Deuteronomy 4: 1 – 49
There is a reward for obedience
4 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you. 5 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? 9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, 10 especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ 11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess. 15 “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. 19 And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. 20 But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. 22 But I must die in this land, I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and possess that good land. 23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. 25 “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice 31 (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. 32 “For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? 34 Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. 36 Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.” 41 Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 42 that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live: 43 Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites. 44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, 46 on this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel defeated after they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 48 from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), 49 and all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.
As we begin this study I want you to take a look at Psalm 19:11 – “In keeping them there is great reward.” In this simple statement the psalmist tells us that there is a reward for obedience. Some of God’s children are disobedient, (in fact, we all are at times); but when we obey Him the Lord promises us a “great” reward. The reference is not primarily to future rewards which we shall receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10), but to rewards we receive here and now. One day we must all appear before the Lord to be rewarded, or to suffer loss, according to the way we have lived and labored for Him (1 Corinthians 3:9-15), but Psalm 19 is speaking of a reward for obedience which is to be received and enjoyed here and now. Notice the words “in” and “is”; that means that in the actual process of doing God’s will and keeping His commandments there is great reward.
Before we think about the rewards that God promises and gives for obedience, let us look at verses 7-11, where we are told seven things about the commandments of the Lord which are contained in His Word, and which we are to “keep”. To help you put them down to memory they are begin with a letter ‘P’.
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.”
1. They are ‘Powerful’ –- “reviving the soul” (verse 7). The Word of God is the instrument He uses to turn men and women from darkness to light, from Satan to Himself (Acts 26:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:9), and what a powerful instrument it is (Romans 1:16; Hebrews 4:12)!
2. They are ‘Plain’ – “making wise the simple” (verse 7). The commands of the Lord are so clear and plain that the “wicked fools” need not be in any doubt about them (Isaiah 35:8).
3. They are ‘Pleasing’ –- “giving joy to the heart” (verse 8). We are sometimes tempted to think that God’s will is hard – but in truth it is not.
4. They are ‘Pure’ – “The commandment of the Lord is pure” (verse 8 ), absolutely pure, with no mixture of evil. God’s commands are holy, like God Himself.
5. They are ‘Permanent’ – “enduring forever” (verse 9). They are never out-of-date; they are appropriate and applicable for every age and circumstance and are never in need of revision (Matthew 5:17).
6. They are ‘Precious’ – “more precious than gold” and “sweeter than honey” (verse 10). To the true believer Jesus Is precious (1 Peter 2:7); His blood is precious (1 Peter 1:19); so is His Word (Psalm 119:72).
7. They are ‘Preventive’ – “by them is your servant warned” (verse 11). “Prevention is better than cure”, and God seeks to prevent us from sinning and grieving Him by giving us His commandments.
What are the rewards God promises to all who will keep His commandments?
. ‘Long life’. Obedience can affect one’s length of days Deuteronomy 32:46-47 says, “46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
As a general principle, if we will seek to live in the will of God and obey His laws, then our days will be lengthened; but if we break His laws by living careless, intemperate, self-led lives, then our days may be shortened.
. ‘Protection’. There is a wonderful promise in Ecclesiastes 8:5 “5 He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful; and a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment,”
Does this verse mean that nothing will “go wrong” if we obey God? It means that Romans 8:28 will be fulfilled in our experience. Sorrow, trials and testing’s will come, but as they come from Him they will never be “evil”, always “good” (Deuteronomy 23:5).
. ‘Gladness’ . Nehemiah 8:13-17 states, “13 now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. 14 And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” 16 Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. 17 So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.
The most joyful people in the world are those who are constantly seeking to keep God’s commandments and please Him. Obey God and you will discover the secret of abiding joy.
. ‘Great peace’ Psalm 119:165 teaches us, “165 Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.”
What a priceless reward this is – to enjoy great peace even in this world of trouble, fear and war
. ‘The assurance of salvation’. Many Christians lack the assurance of their salvation, but God wants us to know that we are eternally secure in Christ Jesus our Savior as the book of Colossians 3:3 says, “3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
. Answer to prayer.’. There is a wonderful promise in 1 John 3:22 which says, “22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”,
. ‘The conscious presence of Christ’ The Lord Is always with us as the Gospel of Matthew 28:20 informs us, “20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
We are only made really conscious of His presence when we are obeying Him. What does it mean to keep God’s commandments?
1. It means ‘Seeking’ them. We cannot know them until we find them, and we can only find them by seeking them as we learn in 1 Chronicles 28:8 “8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.”
2. It means ‘Obeying’ them. It involves not only finding them, but doing them. Mary recognized the importance of this as revealed in John 2:5, 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
3. It means obeying them ‘Promptly’, as the psalmist did in Psalm 119:60! “I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments
4. It means ‘Delighting’ in obeying God, as the psalmist did in Psalm 112:1 “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments.”
Now that we have this important lesson before us let us go over today’s scripture.
Having established the certainty of their successful entry into the land Moses now follows this up with a charge to fulfill all God’s requirements . And he does it in the light of what God has revealed Himself to be and stresses how favored they are because of His superiority and the superiority of the teaching that He has given them (verses 7-8) and that He had appeared personally in order to urge these stipulations on them (verses 10-15), and ends with warnings in line with the covenant pattern (verses 25-28), and an appeal to witnesses (verse 26). It thus forms a mini-covenant within the larger covenant.
The chapter expresses the plea that they will remember the glory and holiness of the One Who gave the laws, and Who will therefore call them to account. They are to remember that He Is no pushover, but rather that He Is a consuming fire. They must thus avoid all idolatry and all that provokes God to anger; otherwise they too will have to be removed from the land. And they must take heed to all that He has done for them, and respond from an obedient heart.
He finally reminds them of the sacredness of human life and God’s hatred of the unnecessary (and forbidden) shedding of blood by appointing three cities of refuge. The establishment of these cities was a demonstration of their permanent occupation of the land. They demonstrated that Israel were there for good. Perhaps by mentioning these cities of refuge at this time he also intended to remind them of the fact that they themselves had a continuing refuge, and that God was the One Who was their refuge also. For these cities were a like a lighthouse whose beams declared openly Yahweh’s protective care for the unfortunate.
We need to learn to apply the same covenant principles to our lives, by remembering Who Christ Jesus our Lord Is, the Lord of all; what He has done for us, dying for us on the cross; what He requires of us, a response of full obedience; and what the consequences will be if we fail in our joyous duty toward Him.
One further preparation was now necessary before advancing into the land. While the nation were all together as one it was necessary for the covenant requirements to be affirmed and established lest having gained the land they lose it by disobedience and transgression. Thus in this chapter Moses urges the importance of obedience to Yahweh’s statutes and ordinances, and reminds them of the uniqueness of their Lord and how they had seen Him and had received the covenant requirements directly from His mouth, and how He Was the One Who had delivered them from the iron furnace of Egypt, and he warns what will happen to them if the requirements of the covenant are neglected, first from his own example as one excluded from the land because of sin, and then in terms of their too being driven out of the land as their fathers had been before them, and as the Canaanites would be as a result of their efforts.
4 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you.
Please take not of the words ‘And now.’ This links back with all that has been said. Yahweh has done for them all that he has described, and has given them all the assurance that they could possibly want that He will give them the land. Now it is their responsibility to respond fully to Him and go in and possess the land which He Is giving them because of His love for their fathers. But Moses was aware that if they were live their lives to the full they would have to do more than possess the land. They would need to listen and respond to Yahweh’s statutes and ordinances, which Moses had taught them and would teach them, and to do them. And by following Yahweh’s statutes and ordinance they would ‘live’, in contrast with those who had not listened and had died in the wilderness and at Baal-peor, and they would not only live, but would live lives of fullness.
2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Obedience would involve right discernment. They must neither add to God’s instruction, nor reduce it. What He had revealed they must do without altering it for only in that way would they fully keep the commandments of ‘Yahweh your God’.
3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal Peor; for the LORD your God has destroyed from among you all the men who followed Baal of Peor.
Moses wants them to think back to what had been the result of Baal-peor when some of their number had been led astray by the Moabite women into idol worship with its accompanying sexual misbehavior ( Numbers 25.1-3), eating food ‘provided’ by the god and bowing down to it, and indulging in its excesses. They will remember that such people had been destroyed from the midst of them. Their Lord God Yahweh had dealt with them severely for their breach of covenant.
4 But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you.
But those who had been loyal to the covenant and had chosen to cling to Yahweh rather than to Moabite women were still alive. For clinging to Yahweh brings life. And they were witnesses of this by the very fact that they were alive. The lesson should therefore come home to them. Idolatry leads to death, trusting in Yahweh leads to life.
5 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
Let them take heed to what he has taught them at Yahweh’s bidding, for they had been given so that when they possessed the land they might ‘do them’. The possessing of the land and the doing of Yahweh’s was to go together. Indeed that was why their fathers had not possessed the land. That was why the Canaanites were being driven out of the land. It was because neither had been willing to do the will of God. By these words he incorporates into the covenant the statutes and ordinances that he has already taught them, as well as those that he will teach them.
6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
So they are to keep Yahweh’s words and do them. Then will the peoples admire their wisdom and understanding. They will hear the statutes that they live by and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’. They will be full of admiration for their way of life, and their wondrous laws, and the benefits that would result as they revealed that they were a rejoicing people and greatly blessed.
7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God Is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
He now brings to their attention two of the ways in which Yahweh Is superior to the so-called gods of the nations. First of all is because He is near to them and acts on their behalf and secondly because He gives them such superior teaching.
He asks firstly, ‘What other nation has a responsive God like Yahweh, and One Who when called upon is so near?’ They only had to look at their past history in order to see that this was so. The nations would therefore recognize that Israel had in Yahweh their God what none other had, a God Who was near, a God Who truly heard when they called on Him, a God Who acted, a God Who was there, a God Who bound them to Himself. ‘
8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?
Furthermore what great nation had statutes and ordinances that were as righteous as those given to Israel? In spite of the great law codes of the ancients, none compared with the compassion and mercy, combined with the purity and righteousness, of those of Israel as revealed in God’s instruction (torah) through Moses. This was a direct challenge to the nations, and a claim for ‘the instruction of Yahweh’ that expressed its superlative content. It claimed that it was unique and unearthly, beyond the wisdom of even the greatest of men.
9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,
Thus Israel must take careful heed to themselves and keep themselves diligently and their attitudes and behavior, and ensure that deep within them they remembered all that they had seen when God had revealed Himself at the Mount, lest His words at some stage in their lives slip away from them. They are by this to remember how serious a matter it is to do God’s will.
They are not only to remember, but to ensure that their children also remember, and their children’s children also. It was as a result of such instructions that the Jews were famed as those who taught their children from their youngest days so that Gods truth was burned within them.
Please take note of the statement ‘Lest you forget.’ Such forgetfulness could be avoided by constantly stirring each other to remembrance, especially at their great feasts. By reading and remembering His word, and considering it constantly, they would prevent themselves from falling into forgetfulness. How important it is for us to constantly read His word and thus ensure that we too do not forget.
Moses now stressed the importance of the Sinai/Horeb experience which they must ever stir to remembrance and keep before their eyes, so that they would remember Who and What God Is. In the context of the covenant this was a reminder of the appearance of their Lord God to declare His rights over them, and of His greatness, which therefore made obedience to the covenant all the more important.
10 especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
They must ever remember that unforgettable day when they stood before the Mount in Horeb and saw the dreadful flames that seemed to burn up the top of the mountain, and heard His voice like thunder speaking to them (Exodus 19.18). For Yahweh had called on him to assemble the people so that they might hear His words expressed in such a way that they would never forget them, and might learn to have a godly fear of Him all through their lives.
11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.
He reminds those who had been present that day of the experience of it. They had fearfully approached the mountain, and had stood under it in awe, and they had been before Yahweh, and the mountain had burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, and cloud, and the intense blackness of night pervading it even during the day.
We must try and picture the unforgettable scene. The multitude gathered below the mountain looking up in awe, the whole top of the mountain ablaze with fire, and yet the smoke and the cloud and the thick darkness, and the mighty voice that spoke from it with its terrible words. ‘
If we remember what God Is like, we too will be more careful how we approach Him. Through Christ we are welcomed, but we should ever remember Who He is.
12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.
He reminds them of how Yahweh spoke to them from the midst of the fire, but that while they heard His voice and His words they saw no form. They saw only the flaming fire, and the cloud and the darkness. There was no visible form. This should bring home the fact that Yahweh has no visible form. He Is pure Spirit (John 4.24). Thus any attempt to represent Him by any image is to demean and degrade Him and make Him like ourselves and our world. It is both misrepresentation and blasphemy.
13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
At Mount Sinai Yahweh God had declared to them His covenant, that He Was Yahweh their God that He had mightily delivered them, and that He had given to them His Commandments all of which He had then written on two tables of stone. This was the covenant by which they were bound, and to which they must respond, and the principles declared were principles required to be observed by all men and women of all ages. That which was written on stone was seen as having special authority and special significance. It was permanent and forever.
14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.
Besides the Ten Commandments our Father God Yahweh had commanded Moses to teach the Israelites His many statutes and ordinances which He would reveal to Moses for him to pass on.
15 “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth.
They were especially then to remember that when they had seen Him they had seen no manner of form. To try to represent Him in any earthly form or art would be to misrepresent Him and to degrade Him. Thus they were to beware that they made no attempt to make any image of Him, of whatever likeness, however symbolic, not of anything in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, or in the sea. To do so would be to commit a crime so heinous that it was deserving of instant death. Let them then remember that when they saw Yahweh they saw no manner of form.
19 And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
When they lifted up their eyes to heaven and saw the majestic lights in the heavens they were not to be drawn to worship them. They must remember that those lights are not holy but are for the common use of all men. They were but the sun, moon and stars that He had created.
The mention of the heavenly bodies is a reminder that treating something natural as an image was as bad as actually making an image. God is not revealed through things of this creation. He is above and beyond creation.
20 But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.
It is important to be thankful for all that they receive. They were especially to remember also that Yahweh had brought them out of an iron furnace, out of Egypt. There they had been subjected to the heat of man’s cruelty. Just as men put their silver and gold into an iron furnace in order to produce a graven image, so has Yahweh put them into a furnace in order that He might produce a purified and holy people. And they had survived and had been refined and delivered. And His purpose in this was in order to make them His inheritance, to make them a treasure, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19.5-6). That is why they were now here at this particular point in time, and why nothing that came out of earthly fires could be acceptable to them.
21 Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. 22 But I must die in this land, I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and possess that good land.
Moses here wants the people to remember learn a lesson from him. Because he had sinned grievously at Meribah he was excluded from the land. He could not enter the ‘good land’. He must die the other side of Jordan. Why? Because the land was holy, it was Yahweh’s exclusive land, and nothing unworthy could enter it. If anything symbolized what the land of Canaan was to mean it was this. It was a land for the righteous, a land under Yahweh’s rule. Even a disobedient Moses was thus excluded. Their own right there comes through atonement on the one hand and obedient submission on the other. Thus if they do not righteously observe His covenant they too will be expelled.
23 Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
Thus they must beware of forgetting the covenant of Yahweh their God, made by Him on His own initiative as the Sovereign Lord out of His pure goodness and grace. They must not turn their eyes from Him as the One revealed through fire and cloud with no shape or form, and make graven images in any earthly form or shape, something strictly forbidden by Him. They must ever keep in mind the example of Moses, and learn from it.
24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
For deep into their memory from what they saw on the Mount (verse 15) should go the fact that Yahweh is a devouring fire and One Who Is ‘jealous’, that is, our Great and Wonderful God will permit no rivals or alternatives. Nor would He countenance anyone who usurped His authority, as Moses and Aaron had done at Meribah. He demands total loyalty. And it is this idea of the devouring fire that now turns Moses’ thoughts to warnings of what will follow failure.
This fate had already been portrayed by what had happened to their fathers who were driven from the land. It was being portrayed by what would happen to Moses who was to be excluded from the land. It will be brought home by what should happen to the Canaanites as they are driven out and scattered. For the land can only receive and hold the good. Thus if they fail and become corrupt they too can only expect to be cast out. Obedience is an essential part of the covenant.
For the land was not being given to them as something that they were entitled to. It was being lent to them by Yahweh. It was only for the righteous. Thus if they failed in righteousness there would be no place for them in it.
25 “When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger,
No one was more aware than Yahweh of the propensities of the people. He had seen it all before. So He seeks to prevent failure by the intensity of warnings. What Moses described was not a prophecy before the event; it was just the necessary and inevitable consequence of covenant failure, something which Moses was himself experiencing in his own way. (Knowing their history and the tendencies of man most of us could have prophesied that in time Israel would fail. It was hardly therefore a secret to God).
So as a loving God Who cannot ever be charged with the statement ‘You should have warned us.’ Moses warns them of the danger of turning to false gods in the future, especially as manifested in the making of graven images. It may not happen immediately, but He is warning future generations, ‘your children, and your children’s children’..
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.
The warning judgment would be certain. No more solemn witness could have been called for, for heaven and earth includes all that is in them. Moses was calling on the whole of creation to bear witness. And what were they to witness? They were to witness God’s declaration of the consequences for those who so sinned. That such would soon utterly perish from the land. Rather than prolonging their days on the land they would be utterly destroyed. This was already intended to be the Canaanite’s fate. It had been the fate of their fathers. In one sense it was Moses’ fate (he had a harsh lesson in front of his very eyes). If they were unfaithful to the covenant it would also be theirs. The land would not hold those who were unfaithful.
That this was delayed when the inevitable happened and they deserted Yahweh was not because of any failure on God’s part, but because He displayed with them the longsuffering that He had displayed with the Canaanites.
27 And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.
The result of rebellion would be that they would be scattered among the nations as those who rebelled against God at Babel were so scattered (Genesis 11.8), and as the Canaanites before Israel in the land were to be driven out and thus scattered (Exodus 23.28-31). And they would be decimated so that they were few in number. This would be their punishment. It was the inevitable consequence for peoples driven from their own countries in all directions. Disease, the sword and starvation would follow inevitably for many as they became refugees wherever they were, seeking a place to rest.
28 And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
And in those countries they would be reduced to serving gods which were the work of men’s hands, gods who could, he points out sardonically; neither sees, hear, eat nor smell. In the beginning this would have been their own choice, for they would have turned to graven images, which was why they would face this suffering in the first place, but now it would also be thrust on them, for they would have no Central Sanctuary and they were outside Yahweh’s land, and it may even be forced on them by the country of their exile. The point is that they would have lost all the blessings of the covenant.
29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Once they were scattered they would undoubtedly at some stage turn to seek Yahweh their God again and then they would find Him (for He would be graciously waiting), but only when they sought Him with all their heart and with all their soul.
30 When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice
For what would bring them to seek Yahweh would be the unbearable tribulation that they would face. ‘All these things’ refers to their perishing from the land and being scattered and resorting to the worship of gods who could not respond. Thus in ‘the latter days’, that is the final days of this period of chastisement, they would return to Yahweh their God and listen to His voice, as previously they had closed their ears to Him.
31 (for the LORD your God Is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
All this would happen because ‘Yahweh your God Is a merciful God’. It was because of His mercy that He would not fail in His activities towards them, nor would He destroy them utterly, nor would He forget the covenant He had sworn to with their fathers. Thus in His mercy He would carry through His purposes.
32 “For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard.
By a series of questions He now brings home to them why their Lord has a right to expect their obedience. The first question is concerning the ‘days that are past’ from creation onwards, and concerning events happening from one end of heaven to the other. Can anyone, he asks, name any time or place where such a great thing has happened elsewhere as has happened to Israel? Can anyone say where such a thing has even been heard of?
33 Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
For example, have any people ever heard God speaking from the midst of fire and lived? The Israelites did.
34 Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
The next question is, For what other nation since the beginning of creation or anywhere else in the world has God made the attempt to go and take them from the midst of another nation by trials, signs, wonders, war, a mighty hand, an outstretched arm and by great terrors, in the way that Yahweh has by what He had done for Israel in Egypt?
35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.
All this had been shown to them so that they might know that Yahweh truly was the only God, and there is none other. If nothing else could convince them, this should have done. The so-called gods of Egypt, even Pharaoh himself, had proved powerless. They were as nothings before Yahweh.
36 Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.
Moses goes on to answer his own questions. Yahweh had made them hear His great voice from heaven, so that they might be instructed, and He had made them see His great unearthly fire on earth. And it was out of the midst of that great fire that they had heard His words. Thus they must recognize that their experience in Horeb as they gathered round Mount Sinai was unique, and a powerful revelation of Yahweh their God which they must ever carry with them.
37 And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power,
Our Holy Adoni Yahweh also had brought His people out of Egypt with His presence (manifested) and His great power. And why did He do it for them? The answer is because he loved their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That was why He had chosen them as the seed of their fathers, and brought them out of Egypt by His presence and with His great power.
38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day.
Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High - would drive out from before them nations greater and mightier than themselves, in order to bring them into the land and give it to them for an inheritance as He was about to do at this time.
All that happened was as a result of His covenant love for Abraham and his sons, and his descendants. That was why even their sins would not finally change His purposes. Rather if necessary He would use tribulation and suffering in order to fulfill His purposes. But His love would not fail. And it was through that love that He would finally save a multitude of Jews through the ministry of His Son, so that they became the foundation of His work throughout the world in bringing many sons to glory (Hebrews 2.10).
39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself Is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there Is no other.
Now considering all this they should now on this very day know and lay to heart Whom and What it reveals Yahweh to be. It reveals Him as the God of heaven and earth, beside Whom there Is no other. It reveals that He Is the great Lord of heaven and earth with Whom none can compare.
40 You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God Is giving you for all time.”
Knowing this then they must keep His statutes and His commandments which they have received from Moses who now commands them, in order that it might go well with them and with their children after them, and so that they may prolong their days in the land which Yahweh their God has given them.
If what had happened to Israel was wonderful, how much more is what has happened to those who are His. What other peoples have had the Son of God die for them, so that for His sake they are blessed? We can therefore have the confidence that He will do well to us far beyond our deserving, as we respond in love and obedience to Him. And in view of this, if we do not trust Him and obey Him how can we possibly speak of knowing Him?
The establishing of these cities of refuge was a deliberate act which was a declaration of Moses’ certainty that they were now here in this land to stay. Their purpose was permanent and an official seal that they were in the land permanently. It was a reminder also that there was law in the land, for it was a reminder of the penalty for taking blood, and of God’s mercy to be shown to those who only did so accidentally. So it puts the seal on his words and caps them with a physical seal that can be seen by all. In those cities of refuge the kingly rule of God has already begun. If in the future they were ever in doubt they would be able to look at these cities of refuge and be reminded of Moses’ words at the time that they were selected and appointed, and recognize with gratitude that God has given them refuge too, refuge in the promised land.
41 Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 42 that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:
Their need arose because of the law of blood vengeance. That law stated that when a man was killed his family must avenge his death on the one who had done it. Thus if they slew the killer right was seen as on their side. The cities of refuge provided a place to which men could go who had killed accidentally. Once they were there they were safe from the avengers of blood. But their cases had then to be examined thoroughly, and if it was decided that they had actually killed the person deliberately they would be turned out of the city of refuge so that the avengers of blood could exact their punishment.
43 Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
The names of the cities were given. They were evidence that Israel was going to be given the land as it speaks of a done deal.
44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, 46 on this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel defeated after they came out of Egypt.
‘These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments.’ They are a continuation of the statutes and judgments that Moses has already been teaching them. Our Holy God through Moses wanted the people to know history and not repeat the same sins.
47 And they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, 48 from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, even to Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), 49 and all the plain on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.
The significance of the taking of the land of the Amorites cannot be overemphasized. It was the Amorites who had driven their fathers out of Canaan (1.44), and now they themselves had put the Amorites to flight. And what was more they had taken possession of their land and possessions, and the large dimensions of that possession are clearly stated. They stretched from Mount Hermon in the north, to Aroer on the banks of the Arnon to the south, and included the Arabah, the Jordan rift valley on its eastern banks, from the sea of Chinnereth down to the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea) under the slopes of the Pisgah. The previous reverse had been more than compensated for. All this land was east of Jordan.
The deliverance from Egypt together with the taking of these lands was to be seen as proof positive that soon Canaan would be theirs. Yahweh, the great Deliverer from Egypt and conqueror of the Amorite kings, was fighting for them in a holy war, a war which was to fulfill His judgment on the Canaanites/Amorites, and would establish a righteous theocracy in the land.
We have a reminder here that often when we have faced a defeat in our lives, once we are restored God graciously causes us to face the same enemy again so that we might prove the victor.
