Moses urged the Israelites to "listen to"(v. 1) and to "obey"(vv. 2, 5, 6) the Mosaic Law. "Statutes"(v. 1) were the permanent basic rules of conduct whereas "judgments"(ordinances, v. 1) were decisions God revealed in answer to specific needs. The judgments set precedent for future action (e.g., the case of Zelophehad's daughters).
Moses used the illustration of the recent seduction of the Israelites by the Midianites and God's consequent plague (Num. 25:1-9) to warn the people of the danger of disregarding God's law (vv. 3-4).
Moses' appeal rested on the promises of life (v. 1) and possession of the land (v. 1). He also referred to the praise that would come on the Israelites from other peoples for their obedience (v. 6), their relationship of intimacy with God (v. 7), and the intrinsic superiority of their laws (v. 8).
"The theology of the nations at large taught that the supreme gods were remote and inaccessible. Though they were perceived in highly anthropomorphic terms, they also were thought to be so busy and preoccupied with their own affairs that they could scarcely take notice of their devotees except when they needed them.48It was in contrast to these notions, then, that Moses drew attention to the Lord, God of Israel, who, though utterly transcendent and wholly different from humankind, paradoxically lives and moves among them."49
"In this exposition of the way of the covenant as the way of wisdom, the foundation was laid in the Torah for the Wisdom literature which was afterwards to find its place in the sacred canon."50
