Archives for March 2021

OVERVIEW:

God’s promises to the fathers; God’s grace to the undeserving; second tables of commandments; love and obedience; blessing and cursing; ordinances.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

As we move into Deuteronomy 9 in today’s reading, the big day has actually arrived! It has been 14,400 days since the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry land, when God delivered them from their bondage in Egypt. According to Deuteronomy 1:2, the journey into the promised land has taken them 14,378 more days than it needed to! A simple 11-day journey has actually turned into 14,400 days! But in Deuteronomy 9:1, God told them, “Thou art to pass over Jordan this day.” (Note: Their actual crossing of the Jordan and into the promised land won’t be recorded until Joshua chapter 3.)

Sadly, in those 14,378 “unnecessary” days in the wilderness, an entire generation has died because of their failure to take God at His word. Recognize that every single one of them died having never experienced the purpose God intended when He graciously delivered them from Egypt. Because, according to what we saw in yesterday’s reading in Deuteronomy 6:23, the children of Israel’s exodus out of Egypt was never intended by God to be an end in itself; it was simply a means to another end. Moses told them, “And he (God) brought us OUT from thence (Egypt), that he might bring us IN, to give us the land (Canaan) which he swear unto our fathers.” May we, likewise, never forget that our deliverance out of the bondage of our sin (as glorious as that was and is) is not an end in itself! Just as with Israel, God brought us OUT, that He might bring us IN! We were delivered OUT of our sin so we could be brought IN to the life of fullness, abundance, and fruit-bearing found in Christ, by taking Him at His word by faith. As Paul recounts the story of Israel’s victory, in the exodus and their failure in the wilderness in 1^st Corinthians 10, he pleads with us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to make sure that what happened to THEM after their PHYSICAL exodus, doesn’t happen to US after our SPIRITUAL exodus! Paul said in 1^st Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things were our examples,” and repeats it five verses later, “Now all these things happen unto THEM for ensamples: and they are written for OUR admonition.” (10:11) Oh, may we have ears to hear that warning, and to heed it!

Yet, in Deuteronomy 9, before God brings the children of Israel into the land, there’s still another danger of which He needs to warn them. God knew that because of how “stiffnecked” this people was, that after settling into this new land, they might have the tendency to think they had entered this land because of who they were, or something they had done. On three separate occasions in this chapter Moses tells them to make sure that after coming into the land of Canaan, they didn’t get to thinking they had gotten there because they were just so good or “righteous”. In 9:4 he says, “Speak not thou in thine heart…For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me IN to possess their land.” In 9:5 he says, “Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land.” In 9:6 he reiterates it yet again, “Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.” Oh, my brothers and sisters, may we glean from the book of Deuteronomy, that most Christians will die in the wilderness of life having never experienced God’s purpose in their exodus. For those who actually do enter the land, we must be on high alert that pride doesn’t somehow creep in and cause us to think that we are experiencing the abundant life because of who we are or something we’ve done. Be it known, if we will experience the abundant life (Canaan), it will be because of the righteousness of Christ, and because of His matchless grace! Paul asks a beautifully pertinent question in Romans 3:27: “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.”

Just a few other things to have up on your radar in today’s reading…

9:2–6 In our quest to live in the reality of the abundant life found in Christ, there are many Anakims (or giants!) who will seek to intimidate us and/or defeat us. Our God, however, is a “consuming fire” and “he shall destroy them.” (9:3) God tells us that this is a principle we must “understand”! The battle is the Lord’s and we simply stand in the victory He has wrought.

9:5–27 Like the children of Israel, we must remember that God says, when He found us and delivered us out of our bondage, we were “unrighteous” (9:5), “stiffnecked” (9:6, 13), “rebellious” (9:7, 24), “corrupt” (9:12), “sinful” (9:16), “wicked” (9:18, 27) and “stubborn”. (9:27) Wow! We were a mess!

10:12 and 11:13 In these two verses, notice that once again, God reiterates and re-emphasizes the “Great Commandment”. God wants us to LOVE Him!

10:18–19 In these verses, the Lord introduces us to the biblical reality that He has great concern and interest in His heart for the fatherless (orphans), widows, and strangers (aliens), and that we should as well! (James 1:27)

11:18–21 The Lord reiterates the responsibility we have as parents to make certain that we bring our children up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), and that we bring up “faithful children”. (Titus 1:6) He tells us here that we are to teach them at all times, and through every possible means (11:19–20). But, once again, the Lord emphasizes that this instruction cannot simply come from our minds or our mouths; it must rise forth out of our hearts and our very souls, and be a part of the very fabric of who we are! (11:18)

11:13–17; 11:22–25 Note that the promise of blessing in the new land was dependent upon their LOVE of God and their OBEDIENCE to Him.

11:26–28 Notice that whether we live in the midst of the Lord’s BLESSING (represented in Mount Gerizim—9:29) or the Lord’s CURSING (represented in Mount Ebal—9:29), the choice is ours. Obedience brings blessings. Disobedience brings cursing (or conflict).

12:1–32 Notice in these verses that there is an important principle/phrase that begins to be repeated about there being “a place” in the promised land where “the Lord had chosen” as the place “for His name to dwell”. (12:5, 11, 14, 18, 26). Note also that Moses continues talking about this “place” in Deuteronomy 14:23–25; 15:20; and 16:2, 6–7, 15–16. The word “dwell” is defined for us in 1^st Kings 8:13 as a “settled place.” Perhaps we could say it this way: God was looking for some place on this sinful planet where who He is in all of His glory was able to be “established” and “at home”. What just absolutely transcends human comprehension, however, is that for those of us who comprise the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the “place” in which the Lord our God has now “chosen” as the place He intends for “His name to dwell”; that place where who He is in all of His glory is able to be “settled” and “at home”, is “IN” us! Paul said in 2^nd Corinthians 6:16, “…ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Hallelujah!

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As THE BURNT OFFERING — Deuteronomy 12:16 (Ephesians 5:2, Hebrews 10:10, 12)

OVERVIEW:

A recounting of the Ten Commandments; the greatest commandment; instructions for new homes; instructions for the new land; admonitions to remember the Lord.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

As Moses begins his second address to the people in chapter 5, in preparation for their entrance into the land of Canaan, he reminds them of their responsibility to HEAR the word of God: to LEARN it, to KEEP it, and to DO it! As we are pursuing God on a SPIRITUAL journey into the land of abundance and fruitfulness that He designed for us “in Christ”, may we heed these admonitions with the same fervor and passion we would expect the children of Israel to have had in anticipation of God leading them in their PHYSICAL journey into the land of promise. May we likewise be passionate to HEAR, LEARN, KEEP, and DO the word of God!

Moses then reminds the children of Israel of the importance of them taking PERSONALLY the covenant God had made with them. He says in 5:3, “The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.” Let Moses’ words to the children of Israel serve as a great reminder that the covenant of grace, and to which those of us who comprise His church have entered, are spiritual realities God intends for each of us to take very PERSONALLY, making certain we have made PERSONAL APPLICATION of all of His commands and promises. The promises of the new covenant God made aren’t just intended for our forefathers, they are for US!

Moses then begins to recount to the people the infamous ten commandments that he had previously received. Deuteronomy 5:29 gives us a beautiful glimpse into the heart of God and the desire He has for His people: “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!” Our Lord Jesus Christ expressed this same heart and sentiment in Matthew 23:37, saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” May we always be certain that our HEARTS are set upon the Lord; to fear Him, and to ALWAYS keep ALL of His commandments.

In chapter 6:4–5, Moses gives what Jesus referred to as the “Great Commandment.” It is simply this: based off of our firm belief that the God of the Bible is the one and only God and Lord, we are to love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our might.

Moses then instructs the people to make sure that they took responsibility for taking the words God was using him to speak to them that day and teaching them to their children. Obviously, this screams to us the responsibility we have of teaching our children the word of God. (Ephesians 6:4) We must recognize, however, that the responsibility of teaching our children the word of God does not simply mean taking them to church for someone else to teach them. It can certainly be a wonderful blessing to have others come alongside of us in this task, but we must understand that the responsibility to teach our children the word of God was given solely to us as their parents! Notice in verse 7 of chapter 6, we must not only “teach them” the word of God, but “teach them DILIGENTLY”! We must not take this responsibility flippantly or approach it haphazardly! He continues in verse 7 to explain what it looks like in real life for us to “DILIGENTLY” teach our children. He tells us that it should include the times when we are simply sitting with them in our house; when we’re with them on our way somewhere (walking, or driving); when we’re putting them to bed at night; and in the morning when they wake up. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that it is these very times that the clamor of this world and the distractions of the devil have sought to take from us. Oh, let us seek to reclaim these special times for the Lord and our children!

But, also, recognize that this passage lets us know that it’s not simply enough to “TELL” our children all the right stuff about God, and simply to “TELL” our children how to have a relationship with Him. This passage tells us that these things must be MODELED for them! Perhaps the most IMPORTANT instruction God gives to parents in this passage about how to instruct their children is also the most OVERLOOKED instruction in this passage! God says to parents in verse 6, “And these words, which I command thee (parents) this day, SHALL BE IN THINE HEART”! The fact is, many parents teach their children, and even “DILIGENTLY” teach their children, and yet, it ultimately “doesn’t work”, for the simple fact that the things they were teaching their children weren’t, first and foremost, “IN THEIR HEART”! The right words were coming out of their LIPS, but the right words weren’t being modeled through their LIFE! We must recognize the instruction God intends for our children to receive from us must not only be TAUGHT to them it must also be CAUGHT by them! Oh, my dear brothers and sisters, God’s word must be in our HEARTS!

Notice also that God warns the children of Israel (and us!), of the tendency we have as humans to FORGET GOD. God warns that there is a danger that after struggling in our journey to get to the place God intends for us to be, that we will become COMFORTABLE and COMPLACENT, and forget God, and all HE did to bring us into the place where His promises are being fulfilled in our lives.

As Moses then points them toward the future, he also warns of the danger of making COMPROMISES with the enemy, and tells us that we must likewise instill this disdain for the enemy into our children. Oh parents, may we both TEACH verbally and MODEL practically for our children, God’s instruction in 2^nd Corinthians 6:17–18: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As THE EVERLASTING COVENANT – Deuteronomy 5:2 (Hebrews 13:20, 21; John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47)

As MEDIATOR – Deuteronomy 5:5 (1^st Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6)

As WELL-PLEASING – Deuteronomy 6:18 (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Luke 3:22)

As CALLED OUT OF EGYPT – Deuteronomy 6:21 (Matthew 2:13–15)

As ONE WHO WILL SMITE THE NATIONS – Deuteronomy 7:2 (Revelation 19:15)

As REDEEMER – Deuteronomy 7:8 (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12)

As ONE WHO WILL REPAY FACE TO FACE – Deuteronomy 7:10 (Revelation 1:7)

OVERVIEW:

Moses’ history lesson from the Ten Commandments to the Spies; the wilderness; the nations avoided; the nations conquered; Joshua charged to be the next leader; the people compelled to heed God’s word.

HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:

We have now made our way to the fifth book of the Bible, the book of Deuteronomy. “Deuteronomy” simply means “second law”. But understand, that it’s not actually “another law” that is being given in this book, it’s simply a “second giving of the law” that is being given for a generation that had not heard the “first giving of the law” at Sinai. Notice, however, that there is a marked difference between this second giving of the law and the first.

When God gave the law the first time, in the book of Exodus, it was pretty much: “OBEY ME because I’m God and because I SAID!” It was a RESPONSIBILITY and that responsibility was connected to DUTY. But in the book of Deuteronomy, when God gave the law the second time, it is beautifully associated with a different word. This time it’s connected to LOVE! For the first time, God talks about His LOVE for His PEOPLE and the desire in His heart for His people to LOVE HIM! God lets His people know in this book, that yes, He wants us to OBEY Him, but He wants us to do it, NOT because we feel that it is our RESPONSIBILITY, NOT out of a sense of OBLIGATION or DUTY, NOT out of FEAR, or because of the CONSEQUENCES if we don’t, but because of LOVE! Sure, it is a RESPONSIBILITY, but it is to fulfill the LAW of LOVE!

It should be noted that the Jews referred to the first five books of the Bible as the Torah, meaning “teaching, doctrine, or instruction”. Christians commonly refer to these same books as “the Pentateuch”, which comes from a compound Greek word that means “five books”. Jesus referred to these first five books of the Old Testament in at least three ways:

It is also interesting to note that the New Testament writers quote the book of Deuteronomy more than any Old Testament book – at least 80 times! In our Lord’s temptation in the wilderness, with each one, He quoted a verse relevant to the temptation, and, interestingly enough, each of the three verses He quoted were from the book of Deuteronomy! (Matthew 4:4/Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:7/Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:10/Deuteronomy 6:13)

By comparing the LAST verse of the book of Numbers with the FIRST verse of the book of Deuteronomy, it helps us to contextualize and summarize God’s intention through both books. In short, the book of Numbers is God’s “commands and judgments” given through Moses while the children of Israel were in the plains of Moab; and the book of Deuteronomy is a series of addresses Moses gave to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter the land of promise, Canaan.

The urgency and passion behind Moses’ words in these addresses is more than apparent. He “preaches” as a man fully aware that his death is imminent. Oh, may we likewise preach as a dying man to dying men!

It is believed that the date of the writing of this book was sometime shortly AFTER delivering the addresses, and sometime shortly BEFORE his death (34:5) in approximately 1405 B.C. Obviously, the record of Moses’ death and of what took place after it in Deuteronomy 34 is a divinely inspired appendix to the book that was written by another author, most likely, his successor and longtime partner in ministry, Joshua.

Keep in mind that the children of Israel in the Old Testament are a picture of the individual believer in the New Testament. Just as has been pictured through the children of Israel in the books of Exodus to Deuteronomy, AFTER being delivered out of the bondage of “Egypt” (our deliverance from our bondage to sin, Satan, and self: i.e. the world), BEFORE we can actually enter into the promised land of “Canaan” (the victorious Christian life: the life of fullness, fruit-bearing, and abundance in Christ!), there is a WILDERNESS to go through! It is the part of our journey where we, like the children of Israel, must learn to submit our stubborn wills to the will of our Lord as it is revealed through His word. None of us will enter into the life of abundance God intended our salvation to bring (John 10:10) without experiencing this absolute surrender of ourselves and our wills. It has been said that it took God approximately 40 HOURS to bring the children of Israel out of EGYPT, but it took approximately 40 YEARS to bring EGYPT out of the children of Israel! (Remember, it was only an 11-day journey through the wilderness — Deuteronomy 1:2!)

Note, in chapter 3 and verse 24, that Moses refers to God’s wondrous works in Israel’s exodus as only what He had “begun” to do to show Moses and the children of Israel His “greatness” and His “mighty hand”. So, it is with our exodus! Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath BEGUN a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Yes, God did a mighty work in delivering us out of Egypt (the world/sin), but He has great and mighty works He still intends to perform in our lives in bringing us into the “Promised Land” (the life of abundance and fullness in Christ).

Take special note that Moses’ words to the children of Israel, in Deuteronomy 4:29, are the words chosen as the theme verse to inspire us and direct us through the 365 Days of Pursuit. Obviously, this is a promise given specifically to the children of Israel, and yet, the general principle revealed in this verse is one that has application for people in every generation and in every dispensation. God has always desired that His people see Him through the revelation of His holy word, and when our pursuit of Him is so passionate that it involves all of our heart and all of our soul, the reality is, we will find Him! May that continue to be our passionate pursuit in the remaining 43 weeks of our 365 Days of Pursuit!

Deuteronomy 4:30 is a very significant verse for our times. Many (most?) Christians from an “evangelical” persuasion (meaning, fundamentally sound regarding the need for and means of salvation) are now teaching that God is finished with the Jew, and that the church has replaced Israel. The ramifications and dangers of this teaching are huge. One of the strongest indictments in the entire New Testament is related to this very teaching! In dictating to John, the letter to the church in Smyrna in Revelation 2, our Lord Jesus Christ said that those who say they are Jews when they are not (and as Gentile, church age believers, we most definitely are not!), make themselves of “the synagogue of Satan!” In other words, this is a satanically-inspired teaching! The most popular violator is, no doubt, the Roman Catholic Church who believes that their first, so-called “Pope”, Peter, the Apostle to the Jews, was the one given the keys to the kingdom of heaven which is the literal, physical, governmental kingdom promised to the Jews (the nation of Israel — Acts 1:7). But the teaching that the church has replaced Israel in God’s program has now also made its way into most, quote-unquote, “evangelical” churches and institutions of higher learning. What usually accompanies this teaching is that there will be no Rapture, and, subsequently, no Tribulation Period and Millennium. Way back in Deuteronomy 4:30–31, however, the Bible very clearly spells out something completely different! Verses 30 and 31 say, “When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.” In other words, once the church has been removed at the Rapture, which then ushers in the Tribulation Period, God will fulfill His promises to the nation of Israel! Please note that maintaining this distinction is vital to properly understand the Bible and to remain steadfast in sound doctrine.

CHRIST IS REVEALED:

As THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE – Deuteronomy 1:17 (2^nd Timothy 4:8)

As DELIVERER – Deuteronomy 1:30; 2:33; 3:3 (Romans 8:21; Galatians 1:4)

As THE FAITHFUL ONE – Deuteronomy 2:9, 12, 19 (1^st Corinthians 10:13; 2^nd Thessalonians 3:3; 1^st John 1:9)

As TEACHER – Deuteronomy 4:14 (John 8:28)

As THE ONE TRUE GOD – Deuteronomy 4:35, 39 (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Colossians 2:9)

As THE LOVER OF MEN – Deuteronomy 4:37 (John 15:13; Titus 3:4-5)