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Deuteronomy 5:1-33
! Introduction
I saw on the news a while back that in one Ontario town they have plywood policemen.
They cut out a picture of a life sized policeman holding up a radar gun and place the figure on a busy street.
From a distance, people can't tell that it is not a real policeman and they slow down.
We all know the law, but often it is the threat of enforcement that makes us obey the law.
We do not necessarily like to obey, but we do, however, often only because it is enforced and often only when enforcement is threatened.
In contrast to such obedience is the obedience given to someone we love deeply.
If mom says to her teenaged son, "could you please do the dishes" the response, "I'm kind of busy" wouldn't be surprising.
But if that same teen aged boy goes to his girlfriends place and she sweetly asks, "could you help me with the dishes" he will likely grab a towel, smile and do it willingly.
What motivates you to willing obedience?
Last Sunday when we studied Deuteronomy 4, we were encouraged that following God was the best way to go.
We also saw that obedience is an integral part of following God.
Deuteronomy 4:39,40a say "..." God invites us to obedience!
Deuteronomy 5:1 says, " " This morning, we will look at Deuteronomy 5 and learn how God motivates us to obedience and examine some specific details about what obedience means.
! I. The Nature Of Obedience
!! A. Cowering in Fear?
We have heard the sad stories about children who obey an abusive father because they know that if they do not, they will get beat up.
Obedience is given, but it is an obedience rendered in fear.
In some pagan cultures, religion involves keeping certain powerful rituals in order to appease the anger of the gods.
There are religions in which children are sacrificed so that the gods will not become angry and bring some terrible disaster to bear on the comunity.
Once again we see obedience rendered in fear.
There are some people who believe that God operates in this way.
That He is a terrible, powerful God who is just waiting for an opportunity to destroy anyone who disobeys Him.
They obey Him out of a sense of fear that some terrible disaster will come upon them if they do not.
But is that what God is really like?
Is that the way in which He motivates us to obedience?
!! B. Response To Holiness
In the Deuteronomy 5, Moses reminded the people of what had happened when they had stood at the foot of Mt.
Sinai in order to receive the law from God.
God presented Himself to them on the mountain and spoke to them.
Deuteronomy 5:4 says, " " Then Deuteronomy 5:23-25 describes a little more of what happened there.
What was God doing here?
Was He threatening them with his power?
Was he presenting an angry face in order to force them to obey?
Did they fear because they thought that if they didn't obey, God would pounce on them immediately with judgement?
Listen again to what the elders said in 5:24, "God has shown us his glory and majesty and we have heard his voice from the fire...we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him."
What we have here, is a picture of holiness.
They themselves indicate that it is not God's judgement and power they fear, but his glory and majesty.
God showed them His holiness and in light of His holiness they feared because they knew who they were unholy.
What God was trying to do in this event was to motivate them to obedience.
But contrary to many other religions, He did not motivate them by fear of punishment, but by presenting them with His holiness and inviting them to be his holy people as He was holy.
Lev.
11:45 says, "I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy."
"They felt that they were powerless, frail, and aliented by sin from the holy God."
Through a proper fear of God they were being motivated not to sin through distrust, disobedience or resistance to His guidance and commands."
Those who experienced this responded.
They said, in verse 27, "..."
!! C. Response To A Covenant Of Love
Moses further sought to motivate them to obedience by reminding them of the relatioship of grace they had with God.
In Deuteronomy 5:2, we read "...".
In Deuteronomy 5:6 we read "..."
The call to obedience begins with God's initiative in giving them salvation.
They had been redeemed from slavery in Egypt.
God took the initiative to establish a relationship with them by setting them free from bondage and making them His people.
Then he met with them at Mt. Sinai or Horeb as it is called here, and made an agreement with them promising to be their God and inviting them to be his people.
God was not saying to them, obey me or else.
He was saying to them, "I love you, I have saved you from Egypt, and if you are to be my people, this is what it means.
Please do this for me."
In other words, obedience was motivated by love and relationship.
Like a person in love, not like the law hanging over us.
We often look at the law as the means of salvation, but in this passage, we see that salvation had already occured and obedience was a response to salvation.
The ten commandments were not about achieving salvation, but about living like God’s people.
!! D. A Way to Life
Those of you who are Star Trek fans will recognize the Vulcan greeting, “live long and prosper.”
A further motivation to obedience is given as a promise for obedience in a phrase which is very similar to this.
We read in Deuteronomy 5:33 "Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess."
God encouraged them to obey because if they would, they would do well in the land that they were going to possess.
God promised them that if they obeyed him, they would live long and prosper.
!! E. Obey Today?
So we see that God was very different than other religions.
He motivated them to obedience by showing Himself to them in all His holiness, by reminding them that he had saved them and thus inviting them to respond in obedience and by promising them blessing if they obeyed him.
Do these ten words still speak to us today?
Are we also called to obey God in the same way?
Moses motivated them by pointing to God's holiness.
I Peter 1:15,16 says to us, "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Moses motivated them by pointing to the salvation they had experienced.
We have also experienced God's love in saving us and calling us to be His people and as a response, we also must obey Him in order to be His people.
Eph 5:1 says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children..."
Moses motivated them by promising blessing and God continues to reward obedience.
Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
So in other words, God encourages us to obey Him with the same kinds of motivations.
But do these specific ten words still apply to us?
The summary of obedience for believers in the New Testament is found in Matthew 22:37-39 which says, "...'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
In outline, the ten words can be divided into two parts.
The first part is about loving God and the second part is about loving our neighbour.
Therefore, we also are invited by God to follow Him in obedience and the ten words of Deuteronomy 5 are still basic specifics about obedience.
! II.
The Specifics Of Obedience
You may have heard of the "top ten lists?"
If we were to reorganize the ten commandments into the top ten list of commandments broken by people today, how would you sort them out?
What would be the number one commandment broken today?
If God were to give us His list of top ten commandments broken today, which commandment would He say is the top commandment broken today?
If God were to make a list of the top ten commandments you have broken, what would He say to you?
Let us take a brief look at these ten words in the order God first gave them and examine ourselves according to these commandments.
Are we walking in holiness by obeying these commandments?
!! A. No Other Gods
Because we don't have gods like Baal in North America today, we don't think that this law pertains to us.
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