Deuteronomy 4:9-24 God is Jealous for You

Intro:

Read Deuteronomy 4:9-14

I. Vs. 9-14 Take Care of Your Soul

vs. 9 Be Careful about Your Soul

Moses has told the people to hear the word and obey it

He has warned them against idolatry and the lifestyle that went with it

Now he tells them to take care of their souls

The Hebrew word shamar, meaning “be careful,” that already appeared in verses 2 and 6 appears twice in this short expression of seven words in Hebrew

We are to be careful about being careful!

Actually in the Hebrew such repetition is a way to stress a point.

We need to be diligent in this endeavor lest we forget

1 Tim 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

If we forget the Word departs from our hearts

vs. 9b Make them known to your children

Then he tells us to make them know to your children and grandchildren

This is interesting

The responsibility falls on the parent for their Spiritual knowledge

Children learn truths best through stories.

This shows us the priority of God’s Word in our lives

We need to study it, be taught it, and then in turn teach it

The Israelites were to remind the next generations of what God did at Horeb

This will teach the people to fear God

vs. 12 Lord spoke out of the midst of the fire

Moses then tells them how the mountain burned with fire, was wrapped in darkness and gloom.

It was at Mount Sinai when God descended in a cloud on the mountain top and spoke through the fire

The mountain burned and Israel heard the words but saw no form, or person

This was done to show Israel how mighty God was

vs. 13 Declared HIs Covenant thru 10 commandments

There God declared His covenant

The covenant was simply to obey the 10 commandments Moses would teach them so they would understand

If they obeyed God’s Word Israel would be the most prosperous nation in the world

Unfortunately that didn’t happen

There is still blessing for those who follow God’s Word

II. Vs. 15-31 Watch Yourselves

vs. 15 Another warning to watch yourselves carefully

Using the now familiar word shamar (meaning “pay careful attention to”),

Moses starts this paragraph by saying, “Therefore watch your souls

Leaders need to constantly warn themselves and others about the danger of drifting into unfaithfulness.

1 Corinthians 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

vs. 16 Beware lest you act corruptly

The draw of idolatry is great but underneath that is a desire to be like everyone else

Christians fall for this every time

When people feel weak and vulnerable, they could be tempted to look to something tangible, something they could see and touch, like an idol

We are called to be set apart or sanctified but in fear of looking different we will conform to the world

vs. 16-19 are a description of all the different kinds of gods that were worshipped

Most were associated with nature like the sun or animals

Romans 1:22-23 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Following after these gods is to act corruptly

“idolatry not only corrupts God’s redemptive achievement for God’s people, but perverts and turns upside-down the whole created order

Pluralism keeps all the different ideologies as more or less equals.

The Old Testament prophets expressed this revulsion with thunderous rebukes and threats.

But when talking to the Athenians who did not have God’s special revelation Paul “reasoned” with them about idolatry and the gospel of Christ (Acts 17:17–31).

This gives a good guideline for dealing with idolatry. Within the church, we rebuke. Outside the church, we reason.

vs. 20 Brought you out of the iron furnace

Instead we need to remember that God brought Israel out of the furnace that was Egypt

“The iron furnace” probably recalls the way they suffered having to work in the burning heat of the day. How soon they forgot how much they’d suffered!

He set them free from slavery and made them His own and gave them the promised land as an inheritance

In his exhortation to encourage faithfulness, Moses next uses himself as a negative example.

It is interesting that Moses mentions this sin and its punishment several times (1:37; 3:23–26; 4:21, 22; cf. 34:4).

He must really have been sad about not getting to go into the land because of his sin.

Which he uses to remind the people to keep the covenant

vs. 24 The Lord is a consuming fire

After asking the people to take care not to forget the covenant, Moses reminds them of the wrath of God that they would face if they do forget

In yet another warning Moses tells Israel God is a consuming fire

The symbol of “consuming fire” is used here to communicate the idea of destructive punishment.

I know we like to sing this line in worship songs but Moses is being dead serious

If Israel wanders from obedience they will perish and the land will be taken from them

They will be scattered among the people of the earth with just a remnant in Israel

That remnant will be controlled by many different nations

vs. 24b a jealous God

God described as a jealous God thirty times in my ESV Bible.

Five of these references are in Deuteronomy.

In twenty of the thirty occurrences God’s jealousy is said to be over the sin of Israel.

In Hebrew the word for jealousy is the same as the word for zeal.

Romans 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

The word used in verse 24 has been described as “an adjective or title used exclusively of God, focusing on his desire for exclusive relationships.”

God, who is zealous in his commitment to his covenant people, is also jealous to see them remain faithful to him.

The sense here is that God’s zeal for his people is such that he will not tolerate unfaithfulness or seeing his people dishonored.

This concept of exclusive commitment is difficult to understand in an age when commitment has gone out of fashion in society.

Many people do not see even the highest of exclusive relationships of commitment—the marriage tie—as absolutely binding.

Some people enter marriage with the idea that if it does not work they can always divorce.

Chris Wright says that “the fire of Yahweh as a jealous God is the fire of an exclusive commitment to his people that demands an exclusive commitment in return.”

Wright calls this “the fire of redeeming love that has brought them out of the fires of bondage (v. 20) and would therefore tolerate no rival.”

vs. 29 When it gets really bad you will seek the Lord and you will find him if you do it with all of your heart

vs. 31 The Lord is merciful

To show mercy means to have compassion on someone who is not able to help themselves

Jesus showed compassion several times in the Gospels

Moses promises 3 things in God’s Mercy

He will not leave you

He will not destroy youHe will not forget His covenant

III. Vs. 32-40 The Love of God

When you’re raising small children, you use rewards and punishments to teach them to obey; but when they get older, you hope that character and love will motivate them to shun evil and do what’s right.

God doesn’t want His children obeying Him just to get blessings or to avoid chastening, but because they love Him from the heart.

The word “heart” is mentioned more than forty times in Moses’ speech, and the Shema (6:4–5) emphasizes love for the Lord.

When Moses gave the law to the older generation at Sinai, the emphasis was on the fear of the Lord (Ex. 19:10–25; 20:20), but his application of the Law to the new generation magnifies God’s love for Israel and the importance of Israel loving the Lord.

They were now to be a mature people who obeyed God from the heart.

The Lord is a merciful God (Deut. 4:31), but we shouldn’t tempt Him because He is also a jealous God (v. 24).

IV. Vs. 41-43 Cities of Refuge

V. Vs. 44-49 Intro to the Law