What do you do when the Lord says, "enough of that"?
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Introduction
Introduction
So far we have discussed the book of Deuteronomy as the briefing Moses is giving the children of Israel, concerning the Law of God, given at Sinai.
Last week, we talked about how words have power and meaning. We made emphasis on the following:
Covenant = 27x
love = 25x
Remember =14x (9x = don’t forget)
Hear (Shema)= 40x
In our Bible Study this week we will see how the Covenant of God is a Love Story we must remember and hear.
We will also discuss:
How our response has different effects
The book ends of Chapters 5, 6 and 7
The remnant of Israel
Relationship with God
Bible Study Scripture
Bible Study Scripture
Our Bible study is based on Deuteronomy 3:23 to 7:11
Presentation
Presentation
Moses is pleading with the Lord
Points out the Lord’s greatness and grace
When we pray, we are called to praise the Lord for what He has done is our lives
Moses prays to the Lord will grant him favour as he had lost his self control by hitting the rock twice, instead of once ( Numbers 20:11)
Moses makes Israel accountable for this event
The Lord says, “Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter.”
What do you do when the Lord does not answer your prayers?
I see Moses
stays the course
continues to serve
does not complaint
accepts the Lord’s refusal
continues to exhort the tribes to obey God
does not quit, but commits
But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’
“So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.
Continue to read
“Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
This is the introduction to our first bookend in Chapter 4
Chapter 4 bookend is on verse 40
You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
These bookends parallel in Chapters 5 and 6
Chapter 5
Book ends enclose statements that demonstrate the love of God for His people, His covenant for them and the process we need to follow to receive the promised land.
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.
“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.
And Chapter 6
“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.
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 first book end in all chapters is about
Moses asking Israel to listen
the statues, judgements and commands of God
to have Israel learn them and observe them
to SHEMA
to teach them in Israel
The second bookend in every chapter is about
observing the commandments the way the Lord has prescribed them
Not to depart from them
Not to change them
describing the way of rightousness
provide a promise: blessings
they are “for all the time.”
Continue to read
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal Peor; for the Lord your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor.
But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.
“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
A call not to change the Word of God
These are commandments of Love (as will see later)
They need to be taught
They are necessary to posses your land (vessel)
Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
We are called to do three things with the commandments:
Observe them
Draw wisdom from them
Understand them
“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,
especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
Israel is the chosen people
A great nation in the eyes of God, as they found favour
The Lord is always near them
A nation that has statues and righteous judgements as their law
They forgot very easily- thus the reason for their Sabbath
They stood before the Lord in Sinai, and learned from the Lord Himself
“Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.
So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.
The love of God is so passionate that it burns like fire- He is a jealous God (zealous)
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
He covered Himself in the darkness so that people would not die in His presence
He has no form, as He is Spirit
Israel heard His voice
He betrothed Israel that day at Sinai
He wrote the commandments on tablets of stone as a precursor of writing them in the heart at the end
The bride was commanded to learn to be Holy and righteous
Moses warnes the children of Israel of idolatry
“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female,
the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air,
the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.
And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.
Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.
And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
The expression “left few” in verse 27 means REMNANT its equivalent in Greek is Kataloipos.
שְׁאֵרִית (šĕʾērît), n. what is left over, remainder; remnant. Greek equiv. fr. LXX: κατάλοιπος (33), κατάλειμμα (6). LTW שְׁאֵרִית (Remnant).
Noun Usage
1. remainder — something left after other parts have been taken away. Related Topics: Gleaning; Residue; Remnant.
Eze 36:3 לִשְׁאֵרִ֣ית הַגּוֹיִ֔ם
therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people”—
Am 1:8 וְאָֽבְדוּ֙ שְׁאֵרִ֣ית פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים
Hag 1:12 וְכֹ֣ל׀ שְׁאֵרִ֣ית הָעָ֗ם
Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him; and the people feared the presence of the Lord.
Hag 2:2 וְאֶל־שְׁאֵרִ֥ית הָעָ֖ם
“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying:
Ps 76:11 כִּֽי־חֲמַ֣ת אָדָ֣ם תּוֹדֶ֑ךָּ שְׁאֵרִ֖ית חֵמֹ֣ת תַּחְגֹּֽר׃
2. remnant (people) — the remainder of a person’s descendants or of a citizenry. Related Topics: Gleaning; Residue; Remnant.
“I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.
Mic 2:12 קַבֵּ֤ץ אֲקַבֵּץ֙ שְׁאֵרִ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל
I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever.
Mic 4:7 וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י אֶת־הַצֹּֽלֵעָה֙ לִשְׁאֵרִ֔ית
Mic 5:6 וְהָיָ֣ה׀ שְׁאֵרִ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֗ב
The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; They shall feed their flocks there; In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will intervene for them, And return their captives.
Zep 2:7 לִשְׁאֵרִ֛ית בֵּ֥ית יְהוּדָ֖ה
Zec 8:6 שְׁאֵרִית֙ הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה
The covenant of God is guaranteed for the remnant of Israel
Consider:
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The rest of the offspring= remnant
3370 λοιπός (loipos), ή (ē), όν (on): adj. [see (τὸ) λοιπόν ((to) loipon), just above]; ≡ DBLHebr 3856; Str 3063 & 3062 & 3064—LN 63.21 remaining, left over, the rest (Mt 22:6; 2Co 12:13; Php 4:3; Mk 16:13 v.r.; 2Co 2:17 v.r.)
Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Consider
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
There will be a remnant of Israel that will keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus until the end
They will return from the nations
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice
(for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
The Lord will uphold His covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah
They will seek Him, they will find Him
This is going to happen “in the latter days”
They will return to the Lord - repentance
God is merciful - He will not forsake or destroy
He will keep His covenant
Relationship phrases utilized so far
They
stood before the Lord
heard His words
came near
The Lord
declared His covenant
commanded His statutes to be learned
took you out of Egypt to be His people
is a jealous God- consuming fire
is a merciful God
will not forget the covenant
loved your fathers
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.
More relationship verses
From a Hebrew perspective- the First commandment is I AM
‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Consider the following verse:
‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
The word observe
8104. שָׁמַר shamar (1036b); a prim. root; to keep, watch, preserve:—attend(4), being careful(1), beware(8), bodyguard*(1), careful(32), careful to keep(1), cares(1), charge(4), confine(1), confined(1), defending(1), did(1), diligently keep(1), doorkeeper*(1), doorkeepers*(4), gatekeepers*(1), give heed(2), giving heed(1), guard(20), guarded(7
Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
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.
Moses did not quit after the Lord told him: “enough of that” - In fact he committed to completion. He had a love relationship with God and knew He is merciful - that he would not destroy or forsake.
I would proposed to you that Moses was obedient, humble and did exactly as the Lord asked of him.
Are you able to do the same when the Lord does not answer what you want?
Are you able to continue to be committed even when you don’t feel like it?
Our commitment must be observed, just as Moses demonstrated it by keeping God’s commandments and statutes.
Moses reminds the Israelites of these commandments again in Deuteronomy
When we keep His commandments we can be assured the Lord will hear and answer. It may not be the answer we want but we must trust He knows the best for us.
“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.
“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 loves you
Summary
Summary
Deuteronomy 4-7 show us a love story set off by a book end at the beginning and at the end of each chapter
These book ends are mirrored only in the Gospel of Mark
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The Lord demonstrates He is I AM and the Only God.
He calls us to listen to Him
To keep His commandments because of love
so that we can love others
He made the promise “[you] we shall love” the Lord, and others
Our commitment must be observed, just as Moses demonstrated it by keeping God’s commandments and statutes.
When we keep His commandments we can be assured the Lord will hear and answer. It may not be the answer we want but we must trust He knows the best for us.
Israel is His special treasure and all His remnant shall be saved.
Without our Lord Jesus, we cannot keep His commandments- This is a good reminder we need a Saviour.
But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.
held fast = cling
The apostle John summarizes our message today nicely:
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.