Covenant Renewal in Moab
Notes
Transcript
Order of Service
Order of Service
Welcome
Welcome
Prayer
Prayer
Hymn -
Hymn -
Notices
Notices
Prayer Meeting - 7:30pm
Friday 7pm - Online
Sunday Morning 11am & 6pm
Tithes & Offerings - £
Main Prayer
Main Prayer
Hymn -
Hymn -
Reading
Reading
These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb. And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. And when you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today. “You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— all the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.’ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Sermon
Sermon
Forty years earflier, Israel had solemnly entered into covenant with the LORD at Mount Sinai (Horeb) - Exodus 19:1-9
Only Hoshua, Caleb and Moses remain from that generation
This new generation of Israel are ready to cross the Jordan
The LORD has led this far (v1-9)
The LORD has led this far (v1-9)
These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb. And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. And when you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites. Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.
It is time for this new Generation to formally acknowledge their response of allegiance to the LORD
Moses reminds them of how God has provided for them in he desert
It would have been easy to focus on the hardships, and take for granted the manna and the fact their clothes did not wear out
The LORD is here today (v10-15)
The LORD is here today (v10-15)
“You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It is not with you alone that I am making this sworn covenant, but with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God, and with whoever is not here with us today.
The LORD is making a covenant with Israel
This is not a covenant between equals
Not was it initated by Israel
It was a sovereign act of God himself
He has sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
It has been repeated at Sinai, and now is to be ratified with the present generation
The covenant was one in which the people responded to the gracious act of God
The essence of the covernant
they would be His People and he would be their God
They would be God’s special people, his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation
The LORD would be their protector, the one who supplied their need, who was going to lead them into the land he had promised, a land of abundance where they could know his rich blessings
This was a significant moment
Ahead of them was warefare for which they needed the help and strengthening of the LORD
Beyond that was a new opportunity, the promises land, and God’s great blessings
He was committed to them, an dthey were to signal their commitment to Him
To secure the future for their children and for succeeding generations, they needed to be committed and faithful to the LORD in their own lifetime
Christians
By God’s Grace we have been called into a covenant with God through Jesus Christ
A commitment on our part signified by Baptism
It is entirely appropriate that, at particularly important milestones in our lives, we should recommit ourselves to our God
There is a sense in which we are weekly and daily to renew our trust and hope in God
The LORD is Lord of the future (v16-28)
The LORD is Lord of the future (v16-28)
“You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven. And the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick— the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath— all the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.’
Moses reminds them of the temptations and attractions of idoletry
He provides a serious warning against those whose hearts are turning from the LORD who will take part in the covenant renewal ceremony but says in their heart “I shall be safe, though I walk in the subbornnes of my heart”
Nothing could be further from the truth
“This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike”
both the righteous and unrighteous will be caught up in the consequences for disobedience
“The Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven”
“The LORD will single him out from the tribes of Israel for calamity”
There is a also a deeper problem...
sinfulness is a poison that infiltrates the liveblood of the people
until it breaks out in compromise and adaptations of worship to pagan practices
eventually to open defiance of the LORD and His Ways
God’s judgement will burn hot
They will say “why has the LORD done this”
The asnwer will be “it is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD”
Hypocrisy, deceit and secret reservations are by no means things of the past
It is right for us all to examine our hearts from time to time and cry out to God
“Keep back your servant .… from presumtuous sins” and “unite my heart to fear your name” Psalm 19:13; 86:11
The LORD both hides and reveals (v29)
The LORD both hides and reveals (v29)
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Reading through Deuteronomy we see a conscious tension between the ideal and the real
The law is set out and its blessings promised
But will Israel or we live in the way the law prescribes? No - there is always need for repentance and forgiveness
Is ther alternative simply disobedience and curses? No - life for God’s people is much more complicated than that
God understands our relationship with Him perfectly - we don’t!
We are to put into practice what has been revealed
Confession and repentance
keep short accounts with Him
Trusting His Grace
Renewing our obedience after falls and failures
People have always been curious about the future
Pagan religions often use magical practices to find out
God’s people are not to try and pry into the future
God did reveal things that he had planned through prophecy
which was not clear cut in knowing when they would be fulfilled
We are to live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Like Abraham we are to step out not knowing where we are going but trusting God to lead us
This verse implants a habit of humility
There are things we are incapable of knowing or understanding at present
There are things God does not intend us to know now
Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”
Our business is with the things that are revealed
They have been revealed for our good, and for our obedience
It is much better to spend our time ensuring we receive and do those things
rather than speculated about things which are above and beyond us, and about which we will never have certainty in this world
Hymn -
Hymn -
Q&A
Q&A
Hymn -
Hymn -
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Doxology
Doxology
