The Second Law (Deuteronomy 5:1-33)

Deuteronomy means the second law. Why is the second law given? It doesn’t mean that a different law from the Ten Commandments. It means the same law was given twice, first given through Moses written in the stone tablets and second given through Moses written in the hearts and minds of the people of Israel. God gave the Ten Commandments at Horeb out of fire. It was a dreadful moment for the people when the Lord God descended from heaven on Mount Horeb. The people feared to death and pleaded with Moses that the Lord would not speak to them directly. Why did Moses speak the Law of God all over again before entering the land? It’s because the understanding the Law of God thoroughly is the way to life in full. It includes when and why it is given and how to use it rightly.

The Law teaches not to keep it with all the best but to know the truth that no one can keep it no matter what. The Law is the representation of God’s goodness, his unchanging character which is forever love. The Law reveals the truth that the Holy God cannot change, nor compromise in any circumstance at all. Our God is good from the beginning to the end. That’s the Law forever teaches his people. If anyone keeps the Law of God shall be blessed and prosperous, otherwise shall be cursed and destroyed. The Law says first of all what we do is wicked and evil before God, so that under the law every mouth may be silenced and the whole earth held accountable to God (Romans 3:19). Second, the Law says what we are wicked and evil and sold to sin in Adam. The Law is holy and good and thus brings death to everyone under the law. The power of sin is the law, says the Scripture. The Law brings death in order that sin might be recognized as sin and through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful (Romans 7:13).

“Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them.” (Deuteronomy 5:1)

Moses summoned all Israel who were about to enter the land to possess as the Lord promised to Abraham and the forefathers. In fact, it was the Lord God who summoned his people to speak and remind and impress the laws and decrees they shall follow and obey with all the heart and mind and strength because it is the only way to live a fruit-bearing life, the fruits of the Spirit in the land of the Lord.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Deuteronomy 5:6-11)

The Lord is the one who delivered the people of Israel out of the slavery in Egypt by the power of wonders and signs. The people were groaning in pains and agony but couldn’t get out of the bondage of Pharaoh on their own means. This is the picture of fallen humanity under the power of sin and death. But the Lord was able to deliver them by the power of resurrection. This is the way of being made holy blameless in his sight. We cannot make ourselves holy and blameless by any means. It is only possible to be cleansed through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no power and authority in heavens and on the earth to wash away the sin of the world except through the power of the Lord’s blood.

That’s the reason God forbid to have no other gods before him. No gods can deliver people like the Lord can. It is strictly and seriously forbidden to make for ourselves any image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. God forbid to bow down to the images man made or worship them because he is a jealous God and punishes ever severely the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him but shows love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Obedience to the Lord shall be genuine and sincere. Even though people may say that they obey the Lord, if not done in the way God commands it is misusing the name of the holy God. Keeping the commandments of the Lord God is loving him with all our heart and with all our mind and with all our strength. There is only one person who can love God. He is our Lord Jesus Christ who obeyed the Father to the point of death. That’s the way for us to love the Lord God by means of Christ who is living within us.

“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:12-15)

Resting doesn’t mean doing nothing. Observing the Sabbath day by keeping it holy is the most significant truth to understand thoroughly in Christianity for it is the commandment of God. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy for on it he rested from all his work of creating that he had done (Genesis 2:2-3). The Book of Genesis Chapter 1 records what he had created six days including male and female in his image and in his likeness.

What does it mean that on the seventh day God had finished the work and rested from all his work? It means that all works have been done for the creation of the heavens and the earth and the redemption of humanity. That’s the reason the Scripture says that the Lord reigns until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Although our Lord Jesus Christ died and was buried and rose again from the dead some two thousand years ago, it is an eternal event which is true and effective forever beyond time and space. He has finished all his work on the cross of Calvary and rose again and was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God (John 19:30, Mark 16:19).

“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.” (Hebrews 10:12-13)

The Lord is resting from all his work and reigning for he has finished the work until all the enemies are to be made his footstool. So are we in Christ Jesus our Lord for God has raised us up from the dead with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). In Christ Jesus, we’re already in reigning with him until the enemy is subject to the Lord. It means we do not need to be the victim of the darkness and evil any longer in Christ. We’ve been made and given the power of resurrection to reign with him in the heavenly places. We no longer have to work harder and harder to subdue and overcome the evil because it has already been done in Christ and because we cannot make it by any means. That’s the meaning of keeping the Sabbath holy in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)

God is the God of order and peace. Honoring the parents is the commandment of God, so we shall obey them. It is a mystery in the relationships between parents and children. This is a picture of showing the heart and mind of God. It is impossible to love God while not honoring the parents. God says that when we honor our parents we may live long and that it may go well with us in the land the Lord is giving us. To live long and go well in the land means the quality of life in Christ. It doesn’t mean to live physically long life because some didn’t like Apostle Paul and Peter. The number of days doesn’t determine the quality of life but the fruits of life do. The fruits of life mean the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

“You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Deuteronomy 5:17-21)

These commandments are summarized as our Lord put it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) Love one another is the commandment of God. Why did God give it to us as the commandment? Is it possible to command to love one another? Yes, it is the commandment of God. If we do not love one another, we are not the disciples of Jesus. How then can we love one another? God set the example through the Son Jesus Christ who gave up his life for the sin of the world in an obedience to the Father. Jesus gave the new commandment to his disciples in the Upper Room Discourse. It is the same as the old commandment with the addition of the phrase, “As I have loved you.”

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)

These are the commandments of the Lord God proclaimed in a loud voice to the whole assembly of Israel on the mountain from out of fire, the cloud and the deep darkness and he added nothing more (Deuteronomy 5:22). The people were terrified when they heard the voice of God out of fire. So, they pleaded with Moses that the Lord might not speak directly to them any longer because they feared the fire would consume them.

“The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!’” (Deuteronomy 5:28-29)

The Lord God was pleased to hear that the people of Israel feared him and keep all his commands always. Here fear doesn’t mean distancing away from the Lord but recognizing his mighty presence in the midst. The Scripture says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverb 1:7).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverb 9:10)

Why must we fear God always? It’s because he is the one who created all things and without him nothing was made that has been made. Without him everything is useless and purposeless. He gives life now and forevermore. He sustains all things together from the beginning. He shines light upon us and reveals the mysteries of life. Without him no one can live and even exist. He is the head of all things. Who can search the deep things of the Lord God?

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)

Obeying all the laws and decrees carefully is the way of worth living in Christ Jesus. Paying careful heed and full attention to the word of God is always the first thing in our lives. God is lovingly and kindly and yet seriously saying that there is no other way to live life except through walking in obedience to all that the Lord our God has commanded us.

“So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” (Deuteronomy 5:32-33)

Prayer: Thank you once again Father for teaching us the laws and decrees which truly reveals who we are that we cannot keep the law by any means. Thank you Father for teaching us how to obey the Lord which is through Jesus Christ. Thank you for your goodness and faithfulness that you love us forever through the Son who obeyed the Father to the point of death. Thank you for opening the door for us to obey all the laws and decrees by means of Christ Jesus our Lord. In Christ’s name. Amen.

May 17, 2016

© 2015-2016 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.

The LORD Is God (Deuteronomy 4:15-43)

In the first sermon of Moses, one phrase is repeated over and over again. This portion is the end of the first sermon of Moses. The Lord underscores again and again for his people to be careful and watch themselves so that they do follow the laws and decrees of God. It is the only way for them to live in the land the Lord gave them to possess. So, the Lord warned the people of Israel first and foremost of all that they shall not worship the idols of the Canaanites and Amorites. God did not show any form but spoke the sounds of words out of fire, only a voice. The Lord declared his covenant with his people, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded them to obey and follow, and wrote down on two stone tablets (Deuteronomy 4:12-13).

“You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore, watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.” (Deuteronomy 4:15-20)

God did not show any form but only spoke to his people out of fire because no image can be replaced with the Lord who made all things. So, the Lord God forbid to make an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like man, animal, bird, any creature, and fish which God made. The Lord also forbid to bow down and worship the heavenly beings like the sun, the moon, and the stars which he apportioned to all the nations under heaven. These are all but the creatures and creation of the Lord. But the Lord took his people and brought them out of the iron-smelting furnace, Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance. God called his people to be his heir of all the vast inheritance in Christ Jesus. They were once the slaves of the world, Egypt where they were bounded and shackled by the power of darkness and evil. God broke the iron grip of slavery by the power of the blood of the Son Jesus Christ and set them free.

God set them free from the bondage of slavery in order to make them his treasured possession (Exodus 19:5). They were made for God’s inheritance and became the heir of the Lord God. Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans reveals the truth that we’re God’s children and so we are his heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ and God’s heirs share in his glory as well as share in his sufferings (Romans 8:17). We were the slaves of the prince of the dark world but have been liberated by the blood of Jesus Christ to be the children of light. That’s the reason God strictly forbid worshiping the idols which is the same as going back to the slavery of the devil.

“The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:21-24)

Moses was chosen for the deliverance of the Israelites and demonstrated the wonders and signs before King Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. He was known as the humblest man on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3). He faithfully obeyed the Lord God and delivered all the instructions and decrees for the people to follow. He bore the weaknesses and shortcomings of the people and interceded to the Lord God on behalf of the stiff-necked people throughout the wilderness journey. But when he disobeyed the Lord by striking the rock though he was told to speak to it, God would not allow him to enter the land. When he pleaded with God for permission to go over and see the good land, God would not listen to him. That’s how our God acts now and forevermore. There is no partiality for him. He is forever good and unbending in any circumstance. If anyone obeys him he shall be blessed and prosperous. If anyone does not obey him he shall be cursed and destroyed. Our God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Prophet Zephaniah prophesied in an awesome language regarding the jealous God.

“In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth.” (Zephaniah 1:18b)

God’s jealousy and wrath is being revealed all but because he is love. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” says the Scripture (Romans 1:18). Our loving and compassionate God cannot let his people go after the idols because it is a so dangerous practices for them to invite the sudden and imminent destruction and collapse. Our God punishes and disciplines those who do not obey him, so that they may turn back and repent from the disobedience of idol worship and run to the Lord, asking for mercy and pity.  

“After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.” (Deuteronomy 4:25-31)

Why does God call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against his people? It’s because the heavens and the earth are faithfully obeying the Lord of glory from the beginning. Though the universe is complex and vast and hardly fathom what is in it, it works orderly without an iota of rebellion, according to the course marked out by the hand of the Almighty God. Not just the sun, the moon, and the earth but the billions of billions of galaxies and stars in the universe have been obeying so faithfully thousands upon thousands years.

Why will they quickly perish from the land? It’s because they follow the idols which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. Death has various forms in addition to the cessation of the breath of air. Jesus came and died in our place in order to give eternal life to those who believe in him. So, death is the absence of eternal life. For example, emptiness, barrenness, boredom, meaninglessness, nothingness, dullness in the midst are all the forms of death. Fear, anxiety, panic, depression, worry are also the elements of death. If we do not obey the Lord in Christ, we cannot avoid the consequence of disobedience, all kinds of death. There is no hesitation or delay for the wrath of God to be revealed so that we immediately experience all forms of forceful death. The wrath of God is quickly being revealed for those who are wickedly disobey him because he is forever love.

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” (Romans 1:18-19)

Why does our God not hesitate to reveal his anger and wrath against us? It’s because he wants us to seek and obey him with our heart and with our soul all the days of our lives, even in time of distress and agony. Our God is the God of hope and mercy. He waits for his children to return back to him anytime and welcomes them no matter what because the blood of Christ Jesus has cleansed and washed away all the transgressions and stains and because he made the covenant with the forefathers of faith. God will not abandon or destroy us in Christ the Son because he promised to our ancestors by oath if we come and ask for his pity and mercy even after falling into the idol worhsip.

“Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today. Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.” (Deuteronomy 4:32-40)

God has demonstrated his awesome power and strength by signs and wonders, by war, by testings, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, by great and awesome deeds which are not found from one end of the heavens to the other. What’s for? God has shown these things so that we might know that the Lord is God, besides him there is no other. He is the only security, protection, shelter, refuge, and the shield for all humanity, especially for those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Son. Since the Lord is God and there is no other who can show such a power and strength from one end of heavens to the other, we can confidently trust and take rest in him. Is it not faith what the ancients were commended for?

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Since we have such an awesome and compassionate and merciful God the Lord of covenant, we shall live by faith in the Son Jesus Christ who is the perfecter and author of our faith. There is no other way for the children of God to live than by faith in Christ. God chose and called us today and made us his inheritance, so acknowledge and take to heart every day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Every moment, moment by moment, now and forevermore, keep his decrees and commands, so that we may go well and live long in the land the Lord our God gave us for all time.

That’s the new identity for all Christians. We’ve been delivered and made righteous and holy before God through the redeeming blood of Christ Jesus, so that we in confidence and boldness can stand before the throne of grace in heavenly places and may drink the living water in full. We’ve been provided everything we need for living a godly life even in the midst of trials and temptations for what God has done in Christ through the faith is irrevocable and irreversible. Apostle Peter assures us, saying “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

The Lord commanded Moses to set aside three cities east of Jordan to protect those who unintentionally killed a neighbor without malice aforethought (Deuteronomy 4:41-43). After defeating the two kings in the east of the Jordan, the Lord commanded Moses to set the stipulations, decrees, and laws before the Israelites which had been given the second time. The first time the law of God was given in the mount of Saini which is recorded in the Book of Exodus Chapter 20 (Deuteronomy 4:44-48).

Prayer: Our compassionate and merciful Father, thank you for the truth that the Lord is God and there is no other. So, we shall obey him, following every decree, stipulation, and law given through Moses, and remembering how awesome and powerful God he is. There is no other who can demonstrate the signs and wonders from one end of the heavens to the other. Thank you Lord for making us your inheritance and you are our inheritance in Christ Jesus the Lord. In Christ’s name. Amen.

May 4, 2016 

© 2015-2016 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.