Resolution

Deuteronomy 31:1-13

31 So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”   1 So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” 7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

The Reading of the Law

9 Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Resolved: that every man should live to the glory of God.

Resolved second: that whether others do this or not I will.

Martin Luther

The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, [a] and what duty God requires of man [b].

The Westminster Shorter Catechism

I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s word: otherwise I did nothing.

Martin Luther

FIRST—THE LISTENERS OF THE WORD

“Men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates.”

Everyone in the camp was to listen to this special public reading of the Word of God which then included only the first five books of the Old Testament. The whole family was included in those that should listen to the Word of God.

We all need the Word of God. We ought to read from the Scripture every day. We read the newspaper and watch TV every day. The Word is more important than they are so don’t put the Word of God on the back burner of your life. Read it every day.

SECOND—THE LEARNING FROM THE WORD

“That they may hear, and that they may learn.” When the Word of God is read, we learn from it. What we learn from it is more important than anything we learn in our secular schools. We are learning many things today, but we are not learning that which is important. If you want to learn the important things of life, read the Word of God. It deals with life, with death, with eternity. Many things we are learning in our secular schools will not help us one iota regarding eternity. When you die those coveted diplomas won’t mean a thing, but the Word of God will.

THIRD—THE LIVING OF THE WORD

“Fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of the law.” The word we hear and read today is to be applied to our life. There are preachers and teachers who almost seem to be gifted at preaching and teaching the Scriptures without making any practical application of the Scriptures to our life. The reading of the Word to the Israelites was so they would know how to live, and so they would give due respect to God. Our society evidences that few live properly and few respect God properly. They need to hear the Word!

2 Timothy 4: 1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

There is no better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit.

D.L. Moody