The Covenant-Making God

Deuteronomy 4:44–5:5 HCSB

This is the law Moses gave the Israelites. These are the decrees, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they came out of Egypt, across the Jordan in the valley facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites. He lived in Heshbon, and Moses and the Israelites defeated him after they came out of Egypt. They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings who were across the Jordan to the east, from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon) and all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea below the slopes of Pisgah. Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and follow them carefully. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to report the word of the Lord to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. And He said:

This is the beginning of the second address Moses gives to the people of Israel. It covers from chapter 5-28. Can you imagine taking all this in at once. Wow. We will take our time.

The setting of this sermon is given. It is after Egypt (44) but many years after Egypt after they had subdued all the lands and kings on the East of the Jordan we had covered in earlier chapters (45)

The bulk of the message he delivered is about the OT LAW.

Tonight we will look at the introduction as he tells Israel about the need to

Follow the Directions

Deuteronomy 4:44 HCSB

This is the law Moses gave the Israelites.

Law is the Word Torah… it means direction, instruction, decision, rule, This word carries more weight than simply prohibition or a set of dos and don’ts.

Law shows up around 160 times in the OT and most of those times are some form of the Hebrew Word Torah. In other words, this is an important topic to them.

This is God’s instruction to the Nation of Israel concerning their government structure, their civil structure, their religious life, their public and their private life.

As NT believers we need to understand that ????????????????????

Deuteronomy 4:45–46 HCSB

These are the decrees, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they came out of Egypt, across the Jordan in the valley facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites. He lived in Heshbon, and Moses and the Israelites defeated him after they came out of Egypt.

Decrees ESV and KJV Testimonies- rooted in the thought of a command

Statues all same- to give what is due or prescribed

Ordinances- ESV rules, KJV judgments- a measure, a judgment, a decision.

Both Jesus and James in the New Testament preached about the importance of not just hearing but doing what you hear.

Matthew 7:24 HCSB

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock.

James 1:22 HCSB

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Deuteronomy 5:1 HCSB

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and follow them carefully.

It should be noted that chapters 5-11 are divided into three parts with each one beginning “Israel, Listen” or “Hear O Israel” 5.1, 6.4, and 9.1 Section 1 deals with the foundations of God’s Covenant with Israel, Section 2 dealing with essence of Covenant relationship, and the last section dealing with how to respond or apply what they’ve heard.

The Importance of Covenant

Deuteronomy 5:2 HCSB

The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

Covenant is a kind of contract or agreement between two parties. The word Testament as in old testament or new, is the same word. Old Covenant- The Covenant of the Law given to the Nation of Israel, and the New Covenant, given to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Some Covenants in the Bible are bilateral, meaning each party has a responsibility in the keeping of the Covenant. That is the case with the Covenant at hand. God had a part to play, and Israel had a part to play. Israel was to keep the law and God would bless. If they didn’t obey the law, God would withhold blessing and bring curses. It was a conditional covenant.

Some Covenants are unilateral meaning only one party has an obligation. This is an unconditional covenant. For instance Abram in Genesis 15

Genesis 15 HCSB

After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your reward will be very great. But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.” Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. He also said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it?” He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds. Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him. Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years. However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions. But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River: the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Those who believe in Jesus have the same promise.

Romans 4:22–25 HCSB

Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness. Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone, but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

The New Covenant of grace is a unilateral covenant. God does all the work and we receive all the benefit. Our obedience is the fruit of our relationship not the root of basis of it.

The Personal Nature of Covenant

Deuteronomy 5:2–5 HCSB

The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to report the word of the Lord to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. And He said:

Let me start with the last three words of verse 5

And He Said:

We should be again be thankful that we have a God who reveals. A few weeks ago a quoted part of an ancient poem where the author was trying to get right with some god or goddess who might or might not be out there who may or may not be offended by something that the author may or may not have done, or failed to do. Just a blind person groping in the darkness.

Thanks be to God that he REVEALS HIMSELF. He speaks to us through His Word, Through prayer, Through His People, and through Circumstances to reveal Himself and his Will to us.

Truth: Most of the hearers were NOT physically at Mt. Sinai (Horeb)

There are many theories about why Moses would say they were.

He is emphatic that they were. US 2, all of us, verse 3, you, verse 4, you you you, verse 5

What’s the deal: I believe Moses is teaching them that the covenant made at Mt. Sinai applies to the next generation, and the next, and the next. Each generation will have to keep the covenant, and follow the law.

God doesn’t have grandchildren, only children. Israel became very guilty of thinking that since God had made a covenant with Abraham, they were shoo ins. But each generation of Israelites would have to intentionally keep the Covenant God made with through Moses with the original generation.

I think as we consider the Law given to Israel through Moses, we have to, as NT Christians keep reminding ourselves of its purpose.

Exodus 19:8 HCSB

Then all the people responded together, “We will do all that the Lord has spoken.” So Moses brought the people’s words back to the Lord.

But they couldn’t… and they should have known it. They couldn’t and they didn’t. They failed the test miserably over and over again. And I have too. and you have too.

Galatians 3:24 HCSB

The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith.