Hear, Learn, Observe… & Live | Sunday, September 6, 2020

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 our fathers is giving you. (Deuteronomy 4:1)

God's statutes and judgments are given so His people may hear, learn, observe—and live a flourishing life.

Twenty-Six Weeks of Chaos

This is our 26th Sunday gathering for church online, and we are living at a moment in our nation's history that feels chaotic—because it is chaotic. I knew before this year began that it would be a year of chaos, and I shared that at the start. Now COVID-19 and the shutdowns are about five headlines down on the news page. The latest chaos involves protests, riots, looting, fires, and shootings, and the political rhetoric on both sides is only just beginning. In all likelihood it will generate more chaos as we move toward November—and that doesn't even account for the chaos the elections themselves may produce.

I'm not saying these things to add stress or frighten you, but there is still more of 2020 ahead. It's as if we've just gone through the beginning rapids of a whitewater run and haven't even hit the hairy stuff yet.

Walk Circumspectly

The apostle Paul wrote, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15–16). We need to be aware, not ignorant; wise, not foolish—so that we can make the most of the opportunities God is giving us for His name's sake and for His kingdom at such a time as this.

At times like this we foolishly think these evil days are unprecedented, as if we're the only ones who have ever suffered chaos. We're not. No trial has overtaken you except such as is common to man, and in the midst of trying times God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able (1 Corinthians 10:13). You sometimes hear Christians say, "God won't give you more than you can handle." That's not really biblical, but 1 Corinthians 10:13 is close: God will give you the sustaining power to bear it. May the testing of your faith produce endurance, steadfastness, and patience, so that on the other side of 2020 we will be more mature and more complete. That is my hope and prayer for you and for me.

Statutes and Judgments

We are in the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible, at the end of chapter 4 and about to enter chapter 5. I've called this series Statutes and Judgments. Moses, who gives this message 3,400 years ago, was in some respects a preacher just like me—he would start on a thought, get sidetracked, talk about something else, and then bring it back. That's pretty much the whole fourth chapter of Deuteronomy.

We began this series back on June 28th, eleven weeks ago, and I've gotten a bit sidetracked—we haven't even reached the actual statutes and judgments, which are in chapter 5. But we're almost there, and we've seen a lot of important and good truths along the way. I say important and good because these are the things that help us know how to live this life in a right and godly way. And to live in a right and godly way is to live an abundant and prosperous life.

What I Am Not Saying

Let me make a quick but crucial point about what I am not saying. Living according to the statutes and judgments of God—the law of God—will not save you from sin. But it will save you from a whole lot of pain, suffering, and brokenness in this life. Jesus is the only way to abundant life for eternity, and ultimately the law of God points you toward Jesus; the New Testament talks a lot about that. Yet God's law will lead you into a prosperous and flourishing life of blessing here and now.

Listen, Observe, and Live

Back in Deuteronomy 4:1 there are three words to focus on. The first is listen—"Now, O Israel, listen." That is the Hebrew word shema. It doesn't only mean listen; it also means hear, regard, care for, obey, understand, and heed—all in that one word. The second word is observe: "the statutes and judgments which I teach you to observe." Moses isn't teaching this so we'll know 3,400-year-old texts as an ancient literature class; he's teaching it so we will apply ourselves to do them, working this into our lives. The third word is live: "that you may live." This means to be preserved, to live well, to prosper, to continue safely, and to flourish.

So let me ask you: do you want to flourish and prosper in life? If you're not answering yes, then either you're not paying attention—remember the first word, listen—or you're being stubborn.

Obedience Brings Blessing

We see this same truth in the next book. In Joshua 1, beginning at verse 7, God tells the new leader:

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you... This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Those words "observe to do" are the very words translated "listen" and "observe" in Deuteronomy 4:1. The result of listening, observing, and doing is a prosperous way and good success. Again, I'm not talking about eternal salvation, but about temporal blessing.

And what happens when you don't listen, observe, and do? Deuteronomy 28 says exactly that:

But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes... that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you... The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do... The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation... they shall pursue you until you perish.

Cursed shall you be in Portland, cursed in Chicago, Seattle, D.C., and New York City. As Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, wrote: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).

Where You Would Expect Us to Be

Rejection of God's commands always results in affliction, shame, and ultimately judgment. For a very long time our nation has been progressively rejecting God's commands, so we should not be surprised if we experience affliction, cursing, and shame. These things are, in a sense, the judgment of God's inaction and neglect. If you are apathetic and indifferent toward God, don't be surprised if He is apathetic and indifferent toward you. Those words don't feel good, but from what I see in Scripture, we in the West and in the U.S. are exactly where you would expect us to be if we neglected and rejected God and His word.

We read in Deuteronomy 4:44–45 that this is the law Moses set before Israel. Then chapter 5 verse 1: "And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: 'Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.'" There are those words again—hear, learn, and be careful to observe.

Choose Life

Later, at the very end of his message, Moses says in Deuteronomy 30:

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil... that you may live and multiply... But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear... you shall surely perish... I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

Life and blessing are yours for the choosing. The whole of the Old Testament after Deuteronomy is effectively the laboratory in which these truths are tested—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are the peer-reviewed research. All the prophets were men who came to Israel to call them back to hearing and observing God's statutes and judgments as the people experienced the affliction and curses of rejecting His law.

As True Today as Then

No, we are not Israel, and no, we are not living under the old covenant of the law. But the blessings of obedience are as real in 2020 as when Moses spoke them 3,400 years ago, as true as when Isaiah rehearsed them in eighth-century Jerusalem, and as right as when Jeremiah preached them in the sixth century B.C.

The answer for America is not a new vaccine, a new president, a new stimulus package, defunding the police, or destroying capitalism. Those things might make you feel better, but they won't remove the shame, affliction, and reproach of sin. Only God can do that, through His word and by His Son, Jesus. You could get rid of COVID-19, end the riots, make race relations great, have a booming stock market and growing businesses—and still end up with shame and reproach from sin. Without the working of God we would simply be back to the old normal, headed toward another time of chaos and crisis.

The One-Word Message: Repent

When faced with chaos, confusion, and crisis, the prophets of old always had a simple one-word message for Israel: repent. That happens to be the same one-word message John the Baptist gave at the beginning of the gospel ministry (Matthew 3): "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is the same message Jesus began with in Matthew 4. It is the message that launched the ministry of the church in Acts 2:38. And it is what I would say to you today.

If you have not been seeking to walk in line with God's commands—and no, we will never perfectly walk in line with them, but it ought to be our aim—when we fail, we need to repent, turn to God in faith, and seek His forgiving grace and transforming power. That's what we need at this time in our nation and world: the forgiving grace and transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that He would transform us by the renewing of our minds, so our lives display His good and perfect will.

The Law Reflects His Character

What is that good and perfect will? In some respects it is seen in the statutes and judgments of God, because His commands are the representation of His nature and character. He calls us through His law to live according to who He is. As we move into Deuteronomy 5, we will look specifically at the Ten Commandments. I want to encourage you to read them over the next week or so and try to memorize them—in an upcoming message I'll show you a very simple way to do that.

Why memorize the Ten Commandments? So that we would hide God's word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul"—it transforms and purifies us. That is what we as the church of God need, and it is also what our nation and world need today: the transforming power of God's word through God's Son, Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would do a work in our hearts and minds, that our hearts would be open to receive Your word like the good seed that it is, that it would go deep into our hearts, and that You would do a work of transformation in us to make us more like You. May the people we interact with who don't know You, who don't go to church or have walked away from You, see our good works and begin to glorify You, our Father in heaven.

I pray for Your church, our church. Bring forth an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives—love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, self-control—all the things that honor and glorify You and represent You well in this world. Do that work in us as we take time to study these things from the Scriptures. Lord, make us more like You. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.