Why Deuteronomy?
I have visited my family in Korea
after nine years. One of the highlights was to visit my grandfather. Now he is
94 years old and has become more and more forgetful. The day when we visited
him was my mother’s birthday (that is, his daughter’s birthday). But now he
didn’t remember his own daughter’s birthday. But I was impressed because he did
still remember what God had done for him as
he was planting a new church. He did still remember how God healed him from a fatal disease. And at the end of our
conversation he said, “Always give yourself fully to God’s work. Always be
devoted to prayer. Always hold fast to God’s word.” Similarly, John Newton once
wrote at age 82 in this way: “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two
things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”
That’s what Moses does here in the
book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy
means “second law” or “repetition of the law.” The Israelites had been nomadic
for 40 years, and now they were about to enter the Promised Land. The older
generation already passed away. So Moses wanted the younger (second) generation
to remember the things that were really
important. Moses knew that he would not enter the land with them. And he
knew that the people would face new challenges along the way. As their spiritual
leader and father, Moses was now delivering his farewell speech. That’s the
book of Deuteronomy.
I believe Deuteronomy is a very
timely message for us today as we as a church endeavor to move forward and as
we face challenges within and without. My prayer is that the Lord may equip us
and give us a sense of clarity as we study the book of Deuteronomy together.
Remember
The essence of the message can be
summed up in two words: love and obedience. Throughout his message Moses
urges his people to love the Lord with all their hearts, because love is the greatest motive for true
obedience. Jesus said it well, “If you love me, you will obey what I command”
(John 14:15). Obedience proves love. Love and obedience go hand in hand.
However, the Bible diagnoses our
natural human nature in this way: there is no love for God in us. 1 John 4:10
says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Our hearts and minds has to be
supernaturally transformed in order to love God and obey his word. Then the
next question is, “How can our minds be transformed?” “How can we be equipped
to obey everything God commands?”
In the Wilderness
The answer is the wilderness school. God often uses the
wilderness to transform and equip us. In Deuteronomy 4:20 Moses says, “Remember
that the LORD rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and
his special possession, which is what you are today” (NLT). In the
wilderness we are born anew and transformed. In the wilderness we are equipped.
In the wilderness we become the children of God, the people of God.
At first, with the mighty hand and
outstretched arm God rescued Israel out of Egypt. And with God they crossed the Red Sea valiantly. Then they were
taken to Mount Horeb, where they saw
the glory of God and received God’s commandments. It was their mountain top
experience. But then God said to them, “You have stayed long enough at this
mountain” (1:6). Then they were led into
the wilderness. On the way to Kadesh-Barnea
the Israelites grumbled and even wanted to turn around and go back! At Kadesh-Barnea, the gateway into the
Promised Land, they were rebellious. Ten leaders, out of the twelve, gave the
people a bad report about the Promised Land because of their fear and unbelief.
So God commanded them to journey back into the wilderness.
Wilderness Is Love
Our interest is to enter the
Promised Land. The sooner, the better. But God’s interest is for us to become his
holy people and to live worthy of our calling. From God’s perspective wilderness is love. Wilderness is a blessing.
In Deuteronomy 2:7 Moses says, “Surely the LORD your God has blessed you in all
your undertakings; he knows your going through this great wilderness. These
forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” Yes,
God’s grace is enough. In the wilderness God shapes us, transforms us, equips
us to become his holy people.
While I was in Korea this past
Sunday, I attended my parents-in-law’s church service. They had just moved into
a new place used to be the Buddhist temple. I realized that they had gone
through a lot during the moving process. Even though my parents-in-law were
always faithful and devoted to God’s work, they had faced many hardships and
trials. And compared to all their labor, they seemed to bear little fruit. Then
I had a chance to have some conversation with my mother-in-law. At the end of
the conversation she said, “In my early years of ministry I was so stressed out
and concerned about successful ministry. But as I go through this great
wilderness, these thirty years, I have learned that church ministry is not the
end. It’s just a means to equip me to
become God’s holy people. So now I enjoy much more freedom and joy.”
Return to Essence
Wilderness
is love. Wilderness is a blessing.
Entering the Promised Land without the school of wilderness is not a blessing. Do
you feel like you are walking through the wilderness? Meet God in the
wilderness. Recollect, remember what God has done for you all those years in
the wilderness, and be thankful!
I believe our church is also in the
wilderness school. For all those years we have been through a lot. But the
truth is: “God has been with us. And we have lacked nothing.” Recently, our
church participated in “Discovering the Possibilities” study. And now, as a
follow up we work with our coach. It’s not another program for the church
growth. It’s our effort and endeavor to return to essence, return to basics,
return to the early church – the word and prayer.
In the wilderness a map is no use,
because the geography of the wilderness constantly changes because of the wind.
What we need is a compass, or in today’s terms, GPS (“Global Positioning
System”). It provides navigation via satellite, so that we can stay on track
toward our destination. But in order to use our GPS, we need to have a strong
signal. Spiritually it refers to the word and prayer. By hearing the word and
doing the word, by listening to God and talking to God, we receive a sense of
clarity and strength that we need.
Ebenezer, Jehovah-Jireh
Wherever he lived, missionary
Hudson Taylor put up a plaque that read: “Ebenezer—Jehovah-Jireh.” These Hebrew
words mean, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us—the LORD will see to it”
(1 Sam. 7:12; Gen. 22:14).
On my plane flying back to the
United States, I had mixed feelings – happiness, loneliness, gratitude, fear, worry,
etc. I was grateful to see my parents and grandparents, but at the same time, I
was worried and concerned about their failing health, my parents’ life after their
retirement, our separation and upcoming deaths. In my distress I silently cried
out to God. And I heard the Inner Voice saying, “Ebenezer. Remember that the
Lord has been faithful. He who has helped you will take care of you.” Yesterday
I visited Dellie and Georgia. Dellie was failing. In my sadness I prayed. And I
heard the same voice, “The God of Ebenezer will take care of you.”
What we need today is to only trust
God and stay the course in this wilderness school. Let us look back and
remember what the Lord has done for us for all these years, and be thankful. Let
us look ahead and trust God. He will provide. He will see to it. He will take
care of us. Ebenezer, Jehovah-Jireh. Amen.
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