It Was Always About Christ (Part 2)

Introduction

Open our Bible if you would to Number 30 verse 6.

We left off last week at Numbers 30 verse 6 and that is where we will start this evening. This verse is if a pivotal point in the first 10 verses. We need to remember that God is presenting a convent of works to the people of Isreal. This is why last week saw that Moses said, when you find yourself scattered and cursed. Human are possessed with a sin nature that is contrary to the things of God. Every human is opposed to the will of God, not that God’s law is unreasonable or un-keep-able, on the contrary next week we will see that God’s law is in fact completely good and whole and the distortion is not in God’s law but in humanity as they are prisoners to sin. We are going to be in Deuteronomy Chapter 30 for at least 2 more weeks.

Tonight, however, we need to consider who it is that the Lord takes “delight in prospering.” (Dt 30:9, ESV)

Lets Read Deut 30:6-10

Deuteronomy 30:6–10 ESV

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today. The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

May God bless the reading of His Holy and Infallible Word

Lets Pray

Transition

I am thankful again to start with verse 6 because it is a pivot point for this section of scripture and there is a lot we can get into that we did not last time. Last time we looked at several explanations in the New Testament of who the people of God, the Israel of God really are. Lets take a look at verse 6 and this time we will reference Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Body

The Sign of the New Covenant (1)

Text

Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Exposition

“circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring”

Exposition

Last week we pointed-out the connection between the external sign of the covenant and the internal fulfillment God promises here.

This week we will taking a deeper dive into what that looks like.

Turn to Jeremiah 31 and we start looking in verse 31.

God is addressing the current destruction of Israel. Remember Jeremiah is that prophet that lived right before and into the exile. So as Isreal is being carried away into captivity God sends this message. Jeremiah 31:31-34.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Je 31:31–34, ESV)

Turn to Ezekiel 36 and we will start looking at verse 16.

Ezekiel is also a a prophet that lived right before and into the exile again as the destruction is happening God sends this message. Ezekiel 36 starting in 16

“16 The word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it.” (Eze 36:16–18, ESV) .... skip to verse 24 -26 “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Eze 36:24–26, ESV)

Application

Some people say that interpreting the Old Testament the way the apostles do is wrong. These people say that Apostles and the New Testament are about something else and Jeremiah and Ezekiel here are only talking about the physical nation of Israel. For me, it seems abundantly clear that this New Covenant in Jeremiah and this New Heart in Ezekiel only make sense when understood as the regeneration of the Sprint to faith in Jesus that leads to justification.

Therefore I would conclude (not the sermon just this point here) that, just as the outward sign of circumcise was only an picture of the the inward circumcision of the heart. The viable nation of Israel is only a picture of the real people of God. The land of Canaan is only a picture of the eternal city that God’s elect will inherit.

We are establishing a way of understanding scripture here and it is vitally import.

All the promises of God find there yes in Jesus. 2 Cor 1:20

Transition: all that to reinforce where we were last time. The idea of the new covenant in Jesus is not only found int he new testament, it exists through the whole Bible.

“you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul”

Exposition

The sign of the new covenant is those that as the text says “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul”

“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” (Je 31:33, ESV)

“And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Co 3:3, ESV)

Paul doesn’t say look you’ve been baptised, or look you joined your local church (both things you should do). Paul says look you have the Law of God written on you heart and that is the testimony, the sign, you are of God’s people.

Application

The sign that someone is of God is, what Jesus said, if you love me you will, what? Keep my commandments. (John 14:15). The sign of the new covenant is that a person in the new covenant loves God more than sin and is willing to battle the sin nature every day as hard as needed because of love for God.

Brothers, beloved ones, we fail at sin every day. But we are all ready to get up the next day and fight it. That is the sign that we are God’s and God has begun that work in our hearts the he will complete.

Transition

I hope you are as amazed as I am at the depth of the word of God. That we can go over verse 6 again and that there is so much there still after we already talked about it last week. This is why you see Gabe and I put so much emphases on the Bible reading plan. You are going to be able to read your Bible over and over and over and I don't care if you have read it a 1000 times you can read it again and still get something out of it.

So lets glean what we can from verses 7 and 8 this evening.

The Curse is a Blessing (2)

Text

Deuteronomy 30:7–8 ESV

And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today.

Exposition

“God will put all these curses on your foes”

Exposition

What curses,

Deut 28:15-68 has the whole list.

The short list goes like this. Dt 28:15–19

“15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. (Dt 28:15–19 ESV)

The theme is not only in Deut Malachi 2:2 says.

“If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. (Mal 2:2, ESV)

Remember Malachi is a post Exile prophet. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were speaking before and during the exile, but Malachi is speaking after and the message has not changed. Only those that love the Lord are blessed and even the blessings of those that hate the Lord are turned to curses.

“shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments”

Exposition

Malachi 2:2 already said that they didn’t keep his commandments.

The only commandment keepers, are those for whom Christ kept the commandments for.

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Ro 3:10–18, ESV)

The Apostle is talking about the natural human condition here. Those that have God law written on there are heart are able to love God.

If they don’t keep the commandments then even the blessing will be a cures.

Application

For commandment breakers even blessings are curses.

Illustration

Winning the lottery for a non believer.

It is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom.

Transition

When we look at this text we see the centrality of commandment keeping. So, when verse 9 and 10 say that the “the Lord will again take delight in prospering you” we must ask the question. In Whom Does the Lord Delight? Lets read verses 9 and 10

In Whom Does the Lord Delight? (3)

Text

Deuteronomy 30:9–10 ESV

The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Exposition

“ God will make you abundantly prosperous”

Exposition

What we are talking about is the opposite of the curses. We can read the Deut 28:1-6

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.” (Dt 28:1–6, ESV)

Application

I know what you might say, but Aaron so many Christians are beaten to death, persecuted, stoned. How can this be about them. Well bare with me for three points of application here.

We have to ask the question, do we believe it what Romans 8 says, that all things work together for the good for those that love the Lord.

Just as the blessing are turned to curses for those that break the commandments. Those that keep the commandments in Christ the curses are turned into blessing.

Do we want more then Christ? What is more then Christ?

Illustration

Think about winning the lottery again.

Mightn't it be a major blessing to not win the lottery?

Not only do you not have the moral Lima of so many people being gong a false hope that you are not profiting off of; but you also are more reminded of you fathers provision day by day.

Transition

But these verse go beyond just the idea of the Lord prospering to the idea that God takes “delight in prospering you”

“the Lord will again take delight in prospering you”

Exposition

Who does the Lord delight to prosper?

RC Sproul explains citing (1 Cor. 1:30–31; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 2:8–10) “The obedience of Christ, which is the victory over sin in which the remnant by faith will share, is the only meritorious basis of such blessings.” [1]

Who does the Lord delight to prosper? Those that love the Lord because they are commandment keepers in Christ.

Why did God delight in Abraham? Wasn’t it because of his faith that was counted as righteousness?

Application

No one is righteous, not you not me. Out side of Christ there is no blessing. Only curses. In Christ there are no curses only blessing.

Conclusion

In conclusion tonight, It was always about Christ. There is a covenant of works presents to Israel here in Deuteronomy, but they as all natural human being forfeited that because they did not keep the commandments. Not because they couldn’t but because they wouldn’t (as we will see next week). However, the promises of God are still owned by God’s people, not the simple viable promise that pass away, but eternal promises of a heavenly perfect kingdom and a prefect Christ that will love his bride his people forever.

Benediction

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. “(Jud 24–25, ESV)

References

[1] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 295.

Bibliography

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.