To such as keep His covenant [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts].
Then the king stood up in his place. He made an agreement with the Lord. He agreed to follow the Lord, and to obey the Lord’s commands, laws, and rules. Josiah agreed to obey with all his heart and soul. He agreed to obey the words of the Agreement written in this book.
\{The Lord said,\}\par “David, if your children obey my Agreement {\cf2\super [621]} \par and the laws I teach them,\par then someone from your family\par will always be the king.”\par
So now I tell you to obey my commands. Keep my Agreement. If you do this, then you will be my own special people. The whole world belongs to me. But I am choosing you to be my own special people.
Then Moses held the bowls full of the blood from the sacrifices. [158] Moses threw that blood on the people. He said, “This blood shows that the Lord has made a special Agreement with you. The laws God gave you explain the Agreement.”
Your people never really listened to you.\par Your people never really heard\par the things you said.\par No person has ever seen a God like you.\par There is no other God—only you.\par If people are patient\par and wait for you to help them,\par then you will do great things for them.\par
Teach those people to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world.”
Zechariah and Elizabeth were truly good people before God. They did everything the Lord (God) commanded and told people to do. They were without fault.
In that new land, you must be careful not to forget the Agreement that the Lord your God made with you. You must obey the Lord’s command. Don’t make any idols in any form!
“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]
“So remember that the Lord your God is the only God, and you can trust him! He keeps his Agreement. He shows his love and kindness to all people who love him and obey his commands. He continues to show his love and kindness through a thousand generations.
Brothers and sisters, now I have some other things to tell you. We taught you how to live in a way that will please God. And you are living that way. Now we ask you and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way more and more.