Deuteronomy 6-Deuteronomy 7:11 (Click scripture reference for audio access)
"Threats To The Foundation" •
10.11.12 • Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary
Christian Fellowship
Intro.
- Moses is
continuing his sermon, readying the Hebrew for their entrance into the land of
Canaan. Before they settled in Canaan, they needed to be settled in their
loyalty toward the Lord.
- Tonight,
we'll look at what was to be the foundation of the Hebrew life apart from where
they lived and in the same sermon, Moses will describe that which seeks to
undermine that foundation.
- This is then
at once a great encouragment and a great warning. We'll begin with the
foundation: Love For The Lord!
Text
•
Deuteronomy 6:1-5 : "Now this is the commandment, and
these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach
you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to
possess, that you
may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes
and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson,
all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be
careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply
greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised
you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your strength." :
Moses summarizes the law of God in one powerful phrase which the Israeli would
call the "Shema" coming from the word translated "hear."
They were to hear with intent of obedience.
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It begins first with an understanding of who their God is. The Lord is our God!
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This is first a statement of authority and submission. The God of the Universe,
the God of the Bible, is the God that they were to serve and to unify
themselves under.
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They were to be one in purpose, as the Lord that they served is one in purpose.
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Often, according to Blue Letter Bible, this word "one" is used to
describe compound unity. For example "one people" describes thousands
of people united in purpose.
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This word might be used to describe one hand of bananas or a cluster of grapes.
You will have one hand, but at least 6 individual bananas and dozens of
individual grapes.
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The Lord is One. Three in One to be exact! Many seek to use this verse to argue
against the concept of the Trinity, though "echad" opens the door
wide open for that doctrine.
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We can define the Trinity as being "One being eternally existent in three
persons." Each member of the Trinity is called God throughout scripture.
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Obviously, here in the Old Testament, God the Father is known. In the New
Testament, Jesus the Son is called "God" as is the Holy Spirit.
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Each have always been God, each will always be God. That is the definition. Can
we understand that? Yes, but we do not understand that! It's the biblical
teaching, but it's difficult for us!
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God does not seek to explain it in scripture, but it is clearly the teaching of
scripture. There are many clues throughout the Word that this is to be held as
the case.
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The baptismal formula that the Apostles used was to baptize in the name of the
Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
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It's fascinating how God even places this in this sentence, as the Lord's name
is written three times in one sentence!
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When this was spoken in the synagogue, it's said that they say "The Lord
is One, One, One!" repeating this sentence emphatically three times!
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The word "one," represents agreement and unity. The Godhead, the
Trinity is entirely unified in His purpose.
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God the Father had the plan of redemption. Jesus carried it out. The Holy
Spirit gives us the power to live in it! That God deserves and desires our
love.
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What is love? Is it an emotional expression open to our abstract subjective
definition? Biblical love toward God is measured by our obedience.
-
Our obedience is to come from a committed heart, a soul that is single minded
and every ounce of strength we possess! The Israelis were to love God with all
of their being.
•
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 : "And these words which I command you
today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk
of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie
down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your
gates." : These words are to be in the very
seat of your heart and life.
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To love God in a way that is all encompassing is to be the foundation of our
very lives. That love is not to remain in our lives alone. This is to be
transmitted to our children and grandchildren!
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We, as Christian parents are to diligently teach our children to love God in
the same way that we love the Lord! The word "diligently" comes from
a Hebrew word that refers "to sharpening."
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Like a sword is sharpened, a life is sharpened over and over again over the
rock of the love of God! Speak to them in an organized way, sharing with them
the tenents of the faith.
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Read your children the Bible. Have them in Sunday School. Answer direct
questions directly!
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Let it break into your conversation when you are sitting in the house or when
you are taking a walk, When you lie down with your wife or your kids and when
you get up!
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In other words, let your love for God be evident in every part of your day and
life! Wherever you are in your house, the love of God is to be evident and
taught to them.
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But don't leave your love in the house! Take it out with you. Bind the words on
your hands, the front of your eyes and the doorposts of your house and gates.
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The Jewish people took this literally, placing boxes called
"Phylacteries" on their heads and on their hands. God did not intend
that.
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Rather, whatever our hands intend to do must be filtered through our love for
God. Whatever our eyes allow in front of them must be filtered through love for
God!
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Those who enter our property and enter into our homes, need to be impressed by
the love of God that we display!
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Now, Moses speaks about that which attacks our foundation. He speaks first of
complacency!
•
Deuteronomy 6:10-15 : "So it
shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land
of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you
large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things,
which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and
olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full—then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods,
the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among
you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face
of the earth." : When would they be tempted
to forget God? In the desert they were greatly dependant upon the Lord for food
and direction.
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Soon, they would trade in the wilderness wanderings for large and beautiful
cities ready made, houses that were already full of good things.
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Soon they would trade in a time of difficult travel, for a time of settled
ease!
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When would they forget the Lord? When they had eaten and were full! The trouble
is past and the diffiiculty is behind us. Believe it or not, we are in the most
dangerous place of all!
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We forget what we have been delivered from and our Deliverer. God knew that
this people would be prone to forget the Lord and then they would go after the
gods of the land.
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Today our gods are not made of stone or wood, but are made of metal and chrome!
Our gods wear uniforms with icons and numbers!
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When we are fighting and trusting God for the next moment, we are much more
inclined to be successful. Moses let's them know that they are going to have to
guard against complacency.
•
Deuteronomy 6:16-19 : "You shall
not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in
Massah. You shall
diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has
commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and
that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, to cast out all your enemies from
before you, as the Lord has spoken." : The second danger that they would face is compromise! The
people were not to test the Lord as they had at Massah or what we might
remember as the waters of Meribah.
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The story stems from Exodus 17. The
people complained about the lack of water.
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Here God had miraculously delivered them and brought them out of the land of
Egypt. Had He not garnered their trust? Had He not earned their belief?
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But they tested Him there by this presumptuous way of thinking: God is only
real when we need Him! When things got difficult, the people complained and
acted as though God wasn't real.
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As believers, we are very similar. We believe that God is good and gracious,
able to meet all of our needs, preaching with great conviction that truth when
things are good.
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However, when He chooses to withhold. When He decides not to meet a need
immediately, we begin to act as though all these truths are figments of our
imagination!
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They were not to act this way and neither should we. They were to act in
accordance with their love for God, by keeping His Word and doing what was
right and good in His sight! Is that you?
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The question to you, as a person who fears and loves God, is whether you are living
right in His judgment?
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For the people of God listening to this in this chapter, part of their
adherance to God's law was to go in and possess the land by removing the
inhabitants of the land.
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They had been given time to repent, but had grown like a cancer that God was
now eradicating from the earth.
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Moses writes this concerned that they would forego destroying all of the
enemies of God, at some level seeking instead to learn to live with them.
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Christians do the same with allowing stuff in their lives that is better suited
for the trash can!
•
Deuteronomy 6:20-25 : "When your
son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies,
the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son: ‘We
were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the Lord showed signs and wonders before
our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then He brought us out from there,
that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our
fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these
statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive,
as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to
observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’" : The life of the Hebrews would spark questions from their
children. Why are we at war with these people?
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It begins with what they were and moves right into the present day! They were
slaves in the world. Now, they were slaves of God!
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It was God who was preserving them, keeping them as they were to that very day
of the question! Righteousness, a right way to live, was careful observation of
all that God commanded!
-
How much more is that our call today? As ones who have been declared righteous
by God's decree through Christ's blood, how can we not be all the more
committed to His commands?
•
Deuteronomy 7:1-5 : "When the Lord your God brings you into the land
which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites
and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and
the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them over to
you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no
covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with
them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter
for your son. For
they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the
anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and
destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their
altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images,
and burn their carved images with fire." :
The final danger that will undermine the foundation of our love for God is conceit!
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These Canaanite nations that we hear about were wicked, sinful idolatrous
nations whose actions threatened all.
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Their wickedness led them to new human lows with regard to how they treated
their own bodies and their worship of many gods led them to offer infants in
human sacrifice to Molech.
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God was using Israel as His weapon of judgment and they were to utterly destroy
these people. They were not to have any sort of formal relationship with them.
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The reason is the same as it has always been: God is zealous for His people and
a relationship with the world results in turning away from the Lord!
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Far from turning away from God, the Israelites were to aggressively destroy the
worship implements of the Canaanites, destroying, breaking down, cutting down
and burning!
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God is severe when it comes to that which stands against Him in the eyes of His
people.
•
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 : "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a
people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the
earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor
choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were
the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to
your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king
of Egypt." : The Israelites might be asking,
"What makes us so special? We are being used of God to displace all of
these mighty people? Why?
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God lets them know that they were set apart for Himself. They belonged to Him
and were His inheritance on the Earth. Why did He choose them?
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Because He loved them! God loves the nation of Israel! He made a decision in
the counsel of His own will, to set His love upon them! Why does He love them?
Because He does!
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In the same way, He has set His love on Christ and we are united together with
Him! We are loved in Christ together.
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Specifically, the people of God, the people of Israel, were the beneficiaries
of the promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is ever loving
and faithful!
•
Deuteronomy 7:9-11 : "Therefore
know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful
God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love
Him and keep His commandments; and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them.
He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. Therefore you shall keep the
commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to
observe them." : God is their God, the
Faithful God. This means wonderful things to those who are His.
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He keeps His promise active. It never abates. It never lessens. His mercy is
new every morning and a thousand generations will not exhaust it!
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On the other hand, for those who hate the Lord, He will destroy them. He will
not be slack with Him. God will not hesitate to repay His hate to His face.
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Israel, remember that! Because He is loving and faithful to those who love Him.
If someone makes God their enemy, they will be dealt with. Therefore, keep His
commands and observe them!
Conclusion
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