What kind of heart did these Israelites have. God knew, and his servant Moses knew. He had to keep laying out in plainer and plainer terms how they were to behave towards others. The Ten Commandments were not enough: Honor your father and mother, don't kill, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't covet. When God looks at their hearts, he sees it is not just the sins of commission, but the sins of omission as well that they have to be reminded of. They have to be told that they can't favor the son of the favorite wife at the expense of the true first born son. They have to be told to take a lost ox or sheep back to the one it belongs to, to give refuge to runaway a slave, to leave grain, olives or grapes that are missed in harvesting for the alien, the fatherless and the widow.
These were not mortal sins in the sense that they would have to die for them, but sins that would have an effect on their blessing from God. These sins were of the same caliber as taking advantage of a poor hired hand, or carrying around two different weights. God's people were to be above board in all of their dealings. God's promise to bless them had to be engraved on their hearts so that they didn't have worry about taking care of themselves. It was a given that they were cared for, they were loved, they were blessed. In return they had the same responsibility towards their fellow man. Moreover, a Holy God required a holy people and they had to be holy with every fiber of their being, especially with their heart.
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