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Scripture Reading: Deut. 9:1-8; 10:12-21
In this message we will cover the general advices and warnings found in 9:1—10:22.
In 9:3 Moses charged the children of Israel, saying, "Know therefore today that Jehovah your God is the One crossing over before you as a consuming fire; it is He who will destroy them and it is He who will subdue them before you, so that you may dispossess them and destroy them quickly, as Jehovah has said to you." Although Jehovah is a loving God, here He is revealed as a consuming fire that will destroy the nations.
In verses 4 through 6 we see that God would dispossess the nations, not because the children of Israel were righteous but because the nations were wicked. In verse 4 Moses continued his charge: "Do not say in your heart when Jehovah your God drives them out from before you, Because of my righteousness, Jehovah has brought me in to possess this land. Rather, it is because of the wickedness of these nations that Jehovah is about to dispossess them from before you." Therefore, God's dispossessing the nations was not due to the uprightness of the heart of His people; it was due to the wickedness of the nations. This indicates that even the wickedness of the nations serves God's purpose.
In verse 7 Moses went on to say, "Remember, do not forget, that you made Jehovah your God furious in the wilderness; from the day that you came forth from the land of Egypt up until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Jehovah." Here Moses reminded the people that their history was a history of rebellion. From the time they came out of Egypt, they had been rebellious continually. The forty years in the wilderness were years of rebellion.
Suppose some among the new generation of the children of Israel said, "This rebellion was not our fault — it was the mistake of our fathers. They were the ones who rebelled and died in the wilderness. That rebellion had nothing to do with us. We are different." To any who might have spoken in this way, Moses might have replied, "Do not say that you are different from your fathers. You are sons of rebels, and rebels can only bring forth rebels. Just as a serpent cannot bring forth a lamb, so a rebel cannot bring forth one who is obedient. You need to realize that, as sons of rebels, you also are rebels."
In 9:8—10:11 Moses rehearsed the story of the rebellion of the children of Israel in making the golden calf and worshipping it at the mount of God, as a solemn testimony against the children of Israel. At the very time the Ten Commandments were being given, the rebellious children of Israel were violating the second commandment — the commandment concerning not making an idol and bowing down to it. They made an idol, bowed down to it, and served it. In order to give them an illustration of their history of rebellion, Moses reminded them of what they did at the mount of God.
In 10:12-22 Moses charged the children of Israel concerning nine matters: fearing Jehovah their God, walking in all His ways, loving Him, serving Him with all their heart and all their soul, keeping His commandments and statutes for their good, circumcising the foreskin of their heart, not being stiff-necked any longer, holding fast to Him, and swearing by His name, who is their praise and their God. Let us consider these matters one by one.
Verse 12 says, "Now, O Israel, what does Jehovah your God ask of you except that you fear Jehovah your God so that you would walk in all His ways and love Him and serve Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul." First, Moses speaks here of fearing God. We all must have a proper fear of God. However, it seems that today many people, claiming that they are free, do not fear anything or anyone, including God. This lack of fear is terrible; it is the source of all kinds of lawlessness. The young people should recognize that, according to God's ordination, there is authority in the family, in society, and in the church. In whatever we do, say, and think, we all need to fear God. He is observing us and knows where we are and what we are doing. Eventually, we will reap a harvest from what we sow, and we will eat the fruit of this harvest.
When we fear God, we will walk in His ways. God's ways are actually what God is. This means that whatever God is, is a way to us. God is love, and this love is a way in which we should walk. God "loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Therefore, love the sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt" (vv. 18b-19). One of God's ways is to love sojourners, and we should walk in this way of God. Many sojourners are poor, lacking food and clothing. We need to love them and give them what they need. God is also holy, and His holiness is another way for our walk. Furthermore, God "does not regard persons and does not take bribes" (v. 17b), and we should take this as a way, not regarding persons and not receiving bribes. God also "executes justice for the orphan and the widow" (v. 18a), and we should walk in the way of His justice.
The Lord Jesus said, "I am the way" (John 14:6). Since the Lord Jesus is the very God, this word indicates that God Himself is the way. To take what God is as our ways and to walk in these ways is to live God. When we take Christ as our way, we live Him in what He is. He is humble, and we should live in the way of humility. He is the One who always takes the cross, and we should walk in the way of the cross. To take Christ as our way is to live Him, and to live Him is to express Him, to manifest Him, and even to magnify Him. Hence, to walk in God's ways is to live God, express God, manifest God, and magnify God. We should take God as our way and thus act as He acts.
The vision of the New Jerusalem reveals that we should take God as our unique way. In the New Jerusalem there is just one street, which is of pure gold (Rev. 21:21), signifying that the nature of God is our way. The river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb and flows in the midst of the street (Rev. 22:1). This indicates that God is both our life and our way. We take God as our life, and His life with His nature then becomes the way in which we walk. Today we all should fear God and walk in His ways.
In Deuteronomy 10:12 Moses also charged the people to love God. This word love implies a great deal. For instance, it implies the matter of affection, which is something very tender. God Himself has set an example of loving by setting His affection on His people. Moses refers to this in verses 14 and 15. "Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to Jehovah your God, the earth and all that is in it. But on your fathers Jehovah set His affection to love them and to choose their seed after them, that is, you above all the peoples, as it is this day." Now we should love God by setting our affection on Him.
In verse 12 Moses speaks of loving and serving God with all our heart and with all our soul. Our heart is linked to our spirit, for our conscience, which is of our spirit, is also a part of our heart. Thus, to love and serve God with all our heart and soul indicates that we love and serve Him also with our spirit. Furthermore, according to 6:5, we are to love Him also with all our might, that is, with our physical strength. Today, if we would serve God by practicing the new way, we need to serve with our spirit and with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. To visit people in order to get them saved and baptized and then to care for them afterward requires all our heart, soul, and strength.
In 10:13 Moses went on to say, "So that you would keep the commandments of Jehovah and His statutes, which I am commanding you today, for your good." Instead of "for your good," we could also say "that you may be blessed." Today we need to keep Christ and the riches of Christ which have been ministered to us so that we may be blessed.
Moses continued his charge by saying, "Circumcise then the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stiff-necked any longer" (v. 16). Because the children of Israel were a peculiar people to God, His treasure, they were required to cleanse themselves, to circumcise the unclean thing in their heart.
In verse 20 Moses says, "You shall fear Jehovah your God; Him shall you serve and to Him shall you hold fast and by His name shall you swear." Today we must hold fast to the Lord Jesus. In holding fast to Him, we may say, "Lord, I will not let You go. You must live for me."
In this verse Moses speaks not only of holding fast to God but also of swearing by His name. I believe that for the children of Israel to swear by the Lord's name was to call on His name. This was the ancient way of calling on the name of the Lord. Today we all need to hold fast to the Lord Jesus and call on His name.
