Deuteronomy (Written)

Deuteronomy 10:1-11
Two Tablets of Stone Like the First

My friend Will Groben got his Master’s Degree at Dallas Theological Seminary in biblical Hebrew and Greek. I remember him emailing me once and saying how complicated the simple Greek word eis was to translate. In fact, in his email, he said that he felt like he had broken his brain, and I believe the word eis was a large part of that.

I felt bad for him. A broken brain is a difficult thing. Can’t do much good until the brain gets fixed. I broke my brain over this passage we are looking at today. It happens from time to time. There are things that are so complicated, it is hard to think them through.

This is especially true with verses 6 and 7. They seem to have absolutely nothing to do with the surrounding text, and – on the surface – they seem completely contradictory to anyone who has read the parallel passages in Numbers. Indeed, that is what Albert Barnes said about them –

“After this we have now four verses, (Deuteronomy 10:6, Deuteronomy 10:7, Deuteronomy 10:8, and Deuteronomy 10:9), which not only have no kind of connection with the verses before and after them, but also, as they stand in the present Hebrew text, directly contradict that very text; and the two first of these verses have not, in our Hebrew text, the least connection with the two last of them.” Albert Barnes

Is this so?

Text Verse: Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5

If Albert Barnes is right, then what we have is not the word of God. He gives several corrective possibilities to restore your confidence in the word. However, I would suggest to you that he is just plain wrong. So would the late scholar Charles Ellicott.

I was grateful to read Ellicott’s commentary, as it saved me oodles of time and an even greater broken brain. His insights were well received, even if I didn’t go with his conclusions. While typing, I did say out loud to the Lord that I can’t wait to thank Ellicott someday when I get the chance.

How can I do that if he is already dead? Because death is just an insignificant blip on the way to glory. For those who have come to Christ, they should be confident that this is true. And how does such a change come about? Well, a portion of it is found in our verses today.

There is a great and sure hope that we possess, and pictures of it are indeed found in these verses. They are a small, but tasty delight found in the greater tapestry that we call the Holy Bible. Great things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. The Two Tablets (verses 1-5)

The coming verses are closely connected to what ended our verses in the previous passage. There, it said –

“Thus I prostrated myself before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the Lord had said He would destroy you. ²⁶ Therefore I prayed to the Lord, and said: ‘O Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²⁷ Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin, ²⁸ lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.” ²⁹ Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’” Deuteronomy 9:25-29

In connection with that event, but just prior to it, came the words that open our passage today. In other words, verses 10:1-3 are logically followed by verses 9:25-29. Then verses 10:4, 5 follow that. Understanding the chronology, we begin now with…

“At that time

ba’eth hahiv – “in the time, the that.” These words set the tone for what follows. It is speaking of the time at Horeb, as was noted in verse 9:8 –

“Also in Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry enough with you to have destroyed you.” Deuteronomy 9:8

What is presented here is not a chronological account, but one that is rhetorical. It takes what is more precisely recorded in Exodus and lays it out in a short synopsis of what took place without regard to the order in which the events occurred.

^{1 (con’t)} the Lord said to me,

As just noted, this logically precedes what was said at the end of the previous chapter. Without getting bogged down in the chronology which has already been provided, the main focus is on these few lines of historical narrative. Now, the Lord says…

^{1 (con’t)} ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain

The word “stone” is plural – “tablets of stones like the first.” The words here follow after the narrative of Exodus 34. There it said –

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. ² So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. ³ And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.’
⁴ So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.” Exodus 34:1-4

There is a difference between the first set of stones and the second that cannot go unnoted. The first set of stones was made by God. As it says in Exodus 32 –

“Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.” Exodus 32:16

The first set of tablets were made by God, and the words on them were written out by God as well. However, for this second set of tablets, the Lord instructs Moses to hew them and bring them up to Him. As these will be “like the first,” they bear the same appearance.

They will also be used for the same purpose as well. The fact that the Lord asks Moses to make the tablets, rather than being made by Him, shows that these are to be considered just as acceptable for the bearing of the law. Otherwise, He would have again made them Himself. Along with hewing the tablets, the Lord says…

^{1 (con’t)} and make yourself an ark of wood.

Like the number of times Moses ascended the mountain, these words provide a second difficulty. Is this a temporary ark for keeping the tablets until the actual Ark of the Testimony is made, or is this simply a reminder that the tablets are to be set in the ark once it is completed?

What seems most probable is that only one ark was made. Verse 5 seems to indicate this. And so, what seems likely is that the tablets were made by Moses, he carried them up to the Lord. The Lord gave His instruction and wrote out the Ten Commandments on the tablets. Eventually, the Ark of the Covenant was made by the artificers, and at that time, the tablets were placed in the ark –

“And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up. ¹⁸ So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.” Exodus 40:17-21

If there was only one ark made, then what Moses is presenting here is simply a snapshot of the events to remind the people of the things that occurred without regard to the lesser details, the specific time frames, or the actual chronology. This will become more evident when we come to the events of verses 6-9.

The intent, then, is to highlight Israel’s times of disobedience, the mercies they received, and the longsuffering of the Lord throughout their time in the wilderness.

For now, the narrative of the tablets hewn out by Moses continues, as he recounts the words of the Lord to him…

² And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets,

It would appear that these tablets were of lesser quality. If the Lord made the first two, there would have been the perfection of the Lord’s handiwork on them – both in the tablets and in the writing. However, one would think the tablets made by the hands of man would bear the imperfections of man, and only the words would reflect the perfect character of the Lord.

But as noted, it is obvious the Lord feels both sets were suitable for the purpose of conveying His words, regardless as to how the tablets themselves came to be. It is the words, then, that are considered by the Lord to have the importance above all else.

And there is the truth that the stones, though shaped through man, still came from the Lord originally anyway. It is His creation, and so the stones are His, regardless as to how they came to reflect the words which bear His moral standards. Concerning the first set that bore that moral standard, He said to Moses…

^2 (con’t) which you broke;

Moses, who stands as representative of the law, is said to be the one who broke the tablets. The Lord reminds him of this. The Lord has Moses make a new set of tablets that will replace the first…

^2 (con’t) and you shall put them in the ark.’

Moses will receive back the tablets, and it is he who is to deposit them in the ark. In obedience to the words of the Lord, it says…

³ “So I made an ark of acacia wood,

Three possibilities can be supposed from these words. Either 1) a temporary ark was made to hold the tablets; 2) Moses had Bezalel make the wooden part of the ark, having it ready for his descent from the mountain; or 3) Moses is simply speaking out events in an order for the people to understand that what he was instructed was accomplished.

Based on Exodus 40:20 (cited earlier), the last option seems the most likely. Moses is simply relaying the events in accord with the word of the Lord without regard to set chronology. It is no different than when it later says that Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. The meaning is that he is the one who instructed and oversaw the building of it, just as it is here with Moses and the ark.

What is of note is that because of how the events are relayed here, Mosaic authorship is absolutely certain. Anyone else would have entered the words as they had read them from Exodus, not wanting to confuse the narrative and diminish the reliability of their cause in the process of conveying it. Moses, however, would be unconcerned with such things. For now, he next notes…

^3 (con’t) hewed two tablets of stone like the first,

The ark is mentioned first, followed by the hewing of the stones. And then, thirdly, Moses says…

^3 (con’t) and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand.

With the stones prepared, Moses (the law) ascended the mountain with the stones in his hand – meaning in His possession. Upon ascending the mountain, Moses next speaks of the work of the Lord…

⁴ And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing,

As noted in verse 2, it is the Lord who wrote on the tablets, despite the fact that they were hewn out by Moses, or someone Moses appointed to do it. Everything that was written on the first set was again written by the Lord on the second set. It was…

^{4  (con’t)} the Ten Commandments,

asheret ha’devarim – “the Ten Words,” meaning the commandments…

^{4  (con’t)} which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly;

This was recorded in Exodus 20, and then it was repeated to Israel on the banks of the Jordan in Deuteronomy 5, reminding them of what occurred, even before the eyes of the people. Those same words were inscribed on the tablets…

^{4  (con’t)} and the Lord gave them to me.

Like before, the Lord gave the tablets to Moses (the law). The first time he received them, he came down the mountain and cast them out of his hands, breaking them. The second time, however…

⁵ Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made;

As the first time, Moses descended with the tablets, but this time, they were tablets he had made, and upon which the Lord had written. And this time, instead of casting them out of his hands, he secreted them away in the ark, as he then notes, “which I had made.”

An important point is that the timing of an event in the Hebrew is based on the context of what is occurring. Thus, the words “had made” depend on what Moses is referring to. As he is speaking almost forty years after the event, it is in relation to what he had once instructed those many years ago.

In other words, Moses instructed Bezalel to make the ark according to the word of the Lord. That was done, and so for Moses to say, “I put the tablets in the ark which I had made,” could have been some time after descending the mountain. Hence, as we saw earlier, it is probable that only one ark was made, and he is referring to that. With this in mind, he then says…

^5 (con’t) and there they are, just as the Lord commanded me.”

The tablets were placed in the ark, and they remained in there, even until the day where Israel sat on the banks of the Jordan, receiving the words of Moses in preparation for their entry through the Jordan and into the land of promise.

Further, they are even recorded as having remained in the ark hundreds of years later, at the time when Solomon built the temple, as is seen in 1 Kings 8:9.

Ia. Pictures of Christ

With varying detail, what Moses has said in these first five verses was also detailed in Exodus 34:1-4, which we cited earlier.

There are two sets of tablets that were made. The first were by the Lord and written on by the Lord. The second were hewn by Moses and the same words as at first were written on them by the Lord. Therefore, what is written on the tablets, meaning the basis for the law, is what calls for the main attention.

The law is on both, but one set is broken while the other is secreted away in an ark. In this, we have a picture of Adam and of Christ. This first set of tablets pictures Adam. The first tablets were made by God and engraved by God. As it said in Exodus 32 –

“Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.” Exodus 32:16

Adam was created by the Lord God (Genesis 2:7) and he was given the law by Him (Genesis 2:16, 17). However, Adam broke that law (Genesis 3:6).

The second set pictures Christ. They were made by Moses (Deuteronomy 10:1), but the words were still engraved by the Lord (Deuteronomy 10:2). Jesus came through man – He was not directly created by God as Adam was. Rather, His body was prepared by God throughout the history of man under law. It is reflective of the words of Hebrews 10 –

“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’” Hebrews 10:5-7

Christ came to do the will of God. He was born under God’s law. Thus, the second tablets were also written by the Lord.

In contrast to Adam who broke God’s law (pictured by Moses destroying the first set of tablets), Jesus never broke it. Rather, to fit the pattern of Christ, Moses secreted them away in – as it says – the ark of acacia wood. Remembering the typology of that from Exodus shows us Christ’s humanity.

The acacia, or shittim wood, is the base material for the ark. Its heartwood is dark reddish-brown and is beautiful when sanded and polished.

That pictures Christ’s humanity. He, a Son of Adam from the Middle East, would bear the same general color as the wood. As shittim is an incorruptible wood, it pictures His incorruptible nature. Though a Man, He never sinned.

Further, shittim is a thorny tree, its name coming from a root, shotet, signifying scourging thorns. The very wood testifies to the trials Christ would endure in His passion for the reconciliation of man.

It is into this ark that the unbroken tablets were deposited, signifying Christ’s perfect fulfillment and embodiment of the law. On the top was placed the mercy seat, and the picture of the work of Christ as our place of propitiation before God is then seen.

Considering what we have here, it is evident that God’s law is permanent – the same law was inscribed on both sets of tablets. However, being permanent, they can still be broken.

In the first, God knew Moses would break them, picturing the breaking of the law by Adam (and all in Adam). However, the second set was unbroken. In this, it reveals Christ, and all who are in Christ. It shows us that sin comes through the law, but for those in Christ, they are no longer under law, but under grace. Sin is no longer imputed to those who have moved from Adam to Jesus.

Tablets of stone which bring words of condemnation
Words which prick my very soul
How can I live up to such a standard? I see only damnation
How can my name ever be written on heaven’s scroll? 

The words stand against me and show me my sin
They were meant to bring life, but only death do they bring
The man who lives by them, who is he? We are all done in!
From where can life come? Show me such a spring 

So, has ended the strife! I now fully see
God Himself has condemned sin in the flesh, through Jesus
Marvelous words of life! To God the glory be!
Such a marvelous thing He has done for us!

II. Inheritances of Water (verses 6 & 7)

We now arrive at a couple verses that are probably the most difficult of all to be found in Deuteronomy. So much is this the case, that they are claimed to be incorrect, contradictory, later insertions, and so on. If they were later insertions, they would not be inserted in such a difficult manner. So that can be tossed out on its ear.

As being incorrect, the Samaritan Pentateuch claims to be the correct text, realigning things as they supposedly should be. But then why would someone intentionally twist up the Hebrew text? Rather, it appears the Samaritan purposefully changed the text to avoid the difficulties. Further, the Greek matches the Hebrew.

Assuming there are contradictions is as simple as assuming that one’s opinion as to why these verses are written as they are is correct, and that there are – in fact – contradictions.

It could be as simple as that Moses is trying to make a spiritual point concerning a particular issue, and he is doing it by purposefully making the text overtly complicated in the process.

One fact to note is that the other historical writings in Deuteronomy are in the first person, “We did this, and we did that.” However, here they are in the third person, “The children of Israel did this, and the children of Israel did that.”

Moses is obviously tying in what occurred in the reception of the tablets with what he is speaking of now. This is especially so because he will return to the time at Horeb for verses 8-11.

The NKJV makes verses 6-9 parenthetical, but this is not correct. Only 6 and 7 are. From there, the narrative returns to the time at Horeb. Because these two verses are parenthetical, we have to try to determine why this diversion is being made. He begins it with…

⁶ (Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah,

u-bene Yisrael naseu mi’beeroth bene yaaqan moserah – “and children Israel set out from wells Bene Yaaqan to Moserah.” Numbers 33:31 seems to say exactly the opposite, and so it is immediately assumed the text is corrupt, contradictory, etc. –

“They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.”

Bene Yaaqan means “Sons of Twisting,” meaning perverting. Moserah, here, is singular. In Numbers 33, it is plural. One must assume they are the same place. Moserah comes from a word meaning bond, but that comes from a word signifying chastisement.

It could be, like several of the other locations that they visited in their travels, they simply named a particularly unhappy spot Moserah, signifying the chastisement of the place. This is especially so because it does not say they encamped at these locations as it did in Numbers; only that they journeyed.

Or, if the same location, a change in the direction of travel is as simple as recognizing that in Numbers 20, the people had petitioned to enter Edom in order pass through, but Edom came out against them and they turned back. Thus, the reversal of the order can be explained by them backtracking from the land they had previously encamped at. In Numbers 21:4, it says –

“Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.” Numbers 21:4

As they had been turned back, and as these are not encampments, it would explain why they were so discouraged. They were travelling in a somewhat back track way, to places they had already been to.

Other than the direction, the main difference in the names is the note of traveling “from the wells” of Bene Jaakan, or “the Sons of Twisting.” According to the words, Moserah is…

^6 (con’t) where Aaron died, and where he was buried;

Here, it says Aaron, or “Very High,” died and was buried in Moserah. This appears contradictory to Numbers 33 also –

“They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom.
³⁸ Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.” Numbers 33:37-39

Again, understanding that this is probably not the same place as Moseroth, and that the name is given to the place based on the events the people faced, calling the place Moserah, or Chastisement, fits the narrative of Aaron’s death. Even if it is the same place, it could be that Mount Hor is located at Moserah.

^6 (con’t) and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stead.

Eleazar was installed as priest in place of Aaron. His name means “Whom God helps.”

⁷ From there they journeyed to Gudgodah,

Again, this is different than what happened in Numbers 33. There it says they went from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad, or Cavern of the Gatherers. Here, Gudgodah in Hebrew is ha’gudgodah, or “The Gathered.” Again, it doesn’t say they encamped as it did in Numbers.

It should be noted that the name ha’gidgad and ha’gudgodah, are the same spelling with the exception of an additional letter, the h, at the end of Gudgodah. The “h” can simply mean in the area of Gudgod or Gidgad. Next…

^7 (con’t) and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah,

In Numbers 33, it says, “They went from Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah.” Thus, it is apparent, based on the similar spelling that ha’gudgodah and khor ha’gidgad are the same area, or a similar area, with the name slightly varied. Jotbathah, or Yotbathah, means “Pleasantness.” It is described as…

^7 (con’t) a land of rivers of water.

eretz nakhale mayim – “land wadis of water.” The word translated as “rivers” here is nakhal. It signifies a wadi. It comes from the verb signifying “to inherit” or “take as a possession.” One could then translate this as, “land of inheritances of water.”

IIa. Pictures of Christ

What we have here is a continued picture of going from the law to grace in Christ. Bene Yaaqan means “Sons of Twisting.” It is reflective of life under the law. The law is given, and those under law – from Adam on – inevitably twist it.

Here, it says that the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan. A well is where one derives his source of water. It is a picture of those under the law drawing their spiritual water from the law, and thus are Sons of Twisting. From there, they moved to Moserah, meaning Bond, but in the sense of Chastisement.

When one is bound to the law, he is in bondage to it, and in not meeting it, chastisement comes. It is at this spot where Aaron is said to have died, and where he was buried. It then noted that Eleazar ministered in his stead.

This picture was previously partially explained when Aaron’s death was recorded in Numbers. The transfer of the priesthood from Aaron, meaning Very High, and typical of Christ – but who is also the line of the high priest of the law, to the son Eleazar – or Whom God Helps, represents the change of the priesthood from that which pictures Christ in his work, “Very High,” to that whom pictures Christ in His person, “Whom God helps.”

Christ, in His work, died in Chastisement for the sins of those under the law. He did this by fulfilling the law and establishing the New Covenant, becoming God’s true, and final, High Priest. Being fully God, it is He who helps those who come to Him in faith.

Aaron, representative of the Law of Moses, died outside of the Land of Promise, because it is not by works of the law that one can enter, but through faith in Christ. The typology is set because the typology points to Christ.

It then says that after Aaron died, the congregation moved to ha’gugodah, or “The Gugodah,” meaning, “The Gathered.” It signifies those who are brought into the assembly of Christ. From there, it says they journeyed to Yotbathah, or Pleasantness, a place described as a land of inheritances of water. In other words, it is the rivers of water Christ speaks of in John 7 –

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39

This short parenthesis was given by inspiration through Moses to supplement the narrative of the two sets of tablets. There is the broken law in us, or the fulfilled law in Christ. There is living out the law, or there is being granted the righteousness of the fulfilled law.

There is drawing water from the wells of the Sons of Twisting, meaning those under law, or there is a land of inheritances of water from the Source of true life, meaning the grace of God in Christ. In the end, the Lord is giving us beautiful pictures of Christ through Moses’ words. With this understood, the narrative now transfers back to Moses’ words concerning the time at Horeb…

A greater priesthood lies yet ahead
But it cannot come when the old remains alive
Not until the first one is finished and dead
Can the new come in and begin to thrive 

But the first cannot end until all is complete
Only when that happens can the new one come in
When the law is fulfilled, and the devil suffers defeat
Then! Joyfully then, will the New Covenant begin 

Let us put our trust in the One who has done it
Let us look to He who died on Calvary’s tree
To Him alone shall we our souls commit
Because He alone has set us free!

III. Arise, Begin Your Journey (verses 8-11)

Prior to the parenthetical verses, the last thing that was mentioned was that Moses placed the tablets into the ark. The narrative now continues exactingly by going to those who would bear the ark, Levi.

⁸ At that time

ba’eth hahiv – “in the time, the that.” It is the same words that opened the chapter today. They, like those words, set the tone for what is said. It is again speaking of the time at Horeb. And so, we see again that what is presented is not chronological but rhetorical.

It is while at Horeb, and during the time between the reception of the two separate sets of tablets that…

^8 (con’t) the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord,

The holy duties, including bearing the ark of the Lord, was granted solely to those of the tribe of Levi. The priests conducted certain duties that no other Levites could do, but the tribe of Levi – as a whole – was given the honors named now in this verse. This was based on what occurred after Moses came down the mountain with the original Ten Commandments. At that time, it said –

Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), ²⁶ then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. ²⁷ And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’” ²⁸ So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. ²⁹ Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.” Exodus 32:25-29

Because of their defense of the honor of the Lord, He separated Levi to bear the ark. The Levites were also…

^8 (con’t) to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day.

Levites are shown elsewhere – numerous times – to praise and sing before the Lord. There were certain priestly duties that were reserved for them alone, but the Levites had many duties serving and ministering to the Lord. This was their portion…

⁹ Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren;

This means that those of the tribe of Levi would not be granted a parcel of land as the other tribes would. They would be granted cities within the lands of the other tribes, and they would live off of the tithes and offerings of the people of the land.

This will be expanded on later as Israel is given the particular instructions concerning their tithes. The Lord is their inheritance, and that means that what is offered from the people, to the Lord, would be distributed to them. As it says…

^9 (con’t) the Lord is his inheritance,

There is an emphasis in the Hebrew: Yehovah hu nakhalato – “Yehovah, He, his inheritance.” They will possess no tribal land, but rather, the portion of the tribal lands that are dedicated and offered to the Lord would be for those of the tribe of Levi.

^9 (con’t) just as the Lord your God promised him.)

This is exactingly recorded in Numbers 18. The rights and benefits of their tribe are defined there, and they will be expanded upon again here in Deuteronomy. With those words conveyed, Moses now continues further in his thoughts to the second time atop the mountain…

¹⁰ “As at the first time, I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; the Lord also heard me at that time, and the Lord chose not to destroy you.

This returns to the thought spoken out in verses 9:18 & 25. There the Lord spoke of the forty days and nights that he interceded for Israel. What is obvious, is that the connection to Levi here is a part of that.

Israel sinned, but Moses called for those who would defend the honor of the Lord to come forward and kill the offenders. Levi did. Moses was instructed to make another set of tablets, which he did. He was then instructed to place them in the ark, which he did.

However, during the time on the mountain, Moses also petitioned the Lord for Israel. The Lord accepted Moses’ petition and He chose to not destroy Israel. In the process, he determined to reward the tribe who had stood up for His honor. That would have been a moot point if He had destroyed the people. But in His turning from His anger, He chose to reward Levi.

In other words, the point of what is said here is actually the continued scolding of Israel for their evil behavior, the mercy of the Lord, a demonstration of what pleases the Lord, and what brought the people to the structure in which they now existed.

The Lord was angry enough to destroy all of the people, but He graciously forgave them through the mediation of Moses. At the same time, He elevated the tribe of Levi because of their forsaking even their relations and putting the honor of the Lord first. In doing so, Levi was given a special honor that would continue throughout Israel’s history.

It is with these points highlighted that Moses next says…

*^{11 (fin)} Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

The word “Arise” surely has a double meaning here. First, it said in verse 9:25, “Thus I prostrated myself before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the Lord had said He would destroy you.”

In telling Moses to arise, it signifies that His decision was made. And that decision was to “Arise, begin your journey.” The single word conveys both events – 1) Arise from before Me; I have forgiven, and 2) Arise from this place and make your journey.

In the chronology of events, it will still be an extended period of time before they actually depart from Horeb, but the assurance has been made. The Lord had said to Moses, “Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they” (9:14).

Instead, Moses would lead the people, Israel. And in his leading, they would go in and possess the land promised to their fathers. At this time, Moses had no idea that this would mean an extended period in the wilderness while an entire generation would perish, but the promise of the Lord would stand, as testified to by the fact that he is there with Israel on the east side of Jordan.

Though seemingly disjointed and obscure when we started, you can see now that the passage we have looked at is marvelously placed in the ongoing narrative. Each section is carefully building up the contents of the book so that nothing is left unattended to for future generations to read and understand all that has occurred in Israel’s history.

Further, what is presented shows us the very heart of God concerning countless points of His character, and of proper theology. He wants us to know that the law can’t save, but that He can. He wants us to understand our need, and His ability to fill that need.

He wants us to shun self and to, in turn, rely on Him. And He shows us the benefits of what doing so will be. And more, the Lord is showing us, through Moses, that true mediation can overcome even the greatest of evils and offenses against Him.

In this, we can then see the absolute surety we possess. Moses petitioned for Israel for forty days and forty nights. Christ Jesus never ceases to Mediate on our behalf. If the Lord forgave an entire nation of its offences because of Moses’ pleas, how much more can we be certain that we are forever safe in our salvation because of the Lord’s petitions for us.

Let us trust in this and let us be confident in it. To say otherwise to ourselves is to raise our own faults and failings above the cleansing and sanctifying power of Christ’s work. Such can never be. Rest in Christ, trust in Christ, and be confident of the effectiveness of the ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ for you.

Closing Verse: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25

Next Week: Deuteronomy 10:12-22 This is why to Him our shouts we raise, and to Him we do applaud… (He Is Your Praise, and He Is Your God) (35^th Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Two Tablets of Stone Like the First

“At that time the LORD said to me
‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, so you shall do
And come up to Me on the mountain
And make yourself an ark of wood, too

And I will write on the tablets
The words that were on the first tablets again plainly
The tablets which you broke
And you shall put them in the ark, away from the eyes of Me

“So I made an ark of acacia wood
Hewed two tablets of stone like the first as planned
And went up the mountain
Having the two tablets in my hand

And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing
The Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you
In the mountain from the midst of the fire
———-in the day of the assembly
And the LORD gave them to me before saying adieu

Then I turned and came down from the mountain
And put the tablets in the ark which I had made
And there they are
Just as the LORD commanded me; this is where they have stayed

(Now the children of Israel journeyed
From the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, so they were led
Where Aaron died, and where he was buried
And Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stead

From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, as the Lord had planned
And from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a rivers-of-water land

At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi
To bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD
To stand before the LORD to minister to Him
And to bless in His name, to this day, according to His word

Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren
The LORD is his inheritance, as you now know quite well
Just as the LORD your God promised him
Just as the Lord your God did tell

As at the first time, I stayed in the mountain
Forty days and forty nights; that time did accrue
The LORD also heard me at that time
And the LORD chose not to destroy you

Then the LORD said to me
Arise, begin your journey before the people as you live
That they may go in and possess the land
Which I swore to their fathers to them give

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. ² And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.’

³ “So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. ⁴ And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. ⁵ Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, just as the Lord commanded me.”

⁶ (Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his stead. ⁷ From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of rivers of water. ⁸ At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day. ⁹ Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised him.)

¹⁰ “As at the first time, I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; the Lord also heard me at that time, and the Lord chose not to destroy you. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

 

Deuteronomy 9:18-29
Forty Days and Forty Nights Before the Lord

While going through our verses today, for those who did not follow the Numbers sermons – or for those who have forgotten what they said – we need to remember the symbolism of the law and those who are under it.

And this is not some stretch made up out of someone’s head to fit a personal theology. Rather, it is exactly what God is revealing in Scripture. The symbolism of Israel’s rejecting entry into Canaan in Numbers 14 is that of their rejection of Christ.

They were led from Sinai (meaning Horeb) to Kadesh Barnea, spies were sent in to inspect the land, the spies came back with a bad report, and the people rebelled. The typology was and is clear – that of being presented Christ Jesus. From there, they went into two thousand years of the punishments of the law. Paul indicates this when he describes those under the law in Galatians 4 –

Text Verse: “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. ²³ But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, ²⁴ which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— ²⁵ for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— ²⁶ but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:21-26

Israel received the law, symbolic of giving birth to bondage. Israel was under that bondage until the time God set forth for the Messiah to come and deliver them from it. Christ Jesus came, they rejected Him, and the curses of the law came upon them.

However, in His faithfulness to the covenant, He has kept them as a people. His faithfulness is seen to have been established in our verses today. The words are clear, precise, and unambiguous.

Despite this, we are going to have to go back and forth and back and forth, and then we will have to go back and forth again throughout the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy to really get this. Don’t get bogged down in it. It is typed, and it is always there for you to refer to should you forget the layout.

For now, sit back and enjoy in an hour what took me an entire, tiring, day to put together. But it was worth it. Throughout the day, I called out loud to the Lord – again and again – “Thank You, Lord. I love Your word.” It is a joy and a delight to have sermon typing day set before me. And it is a joy to have the fruits of that to set before you. And so, I now present the passage to you.

Wonderful things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. But the Lord Listened (Verses 18-24)

In the previous passage, we ended with these words –

“So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. ¹⁶ And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God—had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you. ¹⁷ Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.” Deuteronomy 9:15-17

Moses now continues with the events, but he leaves out all of the detail concerning what happened at the foot of Sinai after he broke the tablets. That is recorded from Exodus 32:20-30. With that context understood, Moses continues with the narrative to this generation, explaining the events that followed, saying…

¹⁸ And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights;

The words, “as at the first,” could refer to either the words, “And I fell down before the Lord,” or “forty days and forty nights.” Both are true. First, Moses interceded before the Lord in Exodus 32, just before descending the mountain. There it said –

Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ¹⁴ So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. Exodus 32:11-15

However, Moses’ first time before the Lord was also forty days and forty nights. That is recorded in Exodus 24 –

“Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. ¹⁸ So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” Exodus 24:16-18     

As you can see, the timeline is rather hard to follow. He came down from the mountain, went through the events recorded in Exodus 32, and then went back up the mountain. But even here in Deuteronomy, he will speak of those events, while off the mountain, in just a couple verses. The narrative goes back and forth, and it is not always chronological.

For now, Moses simply states that a second period of trial and probation is now set before Israel. They had to wait below as Moses ascended a second time to the Lord atop the mountain. Of this time, he says…

^{18 (con’t)} I neither ate bread nor drank water,

This is referring to the ascension to receive the second set of tablets. That is specifically recorded in Exodus 34 –

“So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” Exodus 34:18

This period of ascension will be the subject of the narrative at the beginning of Chapter 10 as well.

^{18 (con’t)} because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.

The major sin was that of the making of the golden calf, but the words kal khatatkem, or “all your sin,” signifies more than just that. It includes unbelief, idolatry, ingratitude, and so on. Further, the word “your” is plural.

It wasn’t just Israel as a nation, but the people individually. They had done ha’ra, or “the evil,” in the sight of the Lord. Their wickedness was so great that Moses knew he had to intercede for them. As he says…

¹⁹ For I was afraid

Here, Moses introduces a new word into Scripture, yagor, or to be afraid. It is an uncommon word found only five times total. By introducing a new word, it is its own stress. Moses truly dreaded what might be the outcome of the matter.

¹⁹ of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was angry with you, to destroy you.

mipene ha’aph v’ha’khemah asher qatsaph Yehovah alekem l’hashmid etkem – “from face the nose and the hot displeasure which furious Yehovah with you to destroy you.” The sentence is full of descriptive language. The idea is that the face of the Lord was burning with rage to the point of shooting forth flames of fury and entirely consuming the people. And yet…

^{19 (con’t)} But the Lord listened to me at that time also.

The words gam ba’paam ha’hiv, or “also in the time that,” reflect more than just his petition before going down the mountain. They include Moses’ intercession for the people when they moaned in Exodus prior to arriving at Sinai, and even his intercessions for them after they left Sinai.

This is certain because he will refer to the events after leaving Sinai in just a few verses. He is speaking to the people in an after-the-fact manner, reminding them that they have been disobedient moaners and evildoers all along, and he has had to intercede for them again and again.

But, we cannot allow ourselves to get too far from the typology. Moses is shown to be the mediator of the covenant. As this is so, he is a type of Christ who is the more perfect Mediator of the New Covenant. If the Lord was willing to forgive the transgressions of Israel because of the mediation of Moses, how much more secure are we in the mediation of the New Covenant in Christ!

As Israel the nation is a pattern of individual salvation, we can be completely confident in holding to the doctrine of eternal salvation for believers. The Bible teaches nothing less.

²⁰ And the Lord was very angry with Aaron  and would have destroyed him;

The words are emphatic: u-b’aharon hitanaph Yehovah meod l’hashmido – “and in Aaron was enraged Yehovah, greatly to destroy him.” This is the last time Moses will use the word anaph, or enraged. It is from a primitive root meaning, “to breathe hard.”

In verse 9:8, he used this word, saying the Lord was enraged at the people for what they did while he was on the mountain receiving the law. Now, he singles out Aaron for that same infraction, emphasizing the severity of what he did.

Not only had the people seen the display of the Lord, at the giving of the Ten Commandments, but Aaron, Aaron’s two oldest sons, and seventy chosen leaders of Israel had gone up and eaten a meal in the presence of the Lord before they had made the golden calf.

Aaron not only saw the display of God in the magnificent effects that came with the giving of the law, but he had seen the Lord and dined before His glory. Could he be saved after doing such a thing as trading the glory of the Lord for a worthless idol?

^{20 (con’t)} so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.

It is wholly apparent, without it being said, that Aaron was singled out by the Lord. He had been with Moses throughout the miracles from the time prior to the exodus, he had been with Moses throughout all of the miracles since the time of the exodus, he had been at the foot of the mountain to see the sight and hear the words of law, he had been on the mountain to have a meal in the presence of the Lord, and yet, he had led the people into the sin of worshipping the golden calf.

He had not just partially, but completely walked away from the faith. His actions were wholly inexcusable and could not be any more exactingly described than those Paul speaks of concerning certain believers –

“This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, ²⁰ of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” 1 Timothy 1:18-20

Aaron had suffered a complete shipwreck of the faith, and yet Moses interceded for him, and the Lord responded. Again, if this is what Moses was able to do as a mediator of a law of sin and death, how much more Christ who is the Mediator of the gospel that brings life!

²¹ Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made,

The word “then” is not correct. The Hebrew reads v’eth and should say, “And I took your sin.” The intercession for Aaron comes later in the chronology, not before. Concerning the words, “your sin,” that is explained by the next words, “the calf which you had made.” Their sin was a tangible fact that stood before them.

^{21 (con’t)} and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust;

One can feel the anger in Moses’ words – “and burned it in the fire, and crushed it, grinding thoroughly, until that fine to dust.” He was utterly appalled at what they had done, and his actions – and his words of memory now – were a testimony to the magnitude of the offense.

As great as their idol supposedly was, he was determined to turn it into exactly the opposite – utter nothingness. When he could do no more to reduce it in size, he says…

^{21 (con’t)} and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain.

The result of this is explained in Exodus 32. The two accounts must be taken together to understand Moses’ intent –

“Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.” Exodus 32:20

Their source of drinking water would become the reminder of their sin. Each time they went there, it would be as if they were drinking in a reminder of what they had done to offend the Lord.

Yehovah their God, their true Source of life, was at the top of the mountain in smoke and fire. Their false idol, and the source of their shame, was there at the bottom of it drowned in the water they had to come to daily in order to drink and stay alive.

They were to remember the contrast between the two all the days they remained at the mountain. However, Moses next reveals to them that as soon as they left the mountain, they again forgot the Lord and failed to respond to Him in faith…

²² “Also at Taberah

u-ve-taverah – “and in Taberah.” Moses now continues the narrative of Israel’s constant failings. In verse 9:7, he had said –

“Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.” Deuteronomy 9:7

That took them from Egypt to Sinai. In 9:8 until 9:22, he described their failings while at Sinai. Now, he progresses on to the next stage of their ongoing failings, speaking first of their time just after leaving Horeb (Sinai).

The departure of Israel from the mountain is recorded in Numbers 10. In the turn of the page, and – literally – one verse after their departure was explained, it says in Numbers 11:1 –

“Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.” Numbers 11:1

Without the water from the brook to remind them of their failing, they immediately began to complain, once again, against the Lord. In response, fire came out from the Lord against Israel. At that time, Moses had to intercede for them again –

“Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched. ³ So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.” Numbers 11:2, 3

The name Taberah signifies a part of the area they stopped at, not the name of the entire encampment. Before going forward in time from this event, Moses quickly goes back to the last event before arriving at Sinai, saying…

^{22 (con’t)} and Massah

u-ve-massah – “and in Massah.” This was the last stop before arrival at Sinai (Horeb). There the people complained about having no water, and so the Lord provided them with water from the rock. In other words, what we see in the first two names of this verse – Taberah and Massah – is that Mount Sinai is the center of the thought.

Nothing changed in their attitude during their entire time at the sacred mountain. The receiving of the law, and the cutting of the covenant with them did not change the people.

With that sobering thought in mind, Moses next more precisely names the first recorded stop after leaving Sinai, saying…

^{22 (con’t)} and Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath.

Taberah is a part of the location named Kibroth Hattaavah. Not only did the outskirts of the camp complain, but all of them did – lusting after the foods they had left behind in Egypt. In response, the Lord sent them quail to feed them, but before the quail was finished, it says –

“the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. ³⁴ So he called the name of that place Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.” Numbers 11:33, 34

The name Qivroth comes from qever, a grave, or a place for burial. Ha is the definite article, and taavah means desire. Thus, the place means Graves of the Lusting. Instead of craving the Source of all life, the people craved what they had left behind when they were in their bondage.

It is a perfect picture of us, being saved by Christ and yet continually going back in our hearts and desires, longing for the things Christ redeemed us from. For now, Moses is not yet done with his chiding of the people. After their short journey from Sinai (Horeb) to their arrival at the very border of the land of promise, he continues with the mournful words…

²³ Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’

This is the spot where, in Numbers 13, the twelve spies were sent out from to see the land and bring back a report to the people. Upon their return, they were to provide their report and then accept the word of the Lord and go forth to possess what had been promised – even since the time of Abraham. However…

^{23 (con’t)} then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God,

The translation is incorrect. Instead, it says: va’tamru eth pi Yehovah elohekem – “and you rebelled mouth of Yehovah your God. No command was given to go up to the land. The Lord spoke and He expected them to believe. This is confirmed by the author of Hebrews, saying, “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:19).

The typology is important because coming to Canaan pictures Israel coming to the time of Christ. He came and offered them the New Covenant and eternal life. They rejected the words of His mouth…

^{23 (con’t)} and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice.

The word translated as “obey” is shama. It means to hear and be attentive to. As this was not a command, it means, “you did not believe Him and hearken to His voice.” The typology, again, anticipates Christ. It is what Paul says concerning the gospel –

“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:8, 9

Israel failed to believe and hearken to the word of Christ. As far as the ongoing narrative from Moses, it is at this location that the spies – minus Joshua and Caleb – came back and gave a bad report. And it is here that the people then rebelled against the Lord.

Israel’s history, up to the present time, is recorded here in these verses. They were called as a people, and until they were given the law, they failed to have faith in the Lord. They were given the law, and during their time of law, they failed to have faith in the Lord. Remember our text verse, Paul says that the time of the law is equated to the receiving of the law at Sinai.

And then, they were offered Christ, symbolized by bringing the people to the very doorstep of Canaan. And yet, they failed to have faith in the Lord. In that, they were turned back into the wilderness – a picture of their exile for the past two thousand years.

Their entire history, both in the biblical narrative being spoken forth by Moses, and in what that pictures – meaning their actual historical record – has been one of failing to have faith in the Lord. Of this list of stops, the scholar Keil incorrectly says –

“The list is not arranged chronologically, but advances gradually from the smaller to the more serious forms of guilt. For Moses was seeking to sharpen the consciences of the people, and to impress upon them the fact that they had been rebellious against the Lord (see at Deuteronomy 9:7) from the very beginning, ‘from the day that I knew you.’” Keil

It is not from the “smaller to the more serious forms of guilt.” This is certain because those infractions before the giving of the law are to be considered less serious than those after the giving of the law, and – indeed – after having seen the continued glory of the Lord in the various ways He manifested Himself.

Rather, the list is not arranged solely chronologically in order to highlight the fact that the giving of the law changed nothing in the people in regard to their relationship with the Lord. This is precisely why the Lord promised the people a New Covenant.

Here, Moses (the law) is remembering the sins of the people. In the New Covenant, their sins will be remembered no more (see our closing verse). However, one cannot truly appreciate the grace of the New Covenant without understanding the magnitude of the burden of sin in man – both apart from the law, and even more especially because of the law. Without the Christ Covenant, only sin and rebellion are remembered…

²⁴ You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

The Hebrew says im, with. “Rebellious you have been with Yehovah.” It is a reflection of the name, Israel, or “He strives with God.” They can strive with God for God, or they can strive with God against God. In this case, it is “against.”

From their calling as a people out of the bondage of Egypt, they have remained rebellious against the Lord, and against the law that the Lord has given them. As Israel is simply a template for the individual person called by the Lord, it is prudent that we don’t point our fingers too accusingly at them.

Even on the best of days, when we direct our hearts to the Lord in the most heartfelt manner that we can, we still fall short of giving Him all of who we are. There is always a streak of rebellion in our hearts. With his short snapshot of their history stated, Moses now returns to the thought of verse 18…

The Lord has covenanted with you and will never forget
Even when you stray away
He will fulfill every promise, you can bet
And will bring You to Himself some glorious day

And this, despite yourself; so, He has revealed
And He will continue to save, because He has spoken
When You believed by faith, the deal was sealed
He has given You His Spirit as a sure token 

And so, let us live for the Lord, remembering Him always
And let us not forget the great things He has done
Let us live for the Lord, for all of our days
For God, in Christ, has given us His Son 

Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise
Great is our God; let us honor Him for all of our days

II. Your People and Your Inheritance (Verses 25-29)

²⁵ “Thus I prostrated myself before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the Lord had said He would destroy you.

That this is a repetition of the thought of verse 18 is seen in the words he will say in the next verse. Moses was on the mountain with the Lord, receiving the tablets and the instructions for the tabernacle and priestly service. While there, the people made the golden calf and celebrated. It was at that time, while he was on the mountain, that we read –

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. ⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” ⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! ¹⁰ Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.’” Exodus 32:7-10

In response to the Lord’s words, Moses petitioned the Lord for the people. The Lord relented, as we saw earlier in this sermon, and Moses went down the mountain to see what the Lord had described concerning their behavior.

Once down, he cast the tablets out of his hands, destroyed the golden calf, had the Levites go through the camp to destroy those who participated, and so on.

Eventually, he went back up the mountain with two new tablets (Exodus 34:1/Deuteronomy 10:1) and fell before the Lord as he did before going down the mountain. This was, again, for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28).  With this timeline understood, Moses now substantially repeats what he had said before going down the mountain…

²⁶ Therefore I prayed to the Lord, and said:

As we just saw, Moses had petitioned the Lord before coming down, and the Lord relented concerning destroying the people (32:14). As this is so, why would Moses need to petition the Lord to not destroy the people? The answer is then found in Exodus 33 –

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ ² And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. ³ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
⁴ And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’” ⁶ So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb. Exodus 33:1-6

In other words, Moses had stayed the wrath of the Lord concerning the destruction of Israel for the sin of the golden calf. However, the Lord had not relented concerning the complete destruction of Israel for some other future offense.

It was Moses’ petitioning of the Lord now, which forever secured them from total destruction. That is seen in the renewal of the covenant in the words of Exodus 34 during this forty-day period –

So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. ⁹ Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
¹⁰ And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.” Exodus 34:8-10 

^{26 (con’t)} ‘O Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

In verse 9:12, The Lord said to Moses, “Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly.”

Moses’ got it. He understood that even after receiving the Ten Commandments and beholding the splendor and terror of the Lord, it was not enough to keep Israel from disobeying Him. In that state, He could – at any time – disinherit them and stretch out His hand and destroy them.And so, Moses says to Yehovah, “do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.”

In this petition, he mirrors his words previously spoken while on the mountain, but this petition goes beyond anything stated before. This is because they have not yet done anything else wrong. The Lord had relented from destroying them because of the calf, but He had also threatened He might destroy them for a future infraction.

Knowing this, Moses is asking for the Lord to state, in advance and without any possibility of changing His mind, that He will never utterly destroy Israel. And Moses received that guarantee. The Lord will lead them into the promise, and He will be their people. In fact, He later codified it in the written law –

“Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them;
for I am the Lord their God.
⁴⁵ But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God:
I am the Lord.” Leviticus 26:44, 45

Moses appeals to the Lord in this verse for the people “whom You have brought out of Egypt.” The Lord repeats that when He speaks of Israel, “whom I brought out of the land of Egypt.” Israel would forever stand, even in their rejection of the Lord, because the Lord spoke that it would be so.

This is the glory of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is grace that extends even to the complete turning away from Him by His people. He has covenanted, and He will perform.

It has taken almost an entire sermon to get to this, but this is one of the major points of the entire passage. Israel is guaranteed to always remain a people before the Lord, even when they are not His people. This is so that He might be their God.

Yehovah has spoken; it is, and it shall be – despite the conduct of the people. And this came about not because of their righteousness, nor because of their goodness. This is because, as Moses acknowledges, that is totally lacking in them. Rather…

²⁷ Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin,

In this verse is a noun found only here in the Bible, qeshi, or “stubbornness.” Moses’ appeal is, as has been seen again and again, based on the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The promise was made, and it could not be revoked. But the Lord promised to destroy the people and to accomplish it through Moses. Moses, instead, petitioned for all of the people – his own stubborn, wicked family.

But more, Moses petitions this because even if the Lord established the promise through him, the people of Egypt might misunderstand. Moses’ petition, then, is truly for his people, but it is more especially for the honor of the Lord. As he says…

²⁸ lest the land from which You brought us should say,

Here, the land is referred to as the people of the land. It is a poetic way of conveying the thought where he uses the singular “land,” but the verb translated as “should say” is plural. And their words…

^{28 (con’t)} “Because the Lord was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.”

It is a double attack, first against the ability of the Lord, and secondly because of the relationship between the Lord and the people. Just as an inability to bring them into the good land He promised would mean He was not the true God, so hating His people would be contrary to His initial choice of redeeming them. In such fickleness, it would – again – mean that He was not the true God.

Moses’ words here are similar to what he will later refer to in the Song of Moses concerning the Lord’s annihilation of Israel –

“I would have said, ‘I will dash them in pieces,
I will make the memory of them to cease from among men,’
²⁷ Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
Lest they should say, ‘Our hand is high;
And it is not the Lord who has done all this.’” Deuteronomy 32:26, 27

The honor of the Lord – even to this day in human history – is tied up in the preservation of Israel. How people in the church cannot see this is, literally, astonishing. It shows that they are untrained in the word, unschooled in proper theology, and they have no understanding of the nature of God, nor of His covenant promises.

It is exactly why people teach and believe that salvation can be lost. What a miserable state we are in when we cannot rightly discern these things from passages that are so clear and obvious. Yes, there is difficulty in the study, but proper theology is – after all – hard work. For now, Moses continues…

²⁹ Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance,

The words are precise, and they are specific. And further, they are often repeated in Scripture. Israel is the Lord’s inheritance. That did not change, nor has it gone from a literal body to a spiritual body. Rather, they remain so. Paul says as much in Ephesians –

“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— ¹² that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:11-13

Believing Gentiles are brought into the commonwealth of Israel. Even if Israel is temporarily excluded from those covenant promises, it is because of disobedience and punishment, not because of rejection. Understanding this, Moses says…

*^29 (fin) whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’

The final words of Moses for the passage, as he lay there before the Lord and which he repeats now to the people before him, is that Israel had nothing to do with being brought out. They were weak; He was strong. They were hemmed in; He stretched out His arm.

They could not boast in their freeing themselves, and Moses’ words of the entire passage show that they could not boast that the Lord did this because they were great, righteous, deserving, or better than any others.

All of those, and any other positives they could lie about to themselves – about themselves – are shown to be false. The honor of the events, the glory of what has transpired, and the majesty of the unfolding redemptive narrative belongs solely to the Lord.

With that understood, and again remembering that Israel is a template, or pattern, of the individual believer, we must remember (and never forget) that our salvation – how the events came about, the glory of what transpired, and the majesty of including us in the redemptive narrative – belongs solely to the Lord.

He did the work, and all Israel had to do was to follow. He did the work, and all we have to do is believe. No credit belongs to us for the things we have received. Rather, all of the credit, the praise, the marvel… all of it is to be directed to the One who sits on heaven’s throne, and who was willing to come and redeem us from the land of bondage and toil.

Praise God for Jesus Christ who has set us free, and who will see us through to the end that He has promised when He covenanted with us. Praise God for Jesus Christ.

Closing Verse: “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. ⁸ Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— ⁹ not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. ¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ¹¹ None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. ¹² For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:7-12

Next Week: Deuteronomy 10:1-11 Moses is in the sweet zone, the Lord’s anger is reversed… (Two Tablets of Stone Like the First) (34^th Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Forty Days and Forty Nights Before the Lord

And I fell down before the LORD in an emotional outburst
Forty days and forty nights, as at the first

I neither ate bread nor drank water
Because of all your sin which you committed on that day
In doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD
To provoke Him to anger in that way

For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure
With which the LORD was angry with you, as you know
To destroy you, which He could do
But the LORD listened to me at that time also

And the LORD was very angry with Aaron
———-and would have destroyed him for his crime
So I prayed for Aaron also at the same time                                                               

Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made
And burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small
———-so that calf was ended
Until it was as fine as dust
And I threw its dust into the brook that
———-from the mountain descended

“Also at Taberah and Massah and Kibroth Hattaavah
You provoked the LORD to wrath, so you did do
Likewise, when the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying
‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you

Then you rebelled against the commandment of the
———-LORD your God; such was your choice
And you did not believe Him nor obey His voice

You have been rebellious against the LORD, it is true
From the day that I knew you

Thus I prostrated myself before the LORD
Forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself as if dead
Because the LORD had said He would destroy you
Therefore I prayed to the LORD, and said:

‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people
And Your inheritance whom You have redeemed, a deed so grand
Through Your greatness
Whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand

Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Do not look on the stubbornness of this people let it not
———-be this way
Or on their wickedness or their sin
Lest the land from which You brought us should say…

“Because the LORD was not able to bring them to the land
Which He promised them (that would only cause a huge mess)
And because He hated them
He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness

Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance
Whom You brought out, safe from Egypt’s harm
By Your mighty power
And by Your outstretched arm

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁸ And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ¹⁹ For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was angry with you, to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me at that time also. ²⁰ And the Lord was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. ²¹ Then I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small, until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain.

²² “Also at Taberah and Massah and Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath. ²³ Likewise, when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice. ²⁴ You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

²⁵ “Thus I prostrated myself before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself, because the Lord had said He would destroy you. ²⁶ Therefore I prayed to the Lord, and said: ‘O Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²⁷ Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people, or on their wickedness or their sin, ²⁸ lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.” ²⁹ Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’

 

 

Deuteronomy 9:7-17
And the Mountain Burned with Fire

In today’s passage, Moses takes us through the account of what occurred when he was on Mount Sinai after the initial giving of the Ten Commandments. Moses is recounting this story to give weight to a point that he made in the passage we looked at last week.

For Israel, they should pay heed to what is said because it still applies to them today – in several ways. They have the same nature and character that Moses proclaimed then, and which he will explain today. They also have the same need for mercy that was needed towards the end of our passage.

It is the repeated theme of the Bible, man needs release from sin, sin comes through law, and therefore, man needs release from the law. If that doesn’t happen, all that man can expect is a sad ending when he is forever separated from the goodness of God.

But please understand, this is our default position because of what Adam did. God doesn’t want it this way. That is evidenced in the fact that He has gone through the entire plan of redemption, as is outlined in the Bible, to have our default setting changed. For those of us who have come to Christ, that is done. For Israel as a people, that time is yet ahead…

Text Verse: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— ³² not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33 

Israel, the people who God covenanted with, failed to see the importance of Christ Jesus. In their rejection of Him, they remained (and remain to this day) a people bound to the law. It is a law that demands a penalty for violating it.

Moses understood that, and today he will begin to take action to rectify it for his people. But they remained a people under the law. Yes, they were granted temporary release, year by year, under the provisions of the renewed covenant they received, but even that only anticipated a future, final, and full release that can only be found in their Messiah. Someday, they will get it right.

For now, the lesson of the law continues, as does a short chiasm that we began last week. We can look at that in review before we get into our sermon verses –

Deuteronomy 9:6-13 – Breaking the Covenant
While Moses was on the mountain of God (6/3/2008 – refined in 2020)

a 9:6 You are a stiff-necked people
—- b 9:7, 8 You who came out of Egypt provoked the LORD to wrath
——-c 9:9, 10 I received two tablets of stone when on the mountain 40 days and nights
               X 9:10 the words which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the
                   midst of the fire
——-c 9:11 At the end of 40 days and nights, the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone
—–b 9:12 The people who came out of Egypt acted corruptly and disobeyed the LORD
a 9:13: Indeed, they are a stiff-necked people

As you can see, the center of the chiasm speaks of the words of the Lord that were spoken from the midst of the fire. And, you can see that the outer parts of the chiasm speak of Israel as a stiff-necked people. The two thoughts together don’t bode very well for Israel.

Do they want to remain under this law? Do you? The very thought is suicidal because we are all a bit like Israel. We are stiff-necked and incapable of submitting ourselves to such a weight and a burden.

We all have choices to make, and we will continue to look over the choice of the law today. Hopefully you will decide to opt for another avenue, one with a light and easy yoke that you can readily submit to. That is the one Christ Jesus offers. It is a precious truth that is to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Written with the Finger of God (verses 7-10)

⁷ “Remember! Do not forget

The translation is correct. There is a stress on the words: zakor al tishkakh – “Remember! Do not forget.” The words are second person singular. Moses is speaking to the people collectively. He is heavily stressing his words in order to ensure that Israel does not ever feel they deserve what they have received. In fact, exactly the opposite is true. Not only did they not deserve being granted the inheritance, the opposite is the case.

The promise was to the fathers, and they, as a group, were the recipients of it. And yet, it is they, Israel, who should have been completely destroyed for their behavior. Moses wants them to not only know it for what he will convey concerning their past actions, but for their state at any given time in the future…

^7 (con’t) how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath

The words of this verse take us back to last week’s passage –

“It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ⁶ Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Deuteronomy 9:5, 6

Moses said that inheriting the land was not because they were righteous or upright in heart. Rather, they are a stiff-necked people. He is now reminding them of that fact. It is they, Israel, who provoked the Lord their God to wrath. Again, the words are in the singular. He is the Lord God of Israel, and it is they as a nation that provoked Him to wrath. But more, it was…

^7 (con’t) in the wilderness.

Israel had been in bondage in Egypt. The fact that they were in the wilderness meant that they were not in Egypt any longer. That didn’t come about by their own power – for they had none. Rather, as Moses said to them in Chapter 7 –

“…you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: ¹⁹ the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out.” Deuteronomy 7:18, 19

Moses is building his case, step by step, to solidify the facts of Israel’s history, its state before the Lord, and their state as the people of the Lord. They are, but it is only because of His covenant promises, and not because of anything of value in them. They had proven it to be otherwise…

^7 (con’t) From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place,

A transition takes place in these words. The Hebrew says, “l’min ha’yom asher yatsata meerets mitsrayim ad boakem ad ha’maqom hazeh – from the day which you (singular) departed from land Egypt until you (plural – you all) came to the place, the this.”

This change to the plural will continue into Chapter 10. He goes from speaking to all the people collectively to speaking to them all individually. In essence, “from the day that you, Israel, departed from the land of Egypt until all of you Israelis came to this place.”

The words of this clause define the term of the previous clause, “in the wilderness.” They provoked the Lord to wrath when they left Egypt, and they continued to do so, even until the place where they now sat, right on the border of the inheritance. The period extends throughout the entire time of their specific calling as a people.

As this is so, it also includes their time since the giving of the law. They had entered into the covenant with the Lord, and yet they continued to provoke Him to wrath after that.

^7 (con’t) you have been rebellious against the Lord.

Rather than “’against’ the Lord,” it reads mamrim heyitem im Yehovah – “rebellious you have been with Yehovah.” Using the word im, or with, makes the act especially personal. They are His people, and He is their God, and yet they were constantly rebellious with Him.

It is reflective of the meaning of the name Israel, or He strives with God. The striving can be with God, for God, or with God, against God. Moses notes they had been rebellious with Him, against Him. As this happened even until the present time, it means that the law was not something that brought them any nearer to Him. Rather…

⁸ Also in Horeb

u-b’khorev – “And in Horeb.” The sense of the word “and” is “even.” In other words, “Even in the very sight of the mountain where the Lord’s glory was on display, and where you received the law. Even there…”

^8 (con’t) you provoked the Lord to wrath,

It is the same word that was just used in verse 7 –

7 – “You (singular, Israel) provoked the Lord your God to wrath.”
8 – “You all (plural) provoked the Lord to wrath.

Moses is probably doing this to let every person know that they are equally to blame They cannot blame their fathers. They cannot blame “everyone else.” And, they cannot blame just a few miscreants. Rather, each and every person must shoulder a part of the blame of provoking the Lord to wrath. There He was, on top of the mountain, right in full sight. As it said in Exodus 24 –

“The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. ¹⁸ So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” Exodus 24:17, 18

Just because Moses was the only one at that time receiving the law, the presence of the Lord was right there, in full sight. Despite this, they provoked the Lord to anger even then…

^8 (con’t) so that the Lord was angry enough with you to have destroyed you.

Here Moses uses a word, anaph, that he introduced into the Bible in verse 1:37. He used it again in verse 4:21. It comes from a primitive root meaning, “to breathe hard.” In both instances, he was referring to the anger of the Lord against him, but on account of the doings of the people.

Now, he says that the anger was bakem, or “in you,” meaning with the people themselves. The Lord’s fury was so great that it was as if He was huffing against them for what they had done. Moses now recounts exactly what brought that about, saying…

 ⁹ When I went up into the mountain

ba’aloti ha’harah – “In my going up the mountain.” Saying, “In my going up,” it ties the words to the previous verse which said, u-b’khorev, or “And in Horeb.”

The last thing Moses would have considered is that in His going up the mountain, the very mountain in which the people were located and where they saw the awesome display of the Lord – while he was up there – they would fall into apostasy. In fact, Moses highlights the reason for his going up. It was…

^9 (con’t) to receive the tablets of stone,

These words were specifically stated in Exodus 24 –

Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, ¹⁰ and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. ¹¹ But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.
¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” Exodus 24:9-12

Not only had the people seen the display of the Lord, but Aaron, Aaron’s two oldest sons, and seventy chosen leaders of Israel had also gone up and eaten a meal in the presence of the Lord. This is especially important to remember when we get to verse 20. It was only after these events that Moses then ascended alone with Joshua to receive…

^9 (con’t) the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you,

lukhot ha’berit asher karat Yehovah imakem – “tablets the covenant which cut Yehovah with you (plural).” Moses is continuing to make this personal for each and every person before him now. It is true that many were born after the event happened, and yet he is indicating that they are all complicit in what occurred.

The Lord had cut a covenant with them, Moses was going to get the tablets that contained the very words of that covenant, and to bring them back as a witness to the people of what they had agreed to. Moses next describes his situation during that time…

^9 (con’t) then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

This is recorded in Exodus 24:18. It was during this time that Moses received all of the details for the construction of the tabernacle and everything associated with it, including who would fabricate everything, who would minister as priest, and so on.

The number forty in Scripture signifies “a period of probation, trial, and chastisement.” This was certainly the case for Israel while Moses was on the mountain. They were under probation and they failed to measure up. They stayed below, eventually committed their great sin, and as it says in Exodus 32 –

“‘Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.’ ⁶ Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Exodus 32:5, 6

While they were below with their false god feasting, Moses was on the mountain with the Lord fasting. As he says…

^9 (con’t) I neither ate bread nor drank water.

This was not previously recorded in the Exodus account. Moses fills this detail in for the people to see the contrast between themselves and their conduct, and him and his conduct, before the Lord. This time of probation and trial parallels that which Jesus faced after He was baptized –

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. ³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Matthew 4:1-11

¹⁰ Then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God,

After the Lord laid out the details of the law, He delivered a written copy of it to Moses. The words are similar to Exodus 31 –

“He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” Exodus 31:18

In Exodus 31, it calls them shene lukhot even – “two tablets stone.” Here it says shene lukhot ha’abanim – “two tablets the stones.” This shows us that the words are not simply copied from Exodus, but that Moses is recalling to mind what he was given.

It is a subtle proof of Mosaic authorship. If this was written by another person who simply copied the Exodus account, it would have said the same thing both times. In both, however it says ketuvim b’etsbah Elohim – “written in finger of God.” This term, “in finger of God,” is then explained in Exodus 32 –

“The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. ¹⁶ Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.” Exodus 32:15, 16

It is God who accomplished the task of writing the words upon the stone. It is not that Moses received the words and then chiseled out what he was told, but that the Lord Himself engraved the words upon the stone. In this, the same word for write, katav, is used both here and in Jeremiah 31 – our text verse.

The Lord wrote the law upon the tablets of stone, and He promised that He would write His law upon the people’s hearts. Each step of the process is intended to show us our need for Christ, and of how God will work through Him to make our reconciliation complete.

^{10 (con’t)} and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain

In other words, the tablets contained the Ten Commandments that were spoken out by the Lord in the presence of all of the people. Just what was conveyed to them was exactly what was written.

What this means is that what was recorded there was to be feared. The people feared the display of the Lord, but the display was to alert them to the nature of the Lord in relation to His law. The words of this clause and the next form the center of the chiasm we looked at earlier. The terror and power were conveyed because of the giving of the law. That is seen in the next words…

^{10 (con’t)} from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

The people were assembled to hear the law. The fire accompanied the speaking forth of the law, and it is from where the words issued forth. The fire was to impress upon their minds the nature of the word of the Lord. As it says in Jeremiah 23:29, “‘Is not my word like a fire?’ says the Lord.”

The word of God, written on tablets of stone
It is His word and we must obey
But for our sins, He will atone
Yes, our transgressions and sin He will put away 

This is possible when we have faith in His promise
It is what pleases Him – faith in His word
When we are not like a doubting Thomas
He grants forgiveness when our faith is heard 

This is the marvel of what God has done in Christ
He offers us life where once death reigned
He set the value and the condition has been priced
Through faith in His Son, eternal life can now be gained

II. You Had Sinned Against the Lord Your God (verses 11-17)

¹¹ And it came to pass, at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.

One can see the purpose of the set period of forty days here. As noted, it is a period of probation, trial, and chastisement. Moses didn’t know this. He simply went up the mountain and received the law. He was totally unaware of what was occurring at the base of the mountain, and his reaction shows that he never expected such a thing to occur.

He, representing the law, thought that obedience to the law was possible. But the Lord already knew that this was not the case. The Lord had set the period of time, that period was now complete, and He gave to Moses the tablets as a witness to the fact that what the people heard was exactly what the people had violated.

In fact, He ties the handing over of the tablets to Moses in with exactly that thought, as is seen in the next words…

¹² “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here,

The words follow closely after Exodus 32:7, 8 and they carry a sense of urgency: qum red maher mizeh – “Arise! Descend quickly from this (place).” This is then followed by the same surprising words from Exodus…

^{12 (con’t)} for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly;

The Lord says ammekha, “your people.” As seen in Exodus, this carries one of two possibilities – 1) The Lord is telling Moses that the people have sinned and they require a mediator to intercede for them. Or, 2) the Lord has disavowed them. The covenant which united them was broken and they are no longer His.

It is actually a mixture of both. The Lord distanced Himself from the people, but He knew the tie of Moses’ blood relationship was permanent. In verse 14, He offers a new beginning through Moses, but because of Moses’ faithfulness to his people, the Lord will continue the covenant between Himself and Israel. For now…

^{12 (con’t)} they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them;

saru maher – “they have turned aside quickly.” Using the same word, maher, or quickly, the Lord is tying in the command to Moses with the actions of the people. If they have turned so quickly from the proper path, you must quickly appear before them. Time is of the essence, because…

^{12 (con’t)} they have made themselves a molded image.’

Not only had they made a molded image, but they had substituted it for the Lord. Aaron had said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” After that, he said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” In other words, he had equated the calf to Yehovah.

The irony of this action was immense. Israel had waited for the Lord’s promise to Abraham for over four hundred years. And yet, they could not wait for Moses’ return from the Lord for a mere forty days. Their shortsightedness and rebellion reflected the nature of their hearts. Moses continues, showing this…

¹³ “Furthermore the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people.

The Hebrew doesn’t say “spoke,” it says, “And the Lord said to me, saying.” The difference is minor but significant. When using amar, or said, it signifies participation by the one being addressed. In this case, the participation will be revealed in the next verse.

For now, these words close out the chiasm that began in verse 6. Moses told the people that they were stiff-necked. He then set about to explain to them why this was so. Even at the most important of all times, while camped around the mountain of God – and just after having received the law from the midst of the fire – the people rebelled against the Lord and provoked Him to anger.

If nothing else were to be held against them, this would be enough to prove that they were, in fact, stiff-necked, just as the Lord had said, and just as Moses had repeated. They were unwilling to bend their necks and submit to the yoke of the Lord’s law. Such an attitude rightly deserved the Lord’s punishment…

¹⁴ Let Me alone,

hereph mimeni – “Desist from me.” The word is raphah. It conveys the idea of letting go or to slacken. The Lord begins testing Moses through this word. “If you will back off, I will take action against them…”

^{14 (con’t)} that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven;

The Hebrew is plural – “heavens.” It says in both Exodus and Deuteronomy that the Lord spoke to the assembly from the heavens. That was from the fire, and so now the meaning behind the fire is revealed. The Lord who spoke to them from the fire out of the heavens would turn that display of fire into judgment, blotting out their name from under those same heavens. Next…

^{14 (con’t)} and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

This is where the use of amar is significant. The Lord “said” to Moses. That includes a sense of participation. After completing His destruction of Israel, the Lord would then build up a new nation through Moses. If Moses desisted from the Lord and stood back while He destroyed Israel, the Lord would then build up a house through him. But Moses was having none of that…

¹⁵ “So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire;

It is two separate clauses, but the symbolism has to be taken as a whole. The mountain represents the governmental authority of the Lord. Moses, or He Who Draws Out, draws out from the Lord the law of the Lord. It is he who descends from the place of governmental authority where, as it says, v’hahar boer baesh – “and the mountain is burning in the fire.”

The same fire of verse 10, where the Lord spoke mitok ha’esh, or “from midst the fire,” is referred to here. Moses represents the law coming from that place of government authority in judgment. As it says…

^{15 (con’t)} and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.

u’shene lukhot ha’berit al shete yadai – “And two tablets the covenant upon two my hands.” The wording is precise and specific. The tablets were resting upon his hands. Unless they were teeny, or unless he worked out with Schwarzenegger – neither of which would be the case, and both for obvious reasons – they were on his hands and resting upon his breast as he carried them down the mountain.

The symbolism is perfectly clear. The law, the law broken by Isreal – open and in full view – is coming down the mountain of governmental authority from the fire of judgment, and thus only judgment should be expected. The voice spoke from the fire, the words of command were given, and the people feared greatly.

But their fear was misplaced. It wasn’t in the law, but in the display that accompanied the law. However, the display only came because of the giving of the law. Lesson: the law can only bring judgment; it cannot bring life.

¹⁶ And I looked, and behold,

The translation is precise. Moses was literally astonished at what he beheld. He had gone up the mountain to receive the word of the Lord at their request. When they made that petition, the Lord said –

“I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. ²⁹ Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” Deuteronomy 5:28, 29

Moses was surely proud of them for their heart, and he left them feeling secure that they would persevere in that state while he was gone. And yet…

^{16 (con’t)} you had sinned against the Lord your God—had made for yourselves a molded calf!

Here is Moses coming down, as instructed, with the tablets of stone. What is written in stone is permanent; it cannot be erased. The very words inscribed on the tablets were broken by the people who had agreed to them.

The law stood as a witness against them, and against what they had done. The first two of the Ten Commandments testified to this. They had another god before the Lord, and they had made it as an image, calling it the Lord. Within the span of a mere forty days, they had failed in their probationary test…

^{16 (con’t)} You had turned aside quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you.

Moses repeats the word of the Lord to him from atop the mountain. The people had turned aside maher, or quickly. Earlier, we saw that Jesus was baptized and then He immediately went through his forty days of testing. This is what happened to Israel, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians –

“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, ² all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. ⁵ But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
⁶ Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. ⁷ And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’” 1 Corinthians 10:1-7

The people had been baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea. They were driven into the wilderness and presented with the law, and within forty days they failed. Jesus was baptized into Moses (to fulfill all righteousness) by John, a prophet of the Law of Moses. He was driven into the wilderness while under the law, and through forty days of testing, He prevailed. For now, Moses says…

^{* 17 (fin)} Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.

In Exodus, it says that Moses broke these at the foot of the mountain. Here, it says that he broke them before their eyes. They must have seen him coming at some point, and jointly looked towards him. At this time, and because of his anger at what he saw, he threw them down in their sight.

This shows that his act was purposeful. He didn’t just drop them in a fit of passion, but what he did was intentional and specifically for them to see him do it. It, thus, signifies the annulment of the covenant.

In their agreeing to the law and then breaking it, the word of God was made of no effect. But just as important, it is actually a petition for mercy. If he wanted Israel destroyed, as the Lord suggested He would do, Moses would have brought the tablets forward and held them over the people, showing them that the coming punishment was just and asking for it to be meted out.

Rather, in their breaking of the covenant, Moses, as the designated mediator, was anticipating its annulment by destroying what the Lord had written on the tablets. This act of breaking the tablets is never mentioned in the negative by God later. In other words, it is to be considered as a justifiable act by Moses. As the mediator, the Lord has seen his actions and will next hear his petition for mercy.

But what we see here is giving us a picture of a portion of the story of redemption. It is a picture of our spiritual state. The laws of God are fixed and unchanging, but they can be annulled. In this, God knew that Moses would break them.

This first set of tablets pictures Adam. The tablets were made by God and engraved by God. Adam was created by God and he was given a law by God, but he broke that law. What Adam needed after that was mercy. What Israel needs is mercy as well. This is what Moses will petition for in our next set of verses and it is what will be granted.

In Chapter 10, we will see how this will be accomplished in another pictorial display. What is important to understand here is that the law of God is set. It cannot be amended by man. It can either be adhered to, or it can be annulled by God who gave it, but we either have to meet the law, or we will face the judgment of God. This is the message of the Bible.

God has given law to man, man has broken that law, and man stands condemned before God because of that. Israel’s reception of the Law of Moses only highlights that fact. It is God’s standard, and it must be met. But God gives us an option as to how that can come about.

We can attempt to meet His standard on our own, or we can meet it vicariously, through another. God does give us that option. In the first option, we will fail, and we will be condemned. In the case of the second option, if we choose the right Substitute to fulfill its demands for us, we will be saved.

And the only suitable Substitute for that to accomplish this is Jesus Christ. Only He was born without original sin, and only He fulfilled the law perfectly. It is only through Christ that we can meet God’s perfect standard, and so I would ask you today to consider this and to be sure that you settle your eternal destiny with God right away. Call on Christ, be forgiven for the sins of your soul, and be reconciled to God through the perfection of His Christ, our Lord Jesus.

Closing Verse: “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ³ clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” 2 Corinthians 3:2, 3

Next Week: Deuteronomy 9:18-29 During this time, will Israel be restored? (Forty Days and Forty Nights Before the Lord) (33^rd Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

And the Mountain Burned with Fire

“Remember! Do not forget how you provoked
The LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness
From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt
———-until you came to this place
You have been rebellious against the LORD; you are such a mess

Also in Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath
So you remember, and as you did do
So that the LORD was angry enough
With you to have destroyed you

When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone
The tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you
Then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights
I neither ate bread nor drank water; neither did I do

Then the LORD delivered to me two tablets of stone
———-written with the finger of God
And on them were all the words, from the day when you all
———-were trembly
Which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain
From the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly

And it came to pass
At the end of forty days and forty nights, as time does track
That the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone
The tablets of the covenant, to take back

“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here
For your people whom you brought out of Egypt
Have acted corruptly; they have quickly turned aside from the way
———-which I commanded them
They have made themselves a molded image; into idolatry
———-they have tripped

“Furthermore the LORD spoke to me, saying
‘I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people
———-what more about them can I say?
Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name
———-from under heaven
And I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they

“So I turned and came down from the mountain
And the mountain burned with fire on that day
And the two tablets of the covenant
Were in my two hands as I headed your way

And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against
———-the LORD your God
Had made for yourselves a molded calf! A terrible thing to do
You had turned aside quickly from the way
Which the LORD had commanded you

Then I took the two tablets
And out of my two hands them I threw
And broke them before your eyes in my outburst
Because of my anger at you

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

⁷ “Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. ⁸ Also in Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry enough with you to have destroyed you. ⁹ When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. ¹⁰ Then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. ¹¹ And it came to pass, at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.

¹² “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly; they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image.’

¹³ “Furthermore the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed they are a stiff-necked people. ¹⁴ Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

¹⁵ “So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. ¹⁶ And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God—had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you. ¹⁷ Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.

 

Deuteronomy 9:1-6
Not Because of Your Righteousness

Insightfully, and right off the bat, Albert Barnes comments on this chapter saying, “The lesson of this chapter is exactly that of Ephesians 2:8, ‘By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.’”

As obvious as that seems once you have somebody tell you, it is not something one would normally think of while toiling away through the Law of Moses. The people have been given law, they will be given more law, and in the process, they are told – again and again – that adherence to the law is necessary for them.

However, throughout the law, and even in the passage today, more than mere observance of the law is defined. Living out the law, without an upright heart, means nothing. That is testified to elsewhere – outside of the covenant people – as we will briefly look at today.

And so, as we progress, we continue to see hints of what God is up to in our return to the paradise we lost so long ago. Adam was covered by the Lord after he demonstrated faith in the Lord’s promise. Abraham was counted as righteous by simply believing the Lord; accepting His word at face value.

People outside of the covenant line are considered upright and blameless by the Lord. And even those who were under the law have found righteousness apart from the law by a mere act of faith, as Paul says in our text verse today –

Text Verse: “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! ³ For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, ⁴ though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: ⁵ circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
⁷ But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:2-12

Israel is being schooled on what pleases the Lord. Through Israel’s schooling, we too can be instructed. Their history is recorded for exactly that reason, and it is a history that calls out for something more than anything they, or we, can bring out of ourselves.

Rather, it calls out for a yielding to God and a submission to what He offers at whatever time in history we live. We will see that today, and we will also begin a short chiasm with our last verse from our text today. As it begins there, we will lay it out today and then go through the rest of it next week.

Deuteronomy 9:6-13 – Breaking the Covenant
While Moses was on the mountain of God (6/3/2008 – refined in 2020)

a 9:6 You are a stiff-necked people
—- b 9:7, 8 You who came out of Egypt provoked the LORD to wrath
——-c 9:9, 10 I received two tablets of stone when on the mountain 40 days and nights
               X 9:10 the words which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the
                   midst of the fire
——-c 9:11 At the end of 40 days and nights, the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone
—–b 9:12 The people who came out of Egypt acted corruptly and disobeyed the LORD
a 9:13: Indeed, they are a stiff-necked people

Great things such as justification by grace through faith, and interesting patterns such as chiasms, are just a few wonderful aspects of the marvels to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. As the Lord Has Said to You (verses 1-3)

“Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today,

shema Yisrael atah ober ha’yom eth ha’yarden – “Hear, Israel: you are passing over today the Jordan.” The words of Moses are as if it is happening right at the moment, and thus it is as if the action is already assured – it is happening, and it is today. Because of this, the word “today” is to be taken as at a point in time, and not literally on the day the word is spoken.

It places the speaking out of Deuteronomy in the light of one moment in time – regardless as to how long that time is. When we speak of “the Day of the Lord,” it doesn’t mean a single day, but a period of time that is set before the people of the world, regardless as to its actual length.

This then takes us back to the thought of the previous chapter. Moses reminded the people to observe the commandment of the Lord when they went in to possess the land. He recounted the Lord’s care of the people in the wilderness, showing them that their chastening was a part of their instruction.

Just as the Lord cared for them, so He would do so in Canaan, but they were to remember that it was the Lord who brought them in, not they themselves. To complete the chapter, he said –

“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. ¹⁹ Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. ²⁰ As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 8:18-20

Now, Moses continues the instruction of “this day” by explaining what those nations the Lord will destroy before them are like…

^1 (con’t) and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself,

The thought here rotates back to the words of Chapter 7 –

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you,” Deuteronomy 7:1

Moses has already said who they will face. He has also explained that not only are the inhabitants jointly greater and mightier than Israel, they are individually greater and mightier than they are. And yet, they will possess the land because they will dispossess the inhabitants of the land. And this, despite them having…

^1 (con’t) cities great and fortified up to heaven,

arim gedoloth u-betsuroth bashamayim – “cities great and fortified in the heavens.” Here Moses uses the exact same words that the moaners of Israel spoke in Deuteronomy 1:28, as they complained about the land when it was first presented to them –

“The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven;” Deuteronomy 1:28

Like at that time, Moses’ words now contain no article before “cities.” Also, the word “heavens” is plural and prefixed by an article – “in the heavens.” The words would normally be expected to elicit awe and fear as Moses repeats this hyperbolic statement that goes all the way back to Genesis 11. There, it said that the people determined to build a tower “whose top is in the heavens.”

The idea is that to any other army, those in Canaan would seem like gods, dwelling in inaccessible strongholds that could not be defeated. However, the Lord was to be with Israel, and so the victory was assured. Paul uses Moses’ terminology in Ephesians 6 to make a spiritual application of what is stated here –

“For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” Ephesians 6:12 (Holman)

Paul, being trained in the Law of Moses as a Pharisee, and then coming to Christ who is the fulfillment of the law, was able to see the direct connection between what occurred with Israel in a temporal way and what believers now face on a spiritual level.

Just as Moses reminds Israel that it is the Lord who made the victory possible, and who was then due the glory of it, so Paul makes the same connection, saying that we prevail when we put on the whole armor of God. If it is the armor of God that makes the victory possible, then it is the Lord who is to receive the glory. With this advanced understanding, Moses continues…

² a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim,

Again, Moses reaches back to the second clause of the same verse from Deuteronomy 1 –

“moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” Deuteronomy 1:28

He is taking the words of the pusillanimous people who stood at the door of Canaan, and he is turning them around for this new generation to consider and understand. The Lord is, in fact, with Israel. They didn’t just have the Exodus from Egypt, but they also had the Lord’s care of them throughout the wilderness wanderings.

This is why in Chapter 7 Moses so carefully explained the Lord’s care of them in the wilderness. As we saw then, it was to demonstrate 1) His greatness in not destroying them for rejecting Him, 2) that it is by His power that the inheritance is acquired because they are the “least of all the peoples,” 3) His love for them as a people, and 4) His faithfulness to the oath He swore to their fathers.

As was noted then concerning the third point, the Lord’s love for Israel is one originally based on His love for the fathers. There is nothing intrinsically worthy of that love in them, but rather because of His nature – which is love – He then directs it to those of the covenant promises.

Before going on, we have to remind ourselves of what all of this is typologically representing, meaning salvation and obtaining a heavenly inheritance in Christ.

Israel had rejected the Lord’s offer of Canaan after they left Mount Sinai. Because of that, they were sent into exile in the wilderness. And yet, they were preserved as a people through that exile. The land now stands before them, but it must be acquired through faith – the same faith that their fathers lacked.

That scenario pictured Israel’s rejection of Christ, their exile among the nations, their preservation as a people because of the four points just noted a minute ago, and His offer to them – once again – to enter the inheritance.

What the Gentiles received, by faith, two thousand years ago, will be offered once again to Israel. It is good to keep reminding ourselves of the typology so that we don’t get too far from what the Lord is telling us.

For those in the world who have never received Christ, or who are attempting to earn God’s favor through the law, the offer is being shouted out for them to consider – “Just look at the Lord’s faithfulness to unfaithful Israel! Consider it, take it to heart, and come to Christ through faith. The inheritance awaits!” For now, we return to Moses’ ongoing words to the people…

^2 (con’t) whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’

The words of Moses bear an emphasis, asher atah yadata v’atah shamata – “which you know and you heard.” The people standing before Moses now had heard the words of their fathers after the spies’ report, which said –

“There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers 13:33

The spies described the Anakim, and out went the word throughout the camp. Though it is not recorded before, Moses ironically repeats what the people called out, “Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?”

Egypt had been destroyed, water came from the rock, manna came to the people daily, the law had been received accompanied by the terrible and awesome display of the Lord, and on and on… and yet! The people worried about the descendants of Anak!

In their faithless conduct, they were rewarded for that conduct – death in the wilderness. And it was those standing before Moses now who had seen these things with their own eyes. They had watched their grandparents and parents die in the wilderness…

³ Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. 

The Hebrew bears a strong emphasis and uses a verb to describe the Lord: v’yadata ha’yom ki Yehovah elohekha hu ha’ober lephanekha esh okelah – “And understand today, for Yehovah your God, He, the Passer Over before your face, fire consuming.”

In other words, “What your fathers failed to accept, you are to now understand and to acknowledge. The Lord is the One who is the Passer Over before you. He is the consuming fire.

The sight of the Lord on the mountain was, to the people, like a consuming fire. The fire of the Lord came out to consume the offerings on the altar, the fire of the Lord consumed the moaners at Kibroth Hattaavah, and the fire of the Lord consumed the two hundred and fifty rebels.

The people had seen these and other such things, and they had survived. If the Lord wanted to, He could have destroyed them all. The fact that they were there on the shore of the Jordan after the many years in the wilderness testified to the fact that the Lord both had positive intentions for them, and that He had the power and ability to destroy their enemies before them. As Moses says…

^3 (con’t) He will destroy them and bring them down before you;

Again, the Hebrew is emphatic: hu yashmidem v’hu yakniem lephanekha – “He will overthrow them, and He will humble them before your face.” The path will be cleared, and every obstacle will be removed from before Israel.

Further, in the use of the word translated as “bring them down,” Moses is making a pun. The word is kana, the root of Canaan. It signifies to humble. The Lord is the one who will humble those who are humbled. In this, it will allow for what will then be a synergistic accomplishment, as is seen in the next words…

^3 (con’t) so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly,

Using two different words than the previous clause, Moses says, v’horashtam v’haabadtam maher – “and you shall dispossess them, and you shall annihilate them quickly.” The words are not in any way contradictory to Chapter 7, where it uses the same word as here which is translated as “quickly” –

“And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.” Deuteronomy 7:22 

It is a subjective term, used the first time in the sense of the overall process of clearing out the inhabitants of the land. Here, it is referring to the destruction of the various nations as they are brought forward for individual destruction, highlighted by the Anakim who were just mentioned. They will be destroyed quickly.

What is important about the words stated here is that the previous clause said the Lord would accomplish the destruction. Now Israel is said to be the instrument by which that occurs – “you shall.” Thus, there is a synergy between the two.

The question before us is, “Has Jesus accomplished everything necessary for us to enter the promised inheritance?” The answer is, “Yes.” And yet, if we do not act, there will be no reception of the inheritance. The lie of the monergistic model of salvation is exposed in these Old Testament passages.

The Lord paved the way for Israel to enter the promise, but they at first rejected that path. He now sets before them the same opportunity, but Israel must choose to believe the Lord and cross the Jordan. And so, it is true with our own spiritual walk now, even after salvation.

The Lord has saved us. It is a done deal. And yet, there are battles that must be fought. We can lie down before the enemy, just as Israel could have, or we can take up the implements (Ephesians 6) of our salvation and use them to actively go forward.

Have we heard the truth? Have we been given the breastplate of righteousness? Have we been provided the gospel of peace? And so on. Of course, we have! The Lord has already accomplished all of this for us, and He has already made these things available to us.

And yet, we must do our part. As Paul says, we must “stand,” we must “gird,” we must “put on.” If we don’t, we will remain ineffective in our salvation just as Israel became ineffective in the possession of the land of their inheritance.

And when we do our part, we cannot take a mote of credit for it. We simply did what we were supposed to do because of what He has already done for us. And this is what Israel must face in the future as well. They must acknowledge that the entire process is solely of the Lord, and yet they must do their part in order to receive what the Lord has already provided.

For Israel ready to enter Canaan, they must remember the past and act upon it. Crossing the Jordan and subduing the land is as simple for them as trusting the Lord’s past performance, and then acting upon that.

For Israel in relation to Christ Jesus, they must remember the past and act upon it. They rejected Him, they went into exile, and yet they were tended to and maintained as a people through that. They will be brought forward to the place where they must face Him again. Israel must learn from their past failures, acknowledge that the Lord has faithfully proven Himself, and respond accordingly…

^3 (con’t) as the Lord has said to you.

Not only has He said it, He has done so repeatedly both from His own mouth, and through Moses who speaks forth His word –

“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’— ¹⁸ you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:” Deuteronomy 7:17

Understanding these things, and reflecting on them – whether speaking of Israel in Canaan, or a believer in Christ – all need to consider why the Lord does these things. It is not that Israel was righteous, nor is it because we are righteous. None should ever come to that conclusion…

Our God is a consuming fire
He will destroy the enemies arrayed against you
Though their fortifications go up higher and higher
They will be torn down, and you shall go through

What have you to fear? The Lord is on your side
He has promised that He will carry you through
He will bring you near; the one without pride
It is just as He has promised to do

Nothing in all of creation can separate you
From the love of God that is found in Jesus Christ our Lord
|Be confident of this; God will carry you through
There at the end stands our glorious Reward

II. You are a Stiff-necked People (verses 4-6)

⁴ “Do not think in your heart,

al tomar bilvavekha – “Not do say in your (singular) heart.” Translating this as “think” is perfectly fine, because the heart is the seat of reasoning and understanding. To “say” in one’s heart implies thinking something is so. Because of this, the heart is the source of many woes for incorrect thinking. As Jeremiah says –

“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

Moses is careful to admonish Israel (the collective – as indicated by the singular “heart”), in advance, of the error of incorrect thinking concerning what is happening in relation to their entry into Canaan. It is a lesson we also need to consider as we continue. What is the inevitable conclusion Israel is bound to make…?

^{4 (con’t)} after the Lord your God has cast them out before you,

Israel will go into a land that the Lord prepared for them. It is a good and productive land, it is a land that had everything necessary for them already available to just pick up life as if they had been there for generations, and it will come through their simply acting in obedience to what the Lord told them to do.

What is it that will inevitably go through their minds, unless they are told – in advance – that it is otherwise? The answer is that they will be…

^{4 (con’t)} saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’;

“Look at all the Lord has done for us! We must be pretty swell for the Lord to have done it. We must be deserving of what has happened, and because the Lord is righteous, we must – likewise – be righteous! We are the cat’s meow and the bee’s knees.”

Examples of this type of thinking are found throughout the Old Testament. Isaiah 65 provides a beautiful example –

“I was sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that was not called by My name.
² I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
³ A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
⁴ Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
⁵ Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.” Isaiah 65:1-5

Paul uses Isaiah’s words to describe Israel –

“But to Israel he says:
‘All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people.’” Romans 10:21

But who is the New Testament’s premier example of self-righteousness? The Pharisees. They looked to their selves as the epitome of righteousness and favor with God. They were of the covenant people, they possessed wealth and status, and therefore they thought that the Lord must truly be pleased with them.

But from what tradition did Paul arise? Yes! From the Pharisees, just as we saw in our text verse today. Did Paul deserve the inheritance? Was it because of his righteousness that it came about? On the contrary, he said, “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness.”

Paul understood that the inheritance was not because of who he was, what culture he came from, what schooling and instruction he had, or in his obedience to the law. He obtained the inheritance by faith. He crossed the Jordan, or believed in what Christ did, and nothing more. And so, in obtaining the inheritance, he wasn’t there because of his righteousness. Nor was it so for us in Christ or for Israel in Canaan…

^4 (con’t) but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you.

A new noun, rishah, is introduced here. It will be used again in the next verse. It signifies a wrongdoing, but especially in the moral sense. Thus, it is wickedness. The Lord has a land of promise where Israel is to dwell. He will dwell with His people in that land. But the Lord is holy and therefore His people are to be separate from unholiness. He is righteous, and therefore the people are to be righteous.

The assumption of Israel, and the assumption of many in the church, is that because we are selected to participate in this state of holiness and righteousness that we must possess our own righteousness. This is the lie that our heart is brimming over with.

It was (and remains to this day) an infection in Israel, and it is an infection in the hearts of the church right now. But Moses is telling Israel, in advance, that they are not to claim it is because of their righteousness at all. Rather, there is wickedness that must be purged from the land.

And that wickedness is reflected in those things that are contrary to the holiness of the Lord. If Israel participates in those unholy things then they will, by default, demonstrate their own wickedness. The law is supposedly given to avoid that. As Leviticus says –

“For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:45

Why would the nations of Canaan need to be exterminated if Israel was already righteous? They have the Law! If that were a means to righteousness, then the inhabitants would not need to be exterminated. Israel could do its thing and the nations could do their thing, and everything would be fine. But such is not the case.

Now put the church in place of Israel. We are given the inheritance. That is assured already. And yet, we cannot claim it was because of our righteousness. The fact that we accepted Christ because He died for our sins means that we were sinners.

And the fact that we – we who have entered the inheritance – must put on the whole armor of God, shows us that we are still unrighteous in and of ourselves.

Israel’s position in Canaan was as a holy people to the Lord. Because of this, they were to conduct themselves in righteousness before the Lord – driving out the wicked in order to be kept from their unrighteousness.

Our position is a holy people of the Lord. Thus, we are to display His righteousness to the people among whom we dwell. The way we do that is to drive out the wickedness from ourselves, conforming ourselves to Him.

Israel is the template, the law is the standard, and perfect execution of the law is the expectation. Israel failed because the expectation was impossible for them to meet. We (Israel someday and we today) will prevail because the expectation is realized in Christ – who alone is our righteousness. This is what Israel will someday realize –

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
⁶ In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell safely;
Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jeremiah 23:5, 6

Israel is being schooled in the Source of righteousness, it is something they – in and of themselves – did not possess…

⁵ It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart

lo b’tsidqatekha u-b’yosher l’vavekha – “Not in your righteousness, and in uprightness to your heart.” Now, another new noun is introduced, yosher, or uprightness. That comes from the verb yashar, signifying what is straight or right.

Moses is rewording the previous verse to ensure that not only does Israel not think to themselves that it is because of their righteousness, but so that they know that the notion is entirely excluded.

But in these words, he goes further. In saying, “or the uprightness of your heart,” he is showing that righteousness is not an externally achieved state. In other words, as Keil says, it is “to indicate briefly that outward works do not constitute true righteousness.”

Rather, works must be of faith. If they are not of faith, then they are useless. This is more fully fleshed out by the author of Hebrews, and then the examples are used by James in some of the most misunderstood verses of the Bible.

Everything comes back to the heart and its properly directed faith in, and love of, the Lord. Understanding this, Moses says…

^5 (con’t) that you go in to possess their land,

The pronoun is emphatic, atah ba lareshet eth artsam – “you go in to possess their land.” Not only should Israel not think the Lord is dealing with them because of their righteousness, such is definitely not the case. In them, there is absolutely no reason that they are preferred above anyone else.

The Lord could have chosen any people group and there would have been as much righteousness in them as in Israel. Rather, they are being brought in for an entirely different reason. Actually, two reasons, beginning with…

^5 (con’t) but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you,

The first reason is based on the moral nature of the Lord in relation to the conduct of the land’s inhabitants. It goes all the way back to Genesis 15, but it is also connected to the second reason. The Lord said to Abraham that He is Yehovah who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give him the land of Canaan. After that, He said –

“Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Genesis 15:15, 16

The Lord had a set marker placed upon the Amorites who dwelt in Canaan. That marker was one of incurred iniquity. When the level of their iniquity had risen to the height of His marker, as is based upon His moral character, the time for their judgment was set.

This shows the gracious and patient nature of the Lord. The promise to Abraham was made, but it would not be implemented until the Amorites had been given the chance to seek Him while He could be found.

We can know this is true because Job, a man not of the covenant people, was considered a blameless and upright man before the Lord. Among others, who were outside of the covenant line, Job was considered a “son of God” through faith in the promise of the coming Messiah, as is recorded in Job 1:6.

Moses is clear that the Lord was driving out the inhabitants of the land because of the people’s wickedness, not because of either Israel’s righteousness, or because of the uprightness of their heart. But there is a second reason, notably connected to the first…

^5 (con’t) and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers,

u-l’maan haqim eth ha’dabar asher nishba Yehovah la’avotekha – “and to the end purpose to confirm the word which swore Yehovah to your fathers.” The words here are based on the Lord’s love for the fathers (Deuteronomy 4:37), and on His covenant-keeping faithfulness to them (Deuteronomy 7:8).

It is the covenant faithfulness that Moses highlights here. The love is what leads to the word, the word of the Lord is an oath, and the oath must stand because it is the word of the Lord. This oath to the fathers was specifically…

^5 (con’t) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

l’avraham, l’yitshaq, u-l’yaaqov – “to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” It wasn’t just to Abraham, which was then inclusive of Isaac and Jacob, but rather it was to each of them in turn. The word which the Lord swore to these men was given, it was binding, and it continues to this day.

And this brings in an important point. If the promise is made to these fathers – all three of them – and that promise is of the land inheritance, and if that land inheritance is typologically picturing Christ and the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom, then how can it be that the church has replaced Israel?

If the promise were only made to Abraham, one could make that argument, and indeed the world is full of such people. But because the promise is to Isaac and Jacob as well, and because Israel is the recipient of that promise, then it cannot be that the church has replaced Israel. No land promise is given to the gentile-led church.

The author of Hebrews specifically says that entering the land of Canaan did not equate to entering the promised rest. He proves that by citing David who wrote his words many years after Joshua was dead. Israel, the collective whole, is who is being addressed in these verses by Moses. They are consistently in the singular.

Though the earthly inheritance of Canaan is being referred to, it is only given as a typological picture of the final inheritance found in Christ. And it will come upon them someday when they come to understand what Moses finishes our verses with…

⁶ Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness,

Moses again repeats the same thought. The good land set before them is being given to the people not because of their righteousness. Rather, because of the continued repetition, such an idea is wholly excluded.

And it thus typifies the salvation of each one of us. Again, as Paul says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Israel had done nothing to merit what they were being given, and the believer has done nothing to merit what is bestowed upon us by God.

These words in Deuteronomy shout out that Moses is truly the author. Any other person would have lessened the force of the constant repetition we have seen, and they would certainly have excluded our final words of the day…

*^6 (fin) for you are a stiff-necked people.

ki am qesheh oreph atah – “for people stiff neck you.” This is a favorite expression of both the Lord and of Moses concerning them. It is used by one or the other eight times in the books of Moses.

The phrase is normally explained as being obstinate, but it is more than that. It signifies a perverse people who want to behave in a way that is both unacceptable and unreasonable, even in spite of the consequences they will face.

It is a metaphor which finds its source in an animal which will not submit itself to yoke or bridle. It stiffens itself against the pull of the rein, even if it hurts.

These closing words of today set the stage for the many charges against Israel that Moses will lay out in the coming verses, proving to them that the term “stiff-necked” is both appropriate and just. His words will also confirm the fact that they are lacking any righteousness at all.

They are the sons of their fathers who acted corruptly from the moment they left Egypt. Moses will instruct them in how they can avoid continuing on in that vein and to be considered as right and acceptable before the Lord.

And though Moses will speak out words of law to them through the rest of the book, it will not be that law that will bring them closer to the Lord. It will be the right and pleasing state of their heart which softens their neck and makes them pliable to the reins of their Master.

Until that state is realized, the battle between the two will continue. It is a battle which continues for them today, and it is a battle that continues on in the lives of most of the world as well. The Lord has done the work, He has laid out the path to glory, and He stands as the door at the end of it for any to come through.

And yet, man stubbornly turns his neck and attempts to walk his own path. Like unreasoning animals, we buck against the goads, and we only harm ourselves in the process. The Lord cannot accept us in such a state. Only when our hearts are willing to acknowledge that we need the righteousness of Christ can we then call out for what He offers.

The good news for us is that when we do, He will hear, He will respond, and He will give us our part in the inheritance offered to His people. May you yield your stiff neck to Him today.

Closing Verse: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:21-24

Next Week: Deuteronomy 9:7-17 While the people stayed below, Moses climbed up higher… (And the Mountain Burned with Fire) (32^nd Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Not Because of Your Righteousness

“Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today
And go in to dispossess nations, at least seven
Greater and mightier than yourself
Cities great and fortified up to heaven

A people great and tall
The descendants of the Anakim, but don’t be in shock
Whom you know, and of whom you heard it said
‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?

Therefore understand today
That the LORD your God – He who is infinitely higher
Is He who goes over before you
As a consuming fire

He will destroy them and bring them down before you
So you shall drive them out, so you shall do
And destroy them quickly
As the LORD has said to you

“Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast
———-them out before you, saying
‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in
———-to possess this land
But it is because of the wickedness of these nations
That the LORD is driving them out from before you
———-please understand

It is not because of your righteousness
Or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land
———-that He will so do
But because of the wickedness of these nations
That the LORD your God drives them out from before you

And that He may fulfill the word (His word is true)
Which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac
———-and Jacob too

Therefore understand that the LORD your God
Is not giving you this good land
To possess because of your righteousness
For you are a stiff-necked people; so you shall understand

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

“Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, ² a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’ ³ Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you.

⁴ “Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. ⁵ It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ⁶ Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

 

 

Deuteronomy 8:10-20
And You Shall Remember the Lord Your God

Introductory comments are the last thing I normally type for each sermon. Some days, it’s hard to figure what to say so that we can smoothly blend into the content of what is being given in the sermon text. As I was typing this sermon, Sergio and I were doing what we occasionally do. He was working on a video; I am typing the sermon.

He will say, “I have 4 minutes of a 15-minute video to go.” I will say, “I am on verse 2 of 10 verses.” In that, we have a competition to see where we each will end when the first person is done. While messaging back and forth (and to frustrate him into thinking he was getting way behind), I said, “I just finished verse XX.”

Just a few short minutes later I said, “I just finished verses XX and XX.” This would be an otherwise impossible message. One verse can take up to an hour. I snickered for a moment.

Then I copy and pasted the two verses. Under the first verse, I typed, “blah, blah, blah.” Under the second I typed, “yada, yada, yada.” After that, I said, “I bet nobody will notice.”

After sending it, I couldn’t help thinking that there are some people who actually treat the word like that. As sad as it is, the goal for them doesn’t include remembering that this is the word of God. Nor is it that they care about the Lord who gave the word. They simply put something together to make people feel good on Sunday morning, and it doesn’t matter if it conforms in the least to what the Lord is actually conveying. It breaks my heart.

Text Verse: “Yet I am the Lord your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For there is no savior besides Me.
⁵ I knew you in the wilderness,
In the land of great drought.
⁶ When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.” Hosea 13:4-6

When our hearts get lifted up, we tend to think more highly of ourselves than we should. In that, we forget the Lord our God. There are other ways to forget the Lord as well. We can do it out of sheer negligence, we can do it out of spite, we can do it because we are just too busy with life.

But I want to tell you today, that for those who are the Lord’s, He will never forget us. He will never break the covenant promises to us that He has agreed to. This doesn’t mean that we should not worry about our walk with the Lord. On the contrary, I will take you to a passage in the New Testament at the end of our sermon today to show us just the opposite.

But the great thing about the Lord is that, even if we do forget about Him – for whatever reason – if we are His (meaning saved by the Lord Jesus), He will never turn His back on us. As I have said before, national Israel is a template for each of us concerning our own state before the Lord. Today, you will see the faithfulness of the Lord in a way that your Bible fails to show you. Of this, I am pretty sure.

But when you see it, I hope it stirs you as much as it stirred me on 21 September 2020. Great things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. And All That You Have Is Multiplied (verses 10-13)

The words of verse 10 fit marvelously into what was said in the previous verses of the chapter. Verse 1 referred to possession of the land. This one does as well. Verse 2 spoke of remembering what the Lord had done for the people in the wilderness. Here, that is contrasted with blessing the Lord in the land.

Verse 3 spoke of hungering in the wilderness and then being granted manna. Here, it speaks of being full because of the produce of the land given by the Lord. Verses 4 & 5 spoke of the Lord’s care of the people in the wilderness, including His chastening of them. Here, His care of them in the land of their possession is highlighted.

Verses 7-9 spoke of the things by which the land would be considered good. Here it acknowledges that it is, in fact, a good land. This is a marvelous summary verse of that entire set of verses.

In all of this, it is the Lord, not Israel, who is the center of focus. Israel is the recipient of the Lord’s favor, but without the Lord, or with the Lord as an enemy, Israel would not exist. It is not by their hand, their power, or their abilities that the goodness they possess comes about, but by the graciousness of the Lord. As it says…

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are full,

v’akalta v’savaeta – “And you shall eat, and you are satisfied.” This is the contrast to verse 3 where it noted that the people hungered in the wilderness. At that time, they complained against Moses and Aaron, which means they complained against the Lord.

Here the words are a statement of fact – “you shall eat,” and “you are satisfied.” Just as they complained in their hunger, they are now actually commanded to do the opposite in the times when they are filled…

^{10 (con’t)} then you shall bless the Lord your God

u-berakhta eth Yehovah elohekha – “and you shall bless Yehovah your God.” It is to be taken as a positive command, not simply a general principle. In receiving, you are to bless. To not do so, then, must be considered a transgression of the law. This is shown to be exactingly fulfilled by Christ, even before His meal and being filled, in the gospels. When feeding the multitudes, it says –

“And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.” Matthew 15:36

Likewise, it says that He blessed the bread on the night of His crucifixion as well. The law is given, and the Lord was obedient to the precept.

^{10 (con’t)} for the good land which He has given you.

al ha’arets ha’tovah asher natan lakh – “upon the land, the good, which He has given you.” In this, Moses uses the word al – “upon the good land,” not “for the good land.” It isn’t that they possess a piece of land in another area that they go to visit from time to time, and from which abundance is received. Rather, it is a land upon which they live and receive constant benefit from.

The Lord gave them the land, it is a good land, and the Lord has provided for them from that same land. They are to remember, and they are to actively bless the Lord for that which they receive from the land upon which they reside.

The idea is that the Lord was always to be at the center of their attention. It is not the land, and it is not those who dwell upon the land, but rather it is the Lord who gave the land who is to be praised. And there is an important reason for this command…

¹¹ “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God

In the Hebrew, the words from now until verse 18 are one long, continuous sentence. It is a detailed explanation of what is sure to come, and a warning of what not to forget when it does come.

Blessings lie ahead, but in the abundance of those blessings will come an assumption that what has been received has come about through personal effort and not through the blessing of the Lord. In this, Moses first warns them with the word shamar – to keep, watch, or be attentive to.

In this, they are to be attentive to not forgetting Yehovah their God. He then explains how they will, in fact, forget Him. It is…

^{11 (con’t)} by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes

The word commandment is singular. The commandment, judgments, and statutes are from the Lord. It logically follows that in remembering what He has commanded to do, the people will remember the One who has so commanded.

In other words, we know the difference between federal crimes and state and local crimes. If someone carries a gun into a post office, the penalties will be different than if he carries a gun into a 7-11 in a town where that is not allowed. We remember the source of the law when we remember to observe the law.

To shamar, or be attentive to, those various laws means that we are showing regard for the source of them. We may keep the federal laws because we might otherwise be sentenced to many years in federal prison, but we may neglect the local laws because the penalty is a slap on the wrist.

The respect given to the laws of the Lord thus signifies whether a person has a fear of the Lord, a love of the Lord, or some varying degree of contempt for the Lord. And the individual’s attitude toward the Lord will inevitably be tied up in the leader’s attitude toward the Lord.

When the leaders of a nation have no fear of the Lord, the people will follow in that same attitude. The leader is the enforcer of the laws. If he will not enforce the laws set forth, then the people will not either. This is the lesson of the kings of Israel, and it is seen again and again in their record, such as –

“Now it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom and had strengthened himself, that he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel along with him.” 2 Chronicles 12:1

The opposite attitude was seen in the record of King Asa –

“So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. ¹¹ And they offered to the Lord at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought. ¹² Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; ¹³ and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.” 2 Chronicles 15:10-13 

Of these commands of the Lord, Moses says…

^{11 (con’t)} which I command you today,

Here, the concept of divine inspiration is once again clearly presented. Moses says that what he conveys are the commandment, statutes, and judgments of the Lord, and yet it is he who is commanding them to Israel. Jesus clearly confirms this as well when He asks, “What did Moses command you,” or something similar. It is both the word of Moses and the law of the Lord.

¹² lest—when you have eaten and are full,

Here is a contrast to the manna. The people simply received what the Lord provided. They couldn’t take credit for it at all. Rather they received it, knowing exactly where it came from. They could, and in fact they did, complain about the manna, but they could not deny its Source.

Here, the food has come from the ground. Vines were pruned, trees were trimmed, land was tilled, stalks of grain were cut and threshed, and so on. Man’s labor was involved in the process. In the exercise of the labor, it is easy to forget the ultimate Source of the good things that fill the stomach. Further…

^{12 (con’t)} and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them;

Again, there is the contrast to the time in the wilderness. The people dwelt in tents, and they moved at the command of the Lord. There was no tending to farms and gardens. There was a reliance on the Lord. It is reminiscent of the family of Rechab who is mentioned in Jeremiah –

“But they said, ‘We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever. ⁷ You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’ ⁸ Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.’” Jeremiah 35:6-10

These Rechabites were used by the Lord as an object lesson to Israel of failing to adhere to this exact premise now being set forth by Moses in Deuteronomy.

¹³ and when your herds and your flocks multiply,

Animals take effort. They have to be tended to, fed and watered, and stores need to be set aside for the winter when the land isn’t producing. The more herds and flocks a person has, the more people he will need to tend to them.

The more people beneath a person, then for that person feelings of greatness tend to result. Further, in having an abundance, one tends to trust in that abundance. He forgets the commands of the Lord to have an open hand to the needy. This is what happened with Nabal in 1 Samuel. David came forth looking for assistance in a time of need. Nabal’s response was –

“Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?” 1 Samuel 25:11

Nabal was a man who did not care about the law of the Lord, because he failed to care about the plight of his fellow Israelite. He trusted in his wealth and forgot the Source of that wealth.

^{13 (con’t)} and your silver and your gold are multiplied,

The possession of silver and gold means that the person’s wealth extends beyond the property and that which subsists from the property. A person with silver and gold has increased so much from the property that he now has sufficiency beyond the annual harvest season.

If there is drought, the money is a buffer for such a time. If the equipment breaks down, it can be fixed by paying someone who is handy in that way. And so on. In the possession of silver and gold, that which is otherwise out of reach becomes readily available. In such a state everything else increases as well…

^{13 (con’t)} and all that you have is multiplied;

With the coming of surplus, if one is wise, more can be obtained – more land to produce more crops; more animals to produce more meat, wool, leather, and so on; more wives to increase the stress; more children to help with the chores.

The cycle of increase leads to personal gain as well – extra shoes, more garments, extra rooms which can then be rented out. The multiplication of an industrious man can be great. But for most, that leads naturally to another state…

Where does your ability come from?
A day at the gym and eating right?
Is that the place from whence these come?
And also, from getting a good sleep at night? 

Is your wealth amassed high because you are great?
Do you have expensive things because of your skill?
Is filled your cupboard, and is overflowing your plate?
How did it happen? Tell me the drill?

But if you say, “It was because I am great.”
Or if you say, “It was because of my skill.”
I say to you, “Empty is your plate.”
You will be unable to pay the final bill 

Call on the Lord Jesus, and include Him in every detail
Bless the Lord for each thing He provides
And when you are weighed on His judgment scale
You will receive all the wonder His heaven provides

II. Parsing Matters (verses 14-20)

¹⁴ when your heart is lifted up,

v’ram l’vavekha – “And lifted to your heart.” The heart is the seat of reason, understanding, and intelligence. In the acquisition of many things, a person thinks within himself, “Look at all that I have, and all that I have done.” It is the sin of pride which takes credit for that which one is blessed with. In this…

^{14 (con’t)} and you forget the Lord your God

There is room for only one in the heart of a prideful man. If he is consumed with himself, then he will not remember the Lord his God. It is a certainty. Only a man of humility through and through can avoid the trap of thinking that what he possesses is solely because of his own efforts and greatness.

Moses knows this, and so his warning is also a reminder. It isn’t just that the Lord is on high and blessing people who were already industrious and blessed to start with. Rather, he notes that Israel is the people of Yehovah, the God…

^{14 (con’t)} who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

ha’motsiakha me-erets mitsraim mibeth abadim – “who the bringing out of you from land Egypt, from house slavery.” The people of Israel, from the least even to the greatest, were all as one in Egypt. Egypt means “Double distress.” They were in bondage, and they had no way of obtaining their freedom. Their lot was permanent misery.

But in the impossibility of their situation, and with no chance of relief from it, Yehovah brought them out. Thus, whatever they possessed, from a thread to a sandal strap, or from a boundary stone to a king’s palace – all of it was because the Lord had first delivered them to it, and then He had delivered it to them.

The words here are prophetic in nature. It’s not just that such might happen. Moses knows it is certain to happen. And it did. 2 Chronicles 26 details the greatness of King Uzziah and how it came about. It says there, “as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.”

What is then said of him mirrors the thought of verses 11-13. So exactingly that after the many received blessings it then says –

“But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. ¹⁷ So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord—valiant men. ¹⁸ And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, ‘It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.’” 2 Chronicles 26:16-18

Though the king of Israel, and a man of wisdom and great achievement, Uzziah was a son of slaves. Were it not for the Lord, he and his people would still be in bondage. Were it not for the Lord, his line would not have ascended to the throne. Were it not for the Lord, Jerusalem would not be the city of Israelite kings, but the city of the Jebusites.

There is no part of the existence of Uzziah, or any of us for that matter, that is separate from the Lord’s hand in our lives. Our very breath is derived from Him and will someday return to Him. And yet we look to our own greatness and forget the Lord our God.

Most importantly, we were in bondage, we could not save ourselves, and yet He intervened to free us unto Himself. And even in our salvation, we are still not free from the world in which we live. Our walk is one of trial to this day, just as Israel’s was…

¹⁵ who led you through that great and terrible wilderness,

ha’molikakha bamidbar ha’gadol v’ha’nora – “who the leading of you in the wilderness, the great, and the terrible.” This is referring to the march from Egypt to Sinai and then to the border of Canaan. It may also include the time after turning from Canaan under punishment, but that is not necessarily so.

The term ha’gadol, or “the great,” speaks of the vastness of the area. The term ha’nora, or “the terrible,” speaks of that which is fearful or awesome. The location is so barren and dry that it cannot be plowed and planted. It is a vast wasteland leading to a land of abundance and promise. This wilderness is a land…

^{15 (con’t)} in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water;

nakhash saraph v’aqrav v’tsimaon asher ein mayim – “serpent fiery, and scorpion, and thirsty ground which no water.” These words are given to parallel the words “the wilderness, the great, and the terrible.” In them, there are no articles and the nouns, except “water,” are singular. This then emphasizes and highlights the terrible nature of the land.

Here, the word tsimmaon, or thirsty ground, is introduced. It comes from tsame, meaning “thirsty.” It will only be seen three times. It is concerning this horrifying, terrifying, and deadly spot that Moses recalls the Lord’s caring hand for Israel…

^{15 (con’t)} who brought water for you out of the flinty rock;

ha’motsi lekha mayim mi’sur ha’khalamish – “who the bringing forth for you water from rock the flinty.” Bringing Israel out of Egypt was only a part of the process. There was the wilderness to traverse, and that wilderness was both inhospitable and unforgiving. And yet, the Lord was the Leader of them and the Bringer forth of water. In other words, their Guide and Sustainer.

As before, the parallel to Christ should not be missed. Christ certainly led us out of bondage, but He also leads and sustains us on the path to glory. As Paul says in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

No matter how difficult the trek is, He is there for His people, and He will see them through to the end of what He has purposed for them. If this is not true for Israel, it is true for none of us. And neither Israel’s disobedience, nor ours, will affect the final outcome of what is promised.

In this verse is another new word, khalamish, or “flint.” It will be seen five times. It comes from khalam, meaning to be strong or healthy, or to dream. Not only did the Lord bring water from the flinty rock, but Moses says it was He…

¹⁶ who fed you in the wilderness with manna,

ha’maakilkha man bamidbar – “who the feeding of you manna in the wilderness.” In the wilderness, the land is barren. Without water, nothing will grow. Without the growth of vegetation, there is nothing to eat. And yet, Israel survived through the ordeal. The Lord Himself became the Feeder of Israel through the giving of manna.

From verse 14 to verse 16, Moses ascribes four aspects of the care of Israel by the Lord. He is –

the bringing out of you from land Egypt, from house slavery (14)
the leading of you in the wilderness, the great, and the terrible (15)
the bringing forth for you water from rock the flinty (15)
the feeding of you manna in the wilderness (16)

One can see Christ in each description. He redeems us from bondage to sin – meaning from the power of the law (Galatians 3:13); He leads us through the trials of this earthly life (Philippians 1:6); He gives us of the Spirit (1 John 4:13); and He feeds us with Himself (John 6:54). As is consistently seen in such passages, Israel as a collective is given as a type of each one of us.

^{16 (con’t)} which your fathers did not know,

This is a general repeat of verse 3. The manna was to be instructive. The fathers had never known it, nor had those who received it known it. It was something entirely new. In a place where no food could be obtained, food was made available. This was so…

^{16 (con’t)} that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end—

l’maan anotekha u-l’maan nasotekha l’hetivkha b’akharitekha – “to end purpose He might humble you, and to end purpose He might test you, to do you good in your latter end.” Everything about the process has an end goal and is thus given with a set purpose.

The “end” spoken of here, then, is to be the result of the time of humbling. Thus, it is entry into the promise. The humbling and the manna, however, began before the giving of the law. Therefore, the manna was to be a step into the time of the law.

But Israel failed even after the giving of the law. They did not enter the promise. And yet, they continued to be sustained for the entire forty years in the wilderness. Thus, the “end” obviously speaks of their actual entry into the promise.

Understanding this, the only two references to the manna in Deuteronomy are in this chapter. The first was in verse 3, and now Moses refers to it again here –

** So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
** who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end.

In the end, the purpose of the humbling, the hungering, and the manna was a test. How does one do good? By living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord, and by a continued dependence on the mercies of the Lord.

As we know, Christ is the Word of God. He is the embodiment of all that proceeds from the Godhead, and He is the fulfillment of the law. Therefore, for God to do good to Israel “in the end” means that Israel must come to the One who embodies the words now being given by Moses.

David lived by the word of the Lord, even if he didn’t always obey it. Others obeyed the word of the Lord, but they didn’t live by it. Others did neither. Thus, as much as anything else, the precept spoken here by Moses is one which ultimately involves faith and a right condition of the heart. That is clearly seen in the next words…

¹⁷ then you say in your heart,

v’amarta bilvavekha – “And you say in your heart.” The thought now returns to the words of verse 14 (when your heart is lifted up) and the time in Canaan. Moses has explained that which led up to entry into Canaan and the purpose of everything that occurred in the process. But the tendency of man is to look around, see all of his wealth and his many possessions and to say…

^{17 (con’t)} ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

Again, and again, the record of Israel reveals this attitude. It happened to Rehoboam, it happened to Uzziah, and it happened to King Hezekiah –

“In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the Lord; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 32:24, 25 

This is the lesson that Moses is conveying to the people. The Lord put them through times of want in order for them to remember Him in the times of abundance. Essentially, he is saying, “Remember where you came from. If not for the Lord, you would still be there. Remember the goodness of the Lord.” As he next says…

¹⁸ “And you shall remember the Lord your God,

For Israel, everything is contingent on remembering the Lord, the God of Israel. If they forget Him, then everything else falls to the wayside. The relationship is broken, and they will suffer. If they remember Him, then all will be well with them. Again, Moses confirms this…

^{18 (con’t)} for it is He who gives you power to get wealth,

Moses now uses the same words (power and wealth) that he used in the previous verse. There, he spoke as if one of Israel, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” Here is says it is otherwise. It is the Lord who gives you power to get wealth.

Only in the recognition that the Lord is the Giver of the ability will Israel be right with Him. And Moses says that they are to acknowledge this so…

^{18 (con’t)} that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

The covenant Moses is referring to is that which was sworn to Abraham, and then to Isaac, and then to Jacob, as He said in Exodus 33 –

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’” Exodus 33:1

That is repeated in Leviticus 26, also while the law was being given –

“…then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.” Leviticus 26:42

The words, “as it is this day,” mean that Israel is right on the banks of the Jordan. The promise is established, and in a short amount of time, they will cross over into the land. And yet, Moses has been speaking about the time in which Israel is in the land.

Thus, the words, “He may establish His covenant,” are ongoing. The covenant is established, and it will remain so as long as Israel remembers the Lord. That is evidenced by the next words…

¹⁹ Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.

There is a stress in the Hebrew that is missed in the English. Twice, Moses repeats the same word to intensify the warning – “If forgetting you forget…perishing you will perish.”

However, the first repetition is second person singular – “if you, Israel, forget,” while the second repetition is second person plural – “you (all) of Israel will perish.” It is a hugely important change. The Lord does not say that Israel will perish, only those of Israel will perish.

Israel the nation must be attentive to the words being presented to them. If not, punishment will come upon Israel the people.

The Lord will only establish His covenant with the fathers as long as Israel remembers the Lord. In forgetting Him, and in serving other gods, the promised curses of the Mosaic covenant will be meted out upon them.

This was true in the exile by the Assyrians, it was true in the exile by the Babylonians, and it was true in the exile by the Romans. Israel perished because they forgot the Lord. And again, Moses says to them…

²⁰ As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish,

The word translated here as “nations” is goyim. It is the plural of goy, meaning a gentile. Thus, it can mean nations, gentiles, people, heathen, etc. It is even used to speak of Israel as a people at times, such as in Exodus 19:6 (and etc).

Out of twenty-seven translations checked for this sermon, all twenty-seven say “nations.” And they are all incorrect. Moses is being absolutely specific. If Israel (the nation) forgets, Israel (the people) will perish.

Now in this verse, it says, “As the gentiles (or people) whom the Lord destroys before you (plural), so you (plural) shall perish.” A comparison is not being made to the nation of Israel, but to the people of Israel. Otherwise, it would mean that Israel (the nation) would perish like all the other nations.

The importance of this is immense. Moses has been speaking to Israel in the singular since we started today, and indeed since verse 1 of the chapter when the only other second person plurals were used.

Only in the last clause of verse 19 does he switch to the plural. That continues here. The change is so obvious and striking, and yet it is completely passed over by the hand of the translators, as if the Lord could be unfaithful to His promises. Such will never be the case.

What is happening, is that Moses is now telling the people that they are actually no different as individuals than the people of the nations whom they are to dispossess.

They will be treated exactly the same. Though Israel, the nation, is peculiar and unique, Israel the people are… just people – something I’m sure they would hate to hear. Moses tells them that they, like the peoples whom the Lord destroys before them, will likewise be destroyed…

*^20 (fin) because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

Here Moses uses the word eqev, or “because,” for the second and last time in Deuteronomy. It was used in verse 7:12, and now here. It speaks of consequence and so “because” is fine. But I will again explain the word’s etymology to help you get its meaning.

It comes from the verb aqav, meaning the hind part, or following after. That comes from the noun aqev, meaning the heel, or a footprint. What Moses is conveying is that one thing will be the consequence of the other. Just as the peoples of the land were vile and were set to perish, the people of Israel can expect the same for their conduct. Where one foot steps, so will the next.

As I was typing the sermon for you today, I came to verse 19 and the change to the plural and it brought tears to my eyes. Before reading the Hebrew, I couldn’t reconcile in my mind how the nation could be treated the same as the other nations.

When I realized the change to the second person, plural, I was moved enough to message Sergio, and he and I shared a few messages as I conveyed the faithfulness of God to him concerning Israel.

The word of the Lord is about many things, but one of the things it is clearly and unambiguously about is God’s faithfulness. The Lord made a covenant with Israel, and He will never, never, never break faithfulness with them. As a nation, they will stand. Salvation came at their calling and it continues on forever.

As a group of people, they will perish – not entirely, but in relation to their conduct before Him. Looking for a New Testament parallel to the passage we have looked at today, we come to 2 Peter 1. There, Peter speaks of the calling of each person, the call to put their faith into practice, and of the consequences for not doing so.

Like national Israel, the Lord has made a covenant with us that He will never break. This goes so far as our actually forgetting the Lord completely. Like Israel who has done just that, and remains a nation, we can go so far from the Lord that we actually forget we were once saved, but He never will. When the terms of the covenant are met, the salvation is guaranteed. Here is how Peter explains it –

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
⁵ But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
¹⁰ Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ¹¹ for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:2-11

The God we serve is awesome, glorious, and beautiful. He is ever faithful to His unfaithful people, and He will never, never, never forsake those who come to Him by faith. If you want proof of that, look to Israel. If you want reassurance of that, come back to Deuteronomy 8, verses 19 and 20 and remind yourself of this fact.

Thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord who has given us an eternal hope and an absolute guarantee of our salvation. Praise be to God for Jesus Christ our Lord. And all of God’s people say….

Closing Verse: “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7

Next Week: Deuteronomy 9.1-6 If it were up to you, your state would be a mess… (Not Because of Your Righteousness) (31^st Deuteronomy Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. But He also has expectations of you as He prepares you for entrance into His Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

And You Shall Remember the Lord Your God

When you have eaten and are full
Then you shall bless the LORD your God
For the good land which He has given you
To Him you shall shout with joy and applaud

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God
By not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His
———-statutes which I command you today
Lest—when you have eaten and are full
And have built beautiful houses and dwell in them
———- as to you I say

And when your herds and your flocks multiply
And your silver and your gold are multiplied too
And all that you have is multiplied
Listen to the warning I give to you

When your heart is lifted up and you forget the LORD your God
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from your distress
From the house of bondage
Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness

In which were fiery serpents and scorpions
And thirsty land where there was no water to drink
Who brought water for you out of the flinty rock
You must stop, consider, and think

Who fed you in the wilderness with manna
Which your fathers did not know
That He might humble you and that He might test you
To do you good in the end—even so

Then you say in your heart, cunningly and by stealth
‘My power and the might of my hand
———-have gained me this wealth

“And you shall remember the LORD your God
For it is He who gives you power to get wealth, so to you I say
That He may establish His covenant which He swore
To your fathers, as it is this day

Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God
And follow other gods, and serve them and worship them
I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish
Famine, destruction, and mayhem

As the nations which the LORD destroys before you
So you shall perish on the path you trod
Because you would not be obedient
To the voice of the LORD your God

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ¹⁰ When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

¹¹ “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, ¹² lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; ¹³ and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; ¹⁴ when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; ¹⁵ who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; ¹⁶ who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— ¹⁷ then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

¹⁸ “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. ¹⁹ Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. ²⁰ As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.