Exodus 34:12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

My first response to this is; take heed of what?

Psalm 19:9-11 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

What value is there in a warning if you do not heed it? Did you think the Word of the Lord is null and void simply because He is merciful and forgiving?

1 John 1:6  If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

It is we who become the liars, not the Lord. He has given us full waring, when we do not heed those warnings our testimony becomes a lie.

Job 24:25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

Our words lose power when we become a liar. When we get caught in the snare of sin because we failed to heed His warning, our words become mere words. They have no power to help us because they are tainted with lies.

Repentance is not born from the mouth of a liar but in the deep regrets of the heart.

Psalm 119:26-28 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

All this year we have been talking about growing in Christ. Are you aware of what is happening in you? Do you perceive the change? Do you understand how this change came about? Here in these verses is a plea for understanding the way of His precepts.

This is more than just gaining a list of commandments and statues which we label as laws. It is an understanding of how it works.

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Which statutes require obedience on our part to exact cause and effect which are contained within the command? Which precepts require no action on our part to be accomplished? It is that finite difference between obedience of faith and grace received merely because we are children of God.

Which are results of faith unto good works and which are gracious good pleasures of our loving God? If we do not have understanding we will end up working for grace or waiting on faith to do something without us. Both are error.

If you do not have understanding, you are in need of discipleship. Making disciples is so much more that preaching the gospel to the lost. Once saved, you have to gain an understanding of how these changes occur in you and why. That is understanding the “way” of precepts.

Is anyone disciplining you?