An Overview of the Law

Transcript

GRS 49
2/14/1988
An Overview of the Law
Deuteronomy 5
Gil Rugh


Chapter 5 begins, then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel” and that call; “Hear, O Israel” is a call to the nation to pay close attention to what is about to be said, and it’s a call that is used several times in the Book of Deuteronomy. “Hear, O Israel”; we will see it down in Chapter 6 when we get over there, the call to Israel to listen. Verse 4 of Chapter 6; “Hear, O Israel,” pay close attention to what is about to be said. This is crucial material, if Israel is to experience the blessings that the covenant promises to the nation they will have to understand and obey the provisions of the covenant and particularly would have summarized in these Ten Commandments.

“Hear, O Israel”; the statutes and the ordinances which I’m speaking to you today in your hearing that you may learn them and observe them carefully. Note; they are to pay attention for two reasons; that you may learn them; they are going to have to learn this material. They have to learn the statutes and ordinances that God has commanded them. It had to be part of their basic knowledge and then secondly they are going to have to do them carefully, observe them, do them carefully. So I think the two ideas brought together here are important, you learn them to do them.

Learning the statutes and ordinances isn’t an end even in and of itself. But they are to be learned in order that they might be obeyed and that is the goal and really you can’t obey them if you don’t know them, but if you know them and don’t obey them; there is no blessing in that either and that pattern continues into the New Testament as well. We are to know the word of God, it’s to saturate our lives, we are to think upon it, we are to understand it, so that we might be obedient to it.

And until the word of God is lived out in our lives, fleshed out in the way we live day by day, God’s purposes with his word has not been accomplished. So for Israel and Israel will experience the same kind of problems that you and I do today. They know far more than they do and that brings them under the chastening of God. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb, remember Horeb is Sinai. So it was at Mount Sinai that the Mosaic Covenant was established. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers but with us, with all of those of us alive here today.

What’s being stressed here is that this was a covenant; it’s just not a historical document. It’s not something that God made just with the parents because this generation that Moses is speaking to; is really the children of those who received the covenant. Many of these would have been alive at that point but they would have been young because everyone over 20 years of age has died since that time. So even though they would have been; many of them present, the covenant really was established with their parents in a direct way but the point being made here; it wasn’t just their parents, it was to them and many of them were alive but as being -- the fact that they are the children, they are in the line of the covenant, this covenant is made with them.

Those of us who are here today, alive today, verse 3 says, and I think that point is very significant. There is always the danger that the word of God becomes something that this generation views as good for their parents. Young people today; they are raised in a Christian home, they hear their parents talk about the Bible and so on and that’s their parent’s beliefs and convictions. But here Moses is stressing for this generation, here alive today, the word of God is for you and I think we constantly need that emphasis; that the word of God is significant, it is personally directed to those right now before the Lord and they will need reminder to that on numerous occasions. The Lord spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire.

Remember, face to face does not mean that God took a form, face to face means; personally God spoke to the children of Israel at the mountain. Back in Chapter 4 verse 12; the point was made, then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire, you heard the sound of the words but you saw no form only a voice. So there was no form, there was no literal faith -- face, this is anthropomorphism. It’s attributing to God human characteristics to help us understand and face to face in this context means it was personal communication.

Verse 6; very key, you have to mark verse 6, its foundational to understanding the significance of the Ten Commandments. I’m the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I’m the Lord your God, I’m the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt and the house of slavery. I’m the Lord your God, that establishes the fact; there is a covenant relationship between God and Israel. Now this covenant relationship goes back beyond the Mosaic covenant, goes back to the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis Chapter 12 where God established the binding covenant with Abraham and all of his descendants.

All of the subsequent covenants come out of the Abrahamic covenant. Now the mosaic covenant is a covenant between God and his people, these covenants rooted in the Abrahamic covenant but here demonstrated; the mosaic covenant, demonstrate the fact; I’m the Lord your God. Now in the broad sense; he is the only God, so we could say; he is the God of every one and that is the only God there is, he is the creator and sustainer for all but there is this unique personal relationship between God and Israel. So that’s being stressed here and note, he says; I’m the God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

These are a people who have been redeemed by their God, they were redeemed out of Egypt, they were redeemed out of bondage and slavery, so we have a people that God has chosen for himself, a people who have experienced the redemption of our God, their God that is being addressed. This redemption is stressed back in Exodus Chapter 15 and verse 13. Exodus 15 verse 13, Moses is the speaker, he says, “in thy loving kindness thou has led the people whom thou hast redeemed. So Israel now stands before God as a nation that has been redeemed.

This does not mean that every single individual within the nation has experienced God’s salvation but there has been a redemption of the nation out of bondage in Egypt. Now this is significant because verse 6 is the statement that leads in to the Ten Commandments, the first commandment then is in verse 7. The Ten Commandments are addressed to a people that God has chosen for himself, a people who have experienced God’s redemption. Now many people are confused because they see the 10 commandments as a way to be accepted by God, as a way to be saved. You ask a person; you are going to go to heaven, yes I think so, I tried to keep the 10 commandments.

The 10 commandments were never given as a way of salvation. They were given to a people who had already experienced salvation a people who had been brought to God and who had experienced his redemption. So the 10 commandments are not addressed to an unredeemed people. The 10 commandments are not addressed to the Babylonians, or to the Assyrians or to the other nations. The 10 commandments are addressed to the people of God who have experienced the redemption of God. What the 10 commandments are doing; is telling the people of God how they are to function in their relationship with their God and how they are to function in their relationship with the other redeemed people.

So this is material for the people of God, nothing to do with how you would experience salvation or come to be a child of God. Verse 7 against the list of 10 commandments, you shall have no other gods before me. What the first commandment does, which is the most basic of all the commandments, is it demands absolute complete faithfulness on the part of God’s people to this covenant relationship. They have entered to a covenant relationship, that’s a bonding relationship, a binding relationship; an absolute complete faithfulness is required within that relationship.

Israel must be devoted to God alone; this will be an ongoing struggle for Israel. I think; well that’s an easy one, there is only one God, to be faithful to him will be the easiest of the commandments, becomes perhaps the most difficult. Over in the New Testament; we too are in a covenant relationship with God; we will talk about that a little bit later. Not as a nation but now as individual people within the framework of the new covenant established by the death of Jesus Christ and for those who are God’s children, in personal relationship with him, there is absolute faithfulness required of us as well. That’s why everything going on, in the Old Testament with the people of God, is an illustration or a picture book for us in our experience as believers today.

And we ought to learn those lessons so we don’t repeat those errors. Look over in Colossians Chapter 3 verse 5; an example of warning regarding this commandment for us as believers. Colossians Chapter 3; reminder that sometimes unfaithfulness is very deceptive. We as believers today would say; of course we would commit to this and the obedience of this commandment but have no other gods before me. Of course and yet Paul had to write to the Colossians in Chapter 3 and verse 5; therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed which amounts to idolatry.

See what Paul says here; greed is idolatry and so a person who allows greed to take hold in their life is guilty of violating the first commandment; thou shalt have no other gods before me. They have developed another god; an idol in their life which is unfaithfulness to the only God there is. You see some of the deceptiveness of sin that I would read the first commandment and say how could Israel ever get led astray and all I can think of is the pagan Gods that allured Israel. Don’t look around and say that; I find that there are gods that are just as alluring to us today. Greed which is so pervasive in our society, which brings believers to ruin, is a form of idolatry. So very crucial commandment, very basic and we see how much struggle Israel had with it.

It’s a reminder that you and I as believers are going to have to be very careful in this area as well. Come back to Deuteronomy Chapter 5 verse 8, the second commandment; you shall not make for yourself any idol or likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. Now what this commandment does is; forbid any image which would represent God himself to be made. This doesn’t forbid making statutes -- statues, drawing pictures, some religious groups have beliefs that you cannot have pictures or statues because that violates the second commandment; you shall not make for yourself any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water.

So we are not allowed to make images or likenesses of any of the creatures but the point of the context is worship. You not make for yourself an idol, verse 9; you shall not worship them or serve them, that’s the point, that’s the concern. In the Tabernacle itself there had been many images and likenesses that were to be made. There may not be many but several such as the cherubim; connection with the Ark of the Covenant and so on. That’s not that what is forbidden here. Objects of worship that would represent God, that’s what is in view here. Back in Chapter 4 verse 12, which we read earlier, Israel at Sinai saw no image of God only heard a voice.

So down in verse 15 of Chapter 4; watch yourselves carefully since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make a graven image for yourself, the form of any figure; male, female, any animal, bird, creeping thing or fish and so on. You see the point, since God has no form; any form that you would make to represent him would be a corruption of what he is, a distortion of what he is. It would not truly be a representation of him, so it would be -- not the true God. So we could not make any thing to be worshipped. That’s the point in view here.

This is serious matter because if you do make an object to represent God; that becomes another god. So back in Chapter 5 verse 9; you shall not worship them or serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the inequity of the fathers on the children and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me. Failure to heed this commandment is going to result in judgment. Israel will experience severe judgment; the Babylonian captivity of the nation will be a result of their forays into idolatry. God is a jealous God, in other words he demands the absolute loyalty and love of his people. This covenant relationship binds Israel to God and there is no flexibility in that relationship.

In other words he is not willing to share the devotion of his people with other gods. Now that point is made so clearly here, it’s one; the people of God have to constantly be reminded of. God demands my absolute loyalty; there is no flexibility in that area. He is a jealous God and we understand that somewhat within the framework of the marriage relationship. There is to be absolute faithfulness to your marriage partner, there is no flexibility in that. That I’m two thirds faithful, I’m 92 per cent faithful, anything short of 100 per cent faithfulness is unfaithfulness. That’s the way it is in the covenant relationship between Israel and God and you note here when he says; that God will visit the inequity of the Fathers on the children on the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.

It is true that for the fathers, the children; the children of the third and fourth generation, often there is a pattern established, that is the parents attitude toward God is in rejecting him, it’s reflected in the children and you see this often through generations in Israel but it’s also true that the consequences for sin are visited upon the children. This is mentioned several times in the Old Testament but look at the other side of this in Ezekiel which seems to be somewhat of a contradiction to what Moses is saying. Ezekiel Chapter 18 and verse 20, Ezekiel Chapter 18 verse 20; the person who sins will die, the son will not bear the punishment for the father’s inequity nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s inequity, the righteousness of the righteous will be upon him, the wickedness of the wicked will be upon him.

Well it seems here; the God saying; he will visit upon the third and fourth generation; the judgment for sin that causes to some think that when there is a pattern of inequity established that pattern will be lived out down to the third and fourth generation resulting in the judgment of God on those generations. That’s a fearful concept when you think of it that the sinful patterns established by the parents may be carried out to the children down to the third and fourth generation, that’s obviously a possibility and sometimes you do see certain things that are carried out into subsequent generations.

I have been interested in some of the things they have been saying about alcoholism today and certain traits that are inherited on that and wondered how that fits in some of this kind of sections of the Scripture. You see certain patterns were; you had sexual immorality characteristic of a father and you see that same pattern in the son, there are certain prominent individuals. I was reading the biography of an individual who is now dead but his family is still very prominent. I was interested to see in this biography something of the pattern of immorality in this father’s life that has been lived out in the next generation; the sons have followed the exact same pattern and you do wonder about that.

I think it’s also possible here and I have usually understood it this way that the consequences for sin are visited on subsequent generations you can’t get away from that. So I’m not directly punished for my father’s sin; the consequences of that are visited upon us. For example, 40 years of wilderness wandering because the adults of that generation would not trust God and go into the Promised Land, those children that were of 8, 9 and 10 had a wonderful 40 years in the wilderness. The Assyrian captivity of the nation from which the northern kingdom never really returned; the children bore out the consequences of the sins of the parents and that is true as well.

There are certain consequences that come upon the children, there are babies being born with AIDS today who personally did nothing, but the consequences in some cases of parental sin are felt on that next generation. So that pattern is also true, ought to make parents whichever sides you want to emphasize or whether both of these are involved, reminds us that as parents there is tremendous responsibility on us to live godly lives and we have concerns about the generation of young people today and what has happened and perhaps what has happened is the godliness of the parents was lacking, that does not excuse the children and Ezekiel would emphasize that. But it does remind me as a parent; one of the things that helps keep me on the track as a parent is I’m afraid of the consequences in my children, that’s a good and a healthy recognition.

Verse 10; the other side, God is a jealous God, he is a God who brings judgment upon those who are not faithful but verse 10; showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. Loving kindness; one of the great words of the Old Testament basically we would say it in English “hesed” and hesed is covenant love often translated loving kindness. Covenant love is the idea, it refers to God’s love within the framework of his covenant with his people, so this is special love, this is love for those that he has a covenant relationship with.

They the object of a special and unique love because of the covenant relationship that they have with him. You and I as believers today are the objects of a special and unique love of God because in effect of the covenant relationship that we have with him. Again, don’t blur this, this is not the Mosaic covenant, it’s not a national covenant, but our relationship with God is within the framework of the new covenant founded in the death of Christ. Look in John Chapter 17, the gospel of John and the 17th Chapter. Jesus high priestly prayer is the subject of John 17, in verse 22 Jesus prays for those who are his, and the glory which you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one.

Look down to verse 26; I have made your name known to them and will make it known that the love wherewith you did love me maybe in them and I’m them. That special unique love that the Father had for his only begotten son, that’s the love that is to be in us as well. And so we operate within a special family relationship with one another because of our special family relationship with our God and we are privileged then to operate in the environment of family love, that’s Israel’s privileged relationship here.

So the warning back in Deuteronomy 5 verse 9 for walking apart from that, but the focal point here; look at what God promises, covenant love to thousands who loved me and keep my commandments. That’s repeated a number of times as well in the Old Testament. The next commandment, the third commandment verse 11 of Deuteronomy 5; you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. This third commandments forbids the improper use of the name of God, this would forbid his name being used in magic to curse someone, would be forbidding to use God’s name in a false oath, the name of God stands for all that he is, his person and power are represented by his name.

So to improperly use his name is to slander his character and this command would be broad enough to include all kind of improper uses of the name of God and we have much of that going on today. That is a slander of the character of God; that is forbidden here and God will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain, uses it in a worthless way because that is to slight the character of God, slander his character. Verse 12; there is an elaboration, you note verses 12 down through verse 15 elaborate on the Sabbath, gets the fullest elaboration here although we wouldn’t say this is the most important commandment, the first commandment is most basic but is one that is specially unique to Israel within the framework of the Mosaic covenant.

This is the only commandment that is limited exclusively to the Mosaic covenant, it’s the only commandment not repeated in the New Testament; to observe the Sabbath day. Verse 12; observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you. The other commandments up to this point have been stated negatively, you shall not do this, you shall not do that, this one stated positively, you shall observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you. The Sabbath day is to be a day of rest, a day set apart for God to acknowledge that relationship that they have with him. So it’s their special day, if you will, of worship.

Down to, the reminder that there is no work to be done, six days, verse 13, you shall labor and do all your work, it’s the pattern laid out through the Old Testament, six days of work days. One day is a day set apart; of rest devoted to God, it’s the Sabbath of the Lord your God. The Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. The reason given here for observing the Sabbath day is the redemption from Egypt.

It’s interesting, in Exodus Chapter 20 and verse 11 when this commandment was given; the reason was; in six days God created the earth, the seventh day he rested. Now there it was creation and the pattern of creation with the day of rest, now it’s redemption from Egypt and perhaps there is a connection when Israel was in Egypt, God in effect created a great nation out of them. Israel went into Egypt as a family and came out of Egypt as a mighty nation of millions of people, so in effect; the power of God in creating the world and creating the nation is reflected in the seventh commandment and the observe -- in the fourth commandment; the observance of the seventh day as a special day.

As I mentioned; this is the only commandment not repeated in the New Testament. We have some people who feel strongly; we have to observe the 10 commandments today and particularly the Sabbath day. We periodically get letters through our radio ministry; I have gotten them locally as well; regarding our failure to observe the day that God requires us to observe which is the Sabbath day. I think it’s important to note that in the New Testament Paul argues we are not required to observe any special day. Look at a couple of passages Romans Chapter 14, Romans and the 14th Chapter verse 5; one man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike, let each man be fully convinced in his own mind, he who observes the day observes it for the Lord, he who eats does it for the Lord, and so on.

So there is a flexibility, there was no flexibility in Israel on the observance of the Sabbath. The man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was executed. There is no flexibility, he couldn’t say; well I decided to observe Thursday as my day of rest. Well, we only did that once because there was no flexibility; you could not say under the Mosaic covenant; one man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike, let each men be fully convinced in his own mind. There was no flexibility, everybody observed the Sabbath. Look over in Colossians Chapter 2, Colossians Chapter 2; Paul arguing in this section about those who would bring us back into bondage to the law; the Mosaic Law. Verse 16; therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath days.

Here you see, the Sabbath days; don’t let anyone be your judge on that, you say; you have to keep the Sabbath or you have to eat certain food or observe certain religious days. Now again under the Mosaic law; you had to, there were certain foods you were not allowed to eat, certain days you had to observe such as the day of atonement and so on and Sabbath days were a binding part of the Mosaic covenant. Now Paul says; don’t let anyone act as your judge in this area. Why, verse 17; things which are a mere shadow of what is to come, the substance belongs to Christ. A warning here; don’t let anyone defraud of the prize that comes from obedience in living out your life obedient to God’s word, not to man’s commandments.

Those things in the Old Testament were a shadow, they were the elementary things as Paul talks about in Galatians and Hebrews, they are looking forward to Christ, but when Christ the reality comes then that which prefigured him is done away. That helps prepare the way for the coming of Christ now there is no obligation to those things. Turn back to Exodus 31, Exodus 31; the Sabbath day is unique in that it is the sign of the Mosaic covenant, this was the identifying mark for Israel as the people living under the Mosaic Law.

We have looked at this section but let us just review in verse 12 of Exodus 31; the Lord spoke to Moses saying, “but as for you speak to the sons of Israel saying, ‘you shall surely observe my Sabbaths; for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I’m the Lord who sanctifies you, therefore you are to observe the Sabbath for it is holy to you, everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death for whoever does any work on it that person shall be cut off from among his people, for six days work may be done, on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest holy to the Lord, whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.”

You see that stress, so contrary to what Paul wrote like in Romans 14; let everybody convince in his own mind about the day. It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel for ever, then the pattern of creation. So it is particularly a mark of that relationship between the nation Israel and God and those who try to impose the Sabbath on believers today fail to understand the uniqueness of the national relationship of Israel to God, the Mosaic covenant with the Sabbath as it’s sign was that mark of that relationship between Israel and God. Now obviously we are not the nation Israel, there you move into then spiritualizing the word of God and things begin to come apart.

So I think it’s very clear and I say that because we ought to be aware of that; especially we live in a city where the Seventh day Adventists are very prominent, by their very name they are committed to the seventh day and feel that those who are not observing the seventh day are not being obedient to the word of God. We ought to know; why don’t we keep this commandment, is there biblical reason for us not doing it, very clearly it is. It was a sign between the nation Israel and God under the Mosaic Law and the Mosaic Law is no longer in effect and we are not under the obligations of the provisions of the Mosaic Law.

If we have a sign today for us as believers, it’s not the Sabbath, stop and think. We are operating under the provision of a covenant, the new covenant talked about in Jeremiah; God promised to make a new covenant with the nation Israel. Now remember when Jesus Christ instituted the last supper Mathew 26, repeated by Paul in First Corinthians 11; the night which the Lord was betrayed, he took bread, then he took the cup, what did he say. This cup is the new covenant in my blood but the new covenant prophesied in Jeremiah is established in the death of Christ.

Now the ultimate realization of the new covenant will occur when the nation Israel is saved, the millennium operates. But we are saved under the provisions of the new covenant, so every time we observe the Lord Supper; what do we say, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. So constant reminder that in his death he provided redemption he established, he willed a new covenant, we are saved by that provision. So if we have a sign today, it’s the Lord Supper which is the sign of the new covenant in effect, if you will.

Back to Deuteronomy Chapter 5; lot of confusion comes with failure to understand and appreciate the distinction that exists between the nation Israel in the Old Testament and the church of Jesus Christ as it operates today. Deuteronomy Chapter 5 verse 16; we have the fifth commandment, “honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you that your days may be prolonged that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives to you.” And here we begin to move now to an emphasis on responsibility within our human relationships.

The first four commandments all had to do with our relationship to God directly. Now these next six commandments will have more to do with our interpersonal relationships which flow out of that relationship we have with our God and this commandment; its importance is established by the fact; it’s the first commandment with the promise attached to it that you may enjoy the land with prolonged days as verse 16 develops it. Now what we have in these commandments; the rest of them are guidelines which are basic requirements for any society or nation that is going to function in a civilized way. If you have any hope of a cohesive society, a civilized society, if you will, they will have to observe basic guidelines of these commandments.

Now that does not mean they are made with any other nation than Israel but the material covered here are basic to civilized people and these commandments are all repeated in the New Testament. They are part of what is binding on believers of all ages even as the first three were, the commandment regarding the Sabbath is the only one that is not repeated and we are obligated to it today. The first and most basic area of human responsibility is the family, so it’s logical that when you are going to move to interpersonal relationships you begin with the family and the responsibility of children to honor their parents, you do it as the Lord has commanded you to honor your father and mother. To honor we have seen this, we looked at it in Exodus; means to hold in highest esteem, they are to be accorded the greatest possible respect, that’s the point that’s here.

This honor, this respect is manifest by the children as they grow up by their obedience and submissiveness to their parents. As we grow older and move out of our homes it is manifested by the proper care and provision for our parents according to their need. I cannot hold my parents in too high respect, the obligation to honor them, to hold them in the highest esteem that goes contrary to the thinking of our society today. We reap some of the consequences of that and we see in the homes; from the youngest age the focus is on children and lives are built around the children in the home and that changing of emphasis results in a distortion in the family, with the passing of time; by the time the children become teenagers the family is, what.

Is disintegrating, is fragmenting and rather than parents being esteemed and honored; demonstrated in obedience, we have an attitude of disrespect, dishonor and disobedience and that kind of thinking in the world is infiltrating among believers. This commandment is repeated very clearly in the New Testament maybe we have to jump over there quickly. Ephesians Chapter 6, Ephesians and the 6th Chapter, the first verse; children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Why do you obey your parents because they are reasonable? No, because I agree with them, no. Because it’s the right thing to do, children are to obey their parents.

You know parents, and all the parents are saying; I hope my kids are listening and I hope Greg and Sheryl are listening but you know who really is to be listening to this, parents. Parents today are raising children without requiring them to do what God says, you know we got two, three and four years olds that are running the house and I as an adult know that God says; they must obey me and I’m sitting there hoping they will, they are to be there afraid. If they don’t and let’s take it off-track, let me read on. This is right and I hope as a father I’m promoting and enforcing what is right in my home.

Honor your father and your mother; now we are quoting from the commandment in the Old Testament. You see how it has worked out, you obey your parents; that is fulfilling this commandment to honor your parents, particularly within the framework if the children are in the home obviously, primarily, honor your father and your mother which is the first commandment with the promise. We just read through the commandments, this is the first one that says; if you do it, this will be the blessing that God will bring on you for it, that it may be well with you that you may live long on the earth and then fathers and their attitude in disciplining their children.

So again we are talking about the children in the home primarily because that’s where the fathers do the disciplining as well not when the children are 50 years old and the father is 75, it’s not the point here although you still are to honor your parents and hold them in highest respect. And the whole attitude of today; of the children pointing out what’s wrong with the parents, really bothers me to watch the TV programs; inevitably the children have the wisdom and the insight and the parents are learning great things from them. And that kind of thought saturates the thinking of the kids and the parents, you know, so parents say I have got this four year old I can’t do anything with. Well the Bible says that four year old is to obey you, if you can’t make him obey when he is four, heaven help you when he is 14.

So I hope you are familiar with this commandment. And as a parent we think; O boy I hope my kids understand this, I’m responsible to enforce, if you will, the right in my home and to raise my children in the nurture and admonition of the world so that when they are 19 and 20 and 25 there will have been that respect and proper obedience that has been established that will then be characteristic of their home that they establish as well. Back in Deuteronomy; what will happen if this isn’t true; there will be a total breakdown within the nation.

It will affect not just the family but the nation, back in Chapter 4 of Deuteronomy verse 40; so you shall keep his statutes and his commandments which I’m giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, that you may live long in the land which the Lord is giving you. Now you note that, it’s within this framework of the parents bringing the children along then that the blessing is provided for Israel and when the family began to disintegrate within Israel then the nation had great problems and the well being of the nation is detrimentally affected.

We have that reflected today, even though the church is not dealt with as a nation, just look at our nation. What has happened with the disintegration of the family, then you have teenagers turned out who have never learned that they have to do what they are told whether they want to or not. They are undisciplined, they are unable to manage their own lives and they are so self-centered, why, they were raised in homes where everything revolved around those little beauties. They have grown up to be totally self centered and selfish and we say; O what happened, we didn’t raise them biblically.

That they had to what was right, they had to learn to be obedient and submit and to honor those whom God had placed over them particularly their parents. If your children don’t honor their parents who will they honor, if they don’t have to obey me as their father who do they have to obey. And you see the consequences of that in a society in which we live. My concern is; we are seeing the consequences within the church as well because of the impact and influence of our society. Now you think about; what is the next generation going to do as they raise their children without any idea of how it’s to be done and what is to happen in the home.

Is it any wonder people want day care centers where they can put the monsters, any wonder that everybody wants to go out and get a job, I wouldn’t want to be locked up with them all day either. No solution now and it just gets worse, well that’s part of my series coming up on the family, I can hardly wait. Verse 17; we will move through this quickly, verse 17; you shall not murder, the sixth commandment refers to murder of other people. King James says, “Thou shalt not kill. Some people have taken it as then a mandate to oppose capital punishment and to go on a crusade for pacifism, being opposed to the war. The commandment has nothing to do with either subject, thou shalt not kill is when the framework of meaning; murder. It does not forbid killing in acts of war otherwise God violated his own commandment.

What’s he going to do, we are going to read the Book of Joshua, he is going to send Israel in there and say kill everybody. Don’t you know; the six commandments say, “Thou shalt not kill” but it’s in the framework of murder, acts of war are not in view. Obviously the whole Testament; the nation Israel is involved in war under the direction of God often and their instructions are to kill the enemy. So you may be opposed to war but don’t try to build any case on the sixth commandment. I read some dear misguided souls; comments in the paper regarding capital punishment not too long ago and try to tie it back to this commandment; thou shalt not kill.

Now if you want to be against capital punishment that’s your business, if you try to build it on the sixth commandment that’s my business because it’s corrupting Scripture. This commandment has nothing to do with capital punishment because God requires it. Just stay with Deuteronomy quickly, look at Chapter 13 of Deuteronomy verse 5; but the prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord, do they forget the sixth commandment already. Here capital punishment is to be carried out against anyone who counsels rebellion against God.

Obviously there is no conflict with the commandment; thou shalt not kill. Verse 9; you shall surely kill him anyone, verse 6; brother, mother’s son, son or daughter, the wife you cherish, your friend, anybody who tries to lead you away from the living God. Israel is a theocracy with God as their king, so anyone within the nation who tries to lead people from away from their king, their God, is to be executed, doesn’t conflict with the sixth commandment thou shalt not kill and there are numerous other examples even in the Book of Deuteronomy.

I don’t expect the world to follow a consistent pattern but it does bother me when Christians take the word of God and totally twist and then distort it and pull verses out of context. Thou shalt not kill means personal acts of murder are wrong, I’m not allowed to take vengeance in my hands and kill someone. There is going to be capital punishment that has to be carried out then properly. Back to Chapter 5 verse 18; you shall not commit adultery, this is dealing with unfaithfulness within the marriage relationship, other areas of sexual misconduct are forbidden, premarital sex is sin, severe punishment for that.

Deuteronomy Chapter 22 beginning with verse 13 will deal with that. Here we are talking about where one of the partners, one or both of the partners is married, the violation of a binding relationship, a covenant relationship, if you will, thou shalt not commit adultery. Marriage is the picture of God’s relationship with his people, he requires faithfulness and marriage; two people are bound together in a permanent bond. People who violate that then will manifest an unfaithfulness within their relationship with God as well and there is usually a follow through.

In fact unfaithfulness in the marriage relationship also is unfaithfulness to God, so two binding relationships are violated when a person commits adultery, their marriage relationship, and their relationship with God. Jesus develops that; we will turn to it in Mathew Chapter 19 and verse 6. So God very concerned about the marriage relationship, as a reflection of a person’s relationship with God, and when you find adultery going on; you find a person who is violating their relationship with their God, that pattern continues into the New Testament as well as Mathew 19 picks up. Ephesians 5 develops the picture of Christ and his church in the marriage relationship.

It ought to be no surprise that he is taking work so hard on the marriage relationship because he is trying to bring people into an attitude and relationship of unfaithfulness with their God, it’s more than an unfaithfulness to my wife, it’s an unfaithfulness to my God, now that’s a serious a matter as it could be. The eighth commandment; you shalt not steal, there is individual property rights and I don’t have the right to take for myself what belongs to someone else. Exodus 22 goes into some detail on this commandment. The ninth commandment; you shall bear false witness against your neighbor; the immediate focus of this commandment is on legal situations, legal setting and enables society to function with integrity.

Here is honesty required and particularly legal situations are in view here, what a false witness is doing is attempting to destroy another person for selfish reasons whatever they might be, we are attempting to discredit someone else. Tell what is an untruth about them or against them, so this commandment stresses the importance of honesty and integrity among the people of God and incidentally any kind of malicious gossip would be wrong in light of this commandment even though the legal aspects, even though the legal aspects, a courtroom scene would be the first emphasis of it. Any kind of discrediting of a person, gossip, undermining their character would be contrary to this commandment.

The last commandment is interesting because it’s the only one that deals with inward motivation. We stop and notice that it’s the only one that really focuses on the heart first and foremost, now the others would need to involve the heart but they have been dealing with things you do physically. Here you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, desire your neighbor’s house, field, man servant, ox, donkey, anything that belongs to your neighbor. To covet means to desire or lust after something that belongs to someone else.

Now you could only see this commandment broken when something was done, lust you don’t see in the heart, you would see; when adultery was the follow through of lust but it demonstrates; the real concern that God has is with the condition of the heart and that’s not something new in the New Testament. You get the idea; well in the Old Testament God was concerned with activities, the things the people did, in the New Testament he is concerned with the condition of the heart. Now God is being concerned with the same things Old and New Testament alike, the condition of the heart and when the condition of the heart is wrong it will be manifest in what you do.

When what you do is wrong it reveals a heart that is not right, down in verse 29; God says, “O that they had such a heart in them,” note the emphasis on the heart, “that they would fear me and keep my commandments always.” The keeping of the commandments will flow out of our hearts that is committed to God and that continues in the New Testament as well. In Mathew 5 Jesus develops that when he talks about; lust in the heart is adultery because that is behind the actions.

In verse 22 Moses emphasizes that these commandments have come from God, God gave them to the nation Israel, Moses was the mediator. The people were so in awe at Sinai at the greatness of their God, his awesomeness they said, “Moses you go talk to God, then you come to tell us what he said.” You know what God says; that kind of fear was good, look down in verse 28; the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you, they have done will in what they have spoken. It is a good thing to be in terror of our God. God says; they are so afraid, they want to hear what I have to say but they are afraid to stand in my presence, its good they have spoken well and that kind of closeness that breeds familiarity.

The idea that God is not too upset with the little sins in my life, that these aren’t serious matters; reflects a failure to understand what God really wants from his people. He wants their holy respect. Verse 32; so you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. You shall walk in all the way which the Lord your God has commanded you that you may live, that it may be well with you, that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess. It’s the obedience to the word of God that brings blessing and prosperity for the nation Israel. The principle is still the same; we want to learn the word of God in order that we might do it carefully.

Let’s pray together.