Deuteronomy 27, Are You Ready for Graduation?

Deuteronomy 27: The Call to Remember, Become God’s People, and Resist the World

So Deuteronomy chapter 27 be reading the whole chapter here the word of the Lord now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people saying Keep the whole commandment that I command you today and on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster and You shall write on them all the words of this law.

When you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you a land flowing With milk and honey as the Lord the God of your fathers has promised you and when you have crossed over the Jordan You shall set up these stones concerning which I command you today on Mount Ebal and you shall plaster them with plaster and there You shall build an altar to the Lord your God in altar stones.

You shall wield no iron tool on them. You shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut stones and you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there and You shall rejoice before the Lord your God and you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel keep silence and hear Oh Israel this day You have become the people of the Lord your God. You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.

That day Moses charged the people saying When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people Simeon Levi Judah Isaac are Joseph and Benjamin and these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse Reuben Gad Asher Zebulun Dan and Naftali and the Levite shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image an abomination to the Lord a thing made by the hands of a Craftsman and sets it up in secret and all the people shall answer and say.

Amen.

Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed to be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner the fatherless and the widow and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed to be anyone who lies with his father's wife because he has uncovered his father's nakedness and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed to be anyone who lies with any kind of animal and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed to be anyone who lies with his sister whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed to be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed to be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Cursed to be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood and all the people shall say.

Amen.

Of course it be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them and all the people shall say.

Amen.

May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Well, are you ready for graduation? But it's the end of a long obstacle course of preparation. There were classes and exams and in papers and if it's a doctorate one big paper a Mine was 300 pages if you count the degrees or the the diplomas the grades the other things you had to do to be eligible.

They start this last course of study. It can seem like a long Winding road and so we mark such momentous events with a ceremony commencement ceremony because now the rest of life Commences all that long process of education and training that what it was all supposed to be for.

And now supposed to begin preparation ends and what we are preparing for. Starts. Are you ready? Well, I've graduated several times. The odd thing about graduation is that even though the degrees usually get more esteemed the the more you graduate.

The graduations get less important. My grandmother came for my high school graduation. That's probably for most people. That's probably the biggest graduation actually their high school graduation. You get gifts and some attention and a special meal out and all that college graduation.

It was something but not really quite as big a deal. My first master's. I took a couple of hours off my work and went to the ceremony and they went right back to work. There's no visitors. There's no meal.

My second master's. I didn't even go to the graduation myself. I mean, I wasn't even hardly aware of it. There was one the PhD graduation. I did go and made sure to wear my German octagonal hat. Because it was a Lutheran seminary the exception to the rule of diminishing graduations is when you know, it's your last one.

And then you'll make kind of a big deal about it. When is the end of a long winding road? Now Deuteronomy is Israel's graduation its commencement address. It's at the end of a long period of preparation.

40 years in the wilderness learning lessons often the hard way. They received the Ten Commandments and the rest of the law. They heard Moses teaching and rebuking and deciding and praying. They had been picking up manna every day six days a week pulling up stakes moving camp.

Following a cloud by day every day for 40 years. 40 years is a long course of study here in Deuteronomy. They finally reached the end of it. And now they're camped on the verge of the Jordan River. They can see the promised land just right across this river the land flowing with milk and honey.

There it is what they've waited for for all this time is in sight but first. They need to graduate here they're told in their graduation three things they need to do. Resolve to remember. Second become the people and finally push against pressure.

Resolve to Remember with Concrete Memorials

Well first resolve to remember and don't make it and he's not and he doesn't just mean just make it inward resolution.

To have a memory.

But plan to do something. Concrete something that will by its nature remind you of the lessons have been taught. A memorial a temple in time a structure an immovable habit. That will cause you to remember here first.

Moses and the elders of Israel tell the people in verse 1 keep the whole commandment. Everything all of God's Word not just your favorite parts of it, but all of it that I command you today. This is the beginning of the last section of Deuteronomy it ends with Moses telling them to remember remember it all.

So he's recapping everything. He said remember it all build a memorial to help you remember and There's four principles of this memorial this concrete resolution to remember. Four principles first It's immediate.

On those build it right away. Second it's simple. Third it's both God word and Corporate. And finally it's obvious. First do it immediately in verse 2 on the day. On the very day that it means the general time not at the literal 24-hour day.

But when they cross the Jordan when you cross the Jordan to the lay and the Lord your God is giving you on that day. Basically as soon as you cross the river right after graduation. Build the memorial now sure they had to take care of Jericho first.

You remember the story from from the book of Joshua like you might after your graduation. You might have to buy a house or rent an apartment. But as soon as they've taken care of that necessity soon as that's out of the way.

Resolved to remember build the memorial set up these large stones. Plaster them and inscribe onto the plaster this law. Build this that will make you remember there's be this a monument there people will see it they come up and read it.

It won't remind them of what God has taught them. Notice again in verse 3 Moses says when Almost at that time you cross the Jordan River set up the memorial. This is the second time He's reminding them that this is to be high up on their to-do list.

Not after you've taken care of everything else. But when you've crossed over once the next stage commences then immediately do it build your concrete resolution to remember. Don't put it off until you know after you've conquered the whole land you've taken care of these Canaanites.

Maybe after Joshua's old in his retirement at the end of the first generation. Or maybe just leave it to the next generation. No, it said resolve to remember right away in a concrete Form. Now for us we need to set up memorials in our lives concrete habits that will remind us of God's Word regular Bible reading church in.

Particularly the Lord's Supper and baptism. Those are the memorials that have been given to us that were to build in our lives. We're entering a life. Flowing with God's blessings with milk and honey now before you go all the way in.

Resolve.

To remember. Well third time in verse 4 when you have crossed the Jordan and he's saying that this is the third time he's made this point. He's not being repetitive just to be tedious but to drive home the point don't put it off don't procrastinate it.

We have a tendency to put off building memorials, especially when something is just fresh in our minds. Why do I need a memorial something? I'm just thinking about all the time. It's just so new. It's so obvious to me.

We've been converted. We felt the grace of God. We might love we might love reading the Bible. Why do I need to make a discipline out of it if I just love it so much. We like we might like hearing sermons and singing Christian music and so we think we think we'll never forget.

You only make a habit or a discipline out of something. It's just you think you'll never forget it that we don't need. We don't need to resolve to remember to build memorials. So we might for a time if you'd like to listen to sermons during the week just kind of spontaneously because we want to hear It but we don't establish a habit of faithful church attendance.

We don't take the Lord's Supper regularly. We we were depending on our feelings just kind of carrying us along because we wanted to hear a sermon because we wanted to read The Bible we wanted to sing worship music and so we thought we we could wait to establish.

Memorials.

After the career maybe after the career has been established. The shop is booming. We have plenty of money in the bank. The kids are all born or they're not making any noise anymore. Then then we think when that's we were that to that stage.

Then we'll become faithful in church, we'll remember to take the Lord's Supper. But when we think like that when that happens instead what happens is.

We forget.

The thrill dries up and there are no immovable rocks in our lives. The feelings have evaporated and there's nothing in our life.

That's rock-solid.

Like the resolution that I Read the Bible and pray daily. I go to church. I have these temples in time that remind me and. So if we don't have that What happens is we end up forgetting? We forget what God has commanded.

We forget what he did to save us and so here he tells us those three times. He repeats it do it right away. Get saved come into the promised land be baptized join the church and have these temples in time that remind you.

All of what God's has said God's Word and what he's done. The second principle Of the resolution to remember is that it should be simple. Simple it's not adorned With our culture or creativity, but simply what God has given to us.

Resolved to remember but not just any way you think that works for you. When it comes to worship some people think That we can do it any way we want. It's all a matter of our taste whatever makes us happy.

Right that worship is kind of like taste and food. You like Mexican. I like Chinese. We'll maybe have some variety to each his own. To say there's a proper way to worship for some people strike. Well, it's like saying there's a proper kind of food to eat.

You should only eat Chinese food. No notice here verse 5 you shall build an altar of Stones. In verse 5 you build this altar of stones. So this is worship. We're talking about right and You shall wield no iron tool on Them on these stones that is you don't cut them.

You don't fashion them. You don't make them into something that you want them to be. You don't design them. To suit your taste with your art. You don't make them reflect your culture. You don't shape them.

You take the stones as God provided them. Simple your hand. Does it change them? This is what in reformed theology what it calls clumsily the regulated principle of worship. Reformed people are the worst in the world at marketing.

They come up with labels for things that make you dislike them. Regulated principle of worship. Who likes that, you know limited atonement. Just put it puts you off just the title, but that's okay. The regulated principle of worship is that you don't bring into the worship of God just what you've contrived just out of your imagination like here a sculptor with a chisel on a mallet designing something that they think according to them is.

Is what is right for worship? Worship is not about creativity but drama or fashioning something new expressing culture. You only introduce into the worship of God a Memorial for his word and works. What he has made what he's taught in his word what he's provided here the stones.

That he has made as he made them for us. We bring into God's worship what he's given us his word the preaching of his word Singing especially including he's commanded singing psalms baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Not movies. Not plays and skits and fog machines. Now if you want to do that at other times.

Fine.

But that's not the memorial. God told us to build for his worship. We're not opposed to art or creativity or culture. Now you want to be an artist or a creative writer or a.

Dramatist.

Great.

Take that talent out into the world into the culture and Glorify God there. You can take the Word of God out into the culture with creativity. But don't bring the culture back into the church and shape the worship of God with it.

Keep it simple and.

Biblical.

The third principle of the memorial the resolution to remember there were to build just after graduation is it is both God word and corporate both Vertical and horizontal. You like that kind of language notice in the middle of verse 6 You shall offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God and verse 7 you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there.

Two kinds of offerings were they were to make first burnt offerings now. They were called that because the whole animal being sacrificed is completely burned up. It was offered to God and no person benefits from it in any way.

It's a God word sacrifice. That is it's all about the offerers relationship with God. It represents atonement for sin. It's offered in exchange for sin here just sinfulness in general. As you know, you are a sinner and so you you need a sacrifice to be right with God.

And so you offer a burnt offering. It was to be made a male without blemish. And so it's a valued animal. It's the finest of what you have and the offer would place his hand on the head of the animal.

Usually a goat or a bull or sometimes a lamb. I think associating with the animal and connecting with the animal and.

Then kill it.

Then it would be burned up completely entirely. You don't get to physically enjoy any part of it. Our relationship with God requires a sacrifice that may not immediately make us healthy or wealthy or give us happy families or make us successful in business.

Indeed, we might have to sacrifice those things. The Lord Jesus says that whoever whoever does not love him more than family than mothers or fathers or in-laws or husbands or wives or girlfriends or boyfriends or Children, whoever is not willing to sacrifice those relationships for him is not worthy of him.

You you won't have a real relationship with him if you're not willing to sacrifice. Those relationships you might think you do as you're using God to quote focus on the family to give you what you want.

More money a successful business a sweet relationship, but it's really just Self-serving religion. You're using God to get something else out of people. You have to be willing to sacrifice those things.

You need a God Word a.

Burnt.

Sacrifice. But that's not really how we get right with God don't misunderstand me. Even their burnt offerings were not how they got right with God even here in the time of Moses. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 4 says that it's impossible for the blood of bulls and ghosts to take away sins that it was always impossible.

It's impossible for our sacrifices of time and money and relationships to make us right with God. Okay, don't misunderstand when Jesus said that whoever loves family more than him is not worthy of him.

He wasn't saying that by sacrificing. Those relationships by sacrificing your family or whatever. Then that's how you become right with God like a monasticism becoming a monk or a nun. That's how you really burn God's favor.

Or for Protestants being a missionary. That's how you know. You're really one of God's people that you please God by giving up those relationships as a burnt offering you earn a relationship with Jesus.

No, he didn't say that. That's not the point here either. He said that if you love those relationships more than your relationship with him or like here if you love your finest animal more than him. Then you're not worthy of him.

Your sacrificing is not how you get right with God. It shows whether you are already right with God after all Jesus is the one who sacrificed himself. He's the Lamb of God who took away our sin who finished once and for all the needed sacrifices on the cross.

So we don't need sacrifices like this anymore. But since he sacrificed himself and we claim to believe in him. We claim to follow the one who sacrificed himself. And we too Should sacrifice ourselves.

We should be living sacrifices living Godward lives. Believing in his sacrifice Should make us Sacrificers. But the flip side notice there's two two offerings two sacrifices. The resolution to remember is also corporate.

It ties you with other of God's people other he is saved. He's here brought out of Egypt brought out of slavery to sin. Others who are graduating here offer. He says peace offerings in verse 7 now peace offerings also known as his fellowship offerings.

They are given in thanks to the Lord for his blessings from a glad heart. It's a joyous thing. You take a good sheep or goat or cow like before and This time though. Only the fat of the animal is burned up.

The rest is kept for the offers and eaten notice the middle of verse 7 you shall eat. There you get to eat the peace offering the fellowship offering. We have a word for this. So you eat a cooked animal.

It's a barbecue. I mean, it's basically a low-fat Barbecue and it's communal is to be shared shared with all the others that God has blessed. You shall rejoice at the end of verse 7. You're having a happy time at your barbecue.

It's a party. It's a picnic here. They have a massive corporate Meal together now for us our resolution to remember must involve the church. We're not walking by ourselves on the beach. You know just you and Jesus two sets of footprints on the sand.

We're not alone in the garden. When the dew is still on the roses. We're part of a people that were connected to whom we're walking with in Christian love and this is partly what the offering is for if we want to meet and worship and when it's hot.

We want an air conditioner to make us feel comfortable and we want to reach out. To the people around us. Well, we need to sacrifice we need to share we need to give and we can literally Like here have meals together like this fellowship offering in which we all sacrifice.

We're bringing some food and we sacrifice it for each other now. We probably don't say enough about it, but fellowship meals have always been part of the church. You know from there from the love feast in the New Testament Church.

To the Lord Jesus's miraculous provision of enough fish and bread for everyone. So in just stead of just, you know. Sending the five thousand men plus the women and the children away setting them away hungry after hearing his teaching.

He had them he provided enough food for them so they could stay and eat the final state that the end of our journey the ultimate graduation is. Pictured in Revelation chapter 19 as a marriage supper a great communal meal until then until that last great meal resolve to remember in concrete memorials.

Taking the Lord's Supper together. Having our little love feast together maybe meeting each other for meals occasionally resolve to remember.

Corporately.

Together. Well, the fourth principle about how we are to resolve to remember is that it should be Obvious that is it obviously Reminds us of what we are supposed to remember. There's very little about it.

That's open to interpretation. Notice verse 6. You shall write on the stones all the words of this law.

Very.

Plainly.

Make it obvious. Don't use a fancy font. That's hard to read. May look artistically great, but you can hardly make it out. Remember what this memorial is for. Reminding you of God's Word and works what he said and how he saved you now.

Some people don't think some people say you. I don't need to go to church. I can remember God by Taking a walk in the in the woods Enjoying the beauty of God's creation. I can remember him through nature.

They'll say well now sure you can Remember God through nature. You can see a tree and be overwhelmed at God's handiwork.

Or.

Some country see a tree and Think evolution time and chance. They don't see God at all. Some can think how they need to protect the environment too many trees being cut down. Or whether they need to cut back on that tree in their yard.

They'll think of all the yard work that needs to be done. You can be reminded of God's Word and work through nature or through movies or do whatever.

But it's not obvious.

It can even be a distraction. The memorials you need in your life Need to be so obvious. Very plain he says. That they don't let you think about anything else your Bible reading not just devotionals that can get distracted by other things like self-improvement your church.

That should be obviously about God's Word and works the gospel and not distracted by other things like politics or celebrating. Whatever holiday is next we should have memorials. We should have temples in time in our lives that are obviously plainly About God's Word and works.

Become the People by Hearing and Obeying God’s Word

Well, the second thing we need to do after graduation much briefer is to become the people. Become the people. In verses 9 and 10 Moses with the priest says keep silence and.

Hear.

Stop your own words. Listen to God's words. The Word of God has gone out and It creates his people. That the gathering of his people and that is called in English. The church. Church is in the assembly.

Is the gathering. God's Word creates the church. Notice that the church doesn't create God's Word. Now some of the older traditional establishments They called themselves churches like to say that they created the Word of God.

That they they'll say they canonized it their counsel selected the books that go into the Bible. They'll even both sometimes plainly. They'll say, you know, we wrote the Bible. Well, they're claiming that the church created the Word of God, but that's false.

The church doesn't create the Word of God. The Word of God creates the church. God speaks his word and it makes his people. Jesus said my sheep Hear my voice. Jesus calls them and that call.

Gives them faith.

They believe and come to him as his people. Now here. Verse 9. Keep silence. Quiet down. Stop your own words. Hear Oh Israel the people of God the assembly of peoples. Listen to God's Word.

This day.

This is interesting. I never saw this until this past week. You have become The people of the Lord your God. This day right now. You become God's people. How many would they. Well I thought they were already God's people you by virtue of the fact that they were born naturally into Israel.

I thought that's what the people of God were. They're just natural descendants of Jacob, but no that's wrong. It's not birth that makes anyone one of God's people. It's hearing and believing the Word of God this day at this graduation.

They have become the people of God because finally they've heard God's voice and They believed it. You become one of God's people because you hear and.

Believe.

Now if you believe You will then obey You'll be a doer of the Word. So in verse 10 because you have become this day the people of the Lord you shall therefore That is as a result of what you have already become.

You shall Obey the voice of the Lord your God. Obedience doesn't make you God's people faith does but once you've done that once you become one of God's people through faith. Then when you hear the voice of the Lord the voice of Jesus You will obey.

Now maybe not always perfectly. But you'll come when you hear when you hear his voice. You'll come and follow him keeping his commandments and his statutes. We become the people and then we observe all that Jesus has commanded us.

Because we're his disciples. Finally the third thing we need to do after graduation After resolving to remember and becoming the people through faith is to push against the pressure. Now the world is going to pressure us in specific ways.

Now remember we're to be taught all of God's commands all that Jesus has commanded but some of the teachings from the Lord the world will hate and oppose and Some of them they will hate and oppose much stronger than other teachings.

At least what's more obviously in fact. It might even claim to like some of the Lord's teachings some of Jesus's commands like, you know, love your neighbor. They claim to love that one while viciously attacking and insulting anyone who believes other of his teachings.

Maybe like on hell or his teachings of sexuality particularly through the Apostle Paul in the past here in the south the pressure from the culture was to accept racism. To support slavery and segregation and many churches did they succumb to the pressure?

What they should have done Was push against the pressure and been counter cultural like they did up north and where they ended up changing the culture now these days. It's it's easy. It's it's really a fact.

It's encouraged by the culture to push back against racism to be quote anti racist. But some of the same people who are doing that the loudest speaking up against racism some of those same people aren't pushing back Against where the culture today in 2021 is putting the most pressure on and the church that caved Generations ago to where the world was pressuring then.

Will probably cave today where the world is putting pressure now the world puts pressure on some some specific parts of what we are called to obey and Doesn't obviously put pressure on other parts and so the temptation then is to kind of to play up.

Where we agree with the world, you know, we oppose slavery to now. We believe in science. We're for women's rights and Kind of play down. Maybe even surrender just totally ignore Where it is pressuring us.

You know not make a peep about abortion. Or about sexual immorality. Now here in the last half of the chapter God's people are challenged to specifically push back Against the world all 12 tribes are to assemble.

They're all named there and to curse 12 aspects of the culture that is pressuring them. The Canaanite culture that they were about to go into after graduation was Characterized by all these sins and the whole people of God are to push back against where the world is Pressing the Canaanite culture loved idols.

So in verse 15 the temptation that would be to surrender to it to accept some idols of our own. They had their ball their bail idol of a bull will have will worship the Lord with a bull to. We'll show we can have our own art and worship to the early church with the same way the pagan Greek and Roman culture loved Idols, they loved images in worship icons.

They're called and for the first 500 years of the church the Christians pushed back against idolatry. The early church was strictly opposed to icons. They knew God called it an abomination in verse 15 so they were absolutely opposed to it, but eventually they got so overwhelmed with worldliness as his hordes of Superficially converted people came into the church particularly after Christianity was legalized and they brought in their pagan ways with them.

So to this day there is now idolatry in some so-called churches. The culture dishonored parents in verse 16. Now our culture has embraced dishonoring parents. Freudian psychology is basically based on the premise that all your problems are because of your parents.

They're not really you could blame your parents for them. Feel you could feel fine because your parents raised you badly. Why you have the problems that you have and everything from your Romeo and Juliet to fiddler on the roof?

Parents are pictured as these selfish or these backward Bigoted people who want to deprive you of your happiness. And so I've seen professed Christians today thinking it's acceptable for a child to just publicly accuse and insult His or her parents.

We need to instead push back against that. The culture is greedy here. They'd move boundary markers in verse 17. There's a way to cheat their way into Growing their property becoming wealthier now early in the pandemic about a year ago a little more than that I saw professed Christians defending profiteering.

You know people had gone around and bought up all the PPE and hand sanitizer from the stores. And then they sell it to people back at exorbitant prices. That's worldliness that's profiteering and we need to push back against that.

The culture love depraved mischief here. Look, can you about just misleading a blind man just for the fun? I guess of watching him grope around in verse 18 now. Hopefully even our worldly culture today knows that knows better than that.

If so, it's because they learned it from the church. The culture loved taking advantage of the vulnerable people who had no protection. Here foreigners could be taken advantage of in verse 19. We still have that problem today.

The reason some businesses like having illegal immigrants, you know, why so they can employ them. So they can then take advantage of them. They can't ask for overtime. They can't complain to the government.

The unborn or the pre-born are the most vulnerable arbitrarily classified as non persons. So they can be killed. We should push back against that. There are four curses for pushbacks against Sexual immorality.

The Canaanite culture was a lot like our own in this regard if it felt good. It's the philosophy if it felt good. We'll do it. Pleasure itself was reason enough to justify anything. The pagan culture even celebrated sexual immorality in its religion.

Just like we celebrate it today with pride months and parades with the attitude that truly civilized quote tolerant people. Encourage others in whatever kind of sexual acts that they they want to do. Here Israel we are told to push back against that.

Then push back against the culture of death when people are less valued than whatever else. That they wanted out of the people and verses 25 and 26 finally push back against the nominal religion about saying you believe.

But you won't obey. The easy believism the cheap grace. You know this says you can be assured of salvation being right with God, but you don't have to follow anything. He says be doers of the word. Everyone say for each of these pushbacks.

Amen.

So be it. I Agree, I stand with God against the culture 12 curses 12 pushbacks from 12 tribes for all the people of God To be determined not to conform to the world Where it pressures us?

Will now.

Vow.

Not to cave in we're on the verge. We're on the banks of the Jordan we can see the promised land. From here we're graduating and crossing over. We need to resolve to remember remember that our relationship with God doesn't depend on our sacrifices.

Because Jesus has already made the once and for all sacrifice of himself that we need to be right with God. But remember that that fact makes us Sacrificers like him. So offer yourself as a living sacrifice an active worship and Sacrifice for other of God's people to be connected to them.