Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20130224.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Deuteronomy: Moses' Great Appeal For Israel To Obey God For Blessing
Part III: The Great Historical Prologue, Deuteronomy 1:5-4:43
D. Call To Heed The Law And Avoid Idolatry, Deuteronomy 4:1-43
2. Realizing God's Use Of Fears To Make Us Revere Him For Blessing
(Deuteronomy 4:9-24)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    Many people today face a lot of issues that can cause them to be afraid, and God seems to be letting it occur as a continual way of life:

    (1) Matt Krantz's column, "Clinging to cash means losing money," in the February 18, 2013 USA TODAY, p. 5B observed how investors "(r)attled by the market's volatility in 2000 as the dot-com bubble burst and again in 2008 amid the financial crisis . . . said they'd had it with stocks."

    However, citing Rod Smyth of Riverfront Investment Group, Krantz claimed: "Unless the inflation rate falls for interest rates rise, investors clinging to safety by holding cash are practically guaranteeing themselves a staggering long-term loss in purchasing power."

    Indeed, believers I know are concerned about their financial future, and are not sure what to do in regards to investing!

    (2) The editorial section, p. 9A noted: "The U. S. birthrate has dropped to the lowest level since 1920, which causes concerns about how the nation will support a growing elderly population."

    Anyone considering a future life on Social Security payments, including believers, would have just cause for concern over this!

    (3) The lead story in the paper's business section (Mike Snider, "Cocooning: It's Back and Thanks To Tech, It's Bigger," p. 1B) told how "(c)onsumers are staying home more, watching movies delivered via cable, satellite, Internet or disc, eating in and transforming their homes into a shelter . . . [a movement called] super-cocooning . . ."

    The reason? Mike Snider told how cocooning was born out of the Cold War's uneasy times, and was revived after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. News of recent mass shootings in Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut and "assaults at sports events have . . . fueled cocooning." (Ibid.) Trend forecaster, Faith Popcorn concluded: "We're people getting more and more nervous about being vulnerable."

    (4) Last Tuesday morning, I heard local radio talk show host, Brad Davis report that when he goes out in public like shopping in a grocery market, many people recognize him and express their fears about the future. Brad said they wonder about what the future holds for their children and grandchildren!



    Thus, to prepare for this message, we ask, "Why does God let so many people face so much fear today?!"

    Need: "Why does God let so many face so much fear in their lives?!"

  1. In the Deuteronomy 1:5-4:43 Historical Prologue of the suzerain treaty format of Deuteronomy that, typical of such treaty formats, tells of the suzerain's goodness to the vassal, that is, of God's goodness to Israel, Moses noted in Deuteronomy 4:10-12 how GOD had PURPOSELY REPEATEDLY FRIGHTENED Israel at Sinai:
    1. Moses told how God had him gather Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai to hear His words that she might learn to revere Him, Deut. 4:10a.
    2. God wanted children to learn to respect Him, too, Deut. 4:10b, 9. This child training was not to be done by Moses, Aaron, the priests or Levites, but by the parents, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 269.
    3. Moses then recalled how Israel had seen the mount fearfully burn with fire and be wrapped in darkness, cloud and gloom, Deut. 4:11 ESV.
    4. This whole display terrorized the people of Israel, Exodus 20:18-19:
      1. When Israel saw this mass fearful display from God, they panicked and trembled, and backed away from Mount Sinai, Exodus 20:18.
      2. They asked Moses instead of the Lord to speak to them, Ex. 20:19.
  2. Moses had then told Israel not to be terrorized as if God would slay them as might a capricious pagan deity, but to revere Him so as to heed Him that He might bless her, Exodus 20:20; Deut. 4:9, 15:
    1. In Deuteronomy 4:9 with 4:15, the Hebrew text has the Niphal passive of shamar, "be on one's guard," with shamar in the Qal infinitive construct, to "have charge over" relative to one's nepesh, his "life principle" of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual life (Gen. 2:7) along with the adverb, me'od, "exceedingly," Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 268 and ; B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 1036-1037, 547).
    2. Moses thus told Israel to be exceedingly on guard to have charge over all realms of life lest she forget God's fearful displays at Sinai, that she heed Him in all ways to avoid judgment, Ex. 20:20; Deut. 4:9, 15!
  3. Moses THEN explained that God gave the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai in Israel's full hearing, presenting NO FORM of HIMSELF, that she might FOCUS on heeding His WORDS INSTEAD in place of an IMAGE for blessing, Deut. 4:13-15.
  4. In the historical context of the Ancient Near East, this FOCUS SHARPLY CONTRASTED with PAGAN THEOLOGY (as follows):
    1. Pagan man formed his deities to copy the items of what was in nature (Romans 1:22-23), or he worshiped the items themselves (Deut. 4:19), seeking to manipulate them in his cultic practice to incite the spirits he thought were tied to them to do his bidding, B. K. C., O. T., p. 270.
    2. In sharp contrast, at Sinai, God revealed Himself as the transcendent God Who was separate from and above creation (Genesis 1-2), so He presented NO image of Himself, but left Israel's religious faith to be based only on His WORDS as the Sovereign Spirit Creator who was ABOVE man and hence ABOVE man's manipulation, Ibid.
  5. This insight taught Israel to AVOID pagan idolatry by worshiping the God of SCRIPTURE, the UNSEEN, TRANSCENDENT SPIRIT CREATOR, and to base her faith upon HIS WORD, Deut. 4:15-24.
  6. Though we today may not be lured to form an idol and worship it, 1 John 5:21 warns Christians to keep themselves from idols, so the dangerous dynamics of idolatry ancient Israel faced we face today!
    1. The word "idols" in 1 John 5:21 in the Greek New Testament text has the plural definite article, "ton," that refers to "familiar objects . . . well-known objects of a false devotion" because "(a)n idol' is anything which occupies the place due to God," Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistles of St. John , 1974, p. 197 [emphases ours].
    2. Thus, much as pagan man who gave devotion to items in nature, we can look to items of this tangible world (like other people, institutions, bank accounts, material goods) in place of the unseen God revealed in Scripture as "idols" for personal fulfillment, security and happiness.
    3. Today, then, much as God made a fearful display of His presence at Mount Sinai so Israel would believe Him and heed His Word though He was an unseen Spirit (John 4:24), God calls man to revere Him by allowing him to face fears to drive him from false idols of the tangible world around him unto heeding the unseen God revealed in Scripture!
Application: (1) If afflicted by multiple fears, may we abandon false "idols" of this world to trust in Scripture's Christ as our Savior for eternal life, Acts 17:30; John 3:16. (2) Then, if we consistently face fears as believers, may we see them as God's call that we turn from false "idols" to look only to the God of Scripture for blessing!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 The Lord provided a powerful illustration of this sermon's lesson last Sunday:

A believer after the morning service told me how an evangelical Church in our area has "absolved" a woman of her original marriage so she is now "free to marry another!" Her husband had initiated the divorce, so her Church leaders, using 1 Corinthians 7:15 that teaches a believer is "not under bondage" (KJV) in the context of divorce, claim she is "absolved" of her marriage to remarry another!

However, knowing that I will give an account to the God of Scripture for my life and pastoral ministry, and recalling how painfully He has chastened me for far lesser sins and errors in my personal life, I dare NOT AGREE with this "absolution" stance! (1) Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 clearly stated that not he, but the Lord, that is, the God revealed in Scripture, had commanded that believers were not to divorce, but that if they did so, they were either to remain single or be reconciled to one another in marriage. (2) To be consistent with this stance, the 1 Corinthians 7:15 "not under bondage" clause can NOT possibly mean that a divorced believer is free to rewed another person; rather, it must mean that God does not hold a believer guilty of sin if he honors the unsaved spouse's taking the initiative to author divorce proceedings! (1 Corinthians 7:15a) (3) In support of this conclusion, we read in 1 Corinthians 7:16 that Paul writes that the divorced believer might still save his spouse by giving him or her freedom to initiate the divorce, so Paul was not giving up on the marriage long-term even though the unbeliever was initiating the divorce! (4) Indeed, what God joins together in "one flesh" in marriage, Jesus Himself said, "let not man put asunder," Matthew 19:6.

Yes, I know evangelicals are increasingly teaching one can divorce and remarry another party. In fact, one of our members tells me that some Christians in our area are even encouraging fellow believers to initiate a divorce with the intent of remarrying someone else! However, the fear of the LORD of SCRIPTURE impels me to call such an idea SIN, and that I must thus teach otherwise!

May we learn from facing multiple, fearful trials, to look to the UNSEEN God of SCRIPTURE for our SOLE direction and fulfillment in life, that we might be blessed by Him!