Final words are important. In the book of Deuteronomy, on the plains of Moab, Moses gives his final address to the nation of Israel. Join with Lew as he leads us through Moses’ exposition of the law to the second generation of Israel and considers the repeated themes Moses wants the people to remember, and that are important for us in our spiritual lives now.
Sermon Manuscript
Last Sunday we took a look at Baalam the Prophet. When we met Balaam, he had been invited by the King of Moab (Balak) to come and curse Israel. From the perspective of Balak, Israel was an enemy! He would do whatever he could do to annihilate Israel. But, of course, Israel had a Promise from God. They had a promise that they would have a land, the Promised Land. That land would be flowing with milk and honey! The promise of the Land was an Old Promise. It was a 500 year old promise, but then, what is time with God.
And as we noted last week, it would be fight to get out of Egypt. And, it would be no less of a fight to get into the Promised Land. Israel knew this from early on in the Exodus. They knew that there were 7 nations that really did not want to give up their land. But they had this assurance: THE LORD THEIR GOD WOULD FIGHT FOR THEM. And, if you remember the story of the battle of Jericho, you know that is exactly what God did.
But back to Balaam for a few moments. In the account that we looked at last week, Balaam made great statement after great statement all about how Israel was blessed by God. Of course, he was under the power of God and should he deviate from what God wanted. Well remember there was the Angel of the Lord who had already been ready to kill him. For a while, Balaam was “a good boy” so to speak. But it did not take him long to revert to his old self. In chapter 31 of Numbers, we are told that Balaam had come up with a scheme to destroy Israel. It involved Moabite women. These women seduced Israelite men both sexually and spiritually getting them to worship Baal and to eat food sacrificed to idols as well as to be involved in fornication. But ultimately, Balaam is killed by the Israelite army (Num. 31:8)
As we come to the text for today Israel is camped on the Plains of Moab. They are safe and sound!!! You would think that everything would be great. But that is not the case. It is not the case because of one thing: while Israel will be going into the Promised Land, Moses will not be going in!
The man who stood up to Pharaoh is not going in.
The man who led them through the Red Sea is not going in.
The man who led them to Sinai is not going in.
The man who led them for 40 years in the wilderness is not going in. The man who led them to the Plains of Moab is not going in.
It is a sad day. A very sad day. And remember: Moses’ sister Miriam is not going in. She has died in the wilderness. Moses’ brother Aaron, is not going in. He too died in the wilderness. And, it is a very sad day for another group of people too. These Israelites for 40 years have been watching their parents die. Their parents were not going into the Promised Land either. The desert was littered with their bones. They had no faith. They were afraid to go into the Promised Land. They told God, either let us go back to Egypt or die in the desert! They got their wish; they died in the desert!!!
And now, as we come to the text, it is just Moses and Israel. Israel is going in. Moses is not going in. The words he is going to speak to Israel are the last words that he is going to speak. Last words can be very important words. What is it that Moses is going to say? What he is going to speak is the book of Deuteronomy. When he finishes speaking Deuteronomy he will make his way up Mt. Nebo and there he will die. God himself will bury him. I believe that in these words of Moses, we will find important truths for our lives.
But how does one deal with the book of Deuteronomy in just one message? Good question! But we are very fortunate because in this book of Deuteronomy Moses wants to emphasize just a few things. We can look at the big strokes. And in these big strokes, these emphases, we will find truths for our lives. As we turn to the book of Deuteronomy, “all Israel” is gathered to Moses. For the most part they are young. Moses is 120 years old. He has been leading Israel for 40 years.
As Moses begins to speak to the children of Israel he gives them a lesson in history. (Chapters 1–4)
He reminds them of Sinai.
He reminds them of the trip through the desert.
He reminds them of the spies who went into the land.
He reminds them of how the rebelled against going up into the land.
He reminds them of how after he had told them not to go up, they went up and were defeated.
He reminds them of how they defeated Og King of Bashan. He reminds them of how they beat Sihon King of Heshbon.
He reminds them of how those who did not take the advice of Balaam are alive and well and getting ready to go into the Promised Land.
You can probably tell the story. So much more to it! 40 years of memories. And now, Moses is going to snap all of that into focus for them. Listen to what he says:
32 “Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? 33 Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? 34 Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. 36 Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. 37 Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today.
Deuteronomy 4:32–38
And this, of course, is Moses’ first lesson in Deuteronomy: Remember What God Has Done
And, this is a lesson that we must learn in our lives. To remember those points in our lives when God moved and when God worked. It is not hard for me to do. I can remember God’s answered prayer in Moscow. I can remember his answered prayer in Tajikistan. I can remember his deliverance in Liberia. I can remember his protection in Egypt. I can remember his answer to prayer for my sons. I can remember him giving me Marguerite. I can remember Oakridge coming alongside Marguerite and me as we were ministering in Russia and Kazakhstan. And that is just the beginning. As Psalm 42 says: “when I remembered”. Yes when the Psalmist remembered the actions of God his depression was overcome. Do you know your history? Do you rehearse your history? To put it a different way: what is your story with God?
And now Moses begins a new section of Deuteronomy. He is speaking to “all Israel” again. (Chapters 5–11)
For those of you familiar with the book of Deuteronomy, you know that two of the most important chapters in Deuteronomy are chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 5 contains the 10 commandments; “The Ten Words” as the Hebrews knew them. How important could these commandments be? They were important enough that they were written by the very finger of God. (Ex. 31:18)
The only other writing of God in the Old Testament is the writing on the wall in Belshazzar’s palace the night before Babylon was overrun by Darius the Mede.
- You shall have no other God but me
- You shall not make or worship any image
- You must not misuse my name
- Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy
- Honour your father and mother
- Do not murder
- Do not commit adultery
- Do not steal
- Do not bear false witness
- Do not covet
Some of course will say – rules, rules and more rules! Who wants to keep rules? The answer is found in chapter 6. People who love God keep rules. It is called the Great Shema: HEAR!!! Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One! And, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all of your soul and all of your strength. (This is nothing other than what Jesus tells us. If you love me, keep my commandments.)
Indeed these commands should be before you all of the time. Listen to the text in Deut. 6:4–9:
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4–9
Another way you show your love is by keeping good company. Deut. 7 makes clear the fact you keep good company. Company that can advance you in your faith. Israel was to drive out all of the unbelievers so that they would remain true to God. (It is the lesson of Psalm 1: doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, doesn’t stand in the way of sinners, doesn’t sit in the seat of the scornful.) Moses’ second lesson in Deuteronomy is this: Love God and Keep His Commandments
We come now to the third section of the book of Deuteronomy. Moses changes focus again. He has focused on history. He has focused on Law. His attention now turns to Worship. For Israel, worship is around three great feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. As the men of Israel gather to worship they are to remember three things:
- That God rescued them from Egypt (Passover)
- That God met them and gave them the Law at Mt. Sinai (Pentecost)
- That God took them to the Promised Land (Tabernacles)
These three things over and over again. The Focal Point of Worship! Facts not Feelings. And there is a lesson for us in Moses teaching: Focus on Foundational Truths in Worship
It is not about how we feel. It is about Who God is and what He has done. It is about the Son and who He is and what He has done. God sent Him. He died for our sin! He rose from the grave in victory over death and the Devil. And He is coming again to take us to be with him. He will reign forever and ever.
Moses continues speaking to the people. As he does, things move into the more practical realms – Politics and Relationships. I am not going to go into those today other than other than to point to the fact that Moses puts forth two principles:
- The Importance of Godly Leaders, and
- The Importance of Godly Relationships
I shall merely point out that these two things are not just necessary for Israel they are necessary for the church as well. They are necessary for our homes. We always need to pray for our leaders and we need to continually seek to build godly relationships with our friends, our church and our families.
And now Moses comes to the conclusion. It is time to commit. Time to sign on the dotted line. Time to take up the challenge. Time to make a choice! Listen to what Moses says:
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. 18 And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”
Deuteronomy 26:16–19
Right here you have the promise of God. If you follow His commands, his laws, his statutes, his decrees, you will live in blessing. As Moses puts it: Choose Life!!! Rebellion, on the other hand, comes with huge consequences. Choose Life!!!
Lew is a retired career pastor and professor with a long-time connection to Oakridge, who currently resides with his wife, Marguerite, in London, Ontario. Lew did his undergraduate studies at Moody Bible Institute and Houghton College and his graduate studies at Cornell, Lehigh, and New York Universities. His career has taken him in both the educational and pastoral realm, having served as Dean of the New York School of the Bible, Chairman of the Philosophy Department of the King’s College, Chairman of the Pastoral Studies Department at Ontario Bible College. In addition, he has served as a faculty member at The International School of Theology in Budapest, Hungary; Linguistics University in, Moscow, Russia; and the Kazak American Free University, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In recognition of his academic achievements and contribution to the educational process in Kazakhstan he was awarded the degree of Doctor and Professor. In addition, Lew was a founder and the director of the Central Asia Leadership Training Centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He was also a founder and faculty member of the Centre for Advanced Theological Studies in Moscow, Russia. He continues some of his work overseas serving as Leadership Consultant for the Brethren Churches of Romania, and he also continues in a teaching and consulting role in several Eastern European countries. Presently, Lew helps churches that are in transition.