Sermon Tone Analysis

*Our God is Near*

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8

!

15th Sunday after Pentecost

“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.”…“Keep

them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

’For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?

And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8, ESV)[1]

 

Looking at the texts for today it was easy for me to focus on the "commands" of God.

In the Deuteronomy text we see Moses preparing the people to enter the promise land by going through God's commands again.

In the Ephesians passage we see Paul commanding us to put on the full armor of God and in the Gospel Lesson we see Jesus indirectly talking about how we should lead a good life by turning away from the sin that comes out of our hearts.

The commands of God are good and just and we should follow them.

Look at what Moses says in verse two of our text – that we should not add or subtract to the commands of God.

Or also in verse six – we should keep God’s commands so the world will see how wise God’s commands are.

If we stopped here we would probably focus on what we need to do.

We would have the pressure that we need to do all that God says.

We would feel the weight of the Law on our shoulders.

But there is a beautiful Gospel message here in Deuteronomy, which I have to be honest I almost missed.

Verse seven of our text says this, /“For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?”/

It is a rhetorical question but in it it states the uniqueness of Israel’s God – He is a God that is near.

No other god can claim this and Moses is saying to the people that this is what the world we see and know that the God that led them up out of Egypt is the true God that will also see them into the Promised Land.

As I was meditating on this text and marveling at this one question that changes the whole nature of this text I ran across a quote from Martin Luther that also has been on my mind this week.

This is what Martin Luther had to say about this passage:

The glory and boasting of this nation exceeds that of all the nations of the earth, because its God is near to it and because, furthermore, it has just laws and statutes, which would be a source of admiration and safety for the nations if they kept them.

Indeed, it is a beautiful and pleasant comfort and a faithful promise that God is near.

David proclaimed this fact in his psalms, and other prophets did so everywhere.

At the same time, however, he includes and points out the cross of the people of God.

Because He is near those who call upon Him, this proves that those calling are in trouble, which forces them to call, just as this nation really always was, and “all who want to live a godly life shall endure persecutions” (2 Tim.

3:12), so that a place remains for pleading faith, and occasion is given to draw near to God.

The religions of other peoples have godless statutes concerning God and unjust laws regarding one’s neighbor.

Thus their gods are far away and cannot save.

In fact, the gods are protected and defended by their devotees.[2]

In this quote Luther is pointing to both the Law and Gospel message being presented on many levels.

The first is the Law of keeping God’s commands.

God demands perfection because He is perfect.

I am sure hearing all these Laws can be overwhelming.

How can we do it all and how can the world really see us

\\ observing all of God’s Law.

But there is also the indirect Law that comes through in the rhetorical question – if we have to call then it means that we are in trouble in the first place.

The Law is a guide for our lives and we should try to obey God’s commands.

But the Law also accuses us; it shows us where we have failed and fall short of God’s expectations.

But God doesn’t leave the Israelites or us hanging only onto the Law.

Yes, He asks for our obedience, but He also says that He is near to those who call on Him, call when we are in trouble.

That is the Gospel.

God isn’t expecting the Israelites, and us, to first follow His commands and then He will come.

No, He says He is near to us so that we can call on Him to help us and save us.

And this is a powerful message – We have a God who is near to us.

Why is this so powerful?

To have a God near means we have a God who cares for us, shows us mercy and loves us.

We have a God who wants to be intimate with us and be close to us, even when we fail to obey His commands.

The Hebrew word used for being near to God has many connotations to it from being close in place to being close in kinship.

I think all of these meanings come together to show to us that God is close in person, and in relating to us.

He wants to be a part of our lives.

Luther states in his quote that all other gods are really far away and require people to “protect” them.

But our God is near to us and comes not four our “protecting” of a religion but He comes to protect us and save us.

That is Gospel.

Too often in our sin we feel like God is far away but really it our blindness that we can’t see that God is really right next to us.

This passage as well as others point to God’s nearness and reassure us that we have a God who wants to be with us.

The Psalms are filled with God’s mercy and nearness to us.

Psalm 34 says, /“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”/

(Psalm 34:18-19, ESV) [3] What comfort to hear that we have a God that comes to us in our brokenness and afflictions to be near us.

Too often when we look at the commands of God we get an idea that we have to get our life straight first and then God will be near to us.

But the grace of God is that He comes near to us even in our brokenness and, yes, even in our rebellion towards Him.

The Israelites bear this out in their history.

Often they fell away from the true God, worship false gods, and rejected God’s commands.

But our heavenly Father comes back to them again and again and offers his free grace to them and to us.

Psalm 145 says it this way; /“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”/

(Psalm 145:18, ESV) [4] Here is a good summary of what Moses was laying out for the people.

God’s word and commands are the truth.

It is important that we stand on the truth of God and not waver.

But we also have a God who is near to us and is there when we call on Him.

Christianity, God’s Word, is more that just knowing the truth about God; it is having a near relationship with Him.

God not only wants us to be in the truth but also to know that He is a God for us, near us and with us.

And that is never clearer then in the work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, truly God, came near to us in the most spectacular way – He became one of us.

One of the names for Jesus is Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

Jesus came into this world too not only live the perfect life we were supposed to do.

He not only was a model of the godly life.

But he was also the embodiment of God’s love and mercy drawing near to us and providing for us salvation.

Our deepest cry to God is, “Lord have mercy on us.”

And God does through Jesus who came into this world to take on our sin, our trouble, and go to the cross.

There He paid the price for our sin and died in our place.

Then He rose again to give to us new life and salvation.

That is as near as you can get!

God becomes one of us to redeem us!

Our god is near.

This nearness of God will then be evident to the world – which is our witness.

Moses, right after the words in out text today, says that the people were to pass on to their children all that they had seen God do for them.

This is a witness of God’s nearness.

King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple said these words, /“that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.

Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.

Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”/

(1 Kings 8:58-61, ESV) [5] Solomon could have pointed to the beauty and glory of the Temple.

He could have pointed to the hard work of the people and the great wealth of His kingdom to build this Temple.

But instead He draws attention to God and states that all the beauty of the Temple was to give glory to God.

We are obedient to God not to get in His “good graces.”

But we are obedient to God because He has drawn near to us, He hears us and helps us when we cry, “Lord have mercy,” and He is our merciful God who want to be close to us.

I conclude with these words of James, “/Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” /(James 4:8, ESV) [6]

Amen