Not Because of Your Righteousness

Deuteronomy 9:1-29

What does it say?

Moses is telling the sons of Israel that today, they are going to enter the land that the Lord promised to their fathers, a land of milk and honey. However, the land is filled with a mighty people to strong for them to defeat, but fear not, the Lord is going before them to destroy the people who inhabit the land. Moses warns the sons of Israel not to become prideful, for the Lord is not doing this because of their righteousness, but because of the wickedness of the people in the land. Moses then reminds the sons of Israel of their rebellion against the Lord and their stubbornness of heart. Moses recalled when the Lord gave them the covenant and wrote “The Ten Commandments,” with his finger, on two stone tablets, that Moses went up to receive them and he spent forty days and forty nights on the mountain with the Lord, that the people made a golden calf and worshiped it. Then when the Lord took them to possess the land, they rebelled against the command of the Lord; they did not believe the Lord nor listen to his voice. On both occasions, the Lord would have been righteous to destroy them but the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in grace and truth.

What does it mean?

The Father God is righteous and just. In Romans 3, the apostle Paul leaves no doubt, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) No one deserves the promise land. The sons of Israel were promised the land of Canaan as their inheritance. We are promised heaven on earth at the consummation. The sons of Israel sinned against the Lord and he was gracious to them and forgave their sin. Justification is a gift, given by the grace of God, received through faith in Jesus Christ. This free gift is offered to people from every nation on the earth.

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” (Rom 3:10-12)

What Should I do?

I should not think that I have what I have because of something that I have done. I am going in to possess the new heaven and the new earth. I do not deserve this land but the Lord has promised it to me in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only man who deserves to live in the kingdom of God, but he has redeemed a particular people for himself. Not by my parents, not by my works and not because I decided, but because the Lord God is abounding in grace and truth. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23)

Man Shall Not Live On Bread Alone

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

What does it say?

The Lord God treats the sons of Israel as a good Father treats his sons; he allowed them to struggle in the wilderness, that they may learn to trust him and observe all that he commanded them. However, things are about to change, because the Lord is about to give them a land of plenty. Moses warns them to remember the Lord your God in the land of plenty and do not forget to observe all that the Lord commanded them. Moses warns the Israelites, if you  forget the Lord and go after other gods, it will not go well for them, the Lord will make them perish; like the nations who occupied the land before them.

What does it mean?

After Jesus baptism by John, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. During that time, Jesus was without food and he became hungry, so the devil used Jesus’ hunger to tempt him. The devil said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” In reply, Jesus gave the meaning of Deuteronomy 8, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE.’” (Lk 4:1-4) Our bodies are very important, but we are more than our bodies. Jesus said that the great and foremost commandment is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mt. 22:37) People on earth have bodies just like the animals of the earth, but unlike the animals, we are created in the image of God. (Gn 1:27) 

What shall I do?

The heart represents what is important to us, the mind represents what we think about and the soul represents our lives. What is most important to you? What do you think about the most? Are you willing to lay down your life? Do you forget the Lord and his commandments in your day to day life or is his word ever present in your heart and mind? Do you take the time to listen to what God has to say before beginning your day? 

Whom Or What Do You Really Love

Deuteronomy 7:1-26

There are seven nations in the land that the Lord is giving the sons of Israel to possess; they were to utterly destroy those nations and not covenant with them, less they serve their gods and kindle the anger of the Lord. The Lord God keeps his covenant and his lovingkindness to a thousandth generation of those who love him and keep his commandments; but he will destroy those who hate him; therefore, Moses says, “keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.” If the sons of Israel listen to the Word of the Lord and keep his commandments, then the Lord will bless them in the land above all peoples on the face of the earth. Do not fear the people of the land and think they are to powerful, but remember what the Lord did in Egypt, delivering you out of slavery. Moses said to destroy all the idols in the land and do not covet the silver and gold, nor take it into your homes, given that it was used to make idols, it is an abomination to the Lord; therefore, you shall detest it and utterly abhor the silver and gold used to make idols. 

A theme is developing in this great sermon, “Deuteronomy.” The Lord God choose the sons of Israel to be a people of his own possession, out of all the peoples who existed on the face of the earth. Compared to other nations, they were not numerous, nor were they strong. They were slaves in Egypt, but the Lord redeemed them to be a people of his own possession. Moses, who was chosen as their intercessor, between the Lord and the people, gives this great sermon. It is a sermon of warnings and blessings. Warnings for those who do not keep the Lord’s commandments and blessings for those who do all that the Lord commands. The matter comes down to love. Do you love the Lord? Jesus said to his disciples, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” What is the desire of your heart? Do you love the Lord? If you love the Lord, you will serve him, but if you love pleasure more than the Lord, you will serve pleasure. Whomever or whatever a man loves, that will he serve. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Mt 6:24)

Obey the Lord and Prosper

Deuteronomy 6:1-15

Moses tells the sons of Israel, if they keep the commandments of the Lord, which he is teaching them in this sermon, they will prosper in the land, the land which the Lord is giving them to possess. The Lord is your God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Bind yourselves to the commandments and statutes of the Lord and fear only the Lord your God; worship him alone and do not follow other gods, the gods of the people who are in the land. The Lord is a jealous God, so do not test him and go after other gods, lest he destroy you, but diligently keep his commandments, always doing what is right in his sight, that it will go well with you, and the Lord will drive out your enemies before you. Teach your sons these commandments and write them on the doorpost of your house, so that when your sons asks the meaning of these testimonies, statutes and judgments, tell them how the Lord took you out of Egypt and gave you the land which he swore to the fathers; therefore, tell your sons to have loyal love, obedience, and trust the Lord their God. 

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Dt 6:4-5) Jesus called this commandment, the great and formost commandment. (Mt 22:38) The people are to do three things in the land that they are about to go into to possess: First, they are to love the Lord their God with all of their heart and with all of their soul and with all of their might. The Lord is one! Therefore, they are to be loyal to the Lord alone and not go after other gods in the land that they are going into, to possess. Second, they are to have the commandments of the Lord before them all the time, that they may observe them and keep them and teach them to their children. Lastly, they are to trust the testimonies and statutes and judgments of the Lord. The Lord has promised to defeat their enemies. Not trusting the Word of the Lord, leads to going after other gods and doing so, will end in destruction, because the Lord is a jealous God. Loyal love for the Lord alone, obedience to the Lord’s commandments and trusting his Word is the only way that they will prosper in the land.

The Jews wanted to stone Jesus (Jn 10:31) because they understood, when he said, “I and the Father are one,” (Jn 10:30) that he was saying, “I am the Lord your God.” They understood that the Lord is one; therefore, to equate himself with the Father, as he did, they considered it blasphemy, because they understood that he, a man, was making himself out to be God. (Jn 10:33) However, Jesus said to them, “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” 

I believe that Jesus is the God Man, fully God and fully Man in one person. I do not believe that the Father descended and became the Son, nor the Son ascended and became the Father; yet the Father and Son and Holy Spirit are one. The Lord is one! There are no other gods, only evil spirits and the creations of men. It is my duty, as a Christian, under the new covenant, to have loyal love for the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is my duty, as a christian, to make disciples and teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded. It is my duty, as a christian, to trust the promises of God in Jesus Christ.

The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the law, that you may learn the law and observe the law carefully; the Lord made a covenant with all Istael at Horeb, the Lord did not make this covenant with your fathers, but he made it with all the sons of Israel. When the Lord spoke to the sons of Israel at Horeb, he told them, I am the Lord you God who took you out of the house of slavery in Egypt:

1. You shall have no other gods before me. 
2. You shall not make any idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 
4. Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against you neighbor.
10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

The Lord God spoke these “Ten Commandments,” and no more, and he wrote them on two stone tablets, and he gave them to Moses, whom the people elected to be their intercessor before the Lord, because they feared the voice of the Lord God. The Lord God heard their voice, and he was pleased with what they had spoken, and he told Moses to stand near the Lord, and listen to all the law, and teach the law to the people, that they may observe the law in the land which the Lord gave them to possess; this is the law, which Moses is expounding in his great sermon, “Deuteronomy.” 

“The Ten Commandments” are the covenantal obligation of the people to the Lord their God. It was the Lord who took the sons of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. The Lord promised to continue as their benefactor with stipulations. The stipulations are “The Ten Commandments.” If the people observe the law carefully, all would go well for them in the land that the Lord gave them to possess, but if they do not, it will not go well for them. “The Ten Commandments” are not burdensome, yet no one kept them perfectly. The apostle Paul asked, concerning the Jew, in his letter to the Romans, “Then what advantage has the Jew?” (Rom 3:1) He had showed in the first two chapters of his letter that both Gentile and Jew had all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23) However, the Jew had an advantage that the Gentile did not have, “they were entrusted with the oracles of God.” (Rom 3:2, cf. Acts 7:38) 

If both Jew and Gentile had both sinned and fallen short of his glory, how does having the oracles of God make the Jew advantaged? After showing Jew and Gentile alike under sin, (Rom 3:9-18) Paul explains how the oracles of God give the Jew an advantage. Paul wrote, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.” (Rom 3:20) How can anyone say that they are good in light of the law? The law brings the knowledge of sin, for this reason, the people trembled when they heard the Lord speak. People tremble today when they hear the oracles of God. “Therefore the law is the tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” (Gal 3:24-25) The law is used lawfully, will show a person, their need of Christ. The law can bring a person to the cross of Jesus Christ but no further. 

Israel Urged to Obey God’s Law

Deuteronomy 4:1-49

Moses said, do not add to, nor take away from the commandments of the Lord your God, and remember what the Lord did to the men who went after other gods. Moses taught the Israelites, the commandments that the Lord God commanded him. At mount Horeb, the sons of Israel did not see the form of the Lord, but heard him speak the words of the covenant, that is, “The Ten Commandments,” from the mountain, and he wrote them on two stone tablets; they are to teach them to their children and grandchildren. The Lord took them out of Egypt to be his own possession and they saw no form, so be careful  not take make images and bow down to worship them. Moses will not cross the Jordan with them but reiterates, do not forget the covenant, and make yourselves a graven image in the form of anything. When they are long in the land, and forget the covenant, and make idols, the Lord will scatter them among the nations, but will listen when they return to the Lord their God; although the Lord is a jealous God, he is a compassionate God. Moses told them to search all of human history before them, has anyone but them heard the Lord speak from heaven, and has he taken a people for himself, as he did them; the answer is no, and he did so, because he loved their fathers. Moses set apart three cities, east of the Jordan, that a man may flee to, who unintentionally slew his neighbor, that he might escape vengeance and live. Thus, Moses begins to expound the law before the sons of Israel. 

The Lord God took the sons of Israel out of Egypt and made them his own possession. He covenanted with them at Mount Horeb, “The Ten Commandments,” which he, the Lord God wrote on two stone tablets. The sons of Israel excepted the covenant of the Lord, and made Moses their intercessor before the Lord, to speak to the Lord, and receive his commandments. Covenantal obligations are loyalty, obedience and trust. Will the sons of Israel be loyal to the Lord or will they worship other gods? Will the sons of Israel observe his commandments in the land that they are about to possess? Will they trust the Word of the Lord?

There has been a debate among Christians, since the reformation, regarding the Christian’s obligation to the law, given by Moses, to the sons of Israel. Think for a minute, to whom was that law given? And to whom did the Lord God covenant with at Mount Horeb? The answer to both questions is the sons of Israel. To whom did Jesus give his commandments, “The Sermon on the Mount?” To whom did Jesus covenant with during the Lord’s supper? The answer to both questions is the disciples. The sons of Israel are a physical people. They are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The disciples of Jesus Christ are people from all nations. Both the law of Moses and the law of Christ come from the same God, but are a different law and a different covenant; however, since both come from the same God, they are alike in nature. More on this tomorrow, when Moses expounds “The Ten Commandments.”

Do Not Fear

Deuteronomy 3:1-29

The Lord said to the sons of Israel, “Do not fear Og, king of Bashan, with all of his people, for I will deliver them into your hands, just like I did with Shihon king of the Amorites;” the Lord delivered them into the hands of the sons of Israel just as he promised. Thus the sons of Israel took the land of two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites and one-half the tribe of Manasseh took possession of the land as their inheritance. They could leave their families in these lands, but the men of war must cross the Jordan, with the others, to aide their brothers taking of the land beyond the Jordan. The Lord promised to do to the kings beyond the Jordan, what he did to the two kings of the Amorites; therefore, Moses said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for the Lord you God is the one fighting for you.” Moses asked the Lord if he could cross the Jordan, but he told him no; however, the Lord allowed Moses to see the land at a distance, from a mountain top, and charged Joshua as head of the people crossing the Jordan.

The three aspects of covenant keeping is loyal-love, obedience and trust. When the sons of Israel were loyal to the Lord, obedient to his commandments and trusted his promises, they were victorious in battle. This is not to say that we should assume that the Lord is on our side in everything, when there is something that we want. What are the promises that the Lord has given us in his word? The Lord has promised to deliver us from the two kings who rule this world: sin and death; therefore, we should not fear sin and death, for the Lord has promised our deliverance. We must be loyal to the Lord, observe all that he commanded (even when we do not understand the reason) and trust his promise of deliverance. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor 15:56-58)