DEUTERONOMY LESSON 5
We will begin this lesson in Deuteronomy 4:1 "Now therefore
hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I
teach you, for to do [them], that ye may live, and go in and possess
the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you."
Moses keeps reminding them that their eternal life and their well
being on this earth is dependent upon total obedience to the LORD.
"Hearken", is saying listen attentively. The statutes and the
judgements are for all of the people. Moses will teach them before
they enter into the promised land, because he will not go into the
promised land with them. They must go in and possess the land of
promise. They must obey God.
Deuteronomy 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command
you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the
commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."
This was a warning to them, and is, also, a warning to us.
Revelation 22:18 "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words
of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:"
Revelation 22:19 "And if any man shall take away from the words of the
book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of
life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are
written in this book."
Deuteronomy 4:3 "Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of
Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God
hath destroyed them from among you."
There is a great deal in the 25th chapter of Numbers on the
worship of false gods at Baal-peor. The following Scriptures give us
an idea of how God punished for that sin. Numbers 25:3 "And Israel
joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled
against Israel." Numbers 25:4 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all
the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the
sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from
Israel." Numbers 25:5 "And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay
ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor."
Deuteronomy 4:4 "But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God
[are] alive every one of you this day."
We see that only those who were involved in the sin were killed.
Those who stayed true to God lived.
Deuteronomy 4:5 "Behold, I have taught you statutes and
judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so
in the land whither ye go to possess it."
Moses wants them to clearly understand, that the statutes and
judgements God had given them on the trip, were for their practice in
the promised land. They are not to forget about God, and start living
pleasing to their own flesh. They are to keep God's commandments and
laws.
Deuteronomy 4:6 "Keep therefore and do [them]; for this [is] your
wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall
hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation [is] a wise
and understanding people."
The law and the ordinances were given to the Hebrews. The rest of
the world did not get the law from God. The one thing that set the
Israelites apart from the rest of the world, was their relationship
with their God. The people who lived around them thought of them as a
great nation, because God was with them, and because He had given them
His law. Their wisdom was a gift from God. Righteousness brings life.
The wisest man realizes his need for a Saviour. II Timothy 3:15 "And
that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able
to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus."
Deuteronomy 4:7 "For what nation [is there so] great, who [hath]
God [so] nigh unto them, as the LORD our God [is] in all [things that]
we call upon him [for]?"
This is the only nation in the world, at the time Moses wrote
this, that had the LORD dwelling with them. Exodus 29:45 "And I will
dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God."
Deuteronomy 4:8 "And what nation [is there so] great, that hath
statutes and judgments [so] righteous as all this law, which I set
before you this day?"
All the nations around them lived pleasing to their own flesh.
Every man did what was right in his own sight. The law and statutes
God had given Israel was not just to please God, but to cause Israel
to live uprightly. There were dietary laws, and civil laws, as well as
religious laws. There were over 600 instructions given to Israel in
the book of Leviticus to help them live righteously before God and
man. God did not want them to have an earthly king. He wanted to be
their only King. The one thing that set Israel aside, was the fact
that God had intrusted them with His law. Romans 3:2 "Much every way:
chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God."
Deuteronomy 4:9 "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul
diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen,
and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but
teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;"
This law is not just for this generation, but for all the
generations to come. They must walk in the knowledge God had entrusted
them with. They were to keep themselves holy before the LORD. We are
all warned to gird up our mind. Sin begins in the heart and mind of
men. Sin is the transgression of the law. Sin brings death. They must
live by the law that God gave them. We, Christians, must walk in our
salvation that we have received. It is important to stay in the
Christian walk, after you receive your salvation. It is a dangerous
thing to go back to pleasing the flesh.
Deuteronomy 4:10 "[Specially] the day that thou stoodest before
the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the
people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may
learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and
[that] they may teach their children."
The fear is not the terror kind of fear, but reverence toward God
and His commandments. God spoke to the people His commandments.
Exodus 19:16 "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning,
that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the
mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the
people that [was] in the camp trembled." Exodus 19:17 "And Moses
brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they
stood at the nether part of the mount." Exodus 20:18 "And all the
people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the
trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw [it], they
removed, and stood afar off." Exodus 20:20 "And Moses said unto the
people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may
be before your faces, that ye sin not." To fear God enough causes us
to teach our children to fear God, as well.
Deuteronomy 4:11 "And ye came near and stood under the mountain;
and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with
darkness, clouds, and thick darkness."
This darkness was from the smoke of the fire of God.
Deuteronomy 4:12 "And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of
the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only
[ye heard] a voice."
Hebrews 12:29 "For our God [is] a consuming fire." No one can
see the face of the LORD and live. Generally, when a person encounters
God, it is in a fire, or something relating to a fire. The burning
bush is a good example of that. The hub of the wheel in the wheel
inside of the wheel had a fire burning. Both of these things are the
presence of God. They saw no figure of a person. They heard His voice.
Deuteronomy 4:13 "And he declared unto you his covenant, which he
commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments; and he wrote them
upon two tables of stone."
God first spoke the ten commandments to the children of Israel
from the fire we just read about. Moses went on the mountain and
stayed 40 days and God wrote the ten commandments on the tables of
stone. Exodus 31:18 "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end
of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony,
tables of stone, written with the finger of God."
Deuteronomy 4:14 "And the LORD commanded me at that time to
teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land
whither ye go over to possess it."
The covenant that God made with them was dependent upon them
keeping God's laws and statutes.
Deuteronomy 4:15 "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves;
for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day [that] the LORD spake
unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:"
This is warning about the worship of idols or false gods. God is
a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in
Truth.
Deuteronomy 4:16 "Lest ye corrupt [yourselves], and make you a
graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or
female,"
The heathen around them worshipped images of false gods. This is
a warning not to make an image of a false god. The worship of false
gods is the same thing as spiritual adultery.
Deuteronomy 4:17 "The likeness of any beast that [is] on the
earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,"
They had made a golden calf and worshipped it. This is a warning
not to worship any of God's created beings. Birds, or animals, are not
to be worshipped. They are the creation of God, not the Creator.
Deuteronomy 4:18 "The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the
ground, the likeness of any fish that [is] in the waters beneath the
earth:"
Again, these things such as fish, or snakes, or anything else
that is created of God, are not to be worshipped. God, who created the
earth and everything in it, is to be worshipped.
Deuteronomy 4:19 "And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven,
and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all
the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve
them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the
whole heaven."
The sun, moon, and stars are, also, part of the creation of God.
They are not the Creator. They are His handiwork. All the host of
heaven, including angels, are part of God's great creative acts. God,
alone, is to be worshipped. Genesis 1:14 "And God said, Let there be
lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the
night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
years:" The following Scripture says it well. Romans 1:25 "Who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." We must
worship the Creator, and not His creation.
Deuteronomy 4:20 "But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you
forth out of the iron furnace, [even] out of Egypt, to be unto him a
people of inheritance, as [ye are] this day."
They had been in heavy bondage in Egypt. God, Himself, delivered
them out of Egypt {the world}. He had chosen them as His special
people to glorify His name to the whole world. He thought of Israel as
His wife.
Deuteronomy 4:21 "Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your
sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should
not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee
[for] an inheritance:"
Moses is still speaking of them causing him to strike the Rock
{which symbolized Jesus}, when God had told him to speak to it. They
had grieved Moses over and over. Moses lost his chance to go to the
promised land, because in his anger at the Israelites, he disobeyed
God.
Deuteronomy 4:22 "But I must die in this land, I must not go over
Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land."
Moses had led them to the door of the promised land, and yet,
would not be allowed to go in. He keeps reminding them how important
it is to obey the commands of God. It is as if he is saying, "Look at
me, I disobeyed God once, and lost my place".
Deuteronomy 4:23 "Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the
covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a
graven image, [or] the likeness of any [thing], which the LORD thy God
hath forbidden thee."
The graven image of a false god would greatly anger God. Moses
keeps reminding them not to do that. They must keep the covenant of
God, to be blessed in their land.
Deuteronomy 4:24 "For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire,
[even] a jealous God."
Almost every appearance of the LORD was in the midst of a fire.
Exodus 24:17 "And the sight of the glory of the LORD [was] like
devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of
Israel." God will not share His people with a false god. Exodus 34:14
"For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is]
Jealous, [is] a jealous God:"
Deuteronomy 5 Questions
1. Hearken, O Israel, unto the __________ and ___________.
2. Why must Israel do this?
3. What does "hearken" mean?
4. What does verse 2 warn of?
5. Quote Revelation chapter 22 verses 18 and 19.
6. What happened to the men who followed Baal-peor?
7. Quote Numbers chapter 25 verses 4 and 5.
8. What happened to those who did cleave to the LORD?
9. What statutes and judgements had Moses taught?
10. Who were the only people to receive the law and judgements?
11. What set Israel aside from all other nations?
12. Righteousness brings _______.
13. Quote Exodus chapter 29 verse 45.
14. How did the nations around them live?
15. What, other than religious laws, did God give them?
16. Quote Romans chapter 3 verse 2.
17. How long were these laws to be kept?
18. What is important for Christians to do, after they are saved?
19. What kind of fear is verse 10 speaking of?
20. Quote Exodus chapter 19 verses 16, 17, 18, and 20.
21. How did God appear to them at the mountain?
22. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 12.
23. Our God is a consuming _______.
24. What are some examples of seeing God in fire?
25. How were the tables of testimony written?
26. What did the covenant with God depend on?
27. What is verse 15 warning of?
28. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 16.
29. They were not to worship any of God's __________ beings.
30. What, in the heavens, is part of God's handiwork?
31. Quote Genesis chapter 1 verse 14.
32. Quote Romans chapter 1 verse 25.
33. What is Egypt called in verse 20?
34. God thought of Israel as His _______.
35. Why could Moses not go into the promised land?
36. The LORD thy God is a __________ ______, even a jealous God.
37. Quote Exodus chapter 24 verse 17.
38. What is one of God's names in Exodus chapter 34 verse 14?
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