Tactical Instructions
that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor: and that you shall be a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken. Deuteronomy 26:19
Praise, Fame and Honor – This is the “big picture” verse. In order to understand it, we need to take a step back before we can take a step forward. The step back puts this verse in its proper context. First, God chooses some to reach many. God elects Israel in order to bless Israel so that His blessings will act as a magnet for the rest of humanity. Those who submit to the God of Israel take on the same mission – to live in obedience so that God might be glorified and, as a result, all the nations will come to Him. That’s the plan. Election has nothing to do with merit. It is simply God’s way of executing His plan.
Secondly, no true follower of YHWH ever thinks that God’s love depends on his obedience. Love is determined by election. Completion of the mission depends on obedience. Israel’s failure to obey does not change God’s election. It only affects the mission. Israel’s failure to act as a magnet means that God uses the Gentiles who are in the house to accomplish the mission. Neither God’s love for Israel or for the adopted Gentiles who come into the house changes as a result of this failure. The strategy is the same. The only thing that changes is the tactic.
Once we understand this big picture, we can understand this verse. Favoritism is not part of the plan. God chooses for His own reasons. He doesn’t set Israel above other nations because they deserved it any more than He blesses you because you deserve it. Israel didn’t deserve it and neither do you and I. God loved us when we were still His enemies. God sets Israel above the nations in order that they can fulfill His mission. That is exactly what He does with us. The only reason God pours out His blessings on us is so that we can act as magnets. And, of course, we sometimes have a stronger magnetism in adversity than we do in prosperity. That part is entirely up to God. After all, it is His mission. How He accomplishes it through you is up to Him.
However, in general, God loves to make life good. So, in this verse, He says that keeping His commandments will result in praise, fame and honor. That attracts the nations. Of course, these words in Hebrew don’t quite mean what they do in English. They are tehillah, shem and tiph’arah. We can fill them out a bit. “Praise” is really genuine adoration and thanksgiving due to the worth of the object. False praise means nothing, since it doesn’t match the quality of the object. But when God stands behind a nation, it is praised because it reflects His character. When a nation doesn’t reflect the character of the One Who made it, no praise is due.
“Fame” is the familiar word, shem (name). It is good reputation. How will that occur? By being in alignment with the character of the Most High God. There is no better reputation than being God’s regent in the world.
Finally, “honor” is tiph’arah. It means beauty and glory. When we fulfill God’s mission, His glory shines right through us. That is the glory of transparent creation. When God’s glory radiates through His people, we become invisible. He gets the glory.
So, the Commandments are the instruction manual for spiritual magnetism. Follow them and you will attract others to Him. Don’t follow them and your magnetic quality will be passed to someone else. It’s up to you.
