Deuteronomy 29, Who Are You?

Deuteronomy 29 and the Covenant Identity of God’s People

Deuteronomy chapter 29.

Hear the word of the Lord.

These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab besides the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb. And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them you have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt.

To Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land the great trials that your eyes saw the signs and those great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.

I Have led you 40 years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you and your sandals have not worn off your feet. You have not eaten bread and you have not drunk wine or strong drink that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

And when you came to this place Sihon the king of Heshbon and all the king of Bashan came out against us to battle and we defeated them. We took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Rubenites the Gadites of the half-tribe of the Nassites.

Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them that you may prosper in all that you do. You are standing today all of you before the Lord your God. The heads of your tribes your elders and your officers all the men of Israel your little ones your wives and the sojourners.

Who is in your camp from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water? So that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God. Which the Lord your God is making with you today that he may establish you today as his people and that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob it is not with you alone That I am making this sworn covenant.

But with whoever is standing here with us today before the Lord our God and with whoever is not here with us today. You know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed and you have Seen their detestable things their idols of wood and stone of silver and gold which were among them.

Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is Turning away today from the Lord your God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware Lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

One who when he hears the words of this sworn covenant Blesses himself in his heart saying I shall be safe though. I walk in the stubbornness of my heart. This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.

The Lord will not be willing to forgive him. But rather the anger of the Lord in his jealousy will smoke against that man and the curses written in this book Will settle upon him and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven and the Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity and accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law and The next generation your children who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a far land will say When they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick.

The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt. Nothing sown and nothing growing where no plant can sprout and overthrow. And overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah Adma and Zeboam. Which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath all the nations will say Why has the Lord done this to this land?

What caused the heat of his great anger? Then people will say is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord the God of their fathers Which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt and went and served other gods and worshipped them gods Whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them.

Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land bringing upon it all the curses written in this book and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath and Cast them into another land as they are this day the secret things Belong to the Lord our God.

But the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever. That we may do all the words of this law. And the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word.

Who Are You: Not Self-Created but Defined by God’s Covenant

Well, who are you?

We're tempted first, I guess to respond with our name, you know, I am John Carpenter. I've heard of parents giving their children two first names. One for their first and the other for their middle and then letting them choose when they get a little bit bigger.

Which they'll be called by. Why do you think they do that. What's going on in their minds. What's going on with parents who think that they shouldn't impose a name on their children or now even a gender.

But I don't mean your name. I mean, who are you? You might think well you are whom you've chosen to be you have made Yourself, you've chosen to be called by whatever name you've chosen to do what you do because you want to do it.

You've chosen your family your nation your relationships your roles. Your work. You even have chosen your gender. You believe the modern slogan You can do whatever you set your mind to do. And so you have become.

Who you.

Want to be. Recently a Christian philosopher named Karl Truman published an interesting book that I have to admit I haven't read it yet. But I've heard a lot about the rise of the modern self in which he argues that the sexual revolution Which Christians are often concerned about the sexual revolution is merely a symptom of the cultural assumption that our identities are endlessly pliable.

That they're like liquid that we can pour ourselves into any container that we choose. We can make ourselves be Whatever we want to be. The idea that anyone or anything outside of us would limit us is intolerable today.

Individuality must be expressed. So he calls it expressive Individualism and so we can now live he says this is the modern opinion live unencumbered by any restraint. That would limit the fulfillment of my desires.

So who are you? Well, the modern Western culture says Anything you want to be I am whom I choose to be. I Want to be a woman. Even if I have a Y chromosome in every cell in my body and have everything that anatomy gives to males and we're all supposed.

To affirm that expressive individualism now put like that. We see the problems with it particularly more conservative Christians are saying wait. But the attitude has really been around for a long time.

Even if it's just recently started to be applied to sexual identity. How many times have you heard? You could do anything you set your mind to. There's posters with that on it, I mean most of our schools have some variation of that all over the place.

We've had generations of kids are now raised in the stew of such slogans now.

You do you?

Live your truth. Supposedly good advice these days is don't let anyone tell you that you can't be anything you dream to be. And of course, there's pseudo Christian variations of the same idea I feel God has called me to.

And the assumption is that no one has the right to say.

Maybe not.

I'm going to be a missionary to China. Wait, but you can't speak Mandarin. You hate rice and you refuse to take your shoes off at the door. Never mind I'm gonna be a missionary to China and then we're supposed to give such a person our money.

In order to go there are women who insist that they are called to be pastors. Who are you to tell them any different? It gets harder. There are men who plainly have no gift for public speaking and yet they insist that they are called.

To preach. Are you gonna tell them? No, no. No, that's not your calling. What makes them think that they can do anything? They set their mind to no matter what scripture says no matter whether or not they have a gift to do it.

What makes people think that they can do something just because they want to do it. I would like to play in the NBA. It pays very well. I and I can. I think I can do the the endurance part I. I'm gonna play in the NBA even at age 56.

Even though I had no basketball skills, even when I was young and now I have a worn-out knee. I'm gonna set my mind for starting for the LA Lakers. I'm gonna be there side by side with LeBron James. I'm gonna get him to the finals.

Me John Carpenter, and I want you to affirm that my expressive individualism. I want you to say go for it John. You could do anything you set your mind to do. You say no. If not, why not. What makes people think they could do something just because they want to do it.

You could do anything you set your mind to. No, you can't. Oh. Maybe in the conservative kind of ghetto where we're holding out against the latest cultural onslaughts. They'll scorn the idea of a male who thinks he can become a female or vice versa.

They ridicule that kind of expressive individualism, but they still think for themselves.

That they can.

Become whoever else. They want to be. They can be a preacher even if they can't speak effectively in front of more than one person. They can be a singer even if they're perpetually off-key like me. They know they can they know they can be these things because they feel it deep down.

That's what they want to do. And what higher authority is there than that. What else defines us. What else shows us who we are? Than our own desires.

Than our own will. Who are you?

Seers: Seeing What God Has Done and Receiving Eyes to See

Well, we see that here in Deuteronomy chapter 29 in four parts first you are a or should be a seer you are a Swearer that is swear to a covenant. You are a safety seeker, but be careful and Finally you are a sharer not a speculator and The first nine verses we are to be seers would be the people who who see What God has done who see God's hand at work in verse one.

These are the words of. The covenant may be referring back to chapter 28 or maybe to the entire book of Deuteronomy. Either way, we see that our identity who we are is described by our covenant with God our covenant makes us.

We are not whoever we set our mind on being we are who we are in Relationship to God as described by his covenant. We are who he has set his mind for us to be. Now remember a covenant is a formal relationship we can live under that That relationship that God has given to us.

You can live under it and we get the blessings described in the first part of chapter 28 blessed when we go out and blessed When we come in Exiting and entering and everything in between or we can try to express our individualism.

Be who we set our mind on being and be cursed. I wonder When we're eating our babies like in chapter 28. Will we will it dawn on us that we made a mistake somewhere along the way? Or maybe here in our culture when our babies have grown a little bit and They're shooting us in our schools.

Well, we stop and say wait we did something wrong in this society. What sign will it take? To open our eyes. Or do you see the problem. Are you still asking yourself? What do you mean? I can't be anything I want to be if it's not my will my desire making me.

Determining my identity then then who does. Oh God, of course, it was okay. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's that's the easy game. That's a Sunday school answer, but but I know what God made me by what I want to do.

Who I want to be. God put that feeling in my heart my feelings express my God-given identity. Well, maybe That can be the first step to finding your identity or it could be just your expressive individualism.

It could be that you are using God talk. Pietism. I feel God has called me to be a missionary to China. Even though I can't learn Mandarin. I hate rice and I won't take my shoes off at the door. But to cover using that talk about God.

To cover your expressive individualism that you're claimed to be a preacher or a singer or a pastor or a missionary is is as rebellious. Just as much expressive individualism as other people claiming that they are of the other sex.

Your desires of what to be. Your feelings about who you are. Are. Not the Supreme Court of who you really are. You're in a covenant with God and and his people now do they see? The gifts and the call.

Do they see that identity?

Who are you.

You're supposed to be a a seer that is someone who sees and not just recognize sights with your eyes. Like you see a man and a woman or stars. But that you see you understand what it means. You see a man or woman and you see not just gender supposedly a social Construct, but you see something God created you see the stars and you see God's glory.

In verse 2 Moses tells Israel that they have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes. Notice that in verse 2 notice this strange emphasis in those first few verses. You've seen usually we would just say you've seen but he said you've seen with your eyes.

What God did in the land of Egypt. Then in verse 3 notice the emphasis you've seen the great trials that your eyes Saw once he said your eyes, of course your eyes saw them. Well, they saw signs and wonders.

They saw miracles. But the problem is they only saw them with their physical eyes notice verse 4, but to this day. The Lord has not given you art. Lord has not given you a heart to understand our eyes to see or ears to hear.

It's a key verse. They're interesting verse. I never seen it before just up for the past two weeks. The Lord has not given you a heart to understand our eyes to see our ears to hear they saw. It's all these miracles these plagues these, you know quails coming out of nowhere or water from rocks.

They saw but they didn't see and then the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 13 verse 13 seeing. They did not see. What didn't they see? They didn't see God. It is he is glory. It is he is holiness his magnificence his kingdom.

They saw sights. They saw amazing sights. But they didn't see what they they meant. Why didn't they see. Here we get to our key idea because our instinct even my reflex you think why didn't I say? Well, they didn't see because they closed their eyes.

Right by answering like that. We show how soaked we are in this philosophy of expressive individual Individualism that I create my own identity by choosing to be who I want to be. That my choices make me who I am by assuming that my choices is ultimate in Theology, it's at least as old as Armenian ism.

It's just about 400 years ago or before that in plagiarism was more like 1 ,200 1 ,500 years ago. Well, the ultimate choice is ours. God chooses us. Because we we think often God chooses us because he looks ahead in time and he sees us choose him.

So it's our choice That creates God's choice. They say so it's our choice. That is the ultimate choice the our choice is Ultimately in control of who we are. It's expressive individualism applied to our identity as God's people.

To why we're God's people or not. And so we should be surprised if that's what we're teaching. That other people take that same assumption and apply it to their sexual identity, but but why don't they see here?

Why don't they see according to this passage? Well verse 4 Moses says plainly in verse 4. Right there right here is he tells us in a way that knocks the foundation out from our Expressive individualism you've seen what God did he tells him in the Exodus.

You've seen the signs and the wonders the miracles. Some people think that if only they could have. Only we got miracles people miraculously healed or Whatever spectacular miracle that we could do that then would people then people would believe they see a miracle.

They would bleed for sure. They couldn't deny it. Yeah, they would they definitely would they still wouldn't believe even if they saw miracles. Even if someone was raised from the dead. People are without God's grace.

Darkened in their understanding says in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17 darkened in their understanding. They can see things with their eyes, but they can't understand what they mean. They can't see even if they can see with their eyes.

So doing a miracle for them is like Doing a miracle in front of a blind person. I just created enough bread to feed 5 ,000 people. Can't you see? No, they can't. There they're blind in their hearts, even if their vision is 2020 here these people in verses 5 to 8 besides Seeing the miracles in Egypt when they were young I Have seen all their lives that they were led through the desert.

They saw that their clothes didn't wear out that the sandals are somehow still holding together. They've seen manna provided every day. That's how they got their sustenance from the manna. They've seen water come out of Springing up from rocks.

They've had these miracles done right in front of them in verse 6. So that here's the here's the purpose for those miracles that they I saw. So that you may know that I am the Lord your God. That's what they should have seen.

They just recently saw the Lord give them a miraculous victory over two kingdoms and yet they still didn't really see it. Seeing they did not see understand every human being is blind is.

Hard.

Unable to see God. Even when the heavens declare his glory even when miracles are done right in front of them before their eyes and Tell God first gives them eyes to see. They don't see any of that. Why don't they see.

Well the answer in verse 4 Is not because of them. They don't see yet He says because God has not yet given them eyes to see. Unless God does that? They remain darkened in their understanding. They remain blind Oblivious no matter what happens in front of their physical eyes.

Their identity as seers Depends on God giving graciously them eyes to see. Our identity as people who see God at work. Who believe in Jesus? Depends not ultimately on our will. Choosing you I'm gonna pour myself into the container of a believer.

I'm gonna make myself a believer by my decisions. No, that's not what it depends on. It depends on God's mercy. God has to give us the new heart the seeing eyes the hearing ears. Our identity depends completely on God.

Who are you?

Swearers: Covenant Commitment and the Danger of Self-Defined Religion

Are you a Swearer that is you someone who has made a commitment sworn to a covenant. People today their minds filled with slogans About how they can be whoever they set their mind on being. Hate to be tied down To commitments.

This is one of the features of modern particularly American culture. They just hate to be tied down to some kind of commitment. If you go online, you can find professed Christians claiming often hysterically that a church asking you to agree to a covenant like we Decided earlier that that's a sign of a cult.

It's a bit it's abusive because it's restraining you and we cannot tolerate Anything outside of us restraining us people full of expressive individualism coil at the idea of being restricted even even by a commitment.

That they swore to earlier. Here in verses 10 to 15. The Lord calls his people to swear To a covenant to be covenant keepers not just consumers. Expressing their individualism. You're all here all these people together all of Israel.

Moses says in verse 12. So that this is the purpose why they're assembled that you may enter into the sworn. Notice that notice that a verse 12 the sworn modifying covenant. That they were called to make an oath their swear to a commitment the sworn covenant of the Lord your God.

The individualists will read that and think okay. I'm gonna swear a commitment to the Lord, but it's just me and God. Right. There's two only two sets of footprints in the sand their feelings their expressive individualism defined for them.

What it means to be in a covenant with the Lord they don't swear to anything outside of their own minds. But that's exactly. What Moses here is is telling the people of Israel to do swear to something Outside of you.

They are swearing that is making an intentional pledge to this covenant, which is spelled out here in Deuteronomy enter into a sworn Covenant. Expressive individualists rebel against covenants because they can't tolerate anything outside of them impinging on their Self-identity, which they might change tomorrow.

They wanted to remain free to pour themselves into another container if they feel like it. And so the idea of something outside of them like a covenant like like the needs of a body anything restraining their choices is Intolerable here.

Moses calls us to enter into a sworn covenant. So that in verse 13 God may establish you today as.

His.

People your identity as God's people Depends on his covenant with you. So swear to it. Now something the Israelites here were God's people simply because because of their ancestry that's kind of inherited it.

They were born Israelites and that makes them one of God's people. But here we see that that's not true to be one of God's people even in the Old Testament. You need to be in a sworn Covenant with him to commit to him and he defines What that covenant means.

He hands it to you and you sign it with your life. So that in verse 13, this is the purpose. You are called to swear this covenant that he may be your God as he promised you.

Otherwise.

If you're not gonna swear the covenant you kind of do your own thing. Maybe you'll fool yourself, but you know, my feelings define the covenant for me not something outside of me. But otherwise if that's the way you're gonna be.

Just being whatever you want to be maybe whatever sex you want to be whatever part of the body you want to be. Then it's you who is your own God? It's not it's not the Lord. It's you your feelings. Your expressive individualism that that is really your God if you want him to be your God.

You have to swear to his covenant and that his covenant define you. Well, the covenant he says in verse 15 is not only with us with all the Israelites assembled here. But with whoever you notice that.

Interesting idea coming here in the Old Testament. Whoever is not here today. Wait, all Israel is there. What does he say? Whoever's not here today? What's like Jesus say said to his Jewish disciples in John chapter 10 verse 16.

Okay, I've assembled you he says but I have other sheep. Who are not of this? Jewish fold and I'm gonna go out and get them and here the covenant is not just with ethnic Israelites. But with all God's people and he's calling them all.

Calling you if you're one of his people. Just swear to him. Let his covenant answer that question.

Who are you? Who are you?

Safety Seekers: The Root of Bitterness and False Assurance

Third you are a safety seeker, but be careful be careful of the dangers of.

Safety and.

Verses 16 to 28. We see the people by nature. We see that people by nature.

Seek safety.

Including safety from God. They've they've seen in chapter 28. Remember all those curses so long but four times longer curses than blessings that they've seen there that outside of Christ God is terrible and they want to be safe from that terribleness.

They've heard that there is judgment that there is hell. There's curses grievous and lasting and They want to be safe from them. Now many people probably most people are willing to give up a little something.

For safety, maybe some money some time. Even some of their own identity. They'll say okay. I say I'm a believer. I'll say I'm a Christian. I belong to that religion or that church or or say that they belong to God to Jesus there.

They're willing to give up some things for the promise of safety. Like you might be willing to pay for life insurance. I'm willing to give up some money for some assurance. That your family will be taken care of or in case your your house burns down.

You're willing to give up some things for that aren't you for the assurance of safety protection coverage? So too people will seek safety from God. But they're not seeking the kingdom of God. Here starting verse 16, you know what God he says, you know what God took us out of.

Took us out of slavery. Took us out of slavery to sin. You know what the world around us is like little idols serving themselves. But that what Moses here calls detestable things as their idols in verse 17, you know all that.

That's where you've come from. So because of that beware. Be careful in verse 18. Be careful that no one among you has a heart that turns away from God and that begins to seek. Those detestable things those other things.

Maybe sexual immorality maybe living for money serving mammon. Covetousness living above all this for wealth, which is idolatry. Maybe living for ego having to be the big man rather than being part of the body being who.

I choose to be. Unencumbered by anything outside my mind beware.

Beware.

That desire for something else first instead of for God that desire for pleasure for success for prominence for doing what I want to do. Expressive individualism is a he calls it a root of bitterness.

This phrase occurs later in the book of Hebrews and often Christians today kind of Psychologize that in the way they interpret it. They make it to be you're bitter at something. Someone has done something bad to you and you harbor unforgiveness and you need to get rid of that by forgiving.

Here, it's totally different than that. The root of bitterness is a root in your heart that bears bitter fruit and that root Inclines you toward idols and today that could be the idol of money Immorality of ego, but anything that takes you away From the Lord from having him first now you can mow down the stalk.

You can throw away the fruit. But if you don't deal with the root Seeking first something else besides the kingdom of God. It will sprout again. It'll come out in some way and There'll be more poisonous and more bitter fruit.

The root in our heart has to be dug up. The bitter root will bring on us the curses the disaster the judgments that we saw last week in chapter 28. But here's a trick people play. Particularly religious people.

Especially the expressive individualists who think that they can make themselves into anything. They want to be that they can be they can be greedy people. They think they can be living for the dollar.

They can be sexually immoral people or they can be egotistical people too proud to submit to the to the body. They think they can Hold on to those sins. Maybe make them look a little respectable. They can fool God or maybe they can pay him off with a little religion.

They can fool God into giving them safety while in their heart. They're still greedy or lustful or arrogant. They think they can use religion. They can use the Covenant to get God to confer his protection on them while in their heart.

They're still not seeking him first. Remembers. Deuteronomy tells us to love the Lord your God with all your heart and your mind and your strengths and here's people. We're not gonna do that. They're gonna love their money.

They're gonna love whatever else instead of the Lord and.

Somehow.

They think they can cover that up with a little religion and here God is saying be careful of that root that out. They are safety seekers. Not kingdom of God seekers. And unless God gives us a new heart That's the way we all are going to be.

That's the way all religious people are. That's what they're being religious for. That's why they're going to church and praying and getting baptized and giving money and putting plaques with Bible verses on their walls.

They're not seeking God to rule their lives. They're seeking the protection his covenant provides like we ask an insurance company to cover us. Here God says beware of that be careful beware of the dangers of.

Safety.

In verse 19 the one who hears the words of this covenant and he blesses himself notice that at verse 19 He blesses himself. He says good things about himself. Assures himself that he's okay that he has God taking care of.

He's paid his premiums the one who who does that and says to himself. I.

Shall be safe.

Do I walk in the stubbornness of my heart? Others. I'm not gonna change my sin what I love. I'm gonna keep living the same way, but I'm safe because I did this religious thing. I Kept chasing the dollars or the skirts or my dream to be whoever I want to be.

That person that safety seeker instead of the kingdom of God seeker. That person God says here will be swept away in the judgment in verse 20. The Lord will not be willing to forgive him. He used God he used God's covenant as an excuse to stay in sin.

But rather God says but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will will smoke against that man. The curses we read last week will settle upon him. The Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.

The safety seekers.

Won't be safe.

Notice here the balance between the individuals and The community the parts and the whole. First in verse 21 the one who who tries to use God's promises to feel safe. You know, he's he's heard the promise.

He's said the prayer. He's gotten baptized and he thinks that makes me safe to continue in sin. He's using God's promises to stay in his sin. Keeping his idols such a person Thinks he's safe because of his religion.

Such a safety seeker says in verse 21. Will be singled out. The Lord will single him out for calamity and accordance with all the curses of The Covenant all those curses we read about last week in chapter 28.

The Lord will single him out. Individuals will be held responsible for their sin. Now while we often criticize individualism because we live in a hyper individualistic culture in the end We believe that we will each individually stand before God.

We either are justified. Through our individual faith in Christ not through mama's faith. Not through daddy's faith. Not because of the church's faith. We the justified through our individual faith or we are held individually responsible for our sin.

We believe in individual responsibility.

But.

It also shows us here in another individual sin affects me affects you. Remember the command verse 18. You talk to dust beware lest there be among you. Among your people in your assembly a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

Beware the roots and other members of the body. The fruit can affect the whole. Sin is not isolated. It is self-contained. A little yeast infects the whole lump of dough. That's why the judgment that comes from the bitter fruit at the end of verse 19.

He says sweeps away. Notice that. First he said he'll single out. The one who seeks safety to use God's covenant to cover his sin and feel safe. He'll single him out. But it did at the end of verse 19.

When the one person sin that fruit bears that that root bears bitter fruit. He'll sweep away all moist that is alive. Like a tree that is moist and green and dry alike the alive and the dead so we all better.

Be careful. Now the old-time religion is about conferring assurance of salvation. You say this prayer or you get this baptism and then we'll assure you. That you're safe from God's judgment no matter how you live after that.

Right. That's the exchange many people around us in this culture have gone through. They think they've got assurance safety from God because they did some religious thing. They said the repeat after me prayer or they got baptized.

Whatever God's covenant. The gospel is different from that. It's about making disciples that is people with new hearts who tear out the roots that bear bitter fruit. That bitter fruit of seeking to live for other things.

Giving false assurance to people that is telling people you're safe now. You're safe of God's judgment because you you you repeated that repeat after me prayer you are you got baptized? Whatever you're safe from God's judgment, even if you haven't done dug out the bitter poisonous roots giving false assurance is a hindrance to the gospel.

Through evangelism trying to really reach those people. Jonathan Edwards the great Puritan said that true conversion is a rare thing but that men are brought off from a false hope of Conversion after they were once settled and established in it.

In other words settle and established in a hope of that. They were really saved and have continued in it for some time.

Is much more rare.

Such people will be judged as described in verses 20 to 28. Knows how he dwells on that on the judgment. That is coming people. He says people like upcoming generations. They will look at them and say I Don't want to be like them.