Listen and Observe | Sunday, June 28, 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 your fathers is giving you. (Deuteronomy 4:1)

To possess the land of blessing—then and now—we must hear and obey the statutes and judgments of God.

Are We Living in the Last Days?

At the beginning of 2020 we began a new study at Cross Connection in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. I had been looking forward to this shift, as we had spent the better part of the last twelve years in the New Testament. The Bible is composed of 66 books divided into the Old and New Testaments. Many churches spend much of their time in the New Testament, but Christians understand that the Old Testament is essentially important to our faith—its 39 books, from Genesis through Malachi, set the groundwork for the gospel.

I selected Deuteronomy as our starting point because it establishes a very important foundation for a disciple's understanding of the whole Old Testament. That is not to diminish Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, but Deuteronomy sets the stage for the history, poetic, and prophetic books that make up the bulk of the Old Testament.

We are living in strange days. Many Christians, looking at the happenings in our nation and world, find themselves recalling Jesus' words in Luke 21: "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Those words come after He speaks of distress of nations and men's hearts failing them from fear.

I have been asked many times over the last weeks, "Are we living in the last days?" The answer is an emphatic yes—according to the Bible, we have been living in the last days for the last 2,000 years. The opening words of Hebrews identify the period from Christ's first coming to His second coming as the last days. But the question is bigger than that. In light of coronavirus, wars and rumors of wars, civil unrest, and plagues of locusts in Africa and Asia, is this the end?

The Realities of a Fallen World

A careful reading of Jesus' words in Luke 21, Mark 13, and Matthew 24—the Olivet Discourse—reveals that these things are the realities of living in a broken and fallen world. Jesus said in Matthew 24:6, "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." He goes on to speak of civil unrest, famines, pandemics, earthquakes, tribulation, persecution, and lawlessness. All of these, He says, are "the beginning of sorrows"—things that will continue until He returns.

How then shall we live as followers of Jesus in a broken and fallen world? We should be faithful and wise servants found continuing in our Master's work until He returns. We should be watching and waiting, ready for His return even if it does not come in our lifetime, using the gifts and talents He has given us for His purposes.

What is that work? Matthew 28:19–20 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 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." Mark 16:15–16 and Luke 24:47 echo the same task—preaching the gospel and repentance and remission of sins to all nations.

The Gospel Redeems and Transforms

Throughout church history there have been countless distractions from this task, and there are many in our day. But I would argue that the gospel of Jesus Christ both redeems and transforms. The gospel redeems sinners and it transforms for the better the societies where those redeemed sinners live. An honest assessment of the history and expanse of the gospel bears this out.

The United States is an example of the transforming power of the gospel—an imperfect expression of it, to be sure. None of us would call it perfect. But comparatively speaking, we can see in our imperfect union the upsides of the gospel's power. So when we see things in our nation that are imperfect, the best answer is the gospel. Redeemed and transformed people make a more perfect union; that was, and continues to be, the experiment that is the United States.

The opening words of the Constitution read, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility..." Where do such concepts come from? I suggest they are rooted in the Judeo-Christian ordinances of books like Deuteronomy.

From Bordering Blessing to Statutes and Judgments

Since January we have been considering the first three chapters of Deuteronomy in a series I titled Bordering Blessing. When Moses preached the message that makes up Deuteronomy, the people of Israel were on the border of the promised land of blessing. But to enter and continue in possession of that blessing, Israel had to adhere to the statutes and judgments of God's law.

As we begin Deuteronomy 4, we shift to a new series I'm calling Statutes and Judgments, drawn directly from verse 1: "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." The land of blessing is possessed only by adherence and obedience to the statutes and judgments of God. This was true more than 3,000 years ago for Israel, and it is true for any society that desires the blessing of an ordered and orderly life.

The statutes and judgments of God are the superordinate principles that lead to an ordered society. Without them a society destabilizes; if they are rejected, a society inevitably experiences ruin—maybe not immediately, but eventually. This is evidenced in Israel's history and in the history of other societies. Whenever Israel departed from God's law and began to collapse, prophets arose to call them back to the superordinate principle of Deuteronomy.

This is why Deuteronomy is essentially important as a preamble for understanding the historic and prophetic books. If you are going to understand Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Micah, and the rest of the prophets, you need a basic understanding of Deuteronomy. The prophets present the application of Deuteronomy for a destabilizing society.

Listen: The Meaning of Shema

These words are exceedingly important—a call to you and me to pay attention. You can disagree with what they teach, but if you do, you should consider biblically and historically what has happened to those who reject the statutes, ordinances, and judgments of God. There are the written statutes recorded in Scripture, and there are the statutes written upon our hearts in the form of conscience. When an individual or society rejects them, it invariably results in destabilization and collapse. The inverse is also true: when they observe and obey them, the result is blessing and life. As Proverbs says, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."

Moses says, "Now, O Israel, listen." The word listen is the Hebrew word Shama—an important word that Israel will become acquainted with in Deuteronomy 6, the Shema: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Shema means listen, hear, understand, and obey—all of that is contained in one word.

My calling as a pastor and teacher is exactly what Moses describes: I teach these things so that you may observe and do them—not merely know them, but do them. Jesus said to His disciples, "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." Knowledge of God's statutes is important; adherence and observance is essential—essential that you may live and possess the land God is giving.

Choose Life

We are not headed toward an earthly promised land as Israel was, but if we desire to experience life and blessing in the land where we live, we must pay attention to the superordinate principles of God's statutes and judgments. As Moses's message comes to an end in Deuteronomy 30, he says, "I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live... for He is your life and the length of your days."

We are at a moment in our nation's history when we see the continued rejection of and rebellion against the statutes and judgments of God's moral and written law—and as a result, the destabilization of our culture. Unless we repent, we will see its ruin. This is the prophetic message we will become well acquainted with. Isaiah arose during a time of destabilization and, using the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy, called the people to repent; Jeremiah did the same. We do not have the office of prophet today, but we do have the prophetic voices of faithful pastors who look at the statutes and judgments of Scripture and say, as I do this day: our society will experience ruin unless we repent and submit again to the principles of God.

The Ideal We Always Fall Short Of

As we study Deuteronomy, we will see that the law of God—His statutes and judgments—is an ideal we ought to aim at, but an ideal we will always come short of. We might get close, but we will always miss the mark. That is exactly what sin is: a missing of the mark. When we sin, we come short of God's perfect, righteous standard, and short of the purpose for which He created us. You acknowledge this in your own heart when you sense you are not living up to your potential. Living outside of God's ideal always leads to brokenness, separation, and death.

We live in a world devastated by the brokenness that sin brings. When we see injustice, it is the result of sin; when we see division, conflict, war, and death, these are the result of sin. If these things burden and break your heart, know for certain that they burden and break the heart of God as well.

The Good News of the Gospel

Two thousand years ago Jesus, God incarnate, came to deal with the brokenness of sin and death. He came to demonstrate God's love and to reconcile us to our Father in heaven by dying on the cross. Romans says that Jesus was delivered up to death for our sins, in our place, and three days later rose from the dead for our justification. Justification means He makes us right before a holy God. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again so that you and I could receive everlasting life. "He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might receive the righteousness of God through Him."

With this in mind we read Romans 10:9: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved... For whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved."

I want to give you an opportunity to receive Christ as your Lord. Receiving this free gift is as simple as ABC. First, admit that you are a sinner—confession; you recognize that you have fallen short of God's perfect standard. Second, believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins. Third, confess your sin to Him and call out to Him, asking Him to come into your life and forgive you.

If you'd like to do that, pray with me: Dear Jesus, I pray that You would come into my life and into my heart. I recognize that I have fallen short of Your perfect standard. I have sinned, and I confess my sin to You today. I pray that You would come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith all the days of my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer today, we would love to know about it. You can go to commit.lifeinconnection.com, and we would love to be in touch with you about your new faith in Christ.

Closing Prayer

Father God, thank You for the work that You are doing. I pray that we would take heed to Your word. As we consider Your statutes and Your judgments in the weeks ahead—even the Ten Commandments—may a person who seeks to live after these things inevitably come to the point where they find You, and find the grace and blessing that is only found in Jesus Christ. God, I pray that You would do that work through Your church during this time. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.