Deuteronomy 4:1-8
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Introduction
Introduction
1 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 3 “Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed them from among you. 4 “But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you. 5 “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. 6 “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? 8 “Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?
[PRAYER]
[CONTEXT] After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, Israel prepares to enter the Promised Land. They have been here before, but the rebellious generation who refused to enter has perished, and a new generation led by men like Joshua and Caleb are poised to take possession of what God has given.
They have already begun to see God give their enemies over to them. To the east of the Jordan River, territories that once belonged to King Sihon and King Og now belong to Israel.
This, however, isn’t the Promised Land proper just yet. But as Israel inches ever close, Moses now begins to prepare the Israelites with his most important instruction.
[CIT] In Deuteronomy 4:1-8, Moses told the Israelites that if they wanted good things in the Promised Land, they would have to keep and do God’s Law.
[PROP] If we would experience the good things God has for us, we must keep and do God’s Law—and ultimately we must trust in Jesus who has keep and done God’s Law for us.
[TS] Tonight, we want to see five DESCRIPTIONS of God’s Law in these eight verses all ultimately giving us a greater appreciation for Jesus, the perfect law-keeper.
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
#1: The Law is the way (v. 1)
#1: The Law is the way (v. 1)
1 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
God’s Law is here is described as statutes and judgments. Other translations have statutes and rules or decrees and laws. If any different is meant between the two terms, it may be that statutes refers to the command itself and judgments refers to the application of that command in a specific situation.
In any event, we see that Moses was teaching them God’s Law so that they could perform, i.e., obey it.
God’s Law isn’t just to be read or memorized or sung about. It’s meant to be performed. It’s meant to be obeyed. It’s meant to be kept and done.
As James 1:22 says...
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
James goes on to say that those who do the Word of God will be blessed in what they do. He says in James 1:25...
25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
This is what Moses said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:1. The were to listen to the Law and learn its meaning as Moses taught it, but in order to “live and go in and take possession of the land,” they would have to keep and do it.
They would be blessed to enter, take, and live in the land only as they obeyed God’s Law.
God had given the blessing, but the way of accessing that blessing was through obedience to His Law.
Obedience to the Law is the way of blessing.
In the same way, God has given us many blessings in Christ Jesus, but the only way of accessing them is through obedience to the Law of Christ.
Living as we do after the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are not under the Old Covenant Law of Moses but under the New Covenant Law of Christ. The moral demands of the Law of Moses—like those found in the Ten Commandments—are upheld in the Law of Christ, which is everything Jesus taught us.
Thus, if we would have the blessings offered to us in Jesus, the only way to access those blessings is to obey His Law.
[ILLUS] Cheryl’s banana pudding; followed Trisha Yearwood’s recipe and it turned out to be blessing to my taste buds!
The Law of Christ is like a recipe for blessing. If we do what it says, we will experience blessings.
But if we don’t follow the recipe, we are sure to get curses that leave a bad taste in our mouths.
[TS] …
#2: The Law is sufficient (v. 2)
#2: The Law is sufficient (v. 2)
2 “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Joshua and Caleb and the rest of Israel didn’t know exactly what they would face as they entered and then moved deeper into the Promised Land, but whatever they faced, God’s Law was sufficient to guide and direct them. Nothing need be added. Nothing need be subtracted. The Law was perfectly sufficient just as God delivered it.
In Deuteronomy 12:32 it says...
32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
Proverbs 30:6 says...
6 Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.
To tamper with the Word of God is a serious offense. The warning that first applies to tampering with Revelation applies to tampering with all of God’s Word as well. Revelation 22:18-19 says...
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
[ILLUS] Years ago, another minister wishing that the Bible had said, “Gay marriage is wrong”; thinking for a moment and then pointing to Matthew 19:4-6, which says...
4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”
We might wish the God’s Law or God’s Word or the Bible were less sufficient in some places and more sufficient in others, but when we think for a moment we realize that God’s Word is perfectly sufficient.
It leaves nothing out.
It needs nothing added.
[TS] …
#3: The Law is life (vv. 3-4)
#3: The Law is life (vv. 3-4)
3 “Your eyes have seen what the Lord has done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lord your God has destroyed them from among you. 4 “But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.
In Numbers 25, some of God’s people played the harlot with the daughters of Moab (i.e., pagan women) not only physically, which was a violation of God’s Law, but spiritually as well, which was a violation of the first commandment— “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
This took place at Peor, and the false god they bowed to was Baal.
For breaking His Law, God sent a plague among the people of Israel and ordered the Law-breakers put to death. However, in response, one Law-breaker decided to double-down on his defiance—he brought a pagan woman right up to the entrance of the tent of meeting while Moses and some others were there morning the fact that some of God’s men had joined themselves with pagan women and were now worshipping a false a god.
But one man, Phinehas, the son of the High Priest, wasn’t going to stand by and watch God’s Law be publically cast aside like that.
He rose, took a spear, and ran it through both the Israelite man and the pagan woman.
As a result, the plague that God had brought on the people stopped.
Phinehas stood up for God’s Law, and it meant life for God’s people. Or as Moses says here in Deuteronomy 4:4...
4 “But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.
We all know that the price for sin is death, but sin is just disobeying God’s Law. Thus, the price for disobeying God’s Law is death, while obedience to God’s Law is life.
Are we holding fast to the Lord, holding fast to the Law of Christ so that we can live and live life abundantly? Or are we choosing death by choosing (even if in just a few places) to disobey the Law of Christ?
[TS] …
#4: The Law is testimony (vv. 5-6)
#4: The Law is testimony (vv. 5-6)
5 “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. 6 “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
Moses taught God’s Law as God commanded so that God’s people would obey it. It would be their wisdom and understanding not just for themselves but as a testimony in the sight of the peoples (i.e., the non-Israelites).
When these non-Israelites heard the wisdom of God’s Law and saw the resulting beauty of living in obedience to it, they would say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people,” which would give Israel the perfect opportunity to say, “Let us tell you about YHWH—the one and only true God who gave us this Law.
[ILLUS] Cultural commentators sometimes talk about the ‘Success Sequence.’ Basically the success sequence says that if you want to have the better shot at making it in this world, you need to do things in order.
You need to finish high school, then finish college or trade school, then get a job, then get married, and then have children. If you do things in that order, the success sequence says you’ll have a really good shot at being successful in life. Someone will probably look at you one day and ask, “How are you so successful?”
But the success sequence is essentially just telling us to do what God’s Law tells us to do. Put God first. Work hard and honor the Sabbath. Honor your father and mother. Do not covet another man’s wife or another woman’s husband. If you do these things, someone will probably ask you, “How did you get so wise and understanding?”
That’s your opportunity to say, “Let me tell you about my God.”
[TS] …
#5: The Law is grace (vv. 7-8)
#5: The Law is grace (vv. 7-8)
7 “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? 8 “Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?
Israel was the only nation that had the oracles of God. It was the only nation that had the Word of God, the Law of God. No other nation had a God so near. No other nation had Laws so righteous.
This was God’s grace to Israel.
God was near them when they called.
And God’s Law was perfectly righteous because it reflected God’s perfectly righteous character.
No other nation had a God like YHWH.
No other nation had a Law like YHWH’s Law.
God is always near us in His Word. And what a great and glorious grace it is for us to have God’s Word—the Law of Christ—right before us day in and day out.
[ILLUS] The Harbaugh name is well-known in football. Jim Harbaugh coaches Michigan in college football. Jon Harbaugh coaches The Ravens in the NFL. Their dad coached football before them. All of them are known for their enthusiasm. In fact, that football-esqe enthusiasm used to show up in Harbaugh family huddles where their dad would say, “Who has it better than us?” And the rest of the family would respond, “Nobody!”
Holding God’s Word in our hand, we could ask ourselves, “Who’s got it better than us?” And the answer would of course be, “Nobody.”
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
The Law demands that we be perfect Law-keepers. The Law is the way of blessing to those who keep it and do it perfectly. It is sufficient for those who keep it and do it perfectly. It is life, testimony, and grace for those who keep it and do it perfectly, but we, like Israel, have failed to keep it and do it perfectly.
That’s why we need Jesus, the perfect Law-keeper.
In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus said...
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
In His perfect obedience to the Law, Jesus fulfilled every righteous requirement of the Law. He then took our Law-breaking upon Himself as He hung on the cross. He died, taking our Law-breaking to the grave, and leaving it there, He rose from the dead proving that those who trust Him are forgiven by His sacrifice and covered by His perfection.
Soon we will begin to study the Ten Commandments that we see referenced in v. 13...
13 “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.
As we study these commandments—this summary of God’s Law—let’s commit ourselves to keeping and doing these commandments in the power that Christ gives.
But even more than that, let’s remember Jesus who has kept and done all this Law for us.