Revering the Word
Deuteronomy 27 God speaks with clarity for our good.
Good morning everyone. This morning we're in Deuteronomy chapter 27. We're leading into what I think is an incredibly important chapter and that is chapter 28 which is the chapter of blessings and curses. However, this chapter begins to preview what we will be talking about in chapter 28. Recall that Israel is on this side of the Jordan River in the desert. We're about to enter the Promised Land and Moses is giving them God's instructions on what he wants them to do when he gets there. And there's going to be an important ceremony that's going to take place that he wants them to do when they get to the Promised Land to commit to following his ways in this foretells of that ceremony that he wants them to do when they cross the river. So verse 1 then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people saying keep all the commandments which I command you today. So it shall be on the day when you cross the Jordan to the land which to Lord your God gives you that you shall set up for yourself large stones and coat them with lime and write on them all the words of this law when you cross over so that you may enter the land which to Lord your God gives you a land flowing with milk and honey as the Lord the God of your fathers has promised you. So it shall be when you cross the Jordan you shall set up on Mount evil these stones as I am commanding you today and you shall coat them with lime. Moreover you shall build there and alter to the Lord your God and alter of stones. You shall not wield an iron tool on them. You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there and rejoice before the Lord your God. You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very distinctly. So there was going to be a ceremony when they entered the promised land or crossed over the river on Mount evil there and they're going to set up these stones and it was going to be a place of remembrance and an altar would be there and they would essentially renew the covenant that God had made through Moses where they said yes we agree we're gonna we're gonna follow all of God what you commanded when we get into the promised land and you're supposed to take these stones and coat them so that then you can write on and then you'll see the writing easier on the stones you'll be able to read it carefully and I want you to write this law and place these stones there and have there be an altar there and have there be a ceremony and now you can turn back and remember what you agreed to because it's going to be written on these stones and God desired greatly that they would honor him and you know what the same is true today although we live in a new covenant and we now need to understand what God has asked of us in that new covenant when we rightly divide the word of God and take a look at what the new covenant has to say through Jesus Christ we are to honor and obey what God has said he wants us to adhere to his great and grand instruction and to obey him and there's blessing in that and there's cursing and not now we'll get into a more important understanding about the blessing and cursing of the law in the next chapter but nonetheless God desires our obedience and it's good for us that it may go well with us just like he said back here it'll go better for us when we obey God's teaching you know sin has consequences and he's trying to prevent us from going in a direction that's going to lead us to sin and falling away and consequences and he wants us to live to honor him it's very clear that's what this book has largely been about the book of Deuteronomy all right verse nine then Moses and the Levitical priest spoke to all Israel saying be silent and listen oh Israel this day you have become a people for the Lord your God you shall therefore obey the Lord your God and do his commandments and his statutes which I command you today Moses also charged the people on that day saying when you cross the Jordan these shall stand on Mount Gerism to bless the people there was going to be like a ceremony of blessing and a ceremony of cursing and it was for all but he was going to have half the tribes on one mount and half the tribes on another mount and they were to speak of these blessings and these curse scenes to remind them of what was a life that would be blessed and what was a life that fell short of the glory of God and was under a curse for disobedience and so he sent people up on Mount Gerism to bless the people Simeon Levi Judah is a car Joseph and Benjamin so they go up on one mountain for the curse these shall stand on Mount Ebo Ruben Gad, Asher, Zebelin, Dan and Nepali the Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice and here's where in this ceremony he's going to list some things that would that would receive cursing he's going to list some things that he does not want us to do and let's hear them out curses the man who makes an idol or a molten image an abomination to the Lord the work of the hands of the craftsmen and sets it up in secret and all the people shall answer and say amen so when they're going to have this ceremony this is a future ceremony that he's asking them to do he wants them to repeat these words listen if there's any money among Israel who makes a false image of a false god and he does it in secret that man is cursed and then he wants everyone in the future at this ceremony to say and all the people shall answer and say amen he wants them to know and to have it be clear to them and to their children listen don't set up any don't worship anything false don't worship false gods don't make false images and they've done it before and sadly they will do it again and it dishonors god to worship anything but other than him and his son Jesus Christ alone all right cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother and all the people shall say amen and and man I wish more and more children and I guess we're the children of our parents as well but god desires that children would honor their father and mother that's all throughout the scriptures cursed is he who moves his neighbor's boundary mark those are important you know and even today there's boundary marks for surveying of land and those are not to be moved and all the people shall say amen cursed is he who misleads a blind person on the road and all the people shall say amen you know he wants his people to be of good character and what a what a foolish and and evil thing that would be to intentionally lead a blind man in the wrong direction I think that says a lot you know I mean obviously it's soliciting something specific here about leading a blind man but I think when you see that god wants us to treat others honorably in that regard I think he wants us to treat people honorably in other regards as well we can begin to see the character of how god wants us to operate verse 19 cursed is he who distorts the justice due to an alien orphan and widow and all the people shall say amen listen we we're supposed to give fair justice and especially for an alien orphan and widow but we should always be just cursed is he who lies with his father's wife because he has uncovered his father's skirt and all the people shall say amen and obviously something not to be done cursed is he who lies with any animal and all the people shall say amen cursed is he who lies with his sister the daughter of his father or his mother and all the people shall say amen cursed is he see who lies with his mother-in-law and all the people shall say amen cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret and all the people shall say amen cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person god cares about justice and he does not want us to neglect the poor or the innocent and and all the people shall say amen cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them and all the people shall say amen you know god is clearly letting them though listen there is a curse for for disobeying god in these ways and i don't know how that sounds to you but i want to give you a perspective uh god doesn't mess around and god doesn't is not wishy washy it's actually it's kind of like you know when you have a child and you say listen you have to be careful when you're crossing the road you've got to look both ways or you could get hit by a car and it's like oh i could get hit by a car i could die right well sometimes you say things directly strongly clearly because you want people to know so that they don't do what's wrong and that's the way god is is he tells us specifically this listen you're going to be cursed for this kind of a thing don't do it i don't want i don't want you to be cursed i want you to be blessed and he's going to speak of the blessings and the curses in the next chapter and i look forward to teaching on chapter 28 but god says it the way he says it you know if it's kind of like if you say listen if you believe in jesus you're not condemned but if you don't believe you stand condemned already because you have not believed in the name of god's one and only son and you know that's john 3 18 a lot of people know john 3 16 for god so love the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life and that's good news hallelujah that we've been forgiven of our sin through faith in jesus christ who is the lamb of god who takes away the sins of the world hallelujah praise the lord and he who believes in him uh is not condemned but he who does not believe stands condemned already god just makes it really clear listen we we all stand in false sword of the glory of god and we all be under condemnation which means means we'd be on our way to hell uh we we would not be forgiven of our sin and if we died in that condition not having faith in jesus we're on a path to hell that's what we're going to end up but whoever believes is not condemned hallelujah because they've been forgiven by the sacrifice of jesus christ my point is uh you know in in what is it john 524 it says he who believes in jesus has crossed from death to life meaning if you haven't believed in jesus you're already in death you're already separated from god you have to cross from death to life by believing in god's one and only son and then you cross over and you you leave condemnation and you you enter salvation through faith in jesus but listen we've got to make it clear we can't we got to make it clear you got you know you got to believe in jesus that's how you get forgiven of your sin there's no other way there's no other god there's no other means to heaven you've got to trust in jesus christ as your lord and savior he's the only sacrifice that works today my point is that's the kind of stuff that god does is he speaks it clear so that there's nothing hidden so that we know that we need what we need to do and what we not need to do and i i thank god for making his word clear so we can know what's good and right and what's not and ultimately so he can accept jesus christ and know that we we need him and praise god he he sent him he revealed him and he rose him from the dead hallelujah so thank you for listening god best you all and i look forward to a healthy teaching on the blessings and cursing us of the old covenant when we get to chapter 28 god bless you all [BLANK_AUDIO]