Deuteronomy 4

As you might be able to tell from some of my past posts, I'm a fan of the films of Pixar Animation Studios. After years of struggling making commercials and money-losing shorts, the studio finally released Toy Story, the first full-length computer-animated film, in 1995. (Just think: No one who's in high school right now could have seen that movie in theaters when it first came out. Boy, that makes me feel old). A commercial, critical, and popular success, the film was the only the start of a jaw-dropping succession of masterpieces or near-masterpieces from Pixar: A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, and my personal favorite, The Incredibles.

At that point, the studio was seen as the golden standard that no other American animation studio and few other filmmakers period could reach. But there were always some curmudgeons (i.e., DreamWorks Animation fans) who groused that the studio would release a stinker eventually. And sure enough, along came Cars in 2006. While not a bad film (as Cars 2 was), it certainly wasn't up to the lofty heights of its predecessors. Nevertheless, the curmudgeons gleefully pounced on the film as if it were the worst movie ever.

I could see the same psychological effect applying to the Israelites. God holds His people to a higher standard, saying that if they follow His decrees, "this will show wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear these decrees and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'" (verse 6). Just as the filmmaking community looked up to Pixar for its deft, organic storytelling and appealing, believable characters, the nations would look to Israel as an example of sagacity and rectitude. But just as a few Cars films (and an over-reliance on sequels) can tarnish a studio's reputation, God warns His people in verse 9 to watch themselves. Because if the Israelites start screwing around, then they're no better than any other nation.

Two Moses nuggets in this chapter. One is his heartfelt, vivid, almost scintillating description of God's awesomeness and sovereignty in verses 32-34. I don't think I can add anything to Moses's little encomium here. But the second Moses nugget again circles back to Moses's bitter feelings about not being able to enter the Promised Land. After blaming the Israelites once again, he utters the poignant sentence in verse 22: "I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are able to cross over and take possession of that good land." Yet even in that poignancy, one can see Moses's mood in that single verse gradually transition to the forbearance that helped make him such an exemplary (if flawed) man of God: He won't enter the Promised Land, but he exhorts his people to enter the land and remain obedient to God. Moses shows that although we may always harbor selfish feelings, but that shouldn't keep us from following God's will and wishing for the well being of others.