments, and they were to keep them and do them with all their heart and with all their soul (v. 16). On that day they had declared Jehovah to be their God and had also declared that they would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments and listen to His voice (v. 17). That declaration was actually a vow. Furthermore, on that day Jehovah had declared them to be a people for His personal treasure, even as He promised them, and had declared that they would keep all His commandments (v. 18). Here we see that the condition for being God's personal treasure is that the people keep all His commandments. God also declared that He would set the children of Israel high above all the nations, for praise, for a name, and for honor, and that they would be a holy people to Jehovah their God as He had spoken (v. 19).
In this section on the rehearsal of the law, five governing principles of our behavior are implied: (1) toward God, to be sanctified and fearing; (2) toward oneself, to be righteous and pure; (3) toward others, to be kind and generous; (4) toward animals, to be sparing and sympathetic; and (5) toward the devil, to be rejecting and separated.
These five principles govern our behavior in five directions—toward God, toward ourselves, toward others, toward animals, and toward the devil. Toward God we should always be sanctified and fearing. We should fear God and want to be separated, sanctified, unto Him as a holy people. Toward ourselves we should be righteous and pure. This means that we should be just and strict, not having any looseness. Whereas we should be strict with ourselves, toward others we should be kind and generous, always willing to give. Toward animals we should be sparing and sympathetic. If we can sympathize with animals, we can, and will, sympathize with people. We may have the assurance that those who are kind to animals will also be kind to us. However, some people hate animals and mistreat them. When such people meet a dog or a cat, they may treat it in a very mean way. I will always stay away from this kind of person, for I realize that one who can mistreat animals can also mistreat people. Finally, toward the devil we should be rejecting and separated. We must reject the enemy, Satan, and separate ourselves from him. I believe that if we practice these principles by the divine life, we will become a different kind of person.
If we compare Deuteronomy with Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, we will see that the law, statutes, and ordinances which Moses rehearsed in Deuteronomy are the same, but in his rehearsal there are some extensions, additions, and developments. All the rehearsed statutes and judgments, with the new developments, speak forth in detail how fine, how tender, how considerate, and how sympathetic is the great God of Israel. This indicates that the book of Deuteronomy is very particular in its revelation of what God is. The God manifested in this book is not only loving, merciful, and gracious; He is also very fine, tender, considerate, and sympathetic. This is our God.