Deuteronomy 11:18-32; Matthew 23:1-39

The Dynamic Law of God

Preached at Sycamore RPC

Kokomo, IN

December 2, 2001

Sermon Text

18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.  19 “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.  20 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,  21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens  remain above the earth.  22 “For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him,  23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.  24 “Every place on which  £ the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon,  and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea.  25 “No man will be able to stand before you; the LORD your God will lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.

26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:  27 the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today;  28 and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

29 “It shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.  30 “Are they not across the Jordan, west of the way toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?  31 “For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it,  32 and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am setting before you today.

Deuteronomy is not just a code of law, but a sermon.

As we have seen now through eleven chapters of careful study in this book, Moses is not just reciting law codes like a clerk in a law office - he is preaching to the people. We have encountered relatively few laws so far. O sure, he gave us the Ten Commandments in chapter 5, but the majority of what we have read from Moses is his use of history, appeal to the character of God, and promises to the people to encourage their faithfulness and obedience. James Jordan points out how God’s law not only has commands and ordinances like a law code, but it also contains rationale for the law, appeals to God’s love and compassion, promises of blessing and threats of judgment.

That is what is meant by saying God’s law is dynamic versus static. We do not mean dynamic in the sense that the law changes. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word will not pass away,” Jesus said. We mean dynamic in the sense that it is powerful. It is a sermon from the servant of God. It is to effect our heart and emotions as the Holy Spirit creates in us a desire to obey. The people of Israel were to take the commandments of Moses and meditate on their meaning, discuss their application, and strive to faithfully keep them.

How the church today again needs to hear this sermon from God! To realize that the Lord of the church came not to abolish this law, but to fulfill it by removing its curse from us and giving us the power to both see and obey its New Covenant applications. Of Jesus it was said by the writer to the Hebrews “He has been counted worthy of more glory than the Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.” And if Moses exhorted the people to obedience, then how much more careful should we be who have the Christ that gave the law to Moses (Jesus is the Jehovah who handed the law down to Moses on Mt. Sinai)? He is the One who came not as a servant of the house of Israel, but as the Son over His house, teaching the law, living by the law, quoting the law when tempted, and dying under the law for us.

We need to see again the impact of God’s law. The dynamic power it can have in the life of the family, the church and the nation. So listen not so much to my sermon this morning, but to this sermon from God.

I. Impress the word on your heart & family. (vss. 18-22)

In verse 18, Moses tells the people of God where they were to put the word of God. They were to impress it on their hearts and souls, and be sure the same happened in their family. The word “impress” means “to put in the appropriate position.” In Deuteronomy 10:5 it is used when Moses says that the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, then Moses took the tablets and “put” them in the ark. The appropriate place for these tablets that bore witness to God’s desire for Israel was to have them set inside the ark. Recall a few weeks ago that we studied how the ark was to picture in part your heart. For Hebrews 8 says regarding the new covenant, “For thisis the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; andI will be their God, and they shall be My people.” We see here in verse 18 that it was always the intention of God that His law be written on the heart.

Moses then emphasizes this in verses 18 and 20 (READ). The Jews in Jesus’ day took these exhortations quite literally. We read from Matthew how they had their phylacteries, little boxes containing Scriptures, hanging from forehead or on arm. This was an act of religious duty, which was supposed to show their commitment to Scripture. Is that what God wants, for us to literally hang His word between our eyes or have verses written on our doorposts? I like what Keil & Delitsch, the OT commentators, have to say about this: “the literal fulfillment of such a command could only be a praiseworthy custom or well-pleasing to God when resorted to as the means of keeping the commandments of God constantly before the eye.” (K-D, Vol. I, p. 324). For the Jews it became a show instead of desire. As we read, Jesus says “they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.” Word was to be in their hearts and in their families. A few years ago our congregation memorized the Ten Commandments, and had calligraphy done of them for those who completed this memory work to hang in their homes. We have a beautiful copy of the Ten Commandments displayed by our front door as you come in. But if they hang only for show and are not written on our hearts, then woe to us and to you.

To avoid this, to see how they are to be impressed, let us concentrate on verse 19.

Sit with the word! – In this culture, a pastor can no longer take anything for granted. Do you have time to sit with your family? If not, then your family is in trouble. Let me be more blunt and say it is in idolatrous sin if you are too busy to sit with your family. One place we are to sit together is at meals. Again, if you do not share at least one meal a day usually with your family, then you are too busy. You should be sitting together, interacting as you eat with one another. Now I trust you pray before the meal. But to make God’s Word your true food, listen to what we read about in our prayer class and consider this. The Jews used to pronounce a benediction, or a blessing (benediction means “a good word”), AFTER their meal. The reason for this was taken from Deuteronomy 8:10, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land He has given you.” When you sit down to eat, relatively easy to pray, for our hunger creates desire. But when we become full and satisfied, life shows us that we are more likely to forget God. At least one meal each day should end with a “good word,” or what many of us refer to as family worship. Are you as a family sitting with the word? Taking the time to simply read the word and pray together? God says you must sit with the word. Remember, this is His sermon to you, not mine. He is the One telling you to do this, not just some pastor with a “neat idea.” Men, are you leading your family in reading of the word & prayer? If you are not sitting around the word with your family, it is neglect that will harm your family.

Walk with the word! – We have to be with our children for more than just meals. They need to be working alongside us. We need to be involved in their schooling. We need to be playing with our children. Whatever we are doing, they need to be there so we can remind them of how God’s word is to instruct them. That is why we must have it memorized, so it can be employed. Are you working diligently to memorize our congregational passages? These words as well as other Scripture you memorize will aid you to lead your children in walking with the LORD in righteousness. We like to sing of the blessing of a family under God in Psalm 128:

Blessed the man that fears Jehovah…

Thou shalt eat of thy hands’ labor

And be prospered all thy days.

Like a vine with fruit abounding

In thy house thy wife is found,

And like olive plants thy children,

Compassing thy table round.

Yet did you realize I skipped a line? I skipped: “Blessed the man that fears Jehovah And that walketh in His way.” We will be blessed with a godly family if we are walking in His ways and encouraging our children to do likewise. That is why we must have the word ready at hand to guide our children. Proverbs 6:20-23 treats the word of parents like the Word of God because it assumes the parents will guide their children in this fashion. It says:

“My son, keep your father’s command,

And do not forsake the law of your mother.

Bind them continually upon your heart;

Tie them around your neck.

When you roam, they will lead you;

When you sleep, they will keep you;

And when you awake, they will speak with you.

For the commandment is a lamp,

And the law a light;

Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,”

Lie down with the word! Bedtime is such a crucial time for Christian families, to quiet your family down and set their hearts on God before they go to sleep. Perhaps it is here where the singing of the psalms is so important. We are commanded to meditate on God’s Word day and night. What could be a greater blessing to our family and than to sing with and to our young ones the very Word of God, reminding them that He has been LORD over all they have enjoyed that day? Please open your psalters to Psalm 4B. We are going to sing right in the middle of my sermon to help emphasize this. Psalm 4 encourages us with these words, “On your bed in silence speak within your heart.” The fourth stanza of this song is known as the “Night-Night Song.” Let us sing it:

“You have given my heart greater joy by far

Than when grain and new wine most abundant are.

So in peace I lie down; I will rest and sleep,

For, O LORD, You only will me safely keep.”

What blessing and comfort to your little ones to let them hear God tell them from his Word they He is watching over them while they slumber.

Rise up with the word! The Bible says that everything is sanctified by the word and prayer. Every day of our family’s life should be consecrated by the Word of God. In the quietness of the morning both parent and child should be finding some quiet time with God, so they can consecrate that particular day to Him and His service. Mom and Dad, are you modeling this for your little ones? Do they see God speaking to Mom and Dad from the Word? Are you teaching them how to rise up each day by listening to God and speaking to Him?

For you see, there is a great purpose to this inscription of the heart to which you are being exhorted. It is to avoid the grave error of the Pharisees. Listen carefully, beloved. When the woes of Matthew 23 are read, the conclusion that is often drawn is to avoid legalism. “We don’t want to be like the Pharisees and be legalistic,” many conclude. That is certainly true, but then many take that to a further FALSE conclusion. They go on to say, “Then do not have to keep and obey the law.” NO! A thousand times from this pulpit I have to say no!!! The Pharisees were setting aside God’s law for their traditions; they only gave attention to the law to be seen, not for what they were supposed to see. They wanted to be impressive to people, not be impressed by the Word of God. Though certainly we must make New Covenant applications of God’s Law, let not the fear of legalism draw us away from faithfulness.

For if they had been, the results would have been different. For the reason we sit, walk, lie down and rise with the word is to see Christ, to love Christ, to follow Christ, to trust in Christ. Jesus said to those Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures and think that in them you have eternal life, and it is these that bear witness of Me….If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” Without Moses’ writings, you cannot even really understand Jesus’ words. The reason to impress the word is so that God through His Son will make an impression on your children. Our children will begin to see and understand that Christ is real. He provides everything I need, for they will see He shed His blood to forgive my sin, and He was raised to give me power by dwelling with me (that’s OT truth every bit as much as it is NT truth). He teaches me everything I am supposed to do – how I am to walk, whom I am to marry, how I am to serve, what the purpose of this life is. They will see that He is all-sufficient. Our children and our grandchildren (verse 21) are to say, “How impressed I am with Jesus.” They cannot imagine life without Him and will dare not forsake Him in any area of life, if we are faithful to impress the word upon them. Then…

II. Imagine the results of your love & obedience.

The Christian church today has lost its imagination. It is so defeated, so withdrawn, so doctrinally confused, so weak and insipid, it can no longer imagine what it would be like for God to dwell in power among His people. Indeed, we think it is a mark of our spiritual maturity to cower and talk about how wicked it is out there, and then go out smiling and trying to be friendly while paganism rules the land. The reason for the prevalent wickedness in our nation is because several generations of Americans have been raised without being impressed by God. They do not know God and His word, and a glance at a Gallup Poll will tell you that. Yet this passage teaches us that you don’t need to look at a Gallup Poll to see the spirituality of a people. When people are faithful to His word, Biblical faith will resound through the land. When not, the people of God become dominated by their enemies. Notice what Moses goes on to say about the results of love and obedience.

The enemies of our God will be dispossessed! Look at verses 22-25. We cannot imagine this anymore. Yet we have to realize this lack of ability to imagine God dwelling in great power over our enemies is the same condition that plagued Israel. Back then it was called unbelief, and it is the same today. Recall that God told Joshua the very same thing Moses is telling the people here (READ Joshua 1:3-5. Joshua was instructed that if he faithfully meditated on god’s law, then everywhere the sole of his foot tread he would find victory). That is what Joshua did, and he went in and by the blessing of God conquered p the land. Then what happened after Joshua – what is the next book that follows? It is the book of Judges, which explains how the people of Israel would fall away and come under the domination of the pagan peoples. But then what would happen? The people would do what we sang about in Psalm 107, the refrain found there, “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.” When the people fell, they would cry, and the LORD would raise up a Gideon, a Samson, or later an Elijah or a David, and the tables were turned. The enemies of God were dispossessed.

Beloved, where are our Gideons, who know they are too small to do much good, but they know they have been called by the Almighty One? Where are the Elijahs, who know they are outnumbered but pray fervently anyway? Where are our Davids, who know they cannot stand against Goliath, but also know that Goliath cannot stand against the LORD of hosts? If we will impress this word upon our hearts and our families, we will find courage we did not have, wisdom not of our own, power from on high, a God who goes before us, and our enemies will be scattered.

What does Moses say in verse 25? “No man will be able to stand against you…the LORD will lay the fear of you on others…the people will dread you.” Have you ever noticed how much people, even Christians, do no want to be ruled by the law of God? Why? They fear it, and they will fear the ones who seek to bring it to bear on society. Beloved, you need fear no one save God, who has given you the mighty sword of His law to bear. Brandish it, and watch your enemies flee! Recognize the law of God is the backbone of the church. With it, we stand strong and ready to do His bidding. Without it, we are spineless and will behave cowardly.

The consequences of our actions are guaranteed! Finally, consider verses 26-30. We have no choice really. We either seek God’s blessing through obedience, or we will experience His curse for our disobedience. Here the ceremony of Mt. Gerizim (blessing) and Mt. Ebal (curse) is explained, which Moses will further teach upon in chapter 28. The people upon entering the land would have a ceremony in which half of the nation would be set upon each mountain facing one another. Those on Mt. Gerizim would proclaim the blessings of obeying the word of God. Those on the other mount would shout aloud the curses that would fall on them for disobedience. This is a poignant picture of the Final Judgment, the future separation on the last great day between those who obeyed and those who were faithless. Yet even between Moses and the final return of Christ God still holds people to this. People will experience His blessings if they are faithful; but will know His curses if they forsake Him. Oh, the Lord is patient, and the judgments may be delayed or the blessings may appear never to come, but they will. The consequences are guaranteed by His Word.

So be careful to obey, beloved. As we journey into the parts of Deuteronomy where more law is found, never forget this is a sermon from the LORD your God, the commandments of Jesus. And also never forget one other thing. The future of your grandchildren and your nation will be impacted, for better or worse, depending on your faithfulness to this law.