Month: March 2023

Deuteronomy 9:6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16, 23, 24 Thou art a stiffnecked people…thou provokedst the Lord…ye have been rebellious against the Lord…ye provoked the Lord…thy people have corrupted themselves…it is a stiffnecked people…ye had sinned against the Lord…ye rebelled against the commandment…ye believed him not…Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

Moses rehearses the rebellious history of God’s people, especially noting the Golden Calf incident. All along the way, even after God’s miraculous Deliverance and Provision, the people that have been gloriously saved lived in stiffnecked rebellion against the Lord. We hear the story and wonder how they remain stiffnecked after experiencing God’s mighty salvation. However, Moses is telling our story as well. We have come believe in Jesus and receive salvation, yet we still remain stiffnecked and rebellious.

We may not want to admit it or see such rebellion in ourselves, so the Spirit must use the Word to convict us of sin and see the rebellion that is still with us. When the picture comes into clear focus we repent in dust and ashes, then God forgives, saves, and lifts us up.

We don’t say, How can they be so bad? But we say, He’s talking about me. The mirror of the Law illuminates our soul and points out our own sinful and rebellious response to the Love of God. Jesus responded for us by being obedient unto death, even the death on the cross.

Deuteronomy 9:1-2 Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakim.

Moses is giving the people an impossible mission: go into the land and possess great nations, great cities, and a great people. These enemies will oppose your taking over the Promised Land. And they are greater than you. You are definitely weaker and smaller than they are. You absolutely will not be able to possess the land by yourself in your own strength. Yet God tells you to do it.

In the next verse (v. 3), he says the Lord will go before you to destroy them and bring them down, but then he adds “so shall thou drive them out.” The Lord comes to do what we can’t do: He destroys, but we drive them out. In other words, it looks like we are doing the work, but it is really God with us who is giving victory after victory. Joshua led the Conquest of the Land, but God did the miracles to win.

“It is God’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” yet we are told to “seek first the kingdom of God.” God gives the Land, but we possess it; we drive out the enemies that God destroys. Faith possesses what God gives by grace. Jesus earns for us and gives the kingdom, eternal life. Faith receives it.

But it is not that easy. Our spiritual enemies fight against our possessing Life and the Kingdom. And they don’t stop. Throughout life on earth we continue to possess the gifted land. We will always fight against Sin, flee the temptations of the world, and reject the lies of Satan. But Jesus fights for us and grants victory after victory: “For us fights the Valiant One,” and “He’s by our side upon the plain.” We will be engaged in this warfare until the Last Enemy, Death, is destroyed. We believe. We possess. We win.

Deuteronomy 8:20 As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.

The deadly response of sinners to the Word of God is to disobey God’s voice. The result of disobedience to what God commands is: “You will perish.” To perish is to be utterly destroyed. It is more than just dying; it is to die eternally, absolutely and completely separated from God and all that is good forever.

We do not easily comprehend the terrible conditions of eternal death. We easily dismiss the serious nature of hell with our flippant use of the word. We mock the hellfire and damnation preachers, but we should instead take eternal judgment seriously. “Repent or perish” preaching is not meant to get us to change our ways and be better people (it doesn’t work), but it should lead us to Jesus and prepare us for the gospel. “Whoever believes in him shall not perish.”

Every little sin is serious, for it brings deserved judgment and eternal death: we are destroyed. How wonderful then to hear the Gospel: “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from every sin” Faith in Jesus is obedience to the Word. To believe is to obey. For Jesus kept the Law perfectly for us, Sinners cannot on their own obey, but by the working of the Spirit through the gospel He gives us faith. Faith = Life.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he share unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

In times of plenty it is tempting to take credit for our prosperity. It is my power and my hand that has gotten me this wealth. Instead, we overcome pride by remembering the Lord. It is He that gives the power to get wealth. It is sinful pride and unbelief that steals credit that belongs to God and taking credit for oneself. The Bible warns us many times about the dangers of riches. “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation,,,Love of money is a root of all kinds of evil [1 Timothy 6:9,10].”

One of the dangers of riches is that it can feed our own pride and greed. The ultimate spiritual danger is forgetting God. It is a matter of giving or taking credit. The cure to the temptation is living a life of humble gratitude, thanking God in every circumstance, whether rich or poor. The humble, thankful spirit is the helpful response to life.

This is a hard saying: If life is good God gets the credit; if life is not well man gets the blame. Sinful man turns this around. Life changes when we are humbly thankful in all the circumstances of life.

Deuteronomy 8:10, 14 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee….Then thine heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

When the Lord had saved Israel, provided for them, given them the land, and blessed them in it, then the response of the believer is to bless the Lord. To bless God is to say good things about Him, to appreciate Him, to praise Him, and to thank Him. And God is blessed when we graciously receive by faith what He gives. Faith is expressed in worship and praise and a life of thanksgiving. Exuberant thanks to God makes Him feel good.

The opposite response to God’s grace and blessing is to forget the Lord and what He has done for us. We forget God when pride lifts up the heart and actually thinks that I earned these blessings by my own hard work and my good works. We also forget God when we take it all for granted and just drift away by negligence and in our self-centeredness forget who it all comes from. It is too easy to forget God in our day-to-day routines, and we should not think we are so good that we do not need reminders on a weekly and daily basis.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits [Psalm 103:1-2].”

Deuteronomy 6:8 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

Always ask: What is the therefore there for? It signifies a cause and effect relationship. You will keep the commandments, live accordingly, and fear God, because of what the Lord has done for you for salvation and provision. We do not keep the commandments to attain salvation, but because we have already been granted it by free grace.

Once we have received life by faith we walk in newness of life. In truth, the entire life of a Christian is a response of thanks. It is as Luther says: “And all this purely out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy, for all which it is my duty to thank and praise, to serve and obey Him.” Thankfulness is our response; thankfulness is our life.

We need to get the cause into our life in order to elicit the response of keeping the commandments, walking in His ways, and fearing the Lord. Fearing God is believing God and His Word so strongly that we want live according to His Law. This kind of faith is produced by hearing and reading the gospel as often as possible. After we are reinforced in our faith we have the desire and power to walk in His ways. Thus we remember God’s goodness and mercy, and apply it to life.

Deuteronomy 7:18, 21 Thou shalt not be afraid of them; but shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt….Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

The command and promise, “Fear not,” is repeated many times in Scriptures, often when an angel appears. Fear is a basic human emotion, which shows itself in everything from panic to worry. The response of God’s people of faith is to not be afraid in the face of the enemy.

Two powerful reasons are listed as incentives to respond to threatening situations with fearlessness and courage: one has to do with the past, the other with the present. First, you will not be afraid when you remember what God did to Pharaoh and Egypt. Second, you will not be affrighted because the Lord is among you in the present.

So we remember what Christ did for us in His death and resurrection, completely destroying the power of our real enemies, Sin, Death, and the Devil. Therefore we will not fear. Then we call to mind Jesus’ promise: “Lo, I am with you always.” The Gospel not only covers us in the past and the present, but also clearly in the future, defeating death and granting life. All three tenses affect the present moment, the impending crisis, the imminent threat: we will not be affrighted. We are powerfully saved by faith in amazing grace, and we overwhelmingly conquer the Enemy in our Baptism. We are strengthened in our courage by repeatedly hearing the Gospel, daily remembering our Baptism, and frequently taking Communion.

Fear and worry is transformed into trust and courage. Fear of enemies who would destroy is turned into fear, love, and trust in God who saves. “Fear not them which kill the body.” “Whom shall we fear? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Faith applies the power of God to any problem in life, and He always overcomes.

Deuteronomy 7:9, 11 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations…Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

All life, and a good life, begins with knowing God, that is He is faithful to His promises and keeps covenant and mercy. Know = believe. Believing is knowing. Knowing involves an intimate relationship which engenders an absolute trust. We know who God is, what His character is like, and what He thinks about us. We know Him so well that we can gladly follow Him and keep His Word and that He won’t disappoint. We know how He loved us: He sent His Son.

God chose us, loved us, and redeemed us (vv, 7-8). Therefore, because of God’s love, we respond by knowing (believing) Him. To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to want to obey Him. We obey Him by abiding in Him. Abiding produces fruit. The goal and purpose of our life is to know Jesus better and draw closer to Him. We do this by spending time with Him, getting to know the depth of His love.

Therefore, because of the Gospel, we love Him and do what He says. We can only live well by obeying, we can only obey by loving, and we can only love Him by knowing Him better every day. Developing this loving relationship never stops, even in all eternity. He knows us and loves us eternally: we respond by knowing and loving.

Deuteronomy 7:2, 3, 5 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: neither shalt thou make marriages with them….But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

This is hard saying and difficult to accept in light of Jesus’ word, “Love your enemies.” But the NT believer applies a passage like this to our spiritual enemies, Sin, Death, and the Devil: destroy them utterly and get them completely out of your heart and life. Jesus’ death and resurrection has violently and forever destroyed these spiritual enemies once for all. Now we respond by taking His Victory and applying it to these spiritual enemies in our daily lives.

Now we remember to make the distinction between the sin and the sinner, for we hate the one and love the other. The Enemy is spiritual: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood…but against the spiritual forces of evil.” We overcome with truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word. [Ephesians 6:10-17].

God gave us the Kingdom, and now we possess it, take it over, make it our own, and live in it. This response involves having no truck with the world, with lies or false teaching, with sin and godlessness. And we make no covenants, compromises, bonds, commitments with the world and its ways. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” There is no partnership, fellowship, accord,, portion or agreement.

Therefore, NT believers are at war to the end, a life and death matter, with sin and unbelief in the soul and with the gods of this world. We bring every thought captive to Christ, but we love, pray for, are kind to, and witness to human beings who are still in bondage to the Enemy. We need God’s help to respond by distinguishing between spiritual forces and flesh and blood people. Save the one and destroy the other.

Deuteronomy 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

Once again the response of believers to God’s Gospel is to observe to do all the Commandments of the Lord. We do them in the presence of (before) the Lord. When we are aware of God with us, and study and think about Him, we almost automatically do what we know pleases Him. And when we observe to do His Word we intentionally weigh the options of thought, speech, and action and choose to the do the right thing. We are guided by the Word and led by the Spirit.

However, we still remain sinners and many times fail to do. If we always did right in thought, word, and deed it would be our righteousness. But we don’t do right because we aren’t right. However Jesus Christ is our righteousness, and wisdom and sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). Through faith we receive the righteousness of God earned for us by Christ. The active obedience of Christ is His innocent suffering and death. The passive obedience of Christ is His holy, righteous life. Both are substitutionary: He died for us and He lived for us.

Our response to such great good news is hear the Gospel to receive the power to do right; and we study (observe) the Word to receive the knowledge of what to do. And the God-in-us does it.