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The Jewish
people have been in the wilderness for 40 years.
The previous generation, the generation that left
Egypt, despite seeing so many signs and wonders,
were faithless. The Lord was angry with that wicked
generation, and would not allow them to enter
the Land of Israel. A new, faithful generation
was needed.
We now
have that new generation. We have the successor
of Moses - Joshua. We have a new High Priest -
Eleazar. We are about to enter the Land. Moses
knows that he is about to die, but before He does,
he wants to instruct the new generation about
what's really important - about God and the need
to obey Him and be faithful to Him.
He is
giving his first great discourse. Moses is speaking
to us while we are on the east side of the Jordan,
on the eastern border of the Land of Israel. He
has been reciting the events of the past 40 years.
We had defeated the Amorites, and also the people
of Bashan, further north. Their land had been
allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and to
half of the tribe of Joseph - the half-tribe of
M'nashe. At that time, Moses commanded Joshua
to not be afraid of the other nations that were
in the Land of Israel, for the Lord will fight
for Israel, and those nations will surely come
to the same end as the Amorites and the people
of Bashan.
Let's
pick up in 3:23, where Moses, one of the greatest
men of God who ever lived, prays, pleading with
the Lord that he be allowed to enter the beautiful
Land of Israel with the rest of the Jewish people.
But the Lord was still angry with Moses for what
happened at M'ree-vah, when out of anger Moses
struck the rock, instead of speaking to it, and
elevated himself by saying, "shall we bring forth
water for you out of this rock," thereby associating
himself too closely with something that only God
can do.
And so,
the Lord, who answered so many other prayers of
Moses, would not answer this prayer, and said
to Moses, "rav lach - enough for you! Speak to
Me no more about this matter." The Lord also told
him that the most Moses could do was climb the
top of Mount Pisgah, and peer toward the Land
- but he definitely could not enter it.
Was Moses
disappointed? Probably. Did he get angry with
God, because the Lord wouldn't answer this prayer.
No. Did he stop serving or loving the Lord? Of
course not.
There
will come times in the life of saints, when we
will want something, and we will pray, and the
Lord in His infinitely superior wisdom, may say:
"no - rav lach - enough for you! Speak to Me no
more about this matter." When He does, we want
to submit to the will of God, and not become angry
with Him, and leave off serving Him. OKc
In chapter
4 Moses starts off by telling us to shema - to
listen to these laws that he is about to reiterate.
If we do, we will live - as a nation that is close
to God, that is blessed by God; and those individuals
that listen will live - close to God in this world,
and live forever in the world to come.
Verse
two gives us a very important principle: we must
not add to the Word of God, or take away from
it. How do we add to it? By adding books like
the Apocrypha, and the words of false prophets,
like the Mormons have; by elevating man made traditions
that contradict God's Word, and giving them the
same status as God's words, like Orthodox Judaism
and Catholicism have done. We add to it by elevating
our thoughts above God's thoughts. How do we take
away from it? By ignoring those things we don't
like, agree with, understand, or want to do.
Moses
tells us that faithfulness and obedience will
surely be rewarded with life and blessing; faithlessness
and disobedience will surely be punished. Look
at the people who followed Baal-Peor, and look
at those who didn't. So, make a decision that
you will be faithful to the Living God, and obedient
to Him, all the days of your life!
The Word
of God, put into practice by Israel will bring
us great wisdom and understanding, and please
the Lord. The other nations of the world will
see what going on, and be attracted to the God
of Israel, and want to learn more about how they
draw closer to the true God who can save them.
So, it very important that the Jewish people keep
God's commands, and do what He expects.
Likewise,
the people around each one of us is watching us.
As they see us, they will be attracted to God,
or repulsed. So, we must be very careful; we must
be diligent, we must pay close attention to our
own souls. We must know if we are close to God,
and drawing closer to Him, or drifting father
away from Him; if we are being obedient, or disobedient,
and then take the appropriate actions.
We must
be like the chief financial officer who monitors
the finances, accounts, assets and liabilities
of his company on a daily basis. We must be like
the farmer, who every day carefully examines his
crops, knowing if he must water, weed, fertilize,
take action to fight against pests, animals, infestations.
If we
don't, it's all to easy to get caught up in the
cares and pleasures of the world, and drift away
from the Lord; it's too easy for us to forget
the truths we know. How long did it take the Jewish
people to forget God, and His command not to make
or worship idols? Only 40 days while Moses was
up on Mount Sinai.
Speaking
of Mount Sinai, Moses wants Israel to always keep
in mind that great event - when the presence of
God came down on the Holy Mountain, veiled by
fire, darkness, and thick clouds. Then the Creator
of the universe did something very rare - He spoke
audibly with this Holy People. He revealed Himself
to us in such a powerful way, so that we might
fear Him, and respect Him, and keep Him in the
forefront of our thinking all the time, throughout
our generations. I believe that really happened
my friends, and I fear Him - do you?
When the
Invisible God manifested His presence on Sinai,
we did not see any physical form, and so a special
warning is given not to make any image or form
to help us worship God. Nor are we to worship
the sun, moon or stars. They were created to benefit
human beings - but never to be worshiped. They
are not to be relied on peer into our destinies,
as if they control the future, so astrology is
forbidden.
Are Christians
and Messianic Jews guilty of violating this command
if we believe that Yeshua is Immanuel - God with
us, God in the flesh? No. This is something that
God did - not we. This same Moses, in this same
Torah, also reveals to us that were times that
this same God did manifest Himself in some form
visible to human eyes. So, how does this apply
to us today? By making icons or statues of saints
that receive prayers, offerings, devotions, incense,
or candles.
The Lord
will not share our love, affection and devotion
with any other god, higher power, religion or
ideology. He is El Kanah, a jealous God, and an
Aish Ochlah - a Fire that Consumes. The Mighty
One is extremely protective towards His people
and like a good husband who knows that the love
of his wife is reserved for him alone, and if
she messes around with some other guy, it won't
be good for her, for him, for the family, for
society, and so he won't tolerate any other suitors
- so the Lord doesn't want to share our affections
with any one or any thing.
You can't
worship God and Baal too. You can't serve God
and money. You can't love God and the world. You
can't pray to God, and Mary and the saints too!
Like a
consuming fire, God will eat up those things that
would take us away from Him - things within us,
and things outside of us. Let's not force this
El Kana, this Jealous God, this Consuming Fire
to act - we might get burned and eaten up in the
process! Let's look at our own lives, and rid
ourselves of the wood, hay or stubble of idolatry
- anything - money, possession, relationships,
worldly ways, false religion, that seduces us
away from our jealous God.
Sadly,
Moses knows human nature, and the nature of his
people, and in verses 25-31 God inspires him to
predict the future history of the Jewish people!
We will in fact act corruptly, and engage in false
religion. Our Jealous God will punish us, and
destroy us, and scatter us among the nations,
where we will remain few in number. Looking back
over 3500 years, this is exactly what happened,
and where we are now.
However,
in the Achareet HaYameem - the Last Days - that
special period of time in which God will bring
human history to an amazing conclusion, the Jewish
people, who are in the Diaspora, and far from
God, will start to seek the Lord, and find Him
when we search for Him with all our heart. In
the midst of troubles that God will allow us to
undergo, we will return to God, and He won't reject
us, because He is ra-choom - full of mercy, and
compassion. He knows that we are stupid, weak
and easily led astray. He will graciously remember
the covenant He made with our Fathers, and heal
and renew our broken relationship with Him.
I believe
that we may very well be drawing near to the last
part of the Last Days, and that the Messianic
Jewish movement is the beginning of this prophesied
return of the Jewish people to God. Those of us
who are Jewish, and have been seeking God, are
finding that Yeshua is the Messiah that He sent,
and the One who enables us to truly draw near
to the God of Israel! Therefore we can expect
Messianic Judaism to continue, certainly in the
Diaspora, and in the Land of Israel as well!
Moses
asks the Jewish people to inquire about the past,
and find out if there has ever been events divinely
powerful and dramatic as what has happened to
Israel? God literally and audibly speaking to
a whole nation? An enslaved nation being taken
out of a vastly more powerful nation, accompanied
by great signs and wonders? The answer of course
is no!
Therefore
we are to know that Adonai, Hu haEloheem - the
Lord, He is the one and only true and living God
- ayn od mee-l'vah-doh - there is no other God
beside Him!
Our great
God loved our fathers, and therefore chose their
descendants; He personally brought us out of Egypt,
redeeming us from there, and was driving out corrupt
peoples, nations who were stronger than us, to
give us the beautiful land He intended for us,
and still intends for us.
Therefore,
because He is the God of the entire universe,
of Heaven above and the Earth below, due to His
greatness, in light of His love for us, because
of His mercy toward us, because of His great redemptive
power, that generation, and every subsequent generation,
should do the things that He has told us to do
- His good commands that are designed to do us
good, so that we will live and prosper. In light
of these realities, it would be a kind of insanity
not to! Thus ends the first great discourse of
Moses.
Moses'
second great discourse begins with chapter 5.
Moses reminds the people of the giving of the
10 Commandments on Sinai. They form the heart
of the Sinai covenant between God and Israel.
I don't have the time to go into as much detail
as they deserve, but here is what I hope will
be a good summary:
-
You shall have no other
gods before Me: We are not to ascribe divine
attributes to any other being, or give to
any creature the worship due to God alone.
Since He is the one true God, He alone is
worthy of the totality of our love, adoration,
gratitude, reverence, confidence and submission.
Because the God of Israel is the living God,
who has revealed Himself to us, loves us and
desires a personal relationship with us, it
would be foolish to ignore Him, or serve any
other god, higher power, religion or philosophy.
-
You shall not make an idol
or image of the divine, or give them anything
pertaining to worship: We should have nothing
to do with idols, because they are totally
inaccurate reflections of the Invisible God,
who alone loves us and has the power to help
us. This includes praying to angels or saints,
or attempting to invoke their help. This is
part of spiritual worship that is due to God
alone.
Because He is infinite, He is infinitely greater
than the entire universe. Thus, using idols
to represent God limits our understanding
of who He is. Then we may begin to think that
God is limited too. As soon as we do that,
we're believing in something that is not God,
something with less power and ability than
God really has.
The essence of idolatry is having thoughts
about God that are untrue and unworthy of
Him. The idolater assumes that God is something
other than who He really is. All false, man-made
conceptions of God must be driven out of our
minds. We are not to come up with our own
conceptions of God. We are only to accept
those truths about Him which are revealed
to us in the Holy Scriptures.
-
You shall not take the
name of God in vain: Taking the name of this
infinitely holy God in vain means treating
Him, or those things connected with God, lightly.
God Himself, the Holy Scriptures, and the
True Faith, are to be treated with respect.
They should not be the object of jokes, or
used as exclamation marks to punctuate our
speech. The one who insults his Creator is
guaranteed not to get off lightly.
-
Observe the Sabbath to
keep it holy: We refrain from working on Shabbat
for physical and spiritual reasons. Just as
we need a daily rest, so human beings need
a weekly time of rest if we are to function
properly. We are not to work on the Sabbath,
because every week it helps us remember how
the Lord created us. He is the Great Creator!
The Lord also saved us out of slavery in Egypt
- we certainly couldn't enjoy the Sabbath
while we were slaves! - and that the God of
Israel is a God who can really intervene in
human affairs, to save and rescue and deliver
- physically and spiritually! He is the Great
Savior! Let us also remember Messiah, "the
Lord of the Sabbath" who gives a wonderful
kind of Sabbath Rest to everyone who believes
in Him - seven days a week! The Sabbath also
looks forward to the day when King Messiah
returns and brings peace and rest to Israel,
and to all the nations of the world!
-
Honor your father and mother:
If we don't love people whom we have seen,
especially our parents, who gave us life,
nurtured us, cared for us when we were helpless,
and taught us so many things, we certainly
don't love God whom we haven't seen. God has
designed the family, and given our parents
the privilege and responsibility to nurture
us physically, morally, and spiritually, until
we come of age. In many ways, our parents
act as God's representatives to us. Therefore
to dishonor our parents, is to dishonor the
One who established this system.
This commandment comes with a promise. If
we honor our parents, then things will go
well with us. The way we treat our parents
will spill over to the way we treat teachers,
neighbors, employers, friends and strangers.
If these skills become part of us because
we use them at home, then we will automatically
employ them with others. Good people will
enjoy being around us, and we'll be on our
way to long, happy lives.
-
You shall not murder: The
Hebrew word means "murder" - not "kill." There
are times when it may be right and necessary
to kill other people, such as in a just war.
The same God who gave this command also commanded
the Jewish people to utterly destroy the Canaanites
who were living in our land. Another example
might be a situation when a policeman shoots
a criminal who is about to kill an innocent
person. Jewish tradition has also applied
this command to killing yourself. No one has
the right to commit suicide.
-
You shall not commit adultery:
Adultery takes place when a married person
has sexual relations with anyone outside of
the marriage relationship. Adultery is so
wrong because God designed us in such a way
that we require faithfulness and trust in
our marriages for our own well-being, and
for that of the family and children. Where
there is love and trust between a husband
and wife, people feel safe and content. There
are happy families, and solid communities.
Adultery shatters this relationship, and destroys
the family unit, which is so central to a
healthy society. While adultery is strictly
limited to the marriage relationship, God
is a God of purity, and He wants us to be
pure in the area of sexuality at all times
- before marriage, as well as during marriage.
-
You shall not steal: there
is a place for the ownership of private property.
The property rights of others are to be respected.
Since God will provide for us through honest
means, theft represents a lack of trust in
God and His goodness. Our needs are not more
important than the needs of others.
-
You shall not bear false
witness: Bearing false witness primarily refers
to a legal situation, when you are called
upon in court to testify to the truth. Even
if it may be difficult to speak the truth,
complete honesty is essential in order for
justice to be served, and God is a God of
justice. God hates lying and deception, so
we should always strive to be honest, speaking
the truth in love in all situations.
-
You shall not covet anything
that belongs to your neighbor: Coveting isn't
just wanting what you don't have. You could
work hard, save your money, invest wisely
and buy what you want - and not be guilty
of coveting. Coveting is wanting what you
have no right to have. You can want to marry
some nice man, but not if he is already married
to someone else. You can want a house to live
in, but not at the expense of depriving someone
else who rightfully lives there. Coveting
can lead to breaking every other commandment.
Someone observed: look at King David - he
coveted Uriah's wife, breaking the tenth commandment,
which led to committing adultery (the seventh),
stealing her from her husband (the eighth),
deceiving Uriah (the ninth), and arranging
Uriah's death (the sixth).
The way
that the Lord gave the 10 Commandments to Israel
was very powerful: God Himself spoke with a loud
voice from Mount Sinai, which was burning with
fire, and full of cloud, darkness. It was terrifying
- so much so that the Jewish people came to Moses
and asked him to be their mediator - the one who
would draw close to God on their behalf, and God
who speak to Moses, and Moses would relay the
Lord's words to the people.
The Lord
accepts our proposal, and tells Moses that there
are other commandments, statutes and judgments
that He will give Moses to give the Jewish people
- which form the rest of the Torah.
I can't
understand those who raise the objection that
we don't need a mediator - that we can draw near
to God directly. Ask the entire generation of
Jewish people at Mount Sinai if it's pleasant
to get too close to the presence of the Living
God! We dare not approach God on our own! We desperately
needed a mediator under the covenant that God
made with us at Sinai, and we need the Mediator
of the New Covenant - the Messiah - today. He
is fully God, and fully Man, and He alone is perfectly
suited to bring the two together. Is Yeshua your
Mediator?
In chapter
6 Moses gives us the greatest commandment of them
all: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord
is one! And you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with
all your might." From this Supreme Instruction
flows everything else.
If we
love God with the totality of our being, we will
be careful and diligent to do all the other things
He has commanded us to do. We will learn His Word,
study His commands, know what He expects, and
we will desire to do them, to please the God that
we love.
Of course
we will want to teach these holy obligations diligently
to the most precious things in our lives - our
children, talking to our sons and daughters about
God, about His word and commands, constantly -
when we are sitting at home, and when we are walking
around outside, and the last thing we do, before
we go to sleep at night, and the first thing when
we get up in the morning.
Those
who love God with all their heart and soul and
might will surround themselves with God's Word
and commands as if they were bound on their hand,
so that whatever they do will be done according
to God's ways; and as if they were bound on their
forehead, so that whatever they think will reflect
the mind and thoughts of God.
It should
be as if God's Word and commands were written
on our doorposts and gates, so that when we are
leaving our home, and going out into the world,
or returning home from the world - no matter whether
if we are at home or out in the world, our thoughts
and actions will be done according to God's words,
commands, and ways. Does this describe you?
If Israel
would live like this, our lives would be long
and successful and prosperous within the Land
of Israel. But if we grew spiritually fat and
lazy, and drifted away from the Lord, and did
not keep Him and His word in the forefront of
our thoughts, and began to compromise with the
world around us, and dare to worship other gods,
which would corrupt everything else, God would
rightfully be angry, and wipe us off the face
of the Earth. Our two Diasporas testify that this
is exactly what happened in our history, and we
are still very much in this condition.
It only
right to love God with the totality of our being,
and obey His commands, and teach our children
to do likewise (verses 20-25), because we are
deeply in His debt. He rescued us from a terrible
situation in Egypt, and when someone saves you,
you own him something.
Besides
getting us out of Egypt, He brought us into the
beautiful land of Israel, fruitful, flowing with
milk and honey. What a gift! When someone gives
you a gift of that magnitude, you are in his debt,
and you want to be able to do something for him
that would please him.
What does
God want as His payback, for saving our lives,
and for giving us the Land of Israel? Nothing
for Himself - only that we would observe these
good commands, these righteous statutes, that
are designed to result in our good and our righteousness
and our survival! And He wants the same for each
one of us today. He wants us to obey Him, and
keep ourselves from doing what is wrong, and destructive,
that our lives may be right and good and blessed.
Is yours?
Chapter
7 gives us the command to utterly destroy the
seven nations living in the Land of Canaan. We
were not to intermarry with them, show favor to
them, or help them out, or enter into covenants
or agreements with them. The iniquity of the Amorites
was now full. They were utterly corrupt, and detestable
in God's sight, the Holy One's judgment had been
declared against them, and He wanted them and
their false gods and wicked religion completely
destroyed. If we didn't do this, they would corrupt
us, they would turn us away from the true God;
and since that is the most important thing about
a human being - what deep in his heart he knows
about God, everything else would go downhill from
there.
And, the
Lord didn't want that for Israel; He loved the
Jewish people - not because we were outwardly
impressive. We weren't - we were few in number.
He loved us because He is faithful - keeping the
oath He swore to the our fathers who loved Him.
He loved
us because He had a great purpose for us to fulfill.
We are to be a holy people - set apart from the
rest of the nations in order to accomplish God's
special purposes. We are chosen to know the Living
God, and bring the knowledge of this great God
who is able to really help us, to all the other
nations of the world, who were so far from Him,
without God, without life, without hope, so that
they might turn to Him, be reconciled to Him,
be accepted by Him, and live with Him forever!
That's why the Lord loved us.
Therefore,
since God surely rewards and blesses those who
love and obey Him, and punishes those who hate
and disobey Him, it is essential that we love
Him with the totality of our being, and show it
by doing the things He has commanded us to do.
Do you?
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