Through the Bible - Deuteronomy

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deuteronomy 6:4–5)

How God's twice-given law leads His people out of the wilderness and into the land of victorious rest.

One Long Sermon at the Edge of the Promised Land

We are going through the whole book of Deuteronomy tonight, and it's a nice thing to take it in one study. As you read it, you notice the entire book is basically one sermon Moses preached to the children of Israel right before they entered the Promised Land—a pretty long sermon. Sometimes people complain that we go 55 minutes here at Calvary Chapel, but anyone who read chapters 1 through 34 this week knows this could have been lengthy.

And the children of Israel had it harder than we do. When they gathered to hear God's word, they didn't sit in air-conditioned rooms on nice chairs. In Nehemiah 8 they stood to hear the reading of the word, and in the New Testament Jesus would be seated while the people stood to listen. So picture them out in the wilderness, all of them standing as Moses preached. You have it much easier—we'll take about 55 minutes instead of hours, and you get to sit down.

The Second Law for a Second Generation

The word Deuteronomy means "the second law." This isn't a different law than what we read in Leviticus or Exodus 20; it is God's law spoken a second time, given to the second generation after the Exodus. That first generation, because of their unbelief and disobedience, perished in the wilderness over 38 years.

They had spent roughly two years at Mount Sinai, then journeyed to Kadesh Barnea, the entrance to the Promised Land. But they did not believe the Lord could deliver them and drive out their enemies. Because of that, God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest—reiterated in Hebrews 3. For every one of the 40 days the spies searched the land, they would wander a year, until that entire generation passed away.

Now, 38 years after Numbers 13 and 14, a new generation is ready. God will bring them into the land by His mighty hand and outstretched arm—the same power that brought them out of Egypt. Every place the sole of their foot would touch, He says, He has given them, and their enemies will flee.

The Promised Land Is the Victorious Spirit-Filled Life

We too stand at the edge of that Promised Land, and the question is whether we will enter into what God has for us. Some old hymns equate the Promised Land with heaven, but that's not a good interpretation. In the land there were battles and wars, as we'll see in Joshua—and there are no wars in heaven. The Promised Land is the life of victory, the life of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, which we can experience now.

The children of Israel were entering to possess their inheritance, and we have an inheritance too. Because we are adopted into God's family, we are joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8). What is that inheritance? I believe it is the same as the tribe of Levi's. In Deuteronomy 10:8–9, the Lord separated Levi to minister to Him, and "Levi has no part nor inheritance with his brethren"—why? "The Lord is his inheritance."

We have the same inheritance. Ephesians 1:13–14 says that in Christ, after you believed, "you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." The Holy Spirit is the down payment. Just as a layaway down payment secures the possession, God has redeemed us and given us a deposit. What we shall inherit in glory is the complete and abiding presence of God. Heaven would not be heavenly without it—if heaven were merely a paradise like Hawaii, it would become hell after an eternity. What makes heaven so glorious is that we inherit Him.

Milk, Honey, and Fruitfulness

The land flowed with milk and honey and was filled with fruitfulness. Consider these. Peter says, "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word." We just sang from Psalm 19 that the law of the Lord is sweeter than honey in the honeycomb. So taking in the fullness of God's word is part of our inheritance.

John 1 tells us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," and "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Who is the Word? Jesus. As we take in the word—milk to the newborn, sweeter than honey—we are taking in the abiding presence of the Lord. Psalm 119 tells us to hide His word in our hearts.

This land is also filled with fruitfulness, which reminds me of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. The life dominated by the word of God and filled with the fruit of the Spirit is what God desires us to have here on earth. The sad fact is that many people are no longer in Egypt but are not experiencing the Promised Land. Paul speaks of this in Philippians 3: "I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." Christ saved us for a purpose, just as God brought Israel out of Egypt—not so they could spend eternity in the wilderness eating manna.

There are many in the church today out of Egypt yet living in the wilderness with no victory and no joy, barely surviving on manna. Manna is what you get on Sunday morning if you only come to church. But God wants us to come into the land that flows with milk and honey, to feed on His faithfulness through His word, not just meander through a dry, dead place. He wants us to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land.

The Law Is Holy, Just, and Good

Before they could enter, God speaks His law to them once more. There are people in the church today who neglect God's law, saying, "We're New Testament Christians; we don't need it." If you find yourself there, you'll continue wandering in the wilderness, because God's law has a purpose.

God gave the law twice for a reason. First, because it is important—God doesn't say things twice that aren't. That first generation only gave the law lip service, saying, "All that the Lord has said we will do," but they did not honor God through it, and they died in the wilderness.

Last week with Numbers we saw how the books correlate with Romans: Genesis with Romans 3 (all have sinned), Exodus with Romans 5 (in due time Christ died for the ungodly), Leviticus with Romans 6 (shall we sin that grace may abound? Certainly not), Numbers with Romans 7 (the good I want to do, I don't do). Where does Deuteronomy fit? Consider Romans 7:12: "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." The law of the Lord is perfect (Psalm 19:7).

But here's the problem: God's very good law shows that you and I are very bad. It tells us, as Jeremiah 17 says, that the heart is desperately wicked—and we don't want to admit it. So we invent softer words for our own sin. We call another person a liar, but we say, "I was just kidding." Someone else commits adultery, but we say, "I just had an affair." We're always justifying ourselves: "I'm a pretty good person; I'm not as bad as so-and-so." We pull out Billy Graham or Mother Teresa for comparison. The law is good, but it shows we are bad.

So people get mad at the law and think it's bad. Paul asks in Romans 7, "Is the law sin? Certainly not"—it only shows me I'm a sinner. Romans 3:19–20 says, "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God... for by the law is the knowledge of sin." The first purpose of the law is to bring us to the knowledge of sin. Paul says, "I would not have known sin except by the law."

Saved Out, Set Apart, Not by Law but by Love

No flesh is justified by keeping the law, and no one is saved by it. Were the children of Israel brought out of Egypt by the law? No—God says, "By my mighty hand and outstretched arm I redeemed you." He gave the law after they came out. Why? Because they were to be a people wholly dedicated to Him, living in the midst of a wicked people.

The land of Canaan was dominated by lewdness, wickedness, and sexual immorality. Israel was called to live in the midst of a sex-crazed society and yet be wholly given over to the Lord. Can we relate? God told them to be separate, not to mix in—because if you keep company with the world, will you affect them, or will they infect you? Bad company corrupts good morals. The Christian thinks, "I'll go into the world and affect it," but if you don't follow God's law with your heart, you won't affect this world—you'll blend in and be infected.

We are never saved by keeping the law, but after being saved we seek to keep it out of gratitude, because God has called us to be His people, separate from the world. What separates us? We don't do what the world does, and we follow God's system instead—His word, His law, holy, just, and good. Will we ever keep it perfectly? No. Should we strive to? Absolutely. Ephesians tells us Christ seeks to present a bride without spot or blemish, sanctified by the washing of water by His word. His word converts the soul and transforms us into the image of God.

A People the World Could See Belonged to God

Israel was to enter the land so all the nations would see and say, "That is a people that follows God." Many Christians today try to live so people will notice—"See how happy and loving I am"—and we recall the saying often attributed to Augustine or Aquinas: "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words." The world must see a difference in us, as they were to see in Israel.

They served God in specific ways—how they ate, gave offerings, and prayed—so the world would know they were God's people, not involved in the immoral practices of the worldly gods. And the world was to see that their God fought for them, as He did against Sihon and Bashan, provided manna and water from the rock, and led them by cloud and pillar of fire. God brought them in by faith and grace, but once there He wanted them to follow Him in His word—so He gives the law a second time, telling them over and over to "observe my word to do it." The words statutes, judgments, and commandments appear again and again; "statutes" alone appears almost thirty times in these chapters.

The Three Divisions of Deuteronomy

The book divides into three sections. Chapters 1–4 deal with what God had already done for them—bringing them out of Egypt, caring for them in the wilderness with cloud, fire, water, and manna—and how they, a stiff-necked, stubborn, rebellious people, received it. These first four chapters are a clear, concise synopsis of the forty years.

The second division, from chapter 4:44 through chapter 26, restates God's law. In chapter 5 He gives the Ten Commandments a second time: no other gods, no graven images, do not take His name in vain, keep the Sabbath, honor your father and mother (the first commandment with promise), do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and do not covet—along with all the dietary and sacrificial laws.

The third division, chapters 27 through 34, deals with what God will do for Israel. It prophetically outlines their entire history before it happened—their turning away, their exile in Babylon, their return, their domination by Rome, their exile again, and their final return. This is one of the clearest proofs of divine authorship. Prophecy is God's thumbprint on the Bible; it shows He stands outside of time, telling us what happens before it begins.

Brought Out That He Might Bring Us In

The key themes start with the problem. In Deuteronomy 6:20–21, Moses says that when your children ask why you keep these commandments, you must start at the beginning: "We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt." Deuteronomy always brings us back to our roots. Where did we start? Dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2). Israel started as slaves; Genesis ends with Joseph in a coffin in Egypt. We needed a Redeemer.

Then comes what God did. Verse 22 recounts the signs and wonders on Egypt, and verse 23 is a key verse: "And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers." In Numbers, Israel complained, "Have you brought us out to die in the wilderness? Were there not enough graves in Egypt?" But God did not bring them out to wander—He brought them out to bring them in. God didn't save us just to leave us meandering, wondering about our purpose. He brought us out to bring us in.

Not Because We Were Great, But Because He Loved Us

Why did God go to all this trouble for a stiff-necked people? Deuteronomy 7:6–8 answers: "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers." It echoes John 3:16—"For God so loved the world."

God didn't save us because we were good-looking or wonderful. Isaiah 64:6 says all our righteousness is as filthy rags. He saved us because He loved us and because He is faithful. Verse 9 declares, "the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy." He brought us out to bring us in—not to wander wondering why we lack love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Those are the fruit of the Spirit, the fruitfulness of the Promised Land. Many who say they're Christians never experience the fruit because they have not taken heed to the law of God.

Meditate on the Word and Prosper

Look ahead to Joshua 1, which restates Deuteronomy. Verse 6: "Be strong and of a good courage." Verse 7: "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law... turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest." Verse 8: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night... for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

Why are so many believers not experiencing the love, joy, and peace some evangelist promised? Because they have not taken heed to God's word or meditated on it day and night, drinking the pure milk and tasting the commandments sweeter than honey. So they have no fruitfulness. Coming out of the wilderness into the land is a step of faith—they had to put their feet in the Jordan before the waters parted—but God says, if you want a prosperous way, take heed to His word. Deuteronomy 27–28 warn that if you don't, the blessing is removed and you are cursed from the land. The same happens in our lives: when we backslide, we immediately sense a lack of fruitfulness. When I meet a Christian with no joy, peace, or self-control, I know they are not partaking of the word.

Why God Takes Us Through the Wilderness

Even walking in the Spirit, we will experience dry times. A woman called the church this week in tears, certain she was following the Lord yet going through a dry wilderness season. We go through seasons—summer heat, autumn falling away, dry barren winter.

Deuteronomy 8:2–3 tells us why God led Israel through the wilderness: "to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no." He fed them with manna to teach them "that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord." God knows your heart better than you do, but He allows the dry times so we recognize what He knew all along—that our hearts are desperately wicked.

Just when you think you stand strong and have this Christian thing figured out, you'll find yourself in a trial. As 1 Corinthians 10:11–12 says, these things were written for our admonition: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." God humbles us, tests us, and lets us see what's in our hearts—and then we come to 1 John 1:9, confessing our sin, agreeing with God about our wicked condition. He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us, but only as we come in humility.

The Primary Command: Love God

Deuteronomy also gives us God's primary call, which we sang tonight. Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God." We see it in chapters 6, 11 (three times), 13:3, 19:9, and three times in chapter 30. Again and again God reiterates: love the Lord your God.

God brings us out to bring us in so we can feed on His faithfulness and recognize Him as our Father and provider. We love Him because He first loved us. The result of loving God is the fulfillment of these commands. When you recognize how much He loves you and cares for you, you fall deeply in love with Him, and all the "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not" cease to be a burden. You long to walk with God in holiness—but that only happens as you see His love for you in the Promised Land, feeding on His word and faithfulness.

The Blessings of Obedience

Andrew Murray wrote a small but potent book called The Blessings of Obedience. Moses gives us very clear teaching on those blessings. In Deuteronomy 27, when they cross the Jordan, they are to set up stones, build an altar, offer burnt and peace offerings, rejoice, and "write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly." God wants His word written on our hearts.

From two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal, the curses are pronounced on those who disobey—against idolatry, dishonoring father or mother, removing a neighbor's landmark, misleading the blind, and perverting justice for the stranger, fatherless, and widow—and all the people say "Amen," meaning "so be it." Then Deuteronomy 28:1–2 declares the blessings: "If thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God... all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee." Blessed in the city and field, in the fruit of the body, ground, and cattle; enemies smitten before them, fleeing seven ways; God opening His good treasure of heaven to give rain in season. He goes through all the blessings—and then the complete opposite curses if they do not hearken: cursed going out and coming in, fleeing seven ways before their enemies. If they turn away, God will remove them from the land until they cry out—and the amazing thing is that when they cry out, He hears and restores, as we'll see in Judges.

The Death of Moses and the Limits of the Law

The last chapter records the death of Moses. He wrote the first five books, though it's likely he didn't write this final chapter about his own death. God had told Moses in Numbers that he would not enter the land because he had not hearkened diligently to the Lord's word. Even this great leader would die in the wilderness—yet God was still gracious, taking him up Mount Nebo to behold the good land, and burying him Himself. Israel mourned thirty days, until in Joshua 1 God says, "Arise, go over this Jordan."

Some say Moses is a picture of the law, and he is—and the law could not bring them into the Promised Land. The law cannot bring us into all God desires for us; we take possession only by faith. Yet we hold on to these things as we observe to do all the Lord commands.

God Works in Us to Will and to Do

Notice He says "observe to do," because sometimes we cannot accomplish in our flesh what we set out to do for the Lord. I find comfort in Nathan's words to David in 2 Samuel. David desired to build God a temple, and Nathan first said, "Do all that is in your heart." But God sent Nathan back to say David could not build it—yet "as it was in your heart, it was good." God recognized his desire, and I believe He recognizes ours.

We only come to know His requirements as we take in His word, and our heart desires to keep them. But in our own strength we're weak—Romans 7: "the good that I want to do I don't do... O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?" "I thank God." Then Romans 8:1 (next week, with Joshua 1): "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." And Philippians 2: "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." God builds the desire to obey and, by His Spirit, gives the power to perform it. That's the story of Joshua. God does not give His law twice for no reason—because, let's be honest, we can be a little hard of hearing.

Closing Prayer

God, thank You for Your word. I ask that You would help us hide Your word tonight in our hearts, that we would not sin against You, that we'd meditate upon Your word day and night so that we may observe to do all that is written there—and then find that we are prosperous in the way and have good success. Lord, I pray that every one of my brothers and sisters here would experience that good success in their walk with You. Help us take careful heed to Your word, Your law, seeking to do all that is written, so that we can enter into the Promised Land.

We recognize tonight that it is a step of faith—the same faith that brought us out of Egypt brings us into the joy and peace of the land of rest, the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We hold on to the ground You've given us by following You, hearkening to Your voice, and seeking to be obedient. Work in us to will and to do, Lord, that we would be a people separate unto You, consecrated to Your name, so that our family, friends, and co-workers would see and know that You are our God, and that they too would come to know You. Use us as witnesses; may people see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. In Jesus' name, amen.