Deuteronomy 10:12-11:32, What Comes First?

Deuteronomy 10:12-11:32, What Comes First?

Deuteronomy chapter 10 starting verse 12 be reading all the way to the end of Chapter 11 so a long passage and bear with me hear the word of the Lord and Now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you?

But to fear the Lord your God to walk in all his ways to love him to serve the Lord your God With all your heart and with all your soul and to keep the commandments and the statutes of the Lord Which I am commanding you today for your good.

Behold to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them you above all peoples as You are this day Circumcised therefore the foreskin of your heart and be no longer stubborn.

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords the great the mighty and the awesome God who is not partial and Takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the sojourner giving him food and clothing.

Love the sojourner therefore for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him by his name. You shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

Your fathers went down to Egypt 70 persons and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven. You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge his statutes his rules and his commandments always and consider today Since I'm not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it.

Consider the discipline of the Lord your God his greatness his mighty hand and his outstretched arm his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land and What he did to the army of Egypt to their horses and to their chariots how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day and What he did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of The son of Reuben how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households Their tents and every living thing that followed I followed them in the midst of all Israel.

For your eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord that he did. You shall therefore Keep the whole commandment that I command you today that you may be strong and Go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess and that you may live long in the land.

That the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring a land flowing with milk and honey. For the land that you are entering to take possession of it. It's not like the land of Egypt from which you have come where you sow your seed and irrigated it like a garden of vegetables but the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys which drinks water by the rain from heaven a Land that the Lord your God cares for the eyes of the Lord your God are always appointed from the beginning of the year to the end of the year and if you will Indeed obey my commandment that I command you today to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with All your soul he will give the rain for your land in his season the early rain and the latter rain that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil and He will give grass to your field in your fields for your livestock and you shall eat and be full.

Take care. Let your heart be deceived and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and he will shut up the heavens So that there will be no rain and the land will yield no fruit and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord Is giving you?

You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul and you shall bind them as a sign on Your hand they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children talking of them When you are sitting in your house.

And when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates that your days and the days of your children May be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them as long as the heavens are above the earth.

For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do Loving the Lord your God walking in all his ways and holding fast to him. Then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and From the river the River Euphrates to the Western Sea.

No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread as he promised you see I Am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.

The blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today and the curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God and Turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today to go after other gods.

That you have not known and when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are Entering to take possession of it. You shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are they not beyond the river west of the Jordan?

Toward the going down of the Sun in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal beside the oak of Mount Moray. For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

And when you possess it and live in it, you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules I am setting before you today. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, which comes first or what comes first?

You know, the old question is what comes first the chicken or the egg? It's supposed to be a conundrum, you know, there's a chain of events that has to have started somewhere I guess in the Garden of Eden God created a whole grown full-grown chicken.

But if you mean like what a farm which came first, well, it could be either one or both. Perhaps you could have started with the laying hen already on an egg who knows who comes first in a relationship.

Sometimes it's some dating relationships. One partner is this is way ahead or maybe a prospective dating really whatever you want to call them. Sometimes one partner is way ahead of the other in pursuing or enticing the other who came first to want them to to become a couple.

Now traditionally people have thought well the man should be the one to take the initiative that he should make the overtures. That his advances come first. The woman could then respond one way or the other.

Usually the woman though wasn't supposed to To move first. It just was not not proper. Of course a woman could find ways to try to encourage a man to take the initiative, but properly. Properly it was thought well the the man should move first now that's been fading away over the generations.

But even when I was a young man that was still kind of most of the time normal. That meant though for me when I could sense that perhaps a girl was interested in me and it wasn't mutual. I could then pretend like I didn't notice and we could still be friends.

I Wouldn't have to. I wouldn't have to openly reject her. Because I could just act like I'm not catching the hints well all along she thought I was missing her clues. Once when I was dating Mary when she was back in Singapore and I was in seminary in Pasadena a young woman there in the church where I was an intern became obviously obvious to me anyway.

Interested in me and she invited me to go see a Dodgers game. And she had season tickets and I thought okay, you know, I get to go see a major league baseball game at the famous Dodgers.

I.

Watched the game attentively not really paying her much attention. And as we were walking out of the stadium together it was with some disgust. She turned said That was a horrible time. And I thought oh No She wants to talk.

And I could see how she wanted this to play out. You know, I was supposed to respond Caringly, you know, what's wrong? And she would probably first thing she would probably do is say nothing nothing. I'm not going to follow that up.

What really what's wrong and she would start to get personal and we would need to have a Long conversation probably have to go somewhere private to talk. Feelings would be involved. Oh perhaps tears and I thought I Do not want to go there.

So instead of Responding the way she hoped, you know going the route she hoped I said I Thought it was a good game. There was a home run a stolen base a double play and She kind of looked at me sideways With you know, just was almost certainly with this kind of look of smirk on her face almost certainly thinking man They don't understand anything and I was thinking Back in this unspoken conversation.

We were having oh, I understand perfectly. And I don't want to play. I wasn't going to start that chain of events. Well, we understand with relationships with people. Maybe even with God, you know, there's a complicated Chain of events.

There's a dance. One partner does one thing another responds and then it gets more complicated and one what they got for another but at the first Someone has to start the chain. Someone has to be the one to push over that first domino.

Someone has to come first now with God. Who comes first? What is the first act that determines? Whether I am one who receives God's grace whether I get to the promised land. Sure, God might have love for everyone.

I'm you know many think but it but they would still think you know, God loves everyone. It's still think it's well. It's up to me to start the chain of events that makes me One of God's people that gets me to the promised land.

My decision is the crucial one. So what really gets the ball rolling? Is that true? Is it me? What sets the dominoes falling? What's the ultimate? Cause back at the beginning it ends up The well, maybe a complicated chain of events you understand.

But what's the what's the ultimate start the cause that ends up in you being saved? Some say it's your choice. It's your initiative now. Sure. They'd say Well, God has loved all people and provided salvation.

They say for all people, but that's really not the crucial question. The crucial question is what comes first in Deciding whether Someone eventually gets that salvation. What's the cause that produces the effect of?

Salvation.

What comes first?

Our choices. Do our choices or our or our actions come first. Or God's choice and his action. Here we see. You may think is unlikely place to see it. But here it is in Deuteronomy that God's decision comes first.

We see that here in first the call and then the cause and Then like dominoes falling from the cause.

For effects.

Well, but first the call the call begins in chapter 10 verse 12 now Israel. What does the Lord require of you? What are you called to do? Fear the Lord he says walk in his ways love him with all your heart and your soul.

That's with all your life. Keep all his commands. Now if that sounds familiar. That's because it's really we're calling what we called. Remember the Shema from chapter 6 the hero Israel. You shall love the Lord your God with all that you are.

That's that's what you are called to do. That's the call now. If you're not really paying attention, I'm just kind of taking phrases and verses out of context. Well, you might think. Well, that's then that's what I'm called to do.

You know, I'm called to fear the Lord so much that I'm too scared to disobey him. I'm called to keep the rules. I'm called at least to try to love him. And you know and I read the Bible I pray I saw him.

I go to church. I got baptized. I sing the songs and the best I can do. Then you might think. If you're not really paying attention. Then that act of mine what I've done is starting the chain of events.

That leads to my salvation. I pushed over that first domino by responding to this call. That goes out to everyone apparently and God responds to what I did in this sort of dance. I started. He responds by saving me my response To his call is the cause of my salvation my choice comes first.

That's the way many people think. The problem with that is that is not what this passage says you first. Notice who it's addressed to it's addressed to Israel not addressed to the whole world. Israel is what is Israel.

Israel is. Three times were told in the book of Genesis the company the gathering of Nations the gathering of God's people from all nations the assembly of believers. It's the church. So these people are already Right from the very first verse from the beginning of the call.

They are already God's people. They're not being told you. You do this to become one of God's people. Not like a a general address to all people you want to become one of my people then you do these things.

That's not what's going on here. They're not being set say it again. They're not being told you do this to become one of God's people what they're being told. You do this. Because you are already God's people and second.

That knows the context. This is not the beginning of the dance. Think of think about the situation they're in. Moses is not taking this to the slaves in Egypt before they've been brought out and Given them this sort of ultimatum this plan.

And said if you do this, then God will rescue you. No, they've already been rescued. This is after the Exodus. These people are not being told it if you do this if you follow the law you do the right rituals you believe the right doctrine you say the right prayer as A result of your first actions you push over that first domino then the effect.

I.

Will save you.

That's not what's going on here. These people have already been brought out of slavery already saved from the oppression of the enemy all already brought miraculously Through the water. These aren't unsaved peoples being told.

Do this first and then the effect will be That you are saved. These are Saved people. Israel out of Egypt is a picture of the church being saved out of the world. These are saved people being told that what they are to do now is because They have been Past tense saved.

The call here is not what they are to do to get salvation But what they are to do in response To having already been saved. They are already Israel and now Israel. Here's your here's your next step in the dance.

Oh, it's got to say look. I started it. Here's what you do next. Keep these commands which are not for your salvation But for your good. In verse 13 notice that these commands are for your good. They are for your benefit.

Your life will be better if you live it God's way. We see clearly then who comes first beginning in verse 14 With the cause The call and then there's the cause You're called To love him to walk in his ways.

It's not what comes first. It isn't the cause. It's the response. The cause Begins with behold. It's like look pay attention.

See.

Think carefully about this. To the Lord your God belong heaven. That you know the entire universe with billions of galaxies. It's so large that even light takes billions of years to travel across it and it all belongs to the Lord he says.

And the Lord your God belongs the heaven of heavens. We don't even know what that means. Okay, it's just like everything beyond we don't know. We don't know what that means and That's the point really.

There are vast realms beyond What we know even now with our modern science. Astronomers and physicists today talk about dark matter and dark energy. Which is really their way of saying that there's. They can tell that there's a vast amount about this universe That is beyond what they know and can measure.

And.

Here we're told it all belongs to God and the earth, of course belongs to God not just a land of the Middle East. But the entire planet is his possession. So the Old Testament was never about a mere tribal God a cultural national God a bunch of goat herders and sort of them atheist mock and made up their myths.

It was never about that. Like today some people think if you're in China, you worship the Chinese way. The ancestors and the Jostics a little Taoism and Buddhism thrown in if you're in America. You worship the American way go to church and eat pizza and watch sports and Jesus is the sometimes American God.

But apparently and now non-essential that there's a virus going around and no from the beginning the Lord claimed Everything he's not just American or Chinese or Israeli. He claims everything he's that big yet in verse 15.

It's an interesting yet notice that the beginning of verse 15 yet despite how enormous he is and How small we are? Now you would think Being how small we are you've only thought about it. You know, this planet is you would think well this planet.

Even if you take the whole planet, it's just too tiny for him to be concerned with. You know He could think to himself let those minuscule sinful creatures Go their own way to oblivion eventually the Sun will you know?

Whatever it turns into supernova and burn burn them all up and they'll become nothing. You would think that this one nation Israel small even by the incredibly small standards of earth. Remember a couple chapters before I didn't choose you because you were the largest.

You're kind of you're tiny. Remember why he chose him. I chose you because I chose. I loved you because I.

Loved you.

Now you would think So small even by the incredibly small standards of earth. They were just too incredibly Insignificant for him to notice. You would think that we are not worth such a great God paying any attention to us, but yet.

Yet despite how small we are how and how great he is the Lord says Set his love actually set his heart in love.

That is.

He first what comes first. His choice to love comes first. He determined in his heart from the beginning to love you your holy nation. To make a covenant a commitment to this body of people the body that you are a part of.

The church the Israel of God. The Lord delighted that is it was his good pleasure like an Ephesians chapter 1. It's good pleasure to choose you by choosing to commit to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the end.

Spiritual descendants who come from his promise to them and they will be as many as the stars of the sky. And that's you. It's not an ethnic group. He's talking about he's talking if you're believer. He's talking about you the spiritual offspring who fulfilled that promise to have as many offspring as the stars in the sky.

He chose you above all people. He chose you about all the people who try to become one of his people by keeping the rules. By thinking how how they can they think they can cause God. To accept him with their religion or with their morality or because they were born into the right ethnic group or the right nation.

Those those ways are not the cause that bring about the effect of salvation. The cause is The Lord setting his heart to love you. What comes first? God's loving choice. Well, that's the cause and it has effects, you know, like in science there's cause and effect.

All right, what causes something?

What's the cause of that?

There's there's causes correlation. What's the cause that produces the effects? Well here the causes is God's choice his election his love and then there's four effects. That come from that cause four things that that fall into our lives that come into our lives because of.

The cause there's first the mark. Second there's the there's the motive third. There's the manifestations and finally there's the mind therefore. You notice the before therefore's everyone there. What's the therefore therefore?

Well, you go back to the cause. Therefore's telling you pay attention to what caused this. Therefore the first effect from the cause in verse 16. He says circumcise your heart. That is take the mark of the covenant in your heart your life in your heart.

Show that you were in a covenant with God. God made a covenant with you from eternity past he set his love on you and the effect of that in your life is. That you take the mark of that covenant in who you are in your heart.

You show what sets you apart from the other people in the world. Who are not in that covenant with him now literal circumcision was was the outward mark of the old covenant. But Moses here isn't really concerned at all.

Some people think the Old Testament is all about outward things and laws and rituals here. Moses is not really concerned at all about the old ritual the literal thing. He's more concerned with the heart.

In their heart your heart that your heart shows that you are in a covenant. With the Lord the literal mark won't do you any good if in your heart. You are not any different if you're not set apart if you're not in a relationship a covenant with the Lord, so.

He says.

Don't be stubborn. It's just you're just setting your old Worldly ways that you were raised in don't be excusing your sin justifying yourself people in the world. Justify themselves by comparing themselves with each other and they think there are they all think they're above average.

Right, everyone thinks they're above average. So there they think they're good and God will grade on the curve and they'll go to heaven. It's the way most people think even if they surely they commit some sexual immorality and they get drunk occasionally and they cheat on their Taxes, but they all think they do that less than most people.

So they'll be alright. He said here don't don't be like that. Don't be stubborn unchangeable unteachable always assuming that you are right as you are. Submit to God's ways, you don't bend to him and The effect in your life of God's prior covenant with you is that you are meek you're submissive to him.

You're open to his word. The cause again in verse 17 is that The Lord your God is God of gods. It's an interesting phrase, isn't it? He's God of Gods all the things the world has is their gods. Well, he's the God of them.

He's the God is the creator the reason for being of all the things that you are tempted to make your God. Maybe money mammon things sex gadgets sports health food relationships romance. Family, you know, whatever and you usually good things.

Those are gifts from God most the time but you're tempted to make them Into your God to make them into your reason for living and he's here saying He's the reason for those things. They're supposed to serve him.

He's the cause of them. He is their God and He's the Lord of Lords and he's the boss of all earthly bosses. He's the king of all earthly Kings the president of all earthly presidents the great and the mighty and the awesome God.

He's not impressed with the rich and the powerful. He's for justice for the poor and the weak because you know from his perch. The president doesn't look all that much different than the you know. The poor illegal immigrant so you better give justice to all.

Even the foreigner who has no friends who doesn't understand how to get along in this country. You think you can cheat him because he's a little illegal immigrant. He can't report you and you think you can get away with that.

Well, God sees it. He's the Lord is the cause he comes first and so in verse 20 serve him. Hold fast. Hold fast to him. Interesting phrase there in verse 20. Hold fast to the Lord. It's the same phrase as used of Adam in Genesis chapter 3 famous passage man shall leave his father mother and.

Hold fast.

To his wife here hold fast to the Lord because. You do that because back to the cause. In verse 21 He is your praise. He's the thing in your life. That you praise as the cause of all the good things in your life all the other things He has done notice that has done past tense again.

He's not speaking to people. He's not saying you do this and I will do this for you. No, he has done already. These great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. That is your salvation out of slavery.

Notice, it's not again. We've got to get this idea out of our heads. It's not first you do this you first you take the mark circumcision, whatever baptism you do the religion and then as A response to what you've done.

God says I'll do. I'll do that. I'll save you. I'll bless you. No here he has done it. He started the dance. He's the cause. Now the effect be markedly different. Hold fast to him live your life to praise him.

He's your praise. Well the second effect of his cause your motive beginning in chapter 11. Therefore this is a therefore again. I was because of the cause. The second therefore from the cause that God set his love on you.

People think the Old Testament is all about rule keeping and rituals and you just turn. Look notice here knows how many times did you notice we read the passage how many times Moses says love? The Lord your God here it is again.

Therefore Since he has loved you. He has set his heart to love you. Love him back. Love the Lord because he first loved you his love for you should cause. Your love for him and that will show that love for him caused by his prior love for you will show Practically by you keeping his his charge following his commands you want.

To live in a way that it pleases him. Not because you think that if you do if you keep some rules that will cause him to do something for you. To give you whatever you want. Your motive is love. Not trying to manipulate him.

To give you what you want. Augustine said love the Lord with all your heart and do as you please. Some people thought you can't say that can't say do as you please. You say back. Well now that you love the Lord with all your heart.

What pleases you? Since you love this great and mighty and awesome God then consider he says Command to consider let's think about. Think about his discipline and his greatness in verse 2. Think about it meditate on on that is discipline now a lot of Christians today don't like to think about God disciplining or judging.

Everything they think has to be no positive and encouraging. But here we're specifically we're told to consider and study think about God's discipline his judgments. He disciplines his children whom he loves and Here they are to they are to remember that remember he's trying to recall remember what you've experienced.

You his rights. 40 years in the in the desert. Remember what you saw saw the ground open up and swallowing rebels the plagues the attacks the poisonous snakes all that kind of thing consider That even though God has set his love on us.

He still disciplines us.

Think about that. Expect it to come up in sermons and lessons when you read the Bible. Even if you don't like it, you know, you don't want to think about that. But you realize that you need to be reminded of it then consider how he judges the world.

He stretched out his arm Against Egypt with miracles to devastate that land. Think about that. Think about what he did to the rebels to Dathan and a Byron of the ground opened up Right near them and then they fell in.

That's how God does business Sometimes and that's not just the Old Testament. And well, we if you I'm glad we don't have to worry about that anymore. It's it's Hebrews the book of Hebrews in the New Testament that tells us still That our God is a consuming fire.

It's in the New Testament where we're told that believers Have been afflicted and brought to death by the Lord for taking the Lord's Supper disrespectfully. Think about that the effect of.

His.

Prior choice to love Us to love you. Should be that we love him and then we get to know him. I know that he's great that he's holy. That he disciplines his children and that he judges the world. Well the third effect from the cause Manifestations kind of generally displays in our life change life.

Therefore the third therefore from the cause that God set his love on you.

Show.

Manifestations in.

Obedience in a changed life. Now over the last couple of generations. Some Christians particularly in America have bought the false doctrine of technically called antinomian ism. Sometimes they like to call it Redundantly free grace.

Okay, if it's gracious, it's free. So I don't know why you need the free part, but whatever. They believe that if that you can be saved by grace and It not make any difference in your life the cause of God's prior love they say May not produce an effect in how you live.

That's what they say. It's cause.

Without effect.

Now the idea is that it sure. Okay, if you want if you want to respond to God's grace you can. But you don't have to you can continue to live just like the world just as immoral or dishonest or unfaithful.

But as long as you as long as you say you believe in Jesus. Then you're still saved. That's what they say. You don't have to show any manifestations of faith in your life. Well here we see This passage in verse 8.

That's not true. You shall therefore Third therefore because the Lord set his love on you. Then you will keep all the commands if you do and remember therefore you're good as In chapter 10 verse 13 that that is they they benefit you they make your life better and then here We're told well in chapter 10 chapter 11 verse 13, they'll make you strong they'll make you able to possess God's promises.

You'll you'll get the abundant life that he has for you. If you follow following God's Word brings benefits, it makes your family better makes you more self-controlled. So you don't have to to go into debt trying to buy stuff.

You don't really need you're more content. So you don't feel like you have to buy satisfaction with with credit cards or get fat or destroy your liver and get unhealthy because you you tried eating or drinking or smoking your way To something like joy, so you'll live long.

Because you're not like that. You'll live long in God's promises here from verses 9 to 12 God reminds them of the promised land. Holds it out before them. See this is what I have for you. This is where you're going.