THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Deuteronomy: Moses' Great Appeal For Israel To Obey God For Blessing

Part V: Specific Treaty Stipulations Of The Great King, Deuteronomy 12-26

I. Trusting God With Our Income Level Versus The Idolatry Of Covetousness

(Deuteronomy 19:14)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

The Tenth Commandment directs, "Thou shalt not covet . . ." (Exodus 20:17 KJV), but our world is being deluged with the promotion of covetousness especially in regards to personal income levels (as follows):

(1) The U. S. News & World Report online, September 27, 2013, noted: "Even a casual news-watcher likely has been bombarded recently with data points about inequality: 400 Americans have more wealth than half the total U. S. population . . ." (usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/27/review-inequality-and-indignation-for-all)

The story cites Former U. S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich who is "clearly outraged at the information he's relaying" in a movie on the issue and calls us "'to change the community, our society, maybe even the world,'" Ibid.

(2) Adding fuel to the mix is the dose of federal government actions that stir up economic woes in support of covetousness: The Wall Street Journal, October 21, 2013, ran its lead editorial, "The Morgan Shakedown," p. A18 together with Richard J. Parson's op-ed, "Sending a Bad Message to Big Banks," Ibid. These articles viewed together show the government first tried to make home ownership available for lower income citizens, but who were also financially ill-equipped to repay such loans. Nevertheless, the government dangled lucrative incentives before big banks to loan such folk the money. When the banks responded by taking extra risks in making the loans, the housing bubble arose and burst, fomenting the great economic recession. As big bank Bear Stearns started to fail under its burdens of such troublesome mortgages, the federal government persuaded J. P. Morgan to take over Bear Sterns, and now the government is penalizing J. P. Morgan $13 billion for the past bad loans made by Bear Stearns.

The journal's editorial claimed: "(J)ustice . . . would require arresting Barney Frank and those in Congress who blocked the reform of Fannie and Freddie, plus the Federal Reserve governors who created so much easy credit." Ibid.

(3) However, the focus on covetousness hits us at the grassroots level, too: (a) Zain Asher's article, "Steady Paycheck or Dream Career?" in Money magazine (November 2013, p. 40) claims "80% of workers in their twenties said in a recent Harris survey they'd like to change careers . . . [but] 'are reluctant to pursue jobs they're passionate about because of financial constraints'" in citing "Ellen Gordon Reeves, author of Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?" (b) Older Americans are also hit with this push toward income covetousness: a Fisher Investments ad on page 47 of the same magazine stated: "What Investors Should Worry About: It's no secret that the vast majority of Americans entering their retirement years are doing so with vastly underfunded retirement savings . . ." (Ibid.)

Need: Thus we ask, "How can I handle the many pressures I face to covet more money relative to my income?!"

I. Deuteronomy 19:14 taught Israel to trust God for income versus turning to the idolatry of covetousness:

A. This verse belongs to the Deuteronomy chapters 12-26 specific treaty stipulations (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 260) that were not an exhaustive list of God's laws, but instructed Israel on specific spiritual challenges she would face upon entering the land of Canaan (Ibid., p. 283; Deuteronomy 4:10).

B. As such, Deuteronomy 19:14 called Israel to trust God versus the idolatry of stealing from another's income:

1. The Hebrew verb rendered "remove" (KJV) is sug, and in the Hiphil stem as here means to "move back," or away from one's self, B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 690-691), Deuteronomy 19:14.

2. This moving of the landmark between one's self and his neighbor away from one's self leaves the moving party seizing part of his neighbor's property as his own, effectively stealing part of his neighbor's land.

3. In Canaan where Israel's business would be agriculture, such a seizure meant to increase one's agribusiness income, to redistribute wealth by stealing from another's income source to enhance one's own income!

C. This sin was wrong on four counts: (1) the fathers set the landmarks (Deut. 19:14), so moving them debased the fathers versus the spirit of the Fifth Commandment (Ex. 20:12); (2) it also replaced God Who gave Israel the land and by lot set which plot of land each man inherited (Gen. 15:17-21; Num. 26:55; Pr. 16:33) with the false god of income opposite the First Commandment (Ex. 20:3); (3) it violated the Tenth Commandment on covetousness (Ex. 20:17) and (4) it violated the Eighth Commandment that prohibited stealing (Ex. 20:15).

D. However, in light of Israel's history, such sin ESPECIALLY indicated a failure to trust God for one's income provisions VERSUS any threat of income loss to the contrary:

1. To know how to divide the land for inheritances, Israel took a census of all the men, Numbers 26:52-54.

2. However, two census events occurred, one near the start of the Exodus (Numbers 1:1-3) and one as Israel prepared to enter Canaan (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Num. 25:1; Num. 26:1-4), for between these two censuses, 1.2 million people had died in the wilderness for their sin, and there had been a great population shift among the tribes over the intervening 40-year period, outdating the equitable distribution formula set in the first census, requiring that a second census be taken, Ibid., ftn. to Numbers 26:5-51.

3. Of note, the sins that had produced this population shift that affected the land inheritance distribution were unbelief in God due to fears relative to one's welfare, particularly as applied to income issues:

a. Two of the sins, one committed at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:11-12) and the other at Kadesh (Num. 14:1-21), rose respectively from fear of a destructive government (Pharaoh's army) and international foes (Anakim).

b. One of the sins of unbelief, that at Mount Sinai (Ex. 32:1-7), rose from falsely fearing a vacuum of divine and human leadership in the nation that could negatively impact Israel's welfare and livelihood.

c. The other seven sinful failures dealt with fears related to livelihood income itself, including the crisis of bitter water at Marah (Ex. 15:23-24), the lack of food in the wilderness of Sin (Ex. 16:2), unbelief in God's ability to repeat a former provision of manna (Ex. 16:20), unbelief in God's ability to preserve manna gathered before the Sabbath and for the Sabbath day (Ex. 16:27), unbelief in God's provision of water in a dry desert (Ex. 17:1-3), unbelief in general that led to complaining (Num. 11:1) and unbelief in God's ability to provide good food over Israel's loathing for God's repetitive provisions of manna (Num. 11:4).

4. Thus, the history of the setting of Israel's landmarks taught the huge lesson that every head of household had to trust God to supply the income he needed via his God-assigned plot without stealing more land!

II. Indeed, Israel's king David later saw God has his ACTUAL income Source (as follows):

A. David in Psalm 16:5-6 likened the Lord to his portion of land inheritance, noting the figuraative border lines of his inheritance had fallen out to him in pleasant places, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 804.

B. In reality, David acknowledged that his REAL Source of income in Israel was the Lord Himself: though David was of the tribe of Judah and would have owned a personal plot of land at or near Bethlehem (1 Samuel 16:1-13), much like the Tribe of Levi, David saw the Lord as his REAL Inheritance, cf. Deut. 18:1-2.

III. God also calls believers today to be content with the things they possess without coveting more things, to trust the Lord as their Helper if facing economic threats from foes or material shortage, Hebrews 13:5-6.

Lesson: God called Israel not to turn to the idolatry of covetousness in moving back her neighbor's landmark, but to trust Him to provide for her income needs regardless of the threats by powerful foes or material shortages.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ for salvation from sin, John 3:16. (2) Then, may we avoid the idol of covetousness relative to income issues by relying on the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23) to trust God to meet all our income needs regardless of threats to the contrary by either human foes or by shortages of income or resources.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

After many years of Christian service as missionaries, a woman and her husband I knew planned to buy a home for their retirement. However, their decades of modest income made the cost of such a purchase prohibitive until a friend offered to let them put a modular on a vacant lot he owned so they could live there for life.

The couple thus bought and had a modular home installed on the lot and developed the yard: they added a lawn, lawn-bordering berms, trees, flower and vegetable gardens, built a garage and even had the driveway paved.

However, in time, the landowner said he needed the home for a needy relative, so he ordered the couple to sell him the modular and move out. The woman in particular was stunned and hurt by this, but to protect their Christian testimony, the couple sold their modular home, purchased a smaller trailer in a trailer court in town and moved to it.

With some of the money they received from the sale of their modular, they fixed up the trailer they had bought shortly before the woman's husband passed away. Then, with no source of income besides her modest set retirement income, the retired missionary widow then went to live near Christian extended family, and sold her trailer at a profit. In time, she pooled her money with that of the relatives to buy a large, lovely home in a new development connected to a golf course, a house with gardens, patio and lawn, and they added a meandering, in-ground swimming pool. The woman then told me one day, "I don't know why the Lord has put me into such a lavish setting!"

We knew: the Lord was her helper regarding finances; she did not need to fear what man might do unto her, Hebrews 13:5-6. God saw the financial hardship and injustice she had faced, so He as her Helper had cared for her!

May we trust in Christ as Savior from sin. Then, as believers, may we not stoop to covetousness over our income level, but look to God as our Helper above what economic shortages or man might do unto us!