God is serious about the signs He has given to His people. Obedience to His instructions is a general sign, and within this obedience, the Sabbath stands as an extremely significant sign. The blood of the Passover lamb is designated as a sign of salvation, symbolizing deliverance from God's wrath. The Feast of Unleavened Bread also contains a sign, as eating unleavened bread for seven days and abstaining from leavening is a sign on your hand, ensuring that God's law remains in our mouths and memorializing His deliverance of Israel from Egypt and us from the powers of darkness. God gives signs for good reasons, and belittling them is equated with rejecting Him. If we despise or diminish the importance of these signs, we risk being ensnared again by sin and the world, and God's instructions leave our mouths. When we take heed to His Word and bind it to our hands, it is an incredibly positive sign. However, through rebellion or neglect, if we tune out His instructions, His Word becomes a testimony against us, and His curses become a new sign. These curses shall come upon those who do not obey the voice of the Lord their God, serving as a sign and a wonder upon them and their descendants forever. The signs of God prove even more significant for spiritual Israel, as they are a critical part of what He is doing with His people. When kept as an integral part of our thinking, they propel us toward the highest goal. Yet, if ignored or despised, they can become judgments against us, as Israel and Judah have experienced. God's signs, whether miraculous occurrences or instructions to follow, are essential blessings that must remain at the forefront of our minds and never be taken for granted.

Godh1>Signs of God God is serious about how His people regard the various signs He has given. One such sign is the engraving of God's words in our hearts and lives, binding them on our hands and works so that His divine words influence everything we do. Obedience to God's words becomes a sign to us, serving as a testimony that there is a God who desires us to live as He does. It is also a sign to others, revealing a distinct difference between those who follow God's instructions and those who do not, a witness evident through actions rather than words. Furthermore, obedience is a sign to God, symbolizing an individual's commitment to living as He lives, and He looks favorably on those who hold His words in high esteem and tremble at them, responding positively to His guidance. Within this broad sign of obedience, specific signs are identified by God. The keeping of the Sabbaths is a distinct sign between God and His people throughout generations, reminding them that He is the LORD who sanctifies them. It serves as a sign to the individual, to those around, and to God Himself. Keeping the Sabbaths holy is directly tied to God's sanctification, meaning that if the Sabbaths cease to be a sign by being treated as any other day, His sanctification also ceases. The Sabbaths are a sign of who God is—the Creator and Redeemer—and of who is being created and redeemed. This sign is not only for Israel but for all mankind, as the Sabbath was instituted at creation, long before the existence of Israelites, and was intended for all human beings. Despising this sign led to severe consequences for ancient Israel, contributing to their captivity and scattering, and causing some to forget their very identity.

Jesus Christ, in Matthew 12:39, declares that an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, responding to the people's demand for a heavenly sign to test Him. Despite having performed numerous miracles, He refuses to indulge their whims, stating that if they do not believe His prior works, they should look to the sign of Jonah—His burial and resurrection. Christ is not against signs, as the Old Testament and the gospel of John are filled with them, revealing God and His faithfulness. When God gives a sign, He expects it to be carefully considered and remembered, forming the basis of later decisions. A lack of belief in His signs equates to a rejection of Him, and forgetting these signs leads to forgetting God. A sign, often translated from the Hebrew 'owth, communicates meaning as a symbol, mark, or token. While not all signs are miraculous, they carry divine communication. In Deuteronomy 11:18, God instructs His people to lay up His words in their heart and soul, binding them as a sign on their hand and as frontlets between their eyes. The hand symbolizes activity and work, and binding God's instructions to it ensures that every action is guided by His words. This obedience becomes a sign, communicating a revelation from God about how to live—a revelation most of mankind does not value. It serves as a perpetual reminder of a God who has made a covenant out of His grace and desires His people to learn to live like He does. Furthermore, obedience to God's instructions is a sign of the goal to live like the Son of God, reflecting His holy character image.