Have you ever been given a second chance? At a church I pastored, a man came to faith in Christ later in life. Afterward, he reconnected with his ex-wife. After seeing the change in her husband’s life, she agreed to get remarried, and they have enjoyed many more years together.

As Deuteronomy 10 opens, Moses is carving two new tablets, taking them up the mountain, where God would rewrite the Ten Commandments on them (vv. 1–5). God was giving Israel a second chance. He was not giving up on them after they worshiped the Golden Calf. Instead, He renewed His covenant commitment with them.

Forgiveness like this is stunning and required a response. Moses reminded Israel that “to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your ancestors…do not be stiff-necked any longer” (vv. 14–16). The grace they had been given should transform them.

One way to show this trans- formation was to model their character after God’s. They were called to be like the Lord. They should defend the orphan, widow, and resident foreigner, because that is what the Lord had done (v. 18). Israel should help foreigners, because “you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (vv. 18–19). Their faith in God would be demonstrated by how they treated the vulnerable. As they had experienced God’s grace, they should extend grace to others.

We, too, have experienced God’s grace and forgiveness. God’s grace should work a change in us. Paul reminded the church in Corinth, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).

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