See The Place the Lord your God chooses
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Brief review of context from Exodus to Deuteronomy
Deliverance from Egypt
Law given at Sinai
Tabernacle (pattern that reveals Jesus)
Sacrifices and feasts
Order brought to camp
Vows/ separation
Complaining
Gossip
Doubt / unbelief
Slander
Rejecting promise
Rebellion
Cursing
Harlotry
Discouragement
God is a covenant God, a God of vows and oaths
Statues, judgements, commandments given for our good
Need for humility
God is always at work to REVEAL Himself/ teach, lead in His ways (righteousness) and sanctify us
Questions:
Where does God choose to put His name when we see Him or He sees us?
What does He promise about that?
What does He instruct / what are our responsibilities regarding the way we see things?
Bible Study Scripture
Bible Study Scripture
Our Bible study is based on Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17
Presentation
Presentation
“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse:
the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today;
and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.
“Behold, I set before you...”
Behold:
ראה (rʾh): see 8011
8011 I. רָאָה (rā·ʾā(h)): v.; ≡ Str 3070, 7200, 7202; TWOT 2095a—1. LN 24.1–24.51 (qal) see, look, view, i.e., use the perception of sight to view objects and make judgments based on the perceptions (Ge 40:6); (nif) become visible, appear, show oneself (2Sa 17:17);
Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Choice:
Not between blessing and curse, but obedience and disobedience. But we will not obey unless we believe and trust Him; and we will not trust God unless we have seen Him in our hearts.
Blessing and curse are a consequence of our choice
the commandments of God reveal the ways of God
turning aside is idolatry
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord.
His ways, His paths, His laws, His word, His light
Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
Gerizim means to cut
Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”
So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,
the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Karath - a technical term for making a covenant
And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
It is possible to be cut off from the covenant
What does it mean to be uncircumsized?
Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.
Obstinate in an arrogant way - Webster’s
(Genesis 3:45)
Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
Curse - means “bald, bare, stony” Genesis 3
“These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.
You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place.
You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things.
Reflects on 1st commandment
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.
Name = “Sham” = name, reputation, memory, renoun, by implication honour, authenticity, character
Dwelling Place:
“Sheken” (from Shakam): to reside, permanently stay
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
The Pattern of the Tabernacle given to Moses at Sinai
I would propose that the pattern for the place where the Lord chooses to put His name for His dwelling place is found in His law, His torah (teaching and instruction)
There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
There you shall eat BEFORE the Lord your God
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’
“So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
The place where the Lord chooses is where the light of His countenance shines
His law is light; the place He chooses is under His governance
Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land,
take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’
You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Notice conjunctions; “that” and “when”
Any curiosity or fascination about how darkness works is unhealthy and opens the door to enticement
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Holy is a cut above - His special treasure
‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
Our TRUST in His instruction and call to holiness are linked to our SEEING who He is. What He has done, but what if we forget?
“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
“Eat BEFORE the Lord your God”
But why there?
They are BEHOLDING Him!!!
“That you may learn to fear the Lord your God always”
Fear: reverence, awe, infatuation being consumed with Him
But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you,
then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
Not about the tithe, but about coming BEFORE Him, to rejoice in His presence, in Him
“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’
False teaching is rampant (2 Thessalonians 2 lying signs; Matthew 24; Amos 8:11 - Famine of the word of God - why?)
“I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’
How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,
who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.
The reason for going to the Place where the Lord chooses and rejoicing in His presence is to REMEMBER
“The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.
“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
But if they had stood in My counsel, And had caused My people to hear My words, Then they would have turned them from their evil way And from the evil of their doings.
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.
But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Testing involves humility (Deuteronomy 8:16)
Why?
For our good
Test is not pass/ fail, but to reveal our hearts
Opportunity to repent when awareness is raised (conviction)
How do we turn away?
Forgetting His name
“You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes—
“I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone,
but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today
“Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” ’ ”
And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.”
Doing what is right in our own eyes is rebellion which leads to hopelessness and bitterness (re: discouragement from judgement)
for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.
But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety,
then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the Lord.
And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see;
but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.
And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release.
Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother,
except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—
only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.
For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
“If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you.
The Lord is addressing the issues of the heart
You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
We can’t fulfill our responsibilities in covenant relationship with God apart from Him
Our dependency on Him is absolute
Unless our understaning of our relationship to the Gospel starts here, there will always be an element of pride and entitlement in our response to God
We will eventually rebel in someway, shape or form instead of humbly rejoicing in who He has revealed Himself to be, and what we have seen Him do.
This is beholding (seeing) Him, but done in the way that He prescribes
Apart from the truth of His word, it is impossible to behold (see) Him as He desires
How can we see God without His Son?
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;
you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord has blessed you with, you shall give to him.
You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.
And if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you,
“I will not go away from you”
“because He loves you and your house”
This is the consequence of SEEING/ BEHOLDING the Lord on the redeemed heart of a child of God
then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.
When we posture ourselves in humility and thankfulness, remembering and worshiping Him, we are positioned for Him to mark us as His own forever
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.
Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Impossible without Him!!!
Summary
Summary
“Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God.’
On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands.
Three oaths:
To make Himself known (seen)
“I AM” the Lord your God
To bring them out of Egypt into the glory of all lands
“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.
And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.
He will do it before our own eyes
What’s our responsibility?
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.
They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.