Living as God’s People

As I have continued to study this book of Deuteronomy, it has struck me more and more the nature of repetitiveness found there. And when you zoom out from just Deuteronomy, you find that the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, contain as well certain themes or statements that are repeated again and again. And when you widen to the entire Bible, you once again come to the conclusion that certain basic things are repeated, again and again. They are said explicitly. They are implied in parables. They are learned through the stories, or narratives. They are summed up in the Proverbs. They are sung about in the Psalms.

Many themes in scripture are very repetitive. I have found in life, that I don’t always like things to be repeated to me again and again. At a particular job I had once, the manager would repeat again and again to me the certain processes that were part of the job at our store and in our company. I’m sure over time in his job, he had learned that without this repetitiveness, many employees could quickly forget the standards of service we were supposed to have, or perhaps slack off on the details. But personally for me, I was very annoyed by this constant repetition. I wanted to say, yes, I got this the first several dozen times you told it to me.

I have found in the church and particularly in the role of preacher and teacher, that sometimes people in the church do not like to have repetition either. In particular, people do not like to hear again and again themes such as sin, hell, and repentance. This is revealed in some of the constructive criticism I have been offered regarding my teaching or preaching. I have had people say things such as: “People don’t need to keep hearing about sin.” or “We get that, we are in church because we know we are sinners, but we are in Christ now, so there is no need to continually remind us about sin.” One lady came to kindly sit down with me in the office and tell me that I had overused the word repent in a sermon, that I had used the word 31 times in one sermon! I was preaching on the verse about the kindness of God that leads to repentance. Ironically, many of those comments came from people who knew about open sin in the church and wanted to ignore it.

So this is fair warning, that in the book of Deuteronomy, we are going to find much repetition. The reminders Moses gave to the people are topics we must evaluate to see how they apply to us, here and now, at Oasis Church in 2022. I think it is safe to say that when a topic or theme is repeated many times in scripture, there is a reason for it. Sometimes the most repeated topics are those that we tend to forget, sometimes they are repeated because they involve the things we are most likely to ignore.

So today we look at an introduction to a presentation of the ten commandments. They were delivered, of course, on Mt. Sinai, to Moses about 40 years prior to the account we are reading today. Remember that this book of Deuteronomy is a series of addresses Moses gives to the people of Israel before they enter the promised land. Now, the ten commandments are listed in full twice in the Old testament. First in Exodus 20, and second of all here.

In the next couple of weeks, we will look at the commandments themselves that are found in Deuteronomy 5, but today we are going to look at how Moses began his presentation. And we may well consider these questions:

Why does Moses need to repeat the ten commandments, when everyone should already know them?

Why does he preface the commandments with reminders of the recent history of the Israelite people?

What can we learn about the seriousness of these commandments through their repetitiveness throughout Scripture?

So in Chapter 4, Moses has wrapped us the first of his speeches in Deuteronomy, and now we find the prelude to the second speech:

Deuteronomy 4:44–5:6 ESV

This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. And they took possession of his land and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount Sirion (that is, Hermon), together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah. And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

in 4:44, This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. Now, to be clear, this is not a preamble simply to the ten commandments, but we will see that it expands well beyond that. In chapter 5 the ten commandments, or ten words, are listed. In chapter 6, we will see a very serious charge given to all: Deut6.5-7

Deuteronomy 6:5–7 ESV

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

We at Oasis Church are going to take this charge very seriously. This Fall, we are going to begin a journey together, called D6. It is based on this passage. I have mentioned it briefly, and over the past couple of months your governing board has been looking into this program, which is focused on the church side with Sunday School, but it goes far beyond that. You see, D6 is about following this command, and as you can see, this command, to teach these things diligently to your children is actually not something outsourced to paid professionals, but insourced to the home. Parents and grandparents alike sharing the responsibility to pass on to the next generations the knowledge of God.

D6 is a Sunday School program, but much more than that, it is designed to help grandparents and moms and dads to be obedient to scripture and train their children. So in the next week or so, we are going to put out a survey about this program, so be on the lookout in your emails and on the church website. We want your input and we want to have an idea of how we can best do this program. Please be praying about your participation, and I am praying that the Holy Spirit will create in each of us a desire as a community of believers, to move forward with excellence in taking seriously our role in learning God’s ways and training others in God’s ways.

It is interesting that when I began preaching through Deuteronomy, I had no idea we would be talking about a Sunday School program, but I am excited that through the Summer, the Lord will be speaking to us through His word, and my prayer is that we would be filled with a sense of urgency regarding our work to know God and make Him known.

So at the end of chapter 4, we see the introduction to the Law. Moses set this before the people of Israel, it isn’t only the ten commandments, but also many more laws and statutes given to God’s people. Really, this is how God’s people are to live. The repetition we see is necessary because God’s people still have a tendency to stray from our path. The same is true for God’s people in the church.

It is mind boggling, all the things that compete for our attention. There is much to draw our attention and energy away from the things that are the most important. I’m sure that over the next few months, as we challenge each other to fully engage in D6, that there will be some pushback. You want me to get up earlier on Sunday?, someone may ask. Or, when do you think I have time to do this at home with my family? Don’t you realize we never stop running? And as these objections come up, and perhaps come into your own mind, please consider what is the good portion that Jesus said Mary had chosen? How might our priorities need to be realigned, to make our life in Christ and participation in His Church the main thing in our lives?

Deuteronomy 4:45–46 ESV

These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt.

Again, the following sections include the ten commandments, but there is much more to it, and as we learn together, we will see how God had some very specific rules for his people, and these rules in many cases would set them apart from the people around them. We are reminded of the defeat of Sihon and Og, which we looked into in a previous sermon;

Deuteronomy 4:47–49 ESV

And they took possession of his land and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount Sirion (that is, Hermon), together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

Having been given this introduction, we now get to the beginning of Moses’ speech. Deut5.1

Deuteronomy 5:1 ESV

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

He begins with the word hear; but it has a little more impact than we may usually give it. there is a sense that the word hear goes beyond listening and actually means to obey. So perhaps we could say hear and obey. Are you hearing me? is a little like, are you going to obey me?

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

What good would it do to know how to do something but never do it? We aren’t hear for simply an intellectual exercise. And we must be careful about this. Some of us love diving into the Bible, studying it, discussing it, pondering its meaning. But if all we do if sit around talking about how things are and should be, and never actually doing anything, we will be as worthless as congress. Or we will be like someone who spent time and money to get a degree in fashion design, which most of those never actually end up working in the field they were educated in.

James wrote: James1.22-25

James 1:22–25 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

You can see the echoes of Moses in what James wrote: Moses said learn them, and be careful to do them. James said don’t hear only, but do. The one who does perseveres and will be blessed. Learn them and be careful to do them.

Deuteronomy 5:2–3 ESV

The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.

Moses wants the people to understand this covenant is living and active. This is not the covenant God made with Abraham, many generations before. The covenant God made with them in the wilderness was not merely with the generation that had perished in the wilderness. The covenant was with these people just as much as it had been with the pervious generation. Remember, God is the God of the living.

Let’s go back to the theme of repetition for a moment. All of these commandments had been given to the people, as is recorded in Exodus. At that time, the priests were charged with educating people on God’s laws, and parents were also given responsibility to teach their children. with many remembrances, rituals, and so forth, the people were specifically told that when you do this, and your child asks about it, then you tell them about God’s faithfulness. One example was the Passover meal, it was intended to be a time of reminding all generations of how God had caused the people of Israel to be set free.

Today in the church, we take the opportunity of the Lord’s Supper, of baptism, or Christmas and Resurrection Sunday, to reflect and remind ourselves and to teach our children about the things of God. There is no higher desire for the Christian parent then that their children would take the faith and make it personal, and real. You are not a Christian just because your parents were. Each generation must learn about the faith and ultimately make their own decision whether they will obey God’s Word and believe in Jesus.

We know from scripture that the work of drawing people to the Father is the work of the Holy Spirit. We rely on God to draw our children to Himself. But we also know the primary means God uses to draw people to himself is through the proclamation and teaching of the Bible. So if we want our children to follow Jesus, then we ought to make sure we not only know His word well ourselves, but that we take the time to teach it to them. And this job is not left only to the church. If you think that one hour a week in church is enough to offset the entire world that is bent on turning children away from God, you need a wake-up call!

I saw a powerful demonstration of this by a youth pastor once. He had on a table cups of gumballs. The entire table was filled with gum balls. the balls represented the time awake a child has in a year. And one cup of those gumballs equalled the amount of time the child was in church. Depending on how much time a child sleeps, there are about 5-6,000 hours awake per year. and if a child is in church even 2 hours per week, that is only about 100 hours per year, that is less than 2% of their waking hours.

Children 8-10 have an average of 6 hours of screen time per day, older kids an average of 9 hours screen time per day. That is a lot. Kids in public schools get many hours there per year, and even in the best public schools, a certain amount of indoctrination is going on that is opposed to the biblical teachings. If you think that 1 or 2 or even 4 hours a week in church is enough to offset all the worldly influences out there, wake up.

God is not surprised by the competition that each of us face when it comes to the use of our time. He is not surprised that our sinful nature causes us often to want to turn away from his teaching and towards something that pleases our flesh. He is not surprised that we would neglect to teach His ways to our children without constant reminders in scripture, and that is why he commanded parents to learn his ways and be careful to do them, and why he gave the specific examples that in order to teach these things diligently to our children, we should talk of them when we sit in our houses, and when we walk by the way, and when we lie down, and when we rise, that they should guide our hands and eyes and be written on the very doorposts and gates of our homes.

Moses reminded the people the covenant was not just for the old folks, it is for the younger folks too, but they need to be told about it, to be challenged by it, to understand that our God is alive, and His Word is alive and active.

Deuteronomy 5:4–6 ESV

The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

And here it is. I am going to finish this morning with verse six, and Lord willing, begin with it next week. I have often said that the ten commandments should always included the statement of verse 6. John Maxwell writes:

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 5: Deuteronomy The Ten Commandments: Love’s Evidence

Verse 6 is crucial to understanding not only the First Commandment but also the other nine. The Ten Commandments were given to a people already redeemed to enable them to express love for and have fellowship with a holy God. The Decalogue was never given to enable them to achieve justification, for that has always been granted through faith (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4). These commands demanded a response of obedience, not because that would somehow allow them to accumulate credit in the sight of God, but because the grace of God, experienced in the liberation of Egypt, demanded evidence of man’s gratitude and love.

These commandments were given to a people already redeemed. God doesn't say to them, once you obey these commands and prove you love me, then I will redeem you. No, instead we sing with Paul those great words, Romans5:8

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We know that no one is saved by following the law, but that the one redeemed is to have a desire to reflect the love of God in keeping the commandments. And God did not leave the people to follow him with blind faith, but had shown again and again his power over nature and over nations. He showed his care and concern even in the midst of the rebellion of the people.

We were rebels. We committed cosmic treason. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We have hearts that are deceitful above all else, and desperately wicked. We did not seek God. We had all sinned and fallen short. We had made a mockery of God’s order of things. We had insulted his majesty and holiness. We were completely and utterly slaves to sin and flesh, and yet, while were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God’s commands, specifically the ten commandments, were indeed given to a people he had already redeemed from the slavery of Egypt, and so these commands were not given to a people without a witness to the holiness and power and goodness of God. And His commands were refined and explained by Jesus, and by the the apostles. And the one who loves obeys. The proof of love of God is in the keeping of His commandments. The proof of loving Jesus is in keeping His commandments. The proof of loving the church and our fellow believers is in keeping the commandments.

I started with some questions we should ask ourselves: Why does Moses need to repeat the ten commandments, when everyone should already know them? Why does he preface the commandments with reminders of the recent history of the Israelite people? What can we learn about the seriousness of these commandments through their repetitiveness throughout Scripture?

I’m not going to answer the questions for you in closing, but instead I ask you to consider for yourself. This is called inductive learning. I’m not giving you the answer, but asking you to deduce the answer form scripture.

And having induced the answers, how will we live them out? How will we obey this Word? What will our lives look like if we fully engage in hearing, the Words of scripture, and learning the words of scripture, and being careful to do the words of scripture?

Pray about how your own life, and the life of your family, and the life of this church, can better reflect and obedience to God’s Word