Dt 4:1-43 "The Danger of Idolatry"

How do you avoid idolatry?

How do you avoid letting your sinful desires and cravings gain control?

Moses gives us the answer here in Dt. 4.

We avoid idolatry by doing what God commands.

The Reformation said that there are three uses of the Law:

1) to convict us of sin

2) to show us our helplessness and drive us to Christ

3) to teach us how God wants us to live

Today we will be looking at this third use of the Law.

Why is obedience important to the Christian life?

FIRST--Because blessing in the land depends upon obedience (vv1-8)

SECOND--Because God does not tolerate disobedience/idolatry (9-31)

THIRD--Because of the great redemption which God has given you (32-40)

Let me start by pointing out a very important thing:

what does "obedience" mean to Moses?

Perhaps the best way to describe this is to look at its opposite:

What does DISOBEDIENCE mean to Moses?

Disobedience and idolatry are the same in this passage.

Disobedience to the statutes and judgments,

Disobedience to the commandments of God,

means turning aside from the ONE TRUE GOD,

and worshipping idols.

Because, you see,

disobedience IS idolatry!

disobedience means putting our own selfish desires ahead of God;

which is idolatry!

So "obedience" to the Law does not mean some sort of legalistic mentality.

Because legalism itself is disobedience to the Law,

which means that legalism itself is IDOLATRY!

FIRST--Because blessing in the land depends upon obedience to the Law

That may sound odd--but think:

if disobedience is idolatry, then obedience is true worship

(along with a life that is fitting to the worshippers of God)

Do you like the word "Law"?

I didn't think so.

We Americans tend to think that Law is bad, Freedom is good.

Hence the little ditty,

"Free from the Law, O blessed condition,

I can sin as I please, and still have remission!"

How many of you get nervous whenever you see a police car while you're driving?

We tend to view Law, and Law enforcement, as scary things.

But here in Dt. 4, the "statutes and judgments" of God are seen as blessings.

1-4 Possession of the land is dependent upon observing God's commandments,

and especially not adding to, or subtracting from the "word that I command you" v2

What "word" is that?

Does that refer to all the various statutes and commandments throughout Dt.?

No, when Moses refers to the specific "word" which he commands,

he refers to the Ten Commandments,

which are also called the Ten Words.

The statutes and rules, the various applications of the Ten Commandments,

may change, but the actual Commandments will never change.

The "word" or the "commandments" refers to the covenant law of God.

The land was given by promise to Abraham's seed.

Why then does Moses say that they must obey this word

in order to take possession of the land?

Is it possible for Israel to fail to inherit the land?

Is it possible that the promises of God could fail?

No. Absolutely not.

But is God placing Israel's future in their own hands?

Yes and no.

They must obey his commandments.

But it is only by his grace that they can do so.

And as we have already seen,

Left to themselves, Israel will botch things up pretty badly!

What are the consequences of disobedience?

Baal Peor is a reminder of what happens when you disobey

(24,000 people died because of idolatry--Num 25-Midianite women)

Those who obeyed are still alive; those who rebelled were destroyed.

5-8 In keeping the Law the nations will see your wisdom and understanding and will be amazed at how great you are. After all, we are the greatest nation ever--no other God has ever been so close to his people (and after Pentecost he has come even closer)

Consider the great privilege you have, Moses says,

to be the people of the One True God.

The gods of the nations are distant and have lousy laws

(some included killing their own children);

OUR God is near to us, and gives us good laws.

It is an honor and blessing to have such a good law.

Notice here the priestly function of Israel.

The promise to Abraham was that his seed would be a blessing to the nations.

The nations will see how great Israel's God is.

And they will see how wise and just his laws are.

It is important to notice the result.

It does not say that these nations will then try to implement these laws,

It is not saying that other nations should try to emulate Israel,

After all, the whole point is the nearness of God with his covenant people.

Rather, it suggests more of an evangelistic note:

What happens with Rahab, and Naaman.

The proper response of the nations is like the Gibeonites or Hiram of Tyre

(during the days of David and Solomon):

They are to convert to the God of Israel and come under the banner of Israel.

So the First reason why obedience is important is because God's blessing depends upon it,

an obedient life is a blessed life

-not just for yourself, because it even has evangelistic implications!

The Second reason why obedience is important,

is because God does not tolerate disobedience

Moses uses the case study of idolatry to show the Israelites how important obedience is.

Starts with past at Horeb (what you saw) 9-20

Moves to present with Moses (what you see today) 21-24

Ends with future in Exile (what you will see someday) 25-31

What is the lesson of the past? (9-20)

Don't fall into idolatry

Don't forget what God has done,

and don't let your children or grandchildren forget either,

because even as God has given you this land for your possession,

so also he has chosen YOU as HIS possession (v20).

Just as God has given you an inheritance,

so also you ARE God's inheritance.

At Horeb/Mt. Sinai, you heard God's voice, but you saw no image;

therefore, Moses says,

because you saw no form, therefore make no image

no part of creation can be used to make an image of the Creator

Notice that the order of the creation is reflected here;

and it is exactly in reverse order from Gen. 1 (v16-19)

In effect, Moses says,

"How on earth can you worship a gift which God has given you?

Do not worship the gift; worship the Giver!"

Don't worship the creature, worship the creator!

This continues to be a struggle for us.

We turn people or things into idols,

and place our affection on the gift, rather than the Giver.

Parents, do you find that sometimes you are so preoccupied with your children,

that you forget that they gracious gifts of God?

Husbands/wives, do you ever take each other for granted?

Your spouse is a gift from God--

a gift, not for you to use up and throw away,

but a gift for you to treasure.

You see, what Moses is saying is that you are not to turn people or things into idols,

PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY ALREADY IMAGE GOD

as much as they can.

All of creation is a picture of who God is

(the Lord has given these things "to all the peoples under the whole heaven"

as a heritage/possession).

For you to worship them and serve them is to confuse the creature with the Creator.

But these things fulfill their purpose in reflecting God's glory.

Yet there is a place where the glory of God can be seen even more clearly.

Israel. (v20)

God has taken them out of an iron furnace

--just like a goldsmith would take the golden images out of the fire,

so also God has taken Israel out of the fire of testing,

to be an image of himself to the nations.

If you want to see what God is like; look at his people.

Turn to Colossians 1:15. Jesus Christ IS the image of the invisible God.

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of Israel.

He was exiled to Egypt as a child, and out of Egypt God called his Son.

He wandered in the wilderness for 40 days (even as Israel for 40 years),

He endured the temptations of Israel in the desert:

longing for bread,

taking the easy route, (Jesus using angelic power to win his battle rather than dying; Israel going up without waiting 40 years)

idolatry/worshipping false gods,

and where Israel had failed, Jesus succeeded.

As the Image of God,

Israel was to make all nations ooh, and ahh over their righteous laws.

That didn't happen very often!

As the Image of God,

Jesus declared, "when I am lifted up I will draw all men to myself"

And he has gathered the nations together in His Name.

So don't forget Horeb when I gathered my people

and gave them my Word and my covenant--the 10 Commandments

NOTE (v13): God's covenant IS the 10 Commandments,

The covenant which God made with Israel at Horeb,

WAS the 10 Commandments

the other laws are specified for use in the land

The 10 Com were in force before they entered the land.

All the other laws are simply applications of the 10 Com to the life of the people.

So the lesson of the past is "don't fall into idolatry."!!

What is the lesson of the present? (21-24)

To forget the Lord is to fall into idolatry

The two are inextricably bound together;

you will worship someone--if not Yahweh, then something else (23-24)

And this has consequences.

Moses says that he has to die outside the Land,

then warns, "Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant..."

That sounds like Moses is saying that he is dying outside the Land

as a warning to them.

Why?

Remember what Moses says at the end of Chapter 3?

Moses pleads with God to let him enter the land.

But God was angry with him-because of Israel.

Because of the sin of the people,

Moses, the covenant mediator, cannot enter the land.

Moses is a living example-perhaps better, a dying example,

of how disobedience-covenant breaking-idolatry-results in judgment.

Though innocent of their sin, Moses must die,

Moses must bear the penalty for their sin,

so that they can enter the land.

The Covenant Mediator must bear the penalty for the peoples' sins.

In this way, Moses prefigures the death of Christ.

The difference being, that for Moses there is no resurrection

until Christ is raised from the dead.

Hence, we may take Moses warning to heart:

if we forget God's covenant,

then we WILL fall into idolatry.

You see, we were created to worship God.

We were designed to worship.

So if we don't worship God,

we will worship something else.

It is very easy to take the good gifts of God,

and pervert them for our own ends.

But beware of the curse upon idolatry:

verse 24 says: "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God"

Those who persist in idolatry will be destroyed.

We saw last week that God will utterly destroy all idolaters.

The only way of escape is found in Christ.

He is the covenant mediator who never bowed his knee to an idol.

He is the one who destroyed idolatry forever on the cross.

He is the one who gives us the grace to recognize our idolatries,

and put them to death.

So the lesson of the present is that to forget the Lord is to fall into idolatry.

What is the lesson of the future? (25-31)

To fall into idolatry is provoke God to anger, and HE WILL DESTROY YOU

This is true not just in the history of Israel:

think of Germany, think of Italy,

think of pagan nations which have rejected the gospel--Japan, Iraq)

But Israel is unique--they alone were chosen as God's holy nation:

Moses warns them that when their grandchildren rebel,

God will bring judgment.

God will not tolerate idolatry among his people.

This is just as true today as it was in Israel's day.

But today there is no nation that can say "we are God's chosen people."

God's judgment falls upon nations today

like it did against the idolatry of the Canaanites.

Far worse, however, is when the church has forgotten her God.

Consider the church in Germany:

During the Reformation, Germany could boast of a vibrant and healthy church.

But during the 18th and 19th centuries,

as liberalism crept into the churches,

the wrath of God was kindled.

You would think that two World Wars would humble the people,

and cause them to return to God.

But today Germany lies cold and hardened to the Gospel.

What of the church in this land?

What of the church in this town?

What of the church gathered together in this room?

Are we doing evil in the sight of the Lord?

Are we provoking him to anger by neglecting to worship him as we ought?

Are we heaping up wrath against ourselves by our idolatries?

Have we allowed God's gifts to become more important in our lives than God himself?

Have we loved our families, our work, our own lives,

MORE than Christ who died for us?

Have we been more concerned with what others think of us,

than with what Christ thinks of us?

Have we forgotten our God?

Have we neglected his covenant?

Without true worship, and the obedience that flows from that worship,

we are idolaters facing his wrath and curse!

And (v27) "the Lord will scatter you among the peoples,

and you will be left few in number among the nations..."

That is the result.

Today we see this happening.

Christians are becoming the minority in the West.

The Church is growing in third-world countries,

but shrinking here.

But, v29, we have God's promise of deliverance.

God will never forget his covenant.

He has promised that we are his people, and he will never forget us.

Those who call upon the Lord will indeed find new strength in the grace that he gives.

So our second point has been that God does not tolerate idolatry-and Moses illustrates this from the past, the present and the future.

But we do not end there, praise God!

So, THIRD, obedience/worship, is important,

because of the great redemption which God has given you

32-40 God has chosen you over all the peoples of the earth.

This amazes Moses.

After leading these people for 40 years,

watching the gracious redemption which God has given them,

he cannot believe that God is so kind

to such stupid people!

Listen to vv32-39

1) God has never done this before.

He has never done what he did for you ... IN THE EXODUS

And the Exodus pales in comparison to what God has done for you in Christ.

For ask now concerning the days that are past,

since the day that God created man on the earth,

and ask from one end of heaven to the other,

whether any great thing like this has happened.

Did any people ever hear the voice of God

speaking through the mouth of a man?

Or did God ever before become flesh,

and take for himself a people out of the stronghold of Satan,

by dying on a cross?

Has anyone before ever seen God incarnate?

To you he was revealed,

so that you might know that Jesus Christ is Lord;

there is none other besides him!

Jeremiah uses this sort of language when Israel fails (Jer. 2:9-13)

God had never before shown such love to a people;

and no people had ever done such a stupid thing

as to turn from the True God to false gods.

And now in Christ, the fountain of living water has burst forth once again,

and this time, it will wash away all the sins of God's people.

2) this great redemption is seen in God's love for you (v37)

because he loved your fathers, he chose you--you haven't deserved it

It is simply because of God's good pleasure,

because of his gracious choice, that we are saved.

Paul applies this in Ephesians 2 (read 4-10),

we often stop there,

but Paul doesn't stop.

Listen to verses 11-13.

We have been included in the covenant.

We who are Gentiles by birth,

have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

We are now (Eph. 2:19) "no longer strangers and foreigners,

but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone,

in whom the whole building, being fitted together,

grows into a holy temple in the Lord,

in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place

of God in the Spirit."

There is but one people of God;

none of us deserve to be here,

but by his grace, God is building us into one holy temple.

3) this great redemption is seen not only in God's mighty acts against Egypt

but also in his power against the nations before you now.

This is what we saw last week:

The Lord fights for you,

and will bring you into the inheritance which he has promised.

Therefore (v40) keep his commandments that you may prolong your days in the land

Your obedience has long-term effects.

If you walk in God's ways,

and teach your children to do the same,

then his blessings will sustain you,

both now and in the Promised Land.

This promise is for us.

If you worship idols,

then your children will learn from you and imitate you.

If you worship God,

then your children will learn from you and imitate you.

We see this everyday don't we?

We know that children of alcoholics

have a greater chance of becoming alcoholics themselves.

How often have you seen a young woman marry a man just like her father?

Children idolize their parents,

and even when their parents fail,

they still maintain a love/hate relationship.

On the other hand,

how often have you seen godly, upright parents,

whose children fail to walk in their ways?

It does happen, occasionally.

But when both parents set a godly example,

the children almost invariably continue in their path.

We often forget that this church doesn't exist for us.

This church exists for your children-and your grandchildren.

They will build on your foundation.

Make it solid!

Deuteronomy consists of three main speeches.

This is the conclusion of the first speech

What on earth are verses 41-43 doing here?

I would suggest the following:

As God has chosen Israel from all the nations of the earth,

out of his pure mercy,

despite the unfaithfulness of the people;

so now the Israelites are to show mercy to the manslayer

who kills his neighbor unintentionally

God has established Israel as the city of refuge for the nations;

those that would flee his wrath, must flee to Israel.

Now these towns are set apart as cities of refuge for individual Israelites.

Are you starting to get a sense of what the Law is about?

Moses is not interested in legalism.

He is interested in seeing the Israelites worship and obey the true God,

rather than worship and obey idols.

Over the next few weeks we'll be looking at the 10 Commandments,

I'd encourage you to look at your calendar,

and read the passages from Deuteronomy ahead of time.

The 10 Commandments are God's covenant law for his people.

They are intended to be a blessing,

and in Christ,

they are.

Let us pray.

Benediction: Numbers 6