Remember and Rehearse to Relish

Introduction

Playing high school football, I often dreaded film sessions.

Every Saturday morning, we piled in a crowded room to watch the film from the previous night’s game.

The film depicted the things we did well as a team, but also exposed our mistakes.

It was a reminder of how we had success and how we could continue to make those good blocking assignments, tackles, passes, routes, catches, and runs as we prepared for next week’s game.

It was also a reminder of how we missed blocks, tackles, dropped balls, and misread coverages.

Our coaches wanted us to remember our mistakes so we could learn from them and not repeat the same mistakes as we went into practice to prepare for our next opponent.

If we remembered and followed their game plan, and remembered our past mistakes and successes, we were more likely to beat our opponent the following week.

However, As Winston Churchill said, if we did not “learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it.”

If we never reviewed our game film each week, it is likely we would forget what brought success and failures on the field, and likely that we would continue to repeat the same mistakes.

After watching film, our coaches would always reiterate to us their love and confidence in us and go over the game plan they created to give us success to beat our next opponent.

Thus, to be successful in the game of football, we had to remember the love and confidence our coaches had for us, remember the ways we were successful and the mistakes we made, believe that their game strategy was best, and seek to follow it and carry it out each week.

In a similar way, the book of Deuteronomy is like previous game film for Israel.

It is a sermon to the people of Israel that reiterates the covenant God gave to Moses at Sinai 38 years earlier.

In the sermon, Moses encourages the people to remember God’s character displayed through the law, his conduct in redeeming them from Egypt and providing for them in the wilderness, and his concern for them to live as his redeemed people as they enter the promise land so that they can be a light to the nations.

Moses wanted the people to learn from Israel’s past mistakes and not repeat them in the promised land.

The main point of the book of Deuteronomy that I want us to know as we study this wonderful book this semester is that By remembering God’s promises and rehearsing his precepts we can relish the promised land.

In short, Remember and Rehearse to Relish.

Historical Context

Who?

Author: Moses wrote the book, along with the other four books of the Pentateuch.

Reader/Recipients: The people of Israel.

What?

The book is titled “Deuteronomy,” which means “second law” because it is a reiteration of the covenant law God made with Israel on Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb).

When and Where?

The setting of the book takes place in 1408 BC, on the plains of Moab, which is directly across from Jericho and separated by the Jordan river.

The people of Israel had been journeying through the wilderness for the last 38 years because of their previous disobedience and now stood at the precipice of the river, ready to enter the land God had promised to them.

Why?

The purpose of the book was to help Israel remember God’s faithfulness so they could trust in God’s promises and obey his precepts to flourish in the promised land.

Literary and Canonical Context

Literary Context

The book is broken up into three sermons or speeches Moses gives to Israel before entering the promise land.

First Sermon: Historical Prologue (Deuteronomy 1-4).

Second Sermon: Covenant Stipulations (Deuteronomy 5-26).

General Stipulations (Deuteronomy 5-11).

Specific Stipulations (Deuteronomy 12-26).

Third Sermon: Blessings, Curses, and Final Exhortation (Deuteronomy 27-30).

Canonical Context: How Deuteronomy fits into the rest of the Bible.

Concludes the Pentateuch and brings together many of the key themes found in Genesis-Numbers.

Deuteronomy brings together the promises God made to Abraham and his offspring, the history of God’s redemption of his people from slavery to Egypt, and his covenant and law he gave to his people at Sinai.

Deuteronomy also provides a theological foundation for the historical books that follow from Joshua all the way to Kings.

The book of Deuteronomy was rediscovered by King Josiah in 2 Kings 23 and was the key source that brought about his reforms in Israel by removing idols and reestablishing proper worship of Yahweh.

Hosea and Jeremiah also reference Deuteronomy and the book is frequently quoted in the New Testament by Jesus in his wilderness temptations and by Paul in his letter to the Romans.

Key Themes

Remembering God’s Grace, Faithfulness, and Covenant Promises Given in the Law.

Israel’s Election (Deut. 4:37-38; 7:6-8; 10:14-15; 14:2).

Deuteronomy 4:37–38 ESV

37 And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day,

God’s deliverance of his people (Deut. 2:1-3:11; 4:1-40; 7:1-26).

Redeeming them from Egypt.

Providing for them in the wilderness.

Delivering them from their enemies in the wilderness.

God keeping his promises (Deut. 1:8; 19-46; 7:1-26; 8:1-20; 9:1-10:11).

Deuteronomy 1:8 ESV

8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’

The repetition of “give” “bringing you in” doing what God “swore” to do.

Rehearsing God’s Commands Out of Love for God.

Exhortations to love, serve, fear, and obey God (Deut. 6:5; 10:12-13; 13:4).

The repetition of “take care” in relation to obeying the law.

The ethics of the book flow from a heart of love for God for all he has done for Israel. The proper expression of love for God is obedience (John 14:15).

The Person of Moses.

Prophet.

Suffering Servant.

Military Leader.

The Promised Land.

The goodness of the land (Deut. 1:25; 6:10-11; 8:7-13; 11:8-15).

Gift from God.

Fulfillment of the promise.

Israel’s inheritance.

Kept only through obedience.

The Supremacy and Uniqueness of Yahweh

It is impossible to love God without knowing him. The revelation God gave to his people at Sinai demonstrated that he alone is the only one worthy of worship.

Warnings against idolatry and instruction for proper worship of God (Deut. 4:9-31; 5:6-10; 7:1-5; 8:19-20; 12:1-32; 13:1-18).

Key Verse

Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ESV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

This verse is known as the Shema, which is the Hebrew word for “hear” but it implies obedience.

This verse was memorized by every Jewish boy and girl from the time they could speak, and would be recited every day of their life at the beginning and end of each day.

In this short verse we learn who God is and how we should worship him. . . i.e. the first two commandments.

Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one.

First, we learn that Yahweh is the only God.

He is unique and incomparable. There is none like him, nor will there ever be.

He is also the only God, in that all other supposed gods or powers are subordinate to him because they were made by him. He is unrivaled and in a class all by himself.

Isaiah 40:25 ESV

25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

Isaiah 42:8 ESV

8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

This is why Christianity is known as a “monotheistic” religion, because we only worship one God. However, Christianity differs from Judaism and Islam (Strict Monotheism) in that we worship One God who exists in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (The Trinity).

Love Yahweh Your God

Second, we learn how we are supposed to respond and worship Yahweh. . . by our actions.

The love required by Israel’s God demands action.

If Israel loves God, they will obey him. . . just as Jesus taught his disciples.

God commands Israel to love him with their entire being. . . their whole life.

The heart is the center of our thoughts and intentions. Thus we can think of it like our mind.

The soul refers to our desire. . . what we crave.

Might refers to our strength and all the resources we possess in our nature.

Therefore to love and worship God rightly, Israel must love him alone with every thought and inclination, every desire, and with all the strength that they possessed.

The Gospel in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy displays the need for God to change the hearts of his people to enable them to obey his law so that they could bear his image and shine God’s glory to the nations. Israel’s obedience was to be a picture of fervent love and what true obedience to God looks like.

However Israel failed to love God with all their heart, soul, and might.

Therefore, Deuteronomy looks forward to the day when God will change Israel’s heart (see Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-28). This is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, the true Moses, who will circumcise the hearts of his people through his life, death, and resurrection (Rom. 2:25-29; Col. 2:11-14).

Response

Remember

The only way we can love God is if we first know him.

Remember the Uniqueness and Supremacy of Yahweh.

The only we we can know him is through Christ.

Remember God’s Faithfulness and Grace He has Shown us in Christ.

As we Remember God’s greatness and grace he has shown us in Christ, it will lead us to Repent of our Treason, Idolatry, and Spiritual Adultery.

Rehearse

Love Yahweh with all your. . .

Heart

“These words shall be on your heart. . . teach them diligently. . . talk about them. . . bind them. . . write them.” (Deut. 6:6-9).

Meditate on Deut. 6:4-9 and 1 Peter 2:24.

Ask God to renew your mind with his Word through the Spirit.

Soul

Crave God. . . Crave His Word. . . Crave His Presence.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied (Matt. 5:6).

Ask God to transform your desires by his Word through the Spirit.

Might

Fight, Strive, and Work with all your Strength to worship and serve him alone.

Ask God to empower you to discipline yourself for godliness and fight sin by his Word through the Spirit.

Remember God’s Promises and Rehearse God’s Precepts to Relish God’s Promised Land.

Let us take care to trust him and obey so we can make his glory known to all nations and enjoy his presence both now and for eternity.

Let’s Pray