{“The Lord says,} ‘You must listen carefully to the commands I give you today: You must love the Lord your God, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. If you do that, then
Solomon showed that he loved the Lord. He did this by obeying all the things his father David had told him to do. {But Solomon did something David did not tell him to do.} Solomon still used the high places to offer sacrifices and to burn incense. [14]
But you must be careful to obey me.” This message is from the Lord. “You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this by not doing any work on that day.
I will bless the sheep and the places around my hill (Jerusalem). I will cause the rains to fall at the right time. They will shower them with blessings.
If you do those things, then I will give you rains at the time they should come. The land will grow crops and the trees of the field will grow their fruit.
“Now, people of Israel, listen! What does the Lord your God really want from you? The Lord wants you to respect him and do what he says. God wants you to love him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
“So you must obey every command I tell you today. Then you will be strong. And you will be able to go across the Jordan River and take the land that you are ready to enter.
“Now, if you will be careful to obey the Lord your God and follow all his commands that I tell you today, then the Lord your God will put you high above all the nations on earth.
“If you listen to these laws, and if you are careful to obey them, then the Lord your God will keep his Agreement of love with you. He promised this to your ancestors. [45]