As we continue our series, “Wrestling with God” today we will dive into the book of Deuteronomy. First, let’s start with a flyover of the book. Then we will circle back and drop into specific parts to take a closer look at what is happening, and how we might apply it to our lives.
The beginning of Deuteronomy picks up toward the end of the Israelite’s 40 years of wandering the desert because of their rebellious spirit against God. The generation that God delivered through Moses in the Exodus had disqualified themselves from entering the promised land. Most of that generation is now gone, and in the first 11 chapters of the book we find Moses explaining the Torah (what we call the Pentateuch; the 1st 5 books of the Bible) to a new generation. Moses is calling this next generation to be faithful to the Covenant with their God.
The middle chapters, 12-26, Moses is reminding the people of the Law. Most of these laws are familiar and repeated laws from Mt. Sinai, yet some of them are new. Moses addresses several topics in these laws including expectations for worship; character qualities for leaders; civil life; social expectations and justice.
These laws given to Moses by God stood in stark contrast to those neighboring nations, and if followed, would cause the Israelites to stand apart as they lived out the wisdom and justice of God.
The final few chapters of Deuteronomy include Moses’ final speech, the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua, and Moses’ death.
Let’s circle back now and start to look a little more closely at what is happening throughout this book.
In Chapters 1-3 Moses reminds the people how the previous generations rebellion led to the punishment and consequences for that rebellion. This would be familiar information as they were also living in the desert waiting to enter the land God had promised. Moses highlights that God’s justice was brought upon the people for their lack of faith and rebellion, yet God maintained his covenant with His people demonstrating His constant grace. God’s love for His people, and His grace given to them repeated throughout Scripture is very much on display in Deuteronomy.
Chapter 1:19- 40
Israel’s Disobedience at Kadesh-Barnea
19 “We then set out from Horeb and went across all the great and terrible wilderness you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the LORD our God had commanded us. When we reached Kadesh-Barnea, 20 I said to you: You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 21 See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
22 “Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us, so that they may explore the land for us and bring us back a report about the route we should go up and the cities we will come to.’ 23 The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one man for each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country and came to Eshcol Valley, scouting the land. 25 They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a report: ‘The land the LORD our God is giving us is good.’
26 “But you were not willing to go up. You rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said, ‘The LORD brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites in order to destroy us, because he hates us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart, saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’
29 “So I said to you: Don’t be terrified or afraid of them! 30 The LORD your God who goes before you will fight for you, just as you saw him do for you in Egypt. 31 And you saw in the wilderness how the LORD your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place. 32 But in spite of this you did not trust the LORD your God, 33 who went before you on the journey to seek out a place for you to camp. He went in the fire by night and in the cloud by day to guide you on the road you were to travel.
34 “When the LORD heard your words, he grew angry and swore an oath: 35 ‘None of these men in this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh (ja-funny). He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he remained loyal to the LORD.’
37 “The LORD was angry with me also because of you and said, ‘You will not enter there either. 38 Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit it. 39 Your children, who you said would be plunder, your sons who don’t yet know good from evil, will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it. 40 But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.’
So, Moses turns his focus toward calling this next generation to be faithful. Chapters 4-11 he gives his passionate appeal to the people.
Call to Obedience
4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so that you may keep the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you.
In chapter 6 we see Moses bring all the themes of Deuteronomy together into a couple of verses.
6 “This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess. 2 Do this so that you may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life by keeping all his statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life. 3 Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.
For the Exodus generation to rebel and question if God was for them, they clearly lost the fear of the Lord…the respect that comes when you understand who He is as Creator of the universe. Moses is pleading with the next generation to keep that in focus and not to stray away from it.
Here is where Moses connects it all together…
4 “Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol[b] on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.
Within these verses we find the Shema. The Shema is a central prayer for the Jewish people affirming the oneness of God.
Listen = HEAR AND RESPOND (Obey)
Love = EMOTION AND DECISION (Devotion)
Lord Alone {The Lord is One}
Israel is about to enter the land of Canaan with idols being worshipped of every kind. The Lord is One, or Lord Alone is declaring that there are no other gods, nor should they worship false idols. The worship of idols degrades man’s identity, and it destroys communities.
Worshiping the creator leads to life and blessing.
Self-image is greatly impacted by who or what is worshipped!
Let’s skip to the final couple of chapters of the book. We get to see the transition of leadership. We get to read Moses’ final words to the people that he has led. In the final chapter we see Moses die on the mountain at 120 years of age. Something seemingly insignificant happens in the first verse of this final chapter. God’s grace is again revealed.
God allows Moses to see the land. God reassures Moses that his descendants will receive that land.
So how does any of this apply to us?
For us, a lot of things are different…yet many things are still the same.
We have the benefit of knowing how the story ends. We know what Christ has done for us, and we are no longer bound to live legalistically under the law. We are, instead, under God’s grace through Christ! We are no longer separated from God because of our sin and rebellion. We don’t need a Moses to interact with God on our behalf.
Beyond that, we have the power of the living God dwelling in us if we are in Him. The Holy Spirit brings hope, transformation, and power that the Israelite people could have only imagined.
So, what is still the same?
We too must Love and Obey. In Matthew 22, Jesus restates this instruction for us. 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
In the same way that their disobedience led to the consequence of being kept out of the land that was promised, our sin has consequences that lead to pain, and death. Those consequences can be eternal.
In the same way that obeying God brought the promised land, we are blessed in our obedience. Our lives are blessed when we obey God’s instructions. Our lives stand out in this culture when we listen to and love God.
Like Moses was responsible for leading the Israelite people, as parents, as fathers, we are charged with leading our children to obey and love the Lord alone!
As a community of believers, we too are responsible for modeling and teaching Gods’ ways to the next generation.
Individually
What idols have you allowed to captivate you…to disrupt your rootedness in fully living for God? Where is your lack of obedience preventing you from receiving the blessing that God desires to give you? Whatever the Spirit just put on your heart needs to be given over to God. This world offers every kind of idol…vice…sin…and all of them leave us bankrupt. They fail to fulfill or bring happiness, yet we cling to them.
Where have you compromised? What “Canaan idol” do you worship instead of obeying God?
How are you modeling for and helping teach the next generation to believe deeply in Jesus?
How are you modeling a life that is becoming like Jesus through the transforming power of the Spirit?
Parents
Are you helping your children learn the wisdom of God? Are you warning them of the cultural idols? Teaching or modeling for our children to affirm or tolerate the idols of our culture is the same as teaching them to affirm their generations deterioration of identity as a creation in God’s image, and it furthers the destruction of the culture.
We need to “Teach them as you go.”
6:7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates. When you are…changing their diaper, fixing their snack, sharing a meal, tucking them in bed, waiting at the bus stop, driving them to practice, driving them to practice, celebrating the good that they do, correcting the moments when the disobey…are you taking those opportunities to intentionally tell them who they are in Christ? To be sure they experience what God has done for them, and what God desires for them? Do they understand how He wants to use them to help deliver all who are lost to the eternal promised land?
Parents, are you preparing your children to boldly love and obey God in the culture? How are you preparing them to not compromise and to not pursue the idols that this world worships?
Are you asking them each day how they showed the love of Jesus to someone outside your family?
Are you modeling loving your neighbor? When was the last time you prayed as a family for your children’s friends and their families? When was the last time you invited others into your home to share a meal and had intentional spiritual conversations? When was the last time that you took your children and served others to share the love of Jesus? When was the last time that your family talked about and followed through inviting others to join you for church or a church event?
As parents what is more important or pressing than intentionally setting our children’s spiritual trajectory? It is our duty to take every opportunity to teach them to believe in Jesus, and to love having an obedient relationship with Him. If we don’t help them experience the fullness that comes from living a life devoted to God, then why would it be something that they chose to continue into adulthood?
It is also our duty to teach them to care about those that are far from God. We must do more than bring them to hang out at church in our holy huddle. We must help them see God’s heart for the lost, the broken, and the outcast.
As a church we want to partner with parents to help equip and raise the next generation to lead and live well for Christ. We want families to flourish as believers and as disciplemakers. We want to support marriages and equip parents.
As a church we should all be taking a posture of ownership when it comes to teaching and equipping the next generation to know, love, and serve God. It isn’t the role of just a few to invest in the next generation, but it’s our collective duty to teach them and model for them how they ought to live out their faith in their own generation.
Living lives with purpose to love God, and living in obedience allows God to pour out his blessing on our lives. Those blessings are where we find the happiness we long for as we “Wrestle with God” to find it.