Sermon Tone Analysis

Organizing God’s People

Last week, we looked at the very beginning of the book of Deuteronomy.

We talked about the need and value of studying these books of the Old Testament.

While people often want something new and innovative, God has laid down in scripture guidance for life that continues to be applicable in every generation.

Therefore, we are looking at the book of Deuteronomy together so that we can learn what it tells us about God, what it tells us about ourselves, what it tells about his eternal plan of salvation through Jesus, and what we are to do with all of this.

In the very opening chapters of Deuteronomy, we find Moses giving a speech to the people of Israel.

He is giving this speech in the fortieth year of their journey, a journey that the text notes is but an 11 day journey.

And that was one of the points we pondered last week; Has our own journey with God been delayed because of discontent, or sin, or stubbornness?

We probably can all answer in the affirmative here, yes, because we are all humans and our nature is opposed to God, and even once saved, scripture tells us we are not yet perfected, so no one can say in response to this question, “no, I have never been delayed on my journey”.

And even though I have met Christians that I am guessing would actually answer this and say they have never delayed their journey, we all know better, because we all can see clearly that none of us is doing this journey of faith in a perfect way.

So the speech is happening 40 years into this journey; What significant thing had happened prior to the 40 year mark?

Let’s look ahead a bit to see: Deut2.14

Also in Josh5.6

We are told the reasons for this in several places in scripture, but let me summarize briefly: the people of Israel were brought to the promised land, and 12 spies were sent in, and they came back and 10 of the spies said it looks really scary, there are big people there, it will be dangerous for us to go in.

And two spies, Joshua and Caleb, said “No, the Lord is with us, we can take the land.”

but the people grumbled and did not want to go into the land so God made the people wander in the desert for 40 years so that all of those who had grumbled would die off, and the next generation of Israelites would go into the land.

So who is Moses speaking to in this speech we are looking at today in Deuteronomy chapter 1?

The younger generation.

The ones whose parents or grandparents had died in the desert.

Many of them were infants or not yet born during the events recorded in Exodus.

We can see why Moses decided to give them a history lesson.

He wanted to be sure that everyone knew the history of what God had done for Israel.

Remember that God’s commands are often followed by a reminder of who He is and what He has done.

The ten commandments begin with “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt”.

God is always reminding his people of what He has done for Him.

The obedience God requires is not without a connection or a reminder to what He has done for us.

So Moses is now recounting to the new generation of Israel the good things he has done.

So in the last few verses from last week’s study, we see the beginning of Moses’ speech to the younger generation, his retelling of the faithfulness of God.

And may we remember, especially those of an older generation in the faith, who have seen God move, who have seen God draw people to himself, who have known God to heal the sick, who have known God to provide for needs, who have known God to move and act in their lives, to share these stories of God’s goodness and faithfulness to the younger generation.

Churches used to do more of this.

And perhaps we need to make more time for testimonies, both of what God has done recently, but also what God has done in the lives of his people.

Our teaching of children about God should include our personal stories of His faithfulness.

So let’s go back to verse 6 from last week, where the speech begins, and we will take a look through verse 18 this morning.

As Moses tells the story of God’s deliverance, he is going to highlight some very important points about how God expects his people to conduct themselves.

So he begins with a reminder of what God commanded.

Remember God had already revealed himself as completely sovereign over nations and nature, the people have witnessed the power of God in the plagues, the pillar of fire, the crossing of the Red sea, and more.

This God, the one who has proved himself again and again to Israel, this God is the one giving them direction.

So he says to them “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

Turn and take your journey.

See, I have set the land before you Go in and take possession of the land.”

So last week we looked at that part of it, this morning we pick up at verse 9.

So it has been pointed out by some people we could classify as hyper literal, that we now know that there are trillions of stars in the sky, so this could not be accurate, because the people of Israel certainly did not then and do not now number themselves in the trillions.

Well, first off, it is a metaphor.

It is a way of saying there are a lot of you.

and secondly, even in those days, without the light pollution we have today, there were only maybe, at the very most, a few thousand stars visible with the human eye.

So as far as the perspective of the people, they did number as many as the stars of the sky.

But regardless, don’t get hung up on metaphors in the bible.

Jesus used metaphors, simile's, and hyperbole and so did many writers of the scripture, who all were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they did.

Because of their great number, and apparently they had multiplied even since leaving Egypt, Moses says “I am not able to bear you by myself”.

What does he mean by this?

Well, Moses was humble enough to know that he could not personally see to every detail of his leadership.

It was impossible for any person to do that.

We don’t expect the governor of the state, much less the president of the country, to be personally involved in every decision of their government.

So they delegate.

There is a huge executive branch of our government.

The president sets the tone, the policy, and so on, but he could not possibly be personally involved in every decision big and small.

As the executive in charge of Israel, Moses needed help.

In verse 11 he blesses the people by asking God to increase them by a thousand times, which may be hyperbole, but a leader whose population increases now has even more people to be responsible for, so Moses recognizes he cannot do it all himself.

Now where did Moses get the idea to do all this?

He listened to his father-in-law.

This is what happened, and this is what Moses is telling the younger generation, the reasoning behind appointing leaders.

But note that while Moses did appoint these leaders, the people themselves chose the leaders.

they were to choose wise, understanding, and experienced men, and then Moses would appoint them, that is, he would charge them with their duties.

According to the Expositor’s Bible commentary, The “wise, understanding and respected” men are also called “leading” men in v.15 (ḥaḵāmim, “wise”) means men who know how to apply their knowledge.

neḇōnîm, “understanding”) means those who have discernment and so are able to judge matters.

(yeduʿîm, “respected”) means those who are well known or, possibly, experienced.

This passive form of (yāḏaʿ, “know”) occurs also in Isa 53:3, where the NIV translates it as “familiar with suffering.”

It may well be “experienced in suffering”

When Moses did this, the people were happy with this direction.

Deut1.14

This reminds me a little of the situation we saw in Acts, where we see the reasoning behind the appointing of deacons:

So a job became to big for the main leaders, they appointed the deacons, or servants, for certain work, and the result was that this pleased the people.

People like it when leaders delegate duties to able people who can serve well.

But a danger is often found in leadership.

The leader doesn’t want to give up certain responsibilities or powers.

Maybe he doesn’t trust it will be done right or the way he wants unless he does it personally.

Maybe he wants the credit for the work, and allowing others to serve spreads out not only the responsibilities, but the credit as well.

Maybe he is proud.

Whatever the reason, too many leaders cling to being personally involved in every decision.

And when this happens, everyone under that leadership suffers.

They suffer from not having the privilege to be part of the work.

They suffer from the leader being unable to personally see to everything so things fall away.

And sadly, sometimes they duffer because the leader who cannot delegate, and insists on doing it all, is prone to moral failure, either because his guard is down and he is worn out, or because his pride causes him to feel he is entitled to a little sin here and there.

But the people respond well, if there is clear organization and delegation.

If their leader is still actively involved, but willing to give up some detail work to others for the sake of a healthier organization, then the people will rejoice.

I read recently that a church will never exceed its organizational capacity.

In other words, if you organizational structure is big enough to do well with 100 people, you will not exceed that number for very long.

Even if you have a growth spurt and get to 130, if your organizational structure is not in place for that many, the number will come back down to where the organizational structure is.

So how can one pastor possibly grow the church, unless others come and serve alongside him; yet for this to happen, he must let go of the reigns for certain ministries.

Unfortunately, many leaders take it all on for themselves.

By doing this, they deny others opportunities for growth and service.

and ultimately, you will lose some of your most talented people who are not content to sit on the bench, they want to be in the game.

When our Lord said we should pray for workers for the harvest, he didn’t mean more pastors.

Instead, I pray that the Lord himself would draw the right people, and give them the passion to serve, because this is far better than me getting someone to do something through nagging.

So I thank God all the time for Oasis Church, and the many eager workers here who want to contribute.

As we continue to work on our structure, and putting people into positions of real leadership, our church will grow, and we need to stay on top of serving our Lord and King Jesus with excellence and energy and excitement.

So Moses did just what he was recommended to do by his father-in-law Jethro: Deut1.15-18

Now, a lot has been said the last few years about justice and Christianity.

And certainly God tells us a lot about what he expects regarding justice.

Unfortunately, not everyone means the same thing when they use the word justice.