Deuteronomy 8:13; 31:9-13; 32:44-47

Introduction

      I was talking to Allan about how he repairs combines and other machinery and he told me that sometimes, he has to consult the manual to find parts and to know exactly how things are put together.

      Last week, Ivan told me that they were using a drug on his dad which was giving unexpected side effects and when the doctor looked it up in the manual, it wasn't there and so Ivan went on the internet and got all kinds of information on this drug.

      A few years ago, when I put together the Volkswagon, I had a book that told me how to do it. At one point, when I was putting the clutch on, it said that I should put a guide into the hole for the shaft to line up the clutch. I didn't have such a guide and so ignored that step, but found out when I tried to put the engine in that it wouldn't work because the holes didn't line up. I had to take the engine out, take apart the clutch again and do it right - according to the manual.

      In many areas of life, we know that it is wise to consult the manual. If we need to know something or if we want to do something right, there is usually a book or some other resource to consult so that we succeed. In the most important area of life itself that is in our relationship to the one who created us, do we consult the manual? Do we spend time studying God's Word and finding out how to live, how to relate to God, how to follow His way?

      One of the main messages of Deuteronomy is that the people of Israel were to obey the law that God had given them. The promise was that if they would, they would prosper. This morning we will look at a few passages which challenge us to hear the call to obedience, give us reason to follow God's Word and suggest how to make it part of our life. I goal this morning it to encourage to spend time in God's Word and obey it.

I.                   Obey God's Word

      Twenty-nine times in Deuteronomy, Moses told the people to obey God and his word. It is probably one of  the most often repeated words in the book of Deuteronomy. Several other times, he uses other words, such as "follow," to convey the same idea. For example, the first time he says this, we read in 4:1,  "Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you." The last time he says this is in 32:46, "he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law."

      It is obvious that Moses was concerned that the people of Israel would obey God. Before we examine why obedience is so important, let us take a few minutes to think about what he meant by "decrees, laws and words" and how they apply to us.

      In Exodus to Deuteronomy, we have a collection of laws which God gave to Israel. At the most basic level, there were the ten commandments. But there were also other laws. Laws about how to conduct worship. These included laws about sacrifices and the priesthood and how to worship. There were laws about how to approach God since He was holy and they unholy, God provided a way for them to approach Him through the provision of the temple. Then there were many laws which related to dietary laws and other moral laws which provided guidelines for how they should live their lives as God's people. Although some have suggested that the call to obedience refers only to the ten commandments or to the book of Deuteronomy, I think it would be more accurate to say that Moses was calling people to obey all the words which God had spoken. The Word's of God were intended to guide the whole life of the nation.

      As we read these laws, we often wonder how all these things apply to us. We probably agree that the ten commandments are still relevent, but what about the dietary laws? Should we refrain from eating pork? Are we supposed to sacrifice animals? We realize that many of the Old Testament laws are not relevant to us today. Then, however, the problem becomes, if the Old Testament laws are no longer relevant to us, how do we view the Old Testament? Does the OT still have something to say to us? How do we know what to apply and what to ignore? If this is God's Word, how can we ignore any of it? In other words, what is the relevance of the Old Testament to us and how do we hear God's Word for us from it?

      Let me share with you how I handle this issue.

      First of all, we need to understand that the whole Bible is the Word of God. II Timothy 3:16 says, "all Scripture is inspired..." Some people want to isolate the words of Jesus as the Words from God and ignore the Old Testament as not relevant. Others suggest that Paul is merely a collection of his personal opinions. I do not share that view, rather, according to the Bible's own testimony, I accept the entire Bible as the Word of God.

      But that does not mean that it all has the same authority for today. The Old Testament was preparatory for the New Testament. Understanding the Old Testament, helps us understand much of the New Testament. It provides background for it. However, the Old Testament is superseded by the New Testament. For example, in the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered because it is necessary that blood be shed so that sins can be forgiven. But we do not need to sacrifice animals now because Jesus died on the cross once for all for the forgiveness of sins and, therefore, animal sacrifices are no longer needed.

      But just because the New Testament has superseded the Old, this does not mean that the Old Testament is no longer relevant. There is still much that we can learn about who God is and what it means to follow Him from the Old Testament. The way to do this is to study each passage in its context, to try to understand what universal principles God is communicating. Often it also helps to see how the New Testament handles similar material.

      So when we read in Deuteronomy that Israel was to obey the law of God and we find that many of the things that were commanded are no longer applicable to us, how do we take this command? The best way to apply it is to recognize that the teaching to obey God's Word is still very much applicable because God still has a word for us and we must still obey His word. Furthermore, this command to obey God's word is repeated in the New Testament. Luke 11:28 says, "Blessed... are those who hear the word of God and obey it." So when we hear Moses say again and again that God's people should follow God's word, we too must obey God's Word.

II.               The Value Of God's Word

      Why obey God's word? There are two passages in Deuteronomy that help us answer that question.

A.                 Life Is More Than Bread 8:3

      After Israel came out of Egypt, and had crossed the Red Sea, they headed out into the desert where God was leading them by the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. After a a few months of wandering, the fresh vegetables were gone and their stores of grain must have been getting low and they began to complain about their food supply. They were becoming afraid that they would starve in the desert. It was at this time, that God provided manna for them. Exodus 16 describes how they received the manna and what it was like and how they were to handle it. Every morning, they would find it on the ground. God commanded them that they should gather only enough for each day and no more. When some of them doubted God's word, they found that by the next morning, it was not very appetizing since it was full of worms. On the Sabbath, however, a very different thing happened. On the sixth day, they were supposed to gather twice as much and save it for the seventh day so that they would not have to do the work of gathering on the Sabbath. All the rest of the week, if they had done that, it would have spoiled, but on the seventh day, it stayed good.

      In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses reminded Israel of this incident. He begins this chapter by telling the people to obey God's Word. Verse 3, is a key verse in the argument to obey God. In this verse, he points to the manna experience and says, " ".

      What the manna story taught the children of Israel was that they were sustained not merely by the food itself, but by obedience to God's word. When they obeyed God and gathered only enough food for one day, they had what they needed, but when they disobeyed God and tried to gather more, it rotted. When they disobeyed God and failed to gather double for the Sabbath, they were hungry on the Sabbath because there was none. Through this, they learned that obedience to God's word and not bread itself was the source of their sustenance.

      The lesson for us is the same. We think that we are dependent on our ability, on our strength and wisdom, but we are sustained by obedience to the Word of God. We think that the most important thing in the world is making sure that we provide for our physical needs, but in fact, the most important thing is God's Word.

      When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, he also was tempted to disobey God and listen to the devil who suggested that he make bread out of stones. Jesus was more interested in obedience to God than in eating and quoted this verse to Satan to rebuke him. He knew that often in the short run and always in the long run we are sustained by obedience to God's word.

      I knew someone who once asked me if they should go into a business venture with another person. The person who asked me was a Christian and the partner was not. From a business standpoint, it looked like a pretty good idea, but I was pretty sure that such a merger would involve being unequally yoked.  The person went ahead and formed a partnership and it lasted about a year or so and in the end it was a disaster. This was one occasion when I learned that it is always better to obey the Word of God because obedience to God's word will always be our sustenance.

      One writer says, "Human life does not depend primarily upon physical food; it is more important to obey the word of God even if obedience involves physical hunger." The point is that we must obey God's Word because that is the only place we will find sustenance that will truly satisfy.

B.                 God's Word Is Life 32:44-47

      When I go to the coffee shop, I sometimes hear political debates. In that setting, people are quite free to offer their opinions about how the country should be run. Isn't it interesting that few of these ideas ever make it out of the coffee shop and into government policy? They are idle words, they have no power to change things, they do not make a difference in the life of the average Canadian. On the other hand, words written in laws are carefully debated and worked through because they will make a difference in the life of every Canadian.

      At the end of Deuteronomy, Moses was summing up what he had told the people. In Deuteronomy 32:46 he said to them again that they should obey God's Word. We read, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law." In the following verse, we read,  "They are not just idle words for you--they are your life."

      Many people treat the Words of God as idle words. They do not realize that their very life depends on these words. We must obey the Word of God because His Word is a life giving word. It was God's Word that brought everything into being and it is God's Word that will be the basis of judgement for every person. All of life is sustained by God's Word and God's Word provides the guidelines that will make for the best kind of life.

      This theme is repeated often in the book of Deuteronomy and as we read the rest of Deuteronomy 32:47 we read, "...By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." The same thing continues to be true. God's Words are not idle words, it is when we follow them that we will find life.

      In our care group meeting the other day, we were talking about forgiveness. We wree reminded that forgiveness is an unnatural act and is very hard for us to do. Human nature says that we should demand justice and pay people back for the way they hurt us. But when we obey God's word to forgive, we find that we are set free from guilt and bitterness and inner oppression. Several people shared about experiences in which they had been hurt, had forgiven and were set free. God's word says that we should forgive and when we obey this word, we find that it is life giving. God's Words are not idle words, but are our life.

      For someone burdened under the guilt of sin, the word of God which says that by the blood of Jesus you are forgiven is a word of life. For someone struggling with fear of death, the words of God which remind us of the hope of eternal life are words of life. For someone fearing enemies and struggles that are beyond them, the Word of God that says come unto me all who are burdened and I will give you rest are words of life. For someone struggling with a temptation, the word of God that says obey me is a word of life bccause obedience to God always leads to life.

      I like the old song, "Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life." It is so true that God's words are not idle words, they are our life. Are we living by them?

III.            Valuing God's Word 31:9-13

      In passing leadership in an organization, the leader is responsible to articulate the mission and vision of the organization and make sure it continues after his departure

Moses was not going over the Jordan with the people. Since the time that he had received the law directly from God, he had been the steward of the law, but now that he was not going along, he needed to place it into the hands of others who would teach and interpret the law for them. So he gave it to the priests and to the elders of the people and he provided a way of keeping the word of God before the people. We read in Deuteronomy 31:9-13, " " In this passage, he encouraged the people to make sure that they knew the word of God and that the next generation would also know God's Word..

      We have heard God say to us that we are to obey Him. We have heard the sustaining and life giving power of obedience to God's word. What part does God's Word play in our life?

      Moses was concerned that the Word of God be read. At that time, there was only one copy of the law, so it was very important that the people would gather from time to time in order to read the law. Reading's purpoes was to make the law prized by the whole nation as a precious gift of the grace of God. So Moses provided a plan and that was that at the feast of Tabernacles as they gathered once every 7 years, they should take time to read this law. Many years later, it seems that the reading of the law had been abandoned, but then Josiah (II Chron 34:30ff. ) rediscovered the law and made provision for the people to read it once again. At this time, there was a great revival. The word of God is powerful, it is a word of life, but it will not have any effect if we do not read it.

      How many of you regularly read the Word of God? We do not have the limiting factor that we have only one copy. All of us have a Bible and perhaps more than one. If you do not have a Bible in a translation that is readable, come and see me and I will make sure you get one. We have access to God's word, but are we regularly reading it? Moses provided a plan for regular reading of the Word of God. I would encourage you to do the same. If it is only a few minutes every day, I encourage you to regularly read this word of life.

      I have occasionally caught myself reading a book and suddenly realizing that I have read perhaps a page or more and I have no idea what I have read. I was just reading words, not listening to them. Moses was not merely concerned that they read it, but that they and their children should hear the Word of God. As we read and study the Word of God, we need to make sure that we are hearing what God is saying. This requires paying attention, it requires accurate interpretation. We can't just bring our ideas to the text, but we must constantly listen for what God is saying. As we teach the Word of God in classes, we need to make sure that it is heard. We need to be creative and wise teachers to make sure that the children, young people and adults we teach are really hearing. In an age of video sound bites, this has become a challenging matter.

      But God's Word must also be read and heard for a purpose. Moses goes on to say that it must be learned so that people learn to fear the Lord. The study of the Word of God is not an end in itself. We read and hear it for the purpose of coming to know God and His ways.  The more we understand of His Word, the more we know Him and learn to have the proper attitude towards Him. We talked last week about the importance of fearing the Lord - having a proper attitude of love and awe for God. When we fear God, we will not fear others because we will know that it is by His Words that we have life.

      Finally, Moses wanted the people to read and hear the Word of God so that they would follow it. What a waste of time to spend hours studying God's truth and filling our minds with it, but not living by it. If we do that, it shows that we have not really accepted it as God's Word. God's Word, as we have seen, is life and so we must apply daily what we learn.

Conclusion

      Malaria is a widespread and often fatal disease. Until early in the 20th century Quinidine was the only known anti-malarial drug. Today there are several others, however, if you get malaria,  and don't get medication quickly, there is a good chance that you will die. Suppose you had malaria and the doctor came up to you and said, here is your medication, take it right away and you will live. You wouldn't say to the doctor, it is too big, I can't swallow it and besides, I don't like the color of it, don't you have something in a nice blue? Yet how many times do we do that with the Word of life?

      These books are texts I was supposed to study when I took philolophy in university. People point to these philosophies as ways of life and follow them, but they all disappoint. 

      God's Words are words of life. It is only in them that we will find sustenance and life. We must not refuse to read it, know it, learn to fear God through it and follow it.

      This message requires action. What will you do? Perhaps you need to spend more time reading God's Word. Perhaps there is an area in which you need to obey it. Whatever your situation, remember, we live by the Word of God and so I encourage you to do what God says.