September 10, 2013
Central Truth
Moses warns Israel of the trouble they will face from disobeying God, but not without reminding them of God's faithfulness to them. Even though we disobey, the Lord is merciful and loving to us, and He longs to bring us back into obedience and into a right standing with Him.
"When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them." (Deuteronomy 4:30-31)
25 When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.
32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. 36 Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them 1 4:37 Hebrew his offspring after him and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”
41 Then Moses set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, 42 that the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: 43 Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
44 This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount Sirion 2 4:48 Syriac; Hebrew Sion (that is, Hermon), 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.
Moses' sermon to the Israelites comes to a close here in the second half of Deuteronomy 4. He starts the text by prophesying that Israel will disobey God's commands and suffer severe consequences from their disobedience. Can you imagine being an Israelite at the edge of the Promised Land, hearing that you won't be staying in it for long because of your own rebellion? How discouraging after 40 years of wandering in the desert!
But thankfully, Moses doesn't just stop with God's discipline of Israel's rebellion. He continues on in verses 29-40 to remind Israel of God's character. Dr. Thomas Constable notes in his commentary on this passage at soniclight.com that "[t]he best way to motivate people to obey God is to expound His character and conduct positively, as Moses did here."
Moses reminds the Israelites that God is loving, He is present, He longs for a relationship with them, He is a promise keeper, and He is merciful. Moses also reminds the Israelites that they are God's chosen people who He personally rescued from Egypt.
God is reminding us, His people, of that now. 1 Peter 2:9 says: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession . . . ." Just like the Lord delivered the Israelites, He has delivered us. He hasn't delivered us from an oppressive nation who has forced us into slavery, but rather from our slavery to sin. Thank you, Lord!
Like the Israelites, the Lord disciplines us when we disobey (Hebrews 12:4-11), but when we turn our hearts back to Him and repent, He is merciful to forgive us. I am so thankful for His mercy as I recall the countless times in my short life that I have followed in the footsteps of the Israelites and worshiped idols and disobeyed the Lord's commands. I am reminded today of my perfect Father's love for me and His faithfulness towards me, and, as an act of love for Him, I will "Listen and obey, listen and obey. That is what the Bible says, so listen and obey!"
1. If Moses was giving this sermon to you, what examples in your life would he use to remind you of God's faithfulness?
2. Is there something that the Lord is calling you to be obedient in today? How are you responding to Him?
3. Has there been a time in your life that was characterized by disobedience? How did the Lord soften your heart back toward Him and what did He teach you during that time?
4. What aspects of God's character did you discover in today's reading? How has He shown those character attributes to you lately?