Idolatry Forbidden

Intro:

Last week, we looked at the first part of Deuteronomy 4 and specifically at Moses’ call to obedience. This week, we are going to look at the second part. Moses warned the Israelites about the consequences of idol worship. However, just as he told the Israelites, in spite of our mistakes, our Lord is merciful and we will find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts.

Text: Deuteronomy 4:15-31

The New International Version Chapter 4

15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.

21 The LORD was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. 24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

In our passage, we see Moses continuing to lecture the Israelites that would be inheriting the land. Tonight, what I want you to see are three commands that Moses gave them that I think are very beneficial for us to remember today because whether you just graduated high school or you are moving from the middle school to the high school or you are just moving up to the next grade, you are entering a new land, a new environment and there are certain things that we all, like the Israelites, need to remember.

I. Do Not Make Yourselves Idols of Any Kind

So, the first command I want you to see tonight is do not make yourselves idols of any kind.

a. God did not have form (Set the example)

In verses 15-19, we see a specific warning on idolatry. God set the example. In verse 15, it says that “you saw no form.” If you go back even to verse 12, Moses reminds them that the Lord spoke to them out of the fire. “You heard sounds but saw no form.” God set the example for the Israelites to know the difference.

The contrast is not between visible and invisible, or between spiritual and material, but between the visible and the audible. Idols have “form” but do not speak. Yahweh has no “form,” but he decisively speaks. Idols are visible but dumb. Yahweh is invisible but eloquent, addressing his people in words of promise and demand, gift and claim.

This is the fundamental difference between the faith of Israel and the surrounding polytheism they would face. What sets Yahweh apart is not that he looks different, but that he calls for a people who will look different, with a different way of life, a different social order, and a different dynamic of worship.

What Moses wanted them to see is that they needed to beware of cheap but attractive alternatives. The same is true for us today. There are so many cheap or attractive alternatives that draw our attention away from God. How many of us allow TV or our phones to get in the way of our Bible reading? How many of see the attractions of doing certain activities but can’t seem to find our way to church regularly? Even those of us who do come to church regular have this problem. Too many us just don’t participate when something “fun” is not offered, we don’t get to do something with our friends, or when things just don’t go our way. God have called us to be different than that. Which leads into the second reason for Moses tell them not to make idols.

b. God led them out of Egypt to be different (Be the example)

Notice verse 20, 20 But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are. This verse is reinforcing the command not to commit the idolatry of the people in the land they were inheriting. This makes verse 20 the focal point of the passage. Moses highlights Israel’s special relationship with Yahweh with three statements: (1) they are the product of Yahweh’s gracious saving actions; (2) they were rescued from the furnace specifically to be Yahweh’s covenant partner;21 (3) they have been claimed by Yahweh as his own “special possession.” God called Israel to be different. He saved them to be His own not to surrender to the pagan world around them. He pulled them out of the iron-smelting furnace to make a covenant with them to show His grace and His glory.

He has pulled us out of our own smelting furnace as well. He hasn’t pulled us out to live the same but to be the example for us, to live differently.

Remember, all covenants are grounded in and made possible by the finished work of Christ (1 Peter 1:13–21). When Jesus instituted what we call “the Lord’s Supper,” he declared to the disciples, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). This statement echoes Moses’ words of institution in the context of the covenant ratification at Sinai: “See the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you” (Ex. 24:8 [pers. trans.]). Through Christ the vast gulf between the gracious but holy God and sinful human beings is spanned. Based on his work, the benefits summarized in the new Israelite covenant were granted to believers in Israel and have also become ours: (1) the Torah written on our hearts; (2) covenant relationship with God; (3) the knowledge of God; (4) forgiveness of sins.

All of this is available to you through faith in Jesus Christ.

II. Be careful not to forget God’s covenant with you

Secondly, be careful not to forget God’s covenant with you. Too many times throughout Israel’s history, they had pledged faith to Yahweh only to forget or brush aside His covenant with them so they could go their own sinful way or make their own sinful decisions. We are bad about that as well aren’t we? I would venture to say that you are just like me in a way. We know certain things we have done or will do are wrong; yet, we give into the temptation of them anyway. We brush aside what the Bible tells us to do and go our own way.

a. Learn from past mistakes (Moses’ Reminder of his fate)

That is why Moses focused so diligently on remembering the past here. He wanted the Israelites, and God in turn wants us, to learn from their past mistakes, in particular, Moses’ past mistakes. What were Moses’ past mistakes? That’s a great question. Look with me at Numbers 20:6 - 12.

The New International Version Chapter 20

6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

9 So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

Moses struck the rock instead of just speaking to it. You may think, well, that’s not that bad is it? It is still disobedience. How bad was it in God’s eyes, look at Numbers 20:12. 12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” It was bad enough that even with all that God used Moses to do, God still did not allow him to enter the land. This is Moses we are talking about. He is one of the few that are in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. That did not matter. There was still consequences for his actions and if that can happen to Moses, you better believe that it can happen to us today. Remember Moses, remember the covenant that God has made with you through Jesus Christ.

b. Remember, the Lord is a consuming fire, a jealous God

Also, remember, that the Lord is a consuming fire, a jealous God. In verse 24, Moses wanted them to know who they were dealing with in Yahweh. He wanted them to know what they are facing and that idolatry would be a serious offense. Here tonight, I want to issue the same remembrance because so many times preachers of today will talk about how God is love, God loves you, love love love. That is so true 1 John 4:8 tells us, 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. However, if I stand before you tonight and only preach that God is love, I am only telling you half the truth. God is love but God is also just. His justness cannot and will not let sin go unpunished. It’s great to know 1 John 4:8 but one also needs to know the next two verses 1 John 4:9-10 because these two show how his justness was satisfied through Jesus Christ.

The New International Version Chapter 4

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Christ’s death on that cross satisfied the consuming fire of Yahweh over our sins for those who place their faith in Jesus. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, you are still under the consuming fire of God and His justness. While faith in Christ spares us from the eternal consuming fire of God’s wrath, we still have consequences for our actions. That leads to my final point tonight.

III. Do not forget this warning

Point three is do not forget this warning of Moses. Moses was warning the Israelites of what could happen if they disobeyed in the Promised Land and worshipped other gods.

a. There will be consequences for disobedience

Moses knew their tendencies. Moses had experienced first hand the disobedience in the past. That’s why beginning in verse 25, we see Moses say:

The New International Version Chapter 4

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

He’s basically saying, just because you get to the land doesn’t mean you can do as you please when you get there. You can lose it just as quickly as you received it. And we find out later, he was right as they were exiled.

The same can be said for us. As a minister, I have seen my fair share of people who make a decision for Christ and they think , well I have that out of the way. I’m good. I have my get out of jail free card so I can do what I want. Remember, the life you live as a Christian was not free. It was bought and paid for with the blood of our Savior. And yes, once saved, no once can take that from you; however, do not treat your salvation like a game of Monopoly. There are still consequences for your actions.

b. The Lord your God is a merciful God

However, once you have fallen down, remember, you can get back up again because The Lord your God is a merciful God. Notice verse 29.

The New International Version Chapter 4

29 But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

Is this the most amazing thing about our God? When you mess up, He doesn’t cast you out. If you seek Him with all your heart and soul, you will find Him. He never leaves us even when we try to leave Him. I love the last verse there. Moses used it to give the Israelites encouragement and it should give you encouragement as well.

31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

Do you feel abandoned today? He will not abandon you. He stays true to His promise that He made through Jesus. Remember, as it says in Jeremiah 29:13,

The New International Version Chapter 29

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Do you need to seek Him today?