Greetings members and friends and welcome to another commentary and preview to this Sunday’s study of the Word. This Sunday’s study text is entitled “Justice and Obedience To The Law” and it is based on Deuteronomy 5:1-3; 10:12-13; 27:1-10.
After the children of Israel rebelled and murmured against Moses and God following the spies report, God determined they were not ready nor worthy to enter the promised land which He had intended to give them as He promised their fathers. As a result, He made them remain in the wilderness for forty years until that generation of those 20 and older were dead.
Today’s study takes place at the end of that forty years. If we are to take God’s words literally, then there would be no one in the congregation of Israel over the age of 59 except Moses, Joshua and Caleb. I am inclined to believe that God’s declaration was to relieve Israel of a generation of people, so that most, and not necessarily all, of those 20 and over were dead.
But literal or not, the children of Israel are set to enter the land promised to their fathers after wandering in the wilderness for forty years. It had been that long since God made the Covenant with those who perished in the wilderness at Sinai also called Horeb. Most of them were not born then, and most, if not all who were, were teenagers or younger.
So in this study, of which the whole book of Deuteronomy is about, Moses leads this relatively young congregation of Israelites, purged of those who had died in the wilderness because of unbelief, into covenant with God before crossing Jordan into the promised land. After calling them all together, he speaks to them about statues and ordinances.
These are the words by which they shall live their lives. He tells them that the Lord did not make this covenant with their fathers, but with them, all those who were there as he spoke and did not die in the wilderness. God initiated the covenant with their fathers, but will complete it with them.
Therefore, Moses urges them in the strongest possible terms to fear the Lord their God, to walk in all His ways and to love and to serve the Lord with all their heart and soul and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which he was commanding them for their good.
Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses goes into some detail what all these ordinances and statues and commandments are. At one point in the study text, it states that “Moses with the elders of Israel, commanded the people”. It is curious to know who these “elders” were if no one was over the age of 59. But they along with Moses charged the people to write all the words of this law upon stones that have been painted over with a type of lime or plaster upon which they were to write.
Another group of stones were to be erected to form an altar to offer both burnt and peace offerings. All of this was to establish or mark their presence in the new land and serve as a reminder to themselves and their posterity the words they were to live by.
The final part of the study text establishes them as God’s covenant people. It is like the end of a marriage ceremony when the minister pronounces the two are man and wife. Moses pronounces to them that they are God’s people and as such they shall obey the voice of the Lord their God, observe His commandments and His statutes which he commanded them that day.
The problem with Christians today is that we fail to see ourselves in a similar covenant relationship. We don’t seem to think that obedience is important or necessary and that Jesus somehow absolves us from all accountability for disobedience and sin. We have loss and some have never received the fear of the Lord.
It is this fear, this reverence for God, that Moses insisted was paramount to entering and maintaining a covenant relationship with God. It is the absence of this same fear that accounts for the sinful inconsistent witness and behavior of those of us who confess to be Christians or believers in God today.
Well, again be sure to look over the study again and come prepared to offer your comments, questions and perspective on the meaning of the study. If you can’t attend your own Sunday School class this Sunday, you can join us live and online at 9:00 am at www.fbmbc.org and clicking the online services link.
You can also join us live by dialing 508 924-2890. If you have any comments or questions, be sure to place them in the comment section or you can share them on Sunday. So, let’s all have a great lesson and discussion this Sunday and remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
