As a Father Carries His Son

Context

The book of Deuteronomy

Literally means second law

Deuter 2, nomos law

It is a retelling of the teachings and events of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers

Exodus - is when the Hebrew people leave Egypt

Leviticus - lays out the ceremonial and religious ways the Hebrew people are a people set apart for God

Numbers - chronicals the journey that the Hebrew people took through the wilderness

It is called numbers because of the 2 census’ that are taken in it

This is written later in Moses’ life

Toward the end and so much has happened, they have been through so much

So this book, this retelling, would be important for the people

Think about Moses

He is at the end of his life, he knows he will not be able to follow his people into the land God promised them

Our focus scriptues

Picture him, like a grandfather, gathering his children and grandchildren recapping what they have been through

This process of reflection is an important process not just for Moses, but for all of us

Times of Reflection

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

These times of reflections

Søren Kierkegaard

Certainly not always, but It is often the case that time adds clarity to life circumstance

ILLUSTRATION

Take out your hymnal and turn to 185

Now hold the hymnal up to your eyes so that the tip of your nose touches the book

OK, no read it

If you’re seeing what I am seeing, there is no way you can make sense of it

Its not clear

I’m too close to it to focus on it

I need to get some distance between me and this to see it clearly

When I do I see that its a beautiful song

one that is sung to bring glory to God

Reflecting on our life is like that

And the greater the life circumstance the more distance is needed to see it clearly

This distance though, is not measured in inches and feet, but time

Minutes, hours, days, months, and years

We ought to spend time reflecting on our lives

We can reflect on different aspects and events of our lives

Today, I want you to reflect on your relationship with your father

Your earthly father and your heavenly father

How we perceive God is often tied to how we view or viewed our earthly father

For some that is going to make us smile

Our dads were or are there

They are our protectors

Our providers

Our defenders

Our teachers

Our coaches

Our cheerleaders

For some this will make us look over our shoulder

Our dads had high expectations

Is or was impossible to please

To be feared

Someone that was not there

Couldn’t be trusted

Not dependable

Was or is our biggest critic

If your experience was or is the latter description and not the first I want to apologize on behalf of dads everywhere

I am not making excuses for your earthly father, but perhaps he is doing or did the best he could or knows how

We live in a society and time where it seems acceptable for men not to act like men

It is far to easy for us to walk away from our obligation

On behalf of real men, I want to apologize for your experience and assure you that is not biblical

On

On the contrary; God is the perfect father

Its from Him that we learn how to be a good father

Our scripture today, Moses’ reflection, describes this aspect of God to us

The Journey

Moses gathers Israel together and says

In Moab I undertook to give you the law

From there we were to set out to take the that God had promised to our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

But first, because we had grown so much by then, I needed some help

So we organized and each of your 12 tribes was appointed a leader, a wise and experienced leader

They heard your cases and helped govern you so that you could live peaceably together

Really tough cases were still brought before me and, with the help of God, administered justice fairly

Once organized we marched

Just before we got to the promised land

You seemed concerned

You wanted to send spies to scout out the land in front of us

To bring back some intelligence for us

After all the land that we were going into was occupied

This seemed reasonable so we did that

But at their report you got cold feet

Your faith became weak

Your love of God turned to anger towards me

I am going to break here

It is right here that Moses reminds them of something

English Standard Version Chapter 1

29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’

How God is

How God is

Moses reminded them of how God is

He is carries them like a father carries his son

What does he mean here

I am a father, its hard to put into words the depths I would go for my children

So I am not going to try

I want to show you what that looks like

SHOW either:

Triathlon

https://youtu.be/BaZwpD1Paag

or

Olympics

https://youtu.be/t2G8KVzTwfw

God is like that kind of father

It is him who carries us through life

Especially through the most difficult times

Nothing will, not even death, stop him from getting to his children

Do you have that kind of Father?

You can

says

English Standard Version Chapter 1

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And this same God will carry you like a father carries his son

**Note; this a skeleton outline for sermon prep