We are not alone!

God is with us!

We are not alone sounds like a title for a Sci-Fi movie.

How many of you have ever felt alone? Felt like God is distant from you?

My message today will be based on Deuteronomy 31:1-8

A little background on Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy is the Greek/English title of this book in the Septuagint (the Hebrew Bible/the Old Testament Bible of the Hebrews).

Deuteronomy means “second law-giving” which comes from the mistranslation of Deuteronomy 17:18

Deuteronomy 17:18 (NASB 2020)

18 “Now it shall come about, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

As you can see the verse reads he shall write for himself a copy of this law. This is not a second law. By the way did you notice that Israel is being told they will have a King one day.

The Jewish/Hebrew title of this book is ’ēlleh haddeḇārîm, which means “these are the words” which comes from the first verse of Deuteronomy and is typical of the beginning of ancient suzerainty treaties. The book of Deuteronomy follows this treaty pattern.

Treaties that we are commonly familiar with are commercial or political. They typically put both parties on equal footing.

In a suzerainty treaty a superior (more powerful) ruler, promises blessings for loyalty and obedience, and curses for rebellion for the vassal (less powerful party). This type of treaty was common in the ancient near east.

This type of treaty contained a preamble, historical introduction (with emphasis on the benevolence of the king), specific obligations of the vassals, witnesses to the treaty, and a list of the consequences of keeping or breaking the treaty (blessings and curses).

Another term for a treaty would be “covenant”.

Let’s look at what God told Moses in Deuteronomy and what Moses relayed to the Nation of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:1–8(NASB 2020)

1 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today; I am no longer able to go out and come in, and the Lord has told me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’ 3 It is the Lord your God who is going to cross ahead of you; He Himself will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who is going to cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. 5 The Lord will turn them over to you, and you will do to them in accordance with all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you.”

7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 And the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed.”

3 out of 8 verses we are told that God will be with the Nation of Israel. That he will go ahead of them to prepare the way, that he will be with them, he will not abandon them, to have no fear, and do not be dismayed.

That word dismayed is not heard very often. Another word for dismayed is disheartened, distressed, terror, unnerve, deterred, apprehensive.

Outside of Joshua and Caleb, this tribe that is standing at the Jordan did not witness the miracles of God when he freed their forefathers from Egypt. They did not witness the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire at night. The only leader they have ever known is Moses. And now Moses has told them he will go no further with them and they are about to cross into a new land.

I can only imagine what the people are feeling, what apprehension Joshua is feeling about taking over as leader of the Nation of Israel.

These are the promises that God gave to Moses for the entire Nation of Israel.

Then Moses gives this encouragement, this promise, this blessing to Joshua. Moses can do this because he is God’s spokesman, he is God’s Prophet.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NASB 2020)

8 And the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed.”

This is a very powerful promise. Do you as a Christian believe this promise?

Some people think that the Old Testament promises do not apply to Christians. I disagree. As Christians we get to partake/we get to share in the Old Testament promises.

By the way this is not replacement theology. The Church does not replace the Nation of Israel.

Romans 11:17 (NASB 2020)

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

Christians are the wild olive, Christians are grafted in among the faithful Jewish Nation, Christians have become partakers with them of the rich root (God).

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB 2020)

20 For as many as the promises of God are, in Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

Paul is stating: All the promises of God find their “yes” in Christ. In other words, all of God’s Old Testament promises are fulfilled in Jesus. Christ is the “YES” to every one of them.

I think Scofield sums this up very nicely.

“The promises of the Psalms are primarily Jewish, and suited to a people under the law, but are spiritually true in Christian experience also, in the sense that they disclose the mind of God, and the exercises of His heart toward those who are perplexed, afflicted or cast down.”

Now Scofield is specifically speaking of the Psalms, but I believe this would hold true of most if not all of the Old Testament promises.

Just as Moses informed the Nation of Israel to rely on God, that God was going ahead of them to defeat their enemies. Basically stating do not worry about your enemies, I’ve got this.

Hebrews 13:5 tells the Christian that God will not desert us. That we do not have to be afraid of our enemies. That our security and contentment comes from God.

Hebrews 13:5–6 (NASB 2020)

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,” 6 so that we confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.

What will man do to me?”

Matthew 1:23 (NASB 2020)

23 “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

God stepped down from heaven. He became human, he felt pain, hunger, cold and heat. He stepped down from glorious heaven to be with his people. “God with us”.

When Jesus ascended to Heaven, he did not leave us.

Matthew 28:20 (NASB 2020)

20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 (NASB 2020)

16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

John 14:16 (NASB 2020)

16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever;