Obedience-Dt 4:1-49

Deuteronomy, Old Testament

Deuteronomy 4:1-49; Key Verse: Dt 4:29

“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.”

Theme: Through Moses, God exhorts his people who were redeemed from slavery by grace (Dt 5:15; 15:15) to hear and obey his laws, so that they may live victoriously in the promised land.

Some initial questions for reflection:

  1. As a Christian/Christ-follower, do you consciously and intentionally strive to obey the will of God for your life?
  2. Do you obey Jesus’ commands out of remembering the love and grace of God for you?
  3. What specific commands of Christ do you intentionally strive to obey?
  4. Do you perceive that you are loving and obeying Jesus more today than in the past?

Obedience and salvation.“Obey” or “obedience” may be a most cringeworthy word. If someone says to me or others, “Obey,” my immediate spontaneous thought is “YOU OBEY FIRST!” This makes some older people very angry. Yet they surely know that the best way for them to promote obedience in others is not primarily by telling them to obey, but by exemplifing obedience through their own lives. Some Christians also think or act as though obedience is needed for their salvation. But biblical obedience is the fruit of salvation, not the means of salvation. Biblical obedience is not commanded of non-believers or non-Christians, but of the people of God–those who have experienced God’s saving grace (Dt 1:30-31; 4:37; 5:6, 15; 15:15; 24:18). Likewise, Jesus said to his disciples that their obedience should be because of their love (Jn 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10). John also says that the evidence of love for God is obedience to his commands (1 Jn 5:3).

Why study Deuteronomy? William Tyndale (1494-1536; English scholar known for his translation of the Bible into English) says in his prologue to Deuteronomy: “This is a book worthy to be read day and night and never to be out of hands. For it is the most excellent of all the books of Moses. It is easy also and light and a very pure gospel…, a preaching of faith and love: deducing the love to God out of faith, and the love of a man’s neighbor out of the love of God.” What a delightful prose that sees Deuteronomy as pointing, not to the Law that kills (2 Cor 3:6), but to the gospel of God’s grace that gives life through Christ and through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Intro: In Deuteronomy 4 (which concludes Moses’ first of three speeches in Deuteronomy) Moses’ first address reaches its climax. For the first time Moses appeals to his audience to “hear” (Dt 4:1). It is primarily an exhoratation to the second generation of Israelites to obey the Law. Dt 4:1 says, “Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live…” [“…listen…and do them, that you may live…” (ESV)] [“Obey them so that you may live…” (NLT)]. They are to obey so that “(they) may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of (their) ancestors, is giving (them)” (Dt 4:1b).

In Moses’ first speech (chap. 1-4), chap. 1-3 are a historical review, while chap. 4 is an exhortation. In the initial sermons on Deuteronomy, these are the themes:

  1. Sin. Chap. 1 explains why the first generation died in the desert wilderness over 38 years (Dt 2:14): they failed to trust God and obey his command to enter the promised land (Dt 1:26, 32). Their sin (Dt 1:41) brought dire consequences: 2,000,000 corpses were scattered throughout the desert.
  2. Leadership (Dt 1:9-18). Leadership involves delegation (Dt 1:15) and practicing justice without showing partiality (Dt 1:16-17).
  3. Faith. Chap. 2-3 reviews how the second generation of Israelites began to trust God with faith as they advanced toward the promised land.
  4. The theme of chap. 4 is Obedience. Chap. 4 begins with an exhoration to obey God by hearing and following the law (Dt 4:1). Moses’ first speech concludes with a similar exhortation (Dt 4:40). “Hear” and “follow” (NIV) is also translated “listen” and “do them” (ESV), or “obey them” (NLT). The Hebrew word translated “hear” and “listen” is “shama`,” which means “to hear, listen to, obey.”

In the 2011 NIV the word “obey” occurs 206 times and “obedience” 38 times. As stated above, biblical obedience logically and necessarily follows the amazing grace of God who miraculously and supernaturally delivered them from bondage to slavery. This amazing grace is what God’s people should never forget and always remember (Dt 5:15; 15:15; 24:18). In the flow of the OT (and NT), grace always precedes the call to obedience.

In chap. 4, there are three reasons why a child of God should obey the Law:

  1. For the sake of the future (Dt 4:1-8).
  2. For the sake of the present (Dt 4:9-31).
  3. Because of the past (Dt 4:32-40).

This can be expanded as follows:

  1. Future: Obedience because of the amazing grace of revelation (Dt 4:1-8).
  2. Present: Obedience because of the amazing grace of a covenant relationship (Dt 4:9-31).
  3. Past: Obedience because of the amazing grace of redemption (Dt 4:32-40).

I. Future: Obedience because of the Grace of Revelation (Dt 4:1-8)

Comprehensive obedience because of God’s grace. Dt 4:1-8 summarizes the entire chapter, highlighting the importance of obedience as the proper response to God’s grace. “Decrees and laws” (appears together 11 times in Deuteronomy) are two nouns which express a single idea. They indicate comprehensiveness. God’s people are to listen not just to a part of but to all of the Law. We should read the Bible with a view to obeying what it says, for Bible knowledge without obedience is useless. Obeying what the Bible says is the “formula” for success in life. The life spoken of in Dt 4:1 is not so much eternal life but the full enjoyment of God’s blessings in the land promised to their ancestors, and now to them.

II. Present: Obedience because of the Grace of a Covenant Relationship (Dt 4:9-31)

Moses leapfrogs over 38 years of desert wandering back to Horeb. In this section, “covenant” occurs three times (Dt 4:13,23,31) with each occurance relating to the past, present and future in the covenantal story:

  1. The grace of covenant past: the origins of the covenant (Dt 4:9-14).
  2. The grace of covenant present: the essence of the covenant (Dt 4:15-24).
  3. The grace of covenant future: the permanence of the covenant (Dt 4:25-31).

Past: Never forget your encounter with God and keep the “ten words”. “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely” (Dt 4:9a) is repeated in Dt 4:15,23. Do not ever forget (Dt 4:9b) but remember (Dt 4:10) the day of your personal encounter with God (Dt 4:11-12). It should be one of the most significant days in Israel’s history. This encounter is a covenant initiated by God (Dt 4:10). This covenant requires obedience to “ten words” or “Ten Commandments” (Dt 4:13). These are the “ten words/declarations” or the “ten foundational principles” of covenant relationship. The number ten seems to have been selected to correspond to the ten fingers to facilitate memorization. The Ten Commandments form the primary building blocks upon which the entire Law (Torah) is based.Present: God is a consuming fire and a jealous God; he will never tolerate rivals/idols. The focal point highlighting the utter treachery and perversion of idolatry is Dt 4:20:

  1. God graciously saves them.
  2. God rescued them from the furnace of slavery.
  3. God made them his own special possession.

Therefore, God’s people must “be careful not to forget the covenant” (Dt 4:23). “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Dt 4:24). The usual interpretation of “jealous” is misleading because it views jealousy as an illegitimate disposition akin to envy or covetousness. But in the OT, it speaks of the legitimate passion aroused when interference from a third party threatens a proper relationship, particularly a marriage relationship when another “lover” enters the picture. God’s love is never fueled by an exploitative need to dominate, but by ardor for the well-being of the object.Future: Doom followed by hope. The future begins with a tone of doom (Dt 4:25-28) followed by a window of hope (Dt 4:29-31). Five consequences of infidelity are:

  1. they will be certainly and quickly removed from the land;
  2. they will be utterly destroyed;
  3. God will scatter them among the peoples;
  4. a few will survive in the lands where God drives them;
  5. they will worship senseless gods and have their fill of idolatry.

Instead of the creature worshiping the Creator, the creator (man) worships creature (idol) who cannot do squat for man (Dt 4:28). But the God of hope declares that all is not lost and that they may return to Him (Dt 4:29). What is required?

  1. Seek God from where they are;
  2. Seek God with their whole being;
  3. Turn around and walk toward God;
  4. Listen to God’s voice.

Dt 4:31 explains why this is possible. This speaks of warm and tender affection, like the love of a mother toward a child (Dt 34:6-7. God’s passion does burn with vexation and rage at infidelity (Dt 4:24), but it also burns with compassion for Israel, his child (Hos 11:8-9).

III. Past: Obedience because of the Grace of Redemption (Dt 4:32-40)

Three key verbs or dominant imperatives help us understand the grace of redemption:

  1. Ask (Dt 4:32-34,36-38): The history lesson.
  2. Know (Dt 4:35,39): The theology lesson. Draw the conclusion that the Lord is God.
  3. Keep (Dt 4:40): The practical lesson is the logical response and thanksgiving for his grace.

(IV. Reflections on the Law)

Imagine the ancients who never had the Law. Without the Law ancient people felt the following:

  1. The gods are angry with me.
  2. My sin has caused the anger of the gods.
  3. I must do something to placate the gods’ wrath.

But without the Law his ignorance is also threefold:

  1. I do not know which god is angry.
  2. I do not know which particular crime I committed that provoked the divine fury.
  3. I do not know what exactly it will take to placate the wrath of the gods.

It is into this dark world that the Law (Torah) of Moses shines its beacon of glory and grace:

  1. Israel’s God has revealed himself.
  2. Israel’s God has declared the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable conduct.
  3. Israel’s God provided a way of forgiveness that actually solves the human problem of sin.

The plan of God. In the plan of God through the obedience of his people they would demonstrate their greatness to the nations and so fulfill the promise of the ancestors and serve as agents of worldwide blessing (Dt 4:6-8). In the language of the NT, Paul says that Israel was to be a letter from God to the world, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (2 Cor 3:3).

The failure of Israel. Sadly, the nation as a whole failed in this mission, and the individuals within the nation who fulfilled this calling were rarely more than a remnant. But Israel’s failure negates neither the grace nor the power of the Torah to yield life when treasure with proper perspective. Israel’s failure testifies simply to the hardness of the human heart.

Is the Law a blessing? John 1:16-17 says, “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (NIV 2011). The 1984 NIV says that “we have all received one blessing after another.” It is not as though the Law is a curse and that grace and truth through Christ is a blessing. Both are blessings. Both are God’s grace. The contrast here is not between law and grace, but two ways of expressing grace: mediated grace (Law) and embodied grace (Jesus). For the Israelites, possession of the Law was a supreme grace (Rom 9:4), a grace exceeded and superseded only by Jesus.

What does “keep/obey my commands” mean? It does not simply mean, “Do as I tell you from now on.” “My commands” (Jn 14:15; 15:10) alludes to specific commands revealed long ago as God’s will. When the disciples hear this from Jesus, they are hearing the voice of the One who revealed his “decrees and laws” (Dt 4:1) long ago at Horeb. Through obedience to Jesus we demonstrate our covenantal commitment (“love”) to him. We also display to the world the privilege of salvation, divine presence, knowledge of his will, and blessing. Delighting in obedience to the revealed will of God represents the key to fulfilling the divine mission of reaching the world with his grace.

In the words of the title of Ajith Fernando’s sermons on Deuteronomy, may your obedience be a loving obedience to a loving God. May your obedience be rooted and grounded (not in the Law but) in the grace of Jesus who loves you and all people immeasurably.

References:

  1. Block, Daniel I. Deuteronomy: The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 2012.
  2. Fernando, Ajith. Deuteronomy:_Loving_Obedience_to_a_Loving_God. Wheaton: Crossway. 2012.
  3. Woods, Edward J. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries). Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press. 2011.
  4. William Tyndale’s Prologue to Deuteronomy chapter by chapter.
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