Deuteronomy 4:41-Deuteronomy 5 (Click scripture reference for audio access)
"The Heart Of The Almighty" •
10.11.12 • Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary
Christian Fellowship
Intro.
- We are about
to begin the second of the last three sermons of Moses' life. When you are
about to move on, when you are going to be in heaven soon, what would your last
words be?
- These are
words that are not only the heart of a man who had spent 2/3rds of his life
with a passion to see a people delivered and settled.
- These are not
only some of his last words, but they are the inspired words of God to His
people then and now. Let's begin where we left off last time, chapter 4:41.
Text
•
Deuteronomy 4:41-43 : "Then
Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of
the sun, that the manslayer might flee
there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time
past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: Bezer in the wilderness on the
plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in
Bashan for the Manassites." : The
important aspect of these cities of refuge was the prevention of vengeance
killing. Without local law enforcement, this institution limited man's
instincts.
-
These cities on the Eastern side of the Jordan River, farthest from the
majority of their brethren, were very necessary.
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The person in question, the one who had accidentally ended a life, was to run
into the city of refuge closest to him and he was to be judged by the local
priest.
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If he was found innocent of murder in the first degree, he was not executed,
but was sentenced to live in the city of refuge until the priest died.
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If he left that city of refuge, the manslayer, the one with the desire for
vengeance, could kill him and be within his rights legally.
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The cities of refuge provide us with a wonderful picture of Jesus, who we have
run into. Outside of Jesus is the manslayer, Satan, who wants to destroy us.
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We are to remain in Him and we are safe while He lives. Thankfully, He ever
lives!
•
Deuteronomy 4:44-49 : "Now this
is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. These are the testimonies, the
statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they
came out of Egypt, on this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in
the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and
the children of Israel defeated after they came out of Egypt. And they took possession of his
land and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on
this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, from Aroer, which is on the bank of
the River Arnon, even to Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), and all the plain on the east side
of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah." : We are now
beginning Moses' second sermon. The time is near the end of the first sermon.
-
They are sitting beneath the place that God called Moses to come up to, in
order that he might get a view of the land. This was close and with the land
just over there, Moses starts in again.
•
Deuteronomy 5:1-4 : "And Moses called all Israel, and
said to them: 'Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your
hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in
Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with
our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The Lord talked with you face to face on
the mountain from the midst of the fire."
: There had been a time when God
had made this covenant with the people who stood at Mt. Sinai.
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This was not an experience that the Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
experienced, but was an experience that they had. They were a generation that
was ministered to by God Himself!
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Many who were listening to Moses at that very moment, were very young when God
had done met with them on Mt. Sinai.
-
Moses reminds them of their privilige. The Lord spoke to them face to face, a
euphemism that speaks of direct revelation. God spoke to them on Mt. Sinai, in
the midst of the fire.
• Deuteronomy
5:5-15 : "I stood between the Lord
and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord;
for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He
said: ‘I am the
Lord your God who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before
Me. You shall
not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth; you shall
not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth
generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those
who love Me and keep My commandments. ‘You
shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you
shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant,
nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle,
nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your
female servant may rest as well as you. And
remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out
from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you
to keep the Sabbath day." : This table, the first four of
the commandments, relate to our observance of who God is and what our response
to Him should be.
- God's people were to remember who He was: Their Redeemer,
their Rescuer! The fact that He is always that leads to our proper response.
- Think often of the fact that you were once a
powerless, lost slave to the World system, helpless and hopeless!
- He brought Israel out of physical bondage
that at best would have lasted their lives, but you and I, He delivered out of
a spiritual bondage that would have been eternal in nature!
- When He is your Redeemer and your Deliverer,
you will reverance Him above everything else. Nothing else, no other thing will
compete.
- They needed that reminder as idolatry was
such an ever present problem in Canaan. But giving into idolatry would strap or
bend a family in a direction that God would disregard.
- This passage beginning at verse 9 does not teach generational curses,
but instead a God who comes to each new generation, offering rescue, even
though a bent has been ingrained.
- Because of His jealousy, because of His zeal,
each succeeding generation receives the same invitiation to life. Some would
know His mercy, even thousands!
- You have been recipients of His mercy despite
your heritage, despite your parent's attitudes toward the Lord!
- As a result, we are to hold His name in the
Highest regard, never uttering it for anything other than it's proper usage.
His name over us requires a lifestyle that is becoming, honoring of His name!
- God's people are to be known as ones who rest
in Him. That is the meaning of the Sabbath day in the Old Testament. It is a
picture of rest and enjoyment of the Lord.
- When Jesus died, He became our rest,
fulfilling the shadow and picture of the Sabbath! They were to remember the
Sabbath in context of their slavery.
- They had been slaves, worked relentlessly to
the bone by the people of Egypt. They were powerless to remove themselves, but
God stretched out His mighty arm and removed them.
- Now, they were to be His people and instead
of calling them to endless and relentless work, He wants to be sure that they
are people of rest!
- Do notice that they were to work 6 days a
week! God knows that we need to work, but there is just as great a need to sit
and rest.
- Often times, I am asked which of these
commands are for today. Beside the Sabbath, each is repeated in the New
Testament, so they are for us as well! This is how we are to relate to our God.
•
Deuteronomy 5:16-22 : "'Honor
your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long,
and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not
desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant,
his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’ These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst
of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added
no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me." : Honor for the family, respect for the community and love for
your neighbor!
-
A love for God is naturally tied to a love for people! You cannot say that you
love God if there is not a love for people! That love is expressed here.
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If you love God you will honor your Father and Mother. Notice that there is no
qualifier. Honor them whether they are honorable or not! Honor them, bless
them.
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Jesus mentions that this commandment is the first that comes with a promise,
that being long and good days.
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Murder, adultery, theft and lying or circulating a false report, are all
unloving attitudes and actions. We remember that Jesus told us that murder and
adultery began in the heart.
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As we look at coveting anything that is not ours, we understand that the law is
spiritual, and not merely found in these actions or abstentions.
-
These two tablets represent the very heartbeat of God, as he took time to write
them for His people. Moses eventually dropped these, but they had been written
nonetheless!
•
Deuteronomy 5:23-27 : "So it
was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the
mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your
tribes and your elders. And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have
heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God
speaks with man; yet he still lives. Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will
consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh who
has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as
we have, and lived? You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all
that the Lord our God says to you, and we will
hear and do it.’" : The people greatly feared
the Lord at Mt. Sinai. Just the voice of God was enough to put great fear and
trembling into their hearts.
-
It's important to understand that God is to be feared. He is to be held in
reverance, despite the fact of our great privilege in Christ. Today, we may
enter boldly, but only because of Jesus!
-
The people in God's presence were afraid and needed Moses to speak
intermediate. "You go listen to Him and then come tell us!"
•
Deuteronomy 5:28-31 : "Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when
you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people
which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in
them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might
be well with them and with their children forever! Go and say to them, 'Return to your
tents.' But as for you, stand here by Me,
and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments
which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am
giving them to possess.’" : It was not enough to fear
the sound of God's voice. They were afraid of His presence but did not fear Him
in a proper way.
-
They were right to fear God. They were right to understand that they needed a
mediator, a go between. Then God says this: Oh that they had such a heart in
them to fear me!
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If their hearts only matched their words. If only they would live their lives
in such a way.
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To live with a fear of God is to live with His verdict in mind, understanding
that He is with you and knows all that you are doing. Then, with that
appropriate reverence, the people would obey.
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The test of whether or not you fear God is seen in how obedient you are to what
He commands you to do, whether you are in public or in private!
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If they would obey, then it would be well with them and they would be secure as
God's children forever! That's all that God wants for you.
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He wants it to be well with you! He wants to be with them. He wants to be their
Father forever! That's what He wants for you and me!
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That's why Moses would teach and that's why I teach. I don't want you to know
more, I want you to obey and love and be more than when you came in! That is
the heart!
•
Deuteronomy 5:32,33 : "Therefore
you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the
right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that
you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your
days in the land which you shall possess." :
This new generation had to be sure that they followed straight toward God's
commands.
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You may want to ask yourself: Am I following directly after God or am I
constantly being diverted to the right and the left hand side?
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Your next question might be, "Am I following Him completely?" Notice
that: You shall walk in all the ways wich the Lord your God has commanded you!
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Are there areas of your life that are completely surrendered, while others are
not? There is a wonderful promise for full obedience. It's as applicable to us
as it was to them.
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It will be well with you and your days will be good in the land of your
possession!
Conclusion
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