Beginning Well

Prayer

Poorly Lived Life

James Bryan Smith tells the story in his book The Good and Beautiful Life about the summer he spent as a chaplain at a nursing home. That summer he met an elderly man named Ben, who had requested a visit from the chaplain, which turned into regular visits. James found Ben to be a hard man, distant, cold - but very intelligent and well read.

But over time James learned Ben’s story - it hadn’t turned out well for him so far. Ben pursued want he wanted in life, and it didn’t matter to him what it took to get it. He achieved much of what he sought after - great wealth and power and lots of women. But all at a great cost - three failed marriages and a daughter who refused to speak with him. At the age of 75, he still had a lot of money, more than he needed, but nothing else. In his own words, “I sit here each day, waiting to die. I have nothing but bad memories. I cared about no one in my life, and now no one cares about me. You, young man, are all I have.”

James and Ben spent a lot of time together that summer, reading the Gospels, talking about Jesus, about mercy and forgiveness and the opportunity to change. But Ben said it was too late for him; he had messed up his life and at the age of seventy-five was beyond redemption.

That, as strange as it may seem, brings us to the book of Deuteronomy, our next step in our journey through the story of the Old Testament. Deuteronomy is the last book of what’s known in Greek as the Pentateuch (five books - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and now Deuteronomy), and in Hebrews is known as the Torah, the law, the word. A quick recap of the story so far:

Began with Genesis, God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, making it all good. Then sin enters in the world through Adam and Eve, and the wickedness of humanity continues to manifest itself, until God decides to destroy the earth through the flood, sparing only Noah and his family. God starts anew through Abraham, promising to make him the father of a great nation, a nation through which all other nations on earth will be blessed.

The promise gets passed down from generation to generation, the family grows, they find themselves in Egypt, where they are enslaved for hundreds of years. This brings us to the second book, Exodus, the great story of God freeing his people from slavery, and setting them on the journey towards the Promised Land, working in them to become this great nation, a holy nation, set apart from all others.

That formation continues through Leviticus, which is a book full of instructions - for the tabernacle, the offerings and sacrifices to be made at the tabernacle, the priesthood, the ceremonial laws and moral laws.

The fourth book is Numbers, where the travels to the Promised Land begin in earnest, but quickly get sidetracked due to the lack of faith of the Israelites, who are then compelled to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. And really, this has been the dilemma of the Israelites - all along we’ve been looking at how the Israelites have made this whole journey with God, toward becoming his holy nation living in the land he promised to give them, a much longer and more frustrating journey than it ever needed to be.

Like Ben, they have not done this well. Over and over again, God has had to deal with their disobedience, the complaining, their out-and-out rebellion. And that’s been true every step of the way - from the time they were in Egypt - as soon as they were freed from slavery and the Egyptian army was coming after them, they were ready to rebel and go back. They complained about lack of water, about the food. When Moses went to the top of Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, they were down below making a golden calf to worship.

The very first priests failed at their task. Israelites rebelled against entering into the Promised Land because the people were too big - and then tried entering in when they were explicitly told not to! Miriam and Aaron complained against Moses. Then we had Korah’s rebellion. And the flagrant sinning of the Israelite men with the Moabite women. And there were a lot more we could have covered.

Over and over again they sinned and failed to trust God. And yet, and yet, here we are at the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy and we find them on the cusp of finally entering the Promised Land.

His Faithfulness

Deuteronomy 1:1-8...These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying: 6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

There’s a couple of things I want to point out about this passage - first, that it’s very specific about the time and place. It is recording a historical event for the sake of future generations of Israelites. Right here, at this place, in the wilderness east of the Jordan River, and goes on set points between which they were gathered. And then, when it happened - in the 40th year of the wilderness wanderings, on the first day of the eleventh month.

Then we see Moses begin to speak - “Moses proclaimed to Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.” It’s reiterated in verse five, “east of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound the law, saying:...” That begins a series of reminders, teachings and sermons that continue on throughout the whole book, all 34 chapters.

This is basically what Deuteronomy is - the Israelites are gathered, about to enter the Promised Land - but before they go in, Moses takes the time to recount all that’s taken place in their wilderness wanderings, and then to remind them of all the things, the laws they’ve been taught - That’s what the name Deuteronomy means, it comes from the Greek, meaning “second law” - deutero is second, nomos is law.

Now because a lot of Deuteronomy is repetitive (story of golden calf, Ten Commandments, feasts and festivals, etc.), we’ll be skipping over much of it. But there is some teaching that is new (to us) and helpful, and we will be covering that as we make out way through the book.

But today I want to take some time to consider the whole of Deuteronomy, the circumstances of it. What we see here as we begin this book.

As I mentioned, they are right at the edge, literally, of the Promised Land, land of the Canaanites. They are currently in the territory of Moab, which they now control large portions of, having defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites and Og, king of Bashan. If you remember, the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh have claimed this territory for their own.

And they can see the land of the Canaanites from where they are - they are situated above, on a plateau that sits above the land to the east, the Jordan River, land beyond that. Finally, they are right there, after what has been a long, arduous journey.

And, really, that’s the tragedy of it all, it didn’t have to be that way - we’re reminded of this is Deuteronomy 1 - note that it says that it’s an eleven day journey on the Mount Seir Road from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea. Horeb is another name for Sinai, which is where they received the Ten Commandments and started their journey from. Kadesh Barnea is where they traveled to, it sits just south of the land of the Canaanites, and that was the place from which they sent spies into the land - and then rebelled against going in to take the land.

But this isn’t eleven days later, it’s almost forty full years later (just two months shy we’re told). It was their lack of faith, their hardened hearts that brought this on them.

But my intention this morning isn’t to talk about the lack of faithfulness on the part of the Israelites, we’ve seen plenty of that. What I want to turn our attention to is God’s faithfulness. His goodness. His commitment to keep his promises to his people in spite of the fact that they have rebelled and complained and tested and disobeyed God over and over and over again.

I want us to hear what incredibly good news this is for us - I mean here they are, right at the precipice, about to receive God’s blessings, the gifts he has promised them - certainly not for anything they have done - really, in spite of it. Out of his utter goodness, His grace.

In spite of the continued unfaithfulness of the Israelites God continues to be faithful to them. He is committed to keeping his promises. Paul quotes a saying to Timothy that had become known and shared in the early church, and it beautifully captures the faithfulness of God, 2 Timothy 2:11-13...

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Note what this is saying about God - it begins with the gospel, the good news - if we entrust ourselves to Jesus’ death on the cross, his dying for sin, and we willingly unite with him in that death - then we will join with him in his rising to life, his resurrection. And if we endure, if we stay with him, we will reign with him - we’ll share a place with him on his throne, where he sits even now, having ascending into heaven, sitting on the right hand of the Father.

Here’s the part I really want to call our attention to - if we disown him, if we decide we no longer want to have any part with him, turn our backs on him again, he will honor that, he will disown us - God will never force us to be united to him. But if we are faithless, if we keep messing up over and over and over again, just like the Israelites - he will remain faithful, because that’s who he is, to the very core of his being. He cannot disown himself. He cannot stop being who he is - good, loving, faithful.

Consider that this says about our journey of faith - and honestly, this is such a helpful time to consider this, as we enter into the New Year, because this is such an appropriate time to reflect on the past and consider the future, which is exactly what is happening here in Deuteronomy, Moses is reminding them of their past and inviting them to consider their future and how they will live it.

But what this story says about our journey of faith is that this is primarily God’s doing, not ours. We do have a vital role to play - more on that in a moment. But to remember first and foremost that this was not about the Israelites creating a future for themselves - they never intended to become a great nation, to have this land - in fact the great difficulty has been their resisting what God has promised them (if it had been up to them, they’d long been back in chains in Egypt).

God is the one who has made this possible - he helped Abraham and Sarah bear a child. He orchestrated their coming down to Egypt in the midst of the great famine. He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. He provided them will all they needed in their wilderness wanderings to survive. He guided them throughout their journey, he taught them how to worship, how to live together, he gave them victory over their enemies. This was all God’s doing. And God is the one who makes our journey possible.

The role of the Israelites (ours as well) - is that no matter how many times they failed, no matter how many times they were unfaithful - was to keep coming back to God. Keep returning. It may not be pretty at times, but as Paul quoted to Timothy, if we endure, if we just stick with it, we will also reign with him.

Because the great news is - even if we are unfaithful (which we are…and which we will be), he is faithful. He will keep his promises. He will stick with us - if we just keep coming back to him. No matter how many times we wander away, no matter how far we may wander away, no matter how long it takes for us to come back (40 years even), he will receive us back. He will be faithful. That is incredibly good news.

Exactly what we see in Hebrews 12:1-2, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Note here that the assumption is that we are being hindered, that we are easily entangled by sin - it happens all the time. Which doesn’t mean we just let it be - no, we work with the Holy Spirit to throw that sin off, to let it be put to death in us.

Then we run with perseverance, we endure, we keep looking to Jesus. Even if we get distracted, we look away - over and over again we fix our attention toward Jesus. And why - because he is the pioneer, the author, the one who got our faith started (it would have never happened with just us, God is the one making it happen). He’s not only the one who got it started, but if we endure, if we stick with it, he will bring it to perfection, to completion, maturity.

He’s going to do it, if we’re just willing to keep coming back to him. Because he is faithful. Because he wants this for us (and for himself, he wants to be with us) - honestly, more, so much more than we want it ourselves. Because he knows the good he’s going to pour into our lives, the life he alone can give us, the grace he will lavish on us. The joy he will fill us with. The power. The glory. We have no idea. But he does.

Because he does, he’s willing to take us back, no matter how many times we fail, how many times we get tangled up with sin, we wander away, our hearts resist him, we complain, etc., etc.

It’s why he continues to be faithful to us, in spite of how unfaithful we’ve been to him, just like he was to the Israelites, just like he was with Ben, the gentleman whose story I began our time of teaching with. As it turned out, by the end of the summer, the message of Jesus and his faithfulness, his willingness to forgive, the possibility of redemption, got through to Ben and he decided to follow Jesus and experienced God’s faithful forgiveness.

He wrote a letter to his daughter asking for her forgiveness. Thirteen years later after his death at the age of eighty-eight, James got a letter from that daughter. She said they had reconciled, and Ben had come to a saving faith. He spend his last years a changed man, living a decade of devotion to God. It’s never too late.

Spiritual Disciplines - As we enter the new year, I want to invite you to take some time this week to do what we see the Israelites doing here in Deuteronomy - reflecting on the past and considering the future. As always, to invite the Holy Spirit to guide you, to brings things to mind, to be your teacher and comforter.

Begin with reflecting on your life with Jesus over the last year - how has it been. As the Spirit brings things to mind, engage in prayers of confession and thanksgiving. Then ask the Lord what he was for you in this new year, and how you can join in. Trust that God wants to work in you and grow you in greater love and faith in him.

Some of my own thoughts, I’ve been reflecting on what it would look like to have a greater openness to God, a readiness to receive from him whatever he might have for me on any given day. And it seems to me that my role in that is going to require greater intentionality about times throughout the day where I stop to spend time in prayer, even if it’s just for a couple of minutes. I’ve been good about that in the morning, but not so much as I get caught up in the business of the day.

Reminder, too, that this is a good time of year to review - or to begin to create - a Rule of Life for yourself. That set of habits, those soul training exercises, that help you to fix your eyes on Jesus, to put Jesus and his love at the very center of your life. Whenever we try to develop new disciplines in our life - don’t over do it. Start small, build a habit or two, then grow from there. Remember, the intention is to endure, to grow in faithfulness to our God. The one we are celebrating this morning because he is so faithful to us.