Jesus greater than the Law

 

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers--it is to him you shall listen.  --Deuteronomy 18:15

Buddhist philosopher Lau Tsu said, "When the student is ready the teacher appears.  When the student is truly ready, the teacher disappears."  John Kemeny, the Hungarian-American mathematician and computer scientist and educator who co-developed the BASIC computer language said, "It is the greatest achievement of a teacher to enable his students to surpass him."

I am 10 chapters into the book of Joshua, and find myself wondering why Joshua was never considered greater than his mentor, Moses.  Joshua was one of ten spies that Moses had sent into Canaan, but one of only two that came back with a positive report.  In Joshua chapter two, we see that Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to see their vulnerabilities.  It only takes two witnesses in Jewish law, and we all know what happens when we make decisions by committee.

In chapter 3, Joshua led the nation of Israel across the Jordan River, much like Moses had done at the Red Sea.  In my opinion, this was a more miraculous showing of God.  We all remember the Hollywood version, when the walls of water on both sides of the sea allowed just enough room for the people of Moses to cross over six or eight people abreast.  Forty years later, the Jordan River was in flood stage; yet God stopped the flow of the water miles upstream.  Verse 16 says, "The waters coming down from above (that is, from the north) stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down (toward the south) toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off.  And the people passed over opposite Jericho."  Not only did the people of Israel witness this miracle, but so did the people of Jericho, and all the cities between Adam in the north and the Dead Sea in the south.  All those people were witness to God's power, protection, and provision.

We know that Moses saw God face to face; he came into God's presence at multiple places and times from the burning bush to the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai to his death on Mount Nebo overlooking the Jordan River.  In contrast, Joshua met the pre-incarnate Christ.  Joshua 5:13-15 says:

When Jesus was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man was standing before him with His drawn sword in His hand.  And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us, or for our adversaries?"  And He said, "No; but I am the Commander of the army of the Lord.  Now I have come."  And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"  And the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy."  And Joshua did so.

In chapter 7, Joshua suffers a setback because of the disobedience of the people.  Like his mentor Moses had done before him, Joshua falls on his face and pleads with God.  "Alas, O Lord God," he prayed, "why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us?" He concludes his plea by crying to God these words: "O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies!  For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth.  And what will You do for Your great Name?"

We could go on and on.  Joshua 9 speaks of how Joshua dealt with deception.  In Joshua 10 Joshua held his javelin out over the battlefield (much like Moses had done with his staff before), but God extended the day so that Israel could prevail.  "The sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies." (verse 10).  "There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel." (verse 14).  So the question remains: why was Joshua not held in higher regard than Moses?

The answer is not that Moses came first, or that Joshua was blessed less.  The answer is found in Hebrews 3:3, which says, "For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses--as much more glory as the builder of the house has more honor than the house itself."  Neither Moses nor Joshua was the greatest, because Jesus.

Jesus went through the water to fulfill righteousness

Both Moses and Joshua led the people through the water, one to escape danger and the other to inherit the land that was promised.  But only Jesus went through the water to fulfill righteousness--that is, He was obedient in every way (to the Law of God, as well as to God Himself).  This is underscored in Matthew's account of the baptism of Jesus.  "And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased'." (Matthew 3:16-17)

Jesus was not baptized as a sign of repentance, as we are.  He had no sin from which to repent.  Jesus' baptism was profound, as it was witnessed by and affirmed by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  It was prophetic, as it foretold of his death, burial, and resurrection (this is why I believe in immersion).  It was also promissory, as it signified a promise of God's grace to the elect.  The Reformed tradition holds that baptism is primarily God's promise or offer of grace to the baptized.  Baptism is said to signify union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. The baptized is made one with Christ's person, meaning God the Father treats them the same as he treats Christ. Baptism also unites the baptized with Christ's history, meaning that the person can be said to have died, been buried, and raised again just as Christ was. The baptized person's identity in Christ is based on Christ's action in baptism rather than the person's action. This union also unites Christians to one another.  Through the words of institution used in baptism, Christians are also united to each of the members of the trinity.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted

Moses led the people of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years.  The people were tempted; their hearts were hardened; they witnessed miracles by the hand of God including receiving bread from heaven.  By contrast, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan himself.  Satan used deception, tempting Jesus to turn stones into bread.  Jesus, knowing He was the Bread of Life, quoted Scripture to answer him.  Satan distorted the Law, tempting Jesus to throw himself from a pinnacle so that God would send angels to protect Him.  Jesus responded by saying it is sinful to tempt God.

Joshua lived some 40 years after subduing the Canaanites and claiming the land of Promise for the people of God, then he died.  Jesus stayed on earth 40 days after His own death and resurrection before ascending into heaven.  Acts 1:3 says, "He presented Himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God."  His message never changed.

Jesus went to the mountain to proclaim truth, then to another mountain and was transfigured

Just as Moses ascended Sinai with Joshua to commune with God, Jesus ascended a mountain twice in the New Testament, once to preach the Sermon on the Mount, and again to commune with God (as well as Moses and Elisha) and to be transfigured before disciples Peter, James and John.

Moses used the entire book of Deuteronomy to proclaim the Law of God that had been handed down to him on the mountain.  Jesus used an opportunity on a mountain to preach grace to people who had found they could not, on their own, fulfill the Law of Moses.

Moses came down from the mountain after 40 days, and his face glowed.  Scripture says he had to wear a veil in order to keep the people from turning away in fear.  When Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, "His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became dazzling white." (Matthew 17:2).  Of note, both Moses and Elijah had proteges who arguably outshone their mentors.  Both Joshua and Elisha outperformed their mentors, but Jesus outshines them all.  When Jesus was transfigured, whom did God acknowledge?  His words were, "This is my beloved Son.  Hear him."  

Moses and Elijah had very specific messages for their people in their time. Joshua and Elisha built upon the message they had heard from their teachers, and preached to a new generation. Peter, James and John would proclaim Jesus to people in their time and ministries, and would speak to generations to come through their writings.  But the One whom God exalted, whom He commanded to be heard, was Jesus.

Epiphanies past, present, and future

 

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word."  --Psalm 119:67

The movie "Breakfast At Tiffany's" was released in 1961.  You might remember it was a RomCom (before that term was even coined, I think) and it starred Aubrey Hepburn.  Recently I saw the cartoon shown above that parody's the movie, as it is titled "Breakfast At Epiphany's".  In it, a man is shown at a diner, staring into his plate.  He says, "Oh my goodness!  These doughnuts are making me fat!"

One of the great epiphanies in Scripture is found in the story of the Prodigal Son.  You probably remember the story from Luke chapter 15, starting in verse 11.  A father had two sons, and one of the sons chafed under the father's house rules. The son wanted to go out on his own, away from his father's wisdom and protection.  For awhile, the son was living it up, relying on the riches that his father had provided for him before he left home.  Soon, though, when those provisions dried up, the son found himself in a dead-end job, hungry and alone.

Out of the pigpen of desperation, the son started thinking of how he missed his father's house--the provision, the protection, the promise of a better life.  Humbled, the son returned to the father, hoping to be allowed back as a household servant.  Much to his surprise, the father welcomed him home with open arms.  He was clothed in his father's robe, ate from the father's table, and was given the authority to act in his father's name (this was the significance of the ring mentioned in verse 22--it was probably a signet ring, adorned with the family crest.)

You might say, well, all of this could have been his all along.  If he had not turned his back on the father, if he had not lived in sin on his own, the father would have continued to love him and provide for him and bless him in ways that his sinful eyes could not see until he found himself hungry and alone, treated worse than the pigs he was hired to feed. And you'd be half-right.  The older brother, the one who did stay with the father, was not a paragon of virtue in this parable.

Jesus used this story to answer the Pharisees who had accused Him of hanging out with sinners and tax collectors.  They implied that since Jesus was eating with sinful people, He must have approved of their sins, and maybe even participated in their sinful lifestyles Himself.  One of the great things about the parables of Jesus is that they turn the tables on His accusers.  This particular parable is highly nuanced: not only does it speak to their present state of mind (and give hope to generations who came after), but it also speaks to the history of the Jewish people.

Epiphanies come at just the right time

Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saying, "If you could kick the person in the pants most responsible for your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month."  The entire Torah--the first five books of the Bible, and the only Scripture that the Pharisees recognized--is all about grace.  We think it is the Law, the books of "thou shalt" and "thou shalt not."  It's really the story of God calling His people, His people falling away (e.g. running after false gods), and God restoring them by His grace.  Israel's sons turned their backs on God, and found themselves enslaved in Egypt.  God called Moses to lead them out, but they rebelled and persuaded Aaron to build them an idol in the form of a golden calf, even while Moses was on the mountain getting the Law from God Himself.  God led them up to the border of the promised land, and the people cringed in fear because they thought it was too hard.

In Deuteronomy 30, Moses is about to die, and the nation of Israel is about to cross over into the promised land after having wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.  Under the inspiration of God, Moses predicts that, even though they are following God right now with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, the time will come when they will rebel against God again.  Thankfully when that time did come, when they did fall out of God's presence and turn their backs on His mercy, God would give them an epiphany.  By His grace He would hear their cries when they repent, and restore them to their land when they submitted themselves to His law.

And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey His voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.  If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will take you.  (Deuteronomy 30:1-4)

I think maybe this is one of the Old Testament passages that Jesus had in mind (along with many others) when He told the parable of the prodigal son (remember that it is a layered story, and speaks to many people on many different levels).  He points out that it is God who gives the epiphany.  In Luke, Jesus said the boy remembered how things were in his father's house.  In Deuteronomy Moses said they would "call to mind" the blessings of God before they had been exiled into an foreign land with an alien culture.  When the prodigal son repented, he was welcomed back into the father's house.  When Israel decided to "return to the Lord your God," and "obey His voice...with all your heart and soul," then He would "gather you again from all the peoples" where they had been scattered.  When the prodigal son found himself in hell, he had a heart change.  Ironically, Moses said "if your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven" and have heart change, God would restore them.  I don't think he was talking about heaven as in God's dwelling place; I think he was referring to the heavens as in the night sky, where they had been scattered like the stars, throughout the known universe.

The first rule of holes: when you are in one, stop digging

There are some things we should know about God.  First, He is holy and righteous.  We, unfortunately, are not.  Second, we see that He is merciful and gracious.  Again, unlike us in our sinful nature.  Third, we know that God is faithful.

A lot of people overlook the first and foremost attribute of God, His holiness.  God cannot abide sin.  He casts out the sinner; He allows us to suffer the consequences of our sin.  If we miss this, we miss the point of the gospel.  We like to think of God as merciful and gracious, because we like to be treated with mercy and grace.  There are people who say, "How could God allow people (whom He loves) to be cast into hell?" They do not recognize the great price that God paid to bring us into grace and mercy.

Lamentations 3:23 describes God as faithful. "Great is thy faithfulness," it says.  How do we know that God is faithful?  Because of what was said in Lamentations 3:22---"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning."  He has provided a way out.  He paid the ultimate price for our sin, if we could only see it and accept it.  Moses alludes to this later in this same sermon in Deuteronomy 30.

For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will ascend  to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?"  Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?"  But the word is very near to you.  It is in your mouth and in your heart, so you can do it.  (Deuteronomy 30: 11-14)

If the man in the cartoon, the one who said "This doughnut is making me fat"--if he had shrugged his shoulders and taken another bite, would it have been a true epiphany?  No!  Only if he put the fattening food down and pushed away from the table--only then would it have been a true epiphany. 

Epiphanies should always precede repentance.

This, my friends, is the message of the Gospel.  God is separated from man because of His holiness and our sin.  We cannot become sinless.  It is impossible.  Therefore God has made provision for us, by His great sacrifice, so that we can come to Him as we are and be clothed in His righteousness. Only then can we sit at His table.  It is His provision that we rely on, not ourselves.  "For by grace are you saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves--it is the gift of God.  Not of works, lest any man should boast."  We don't have to make a pilgrimage to some foreign land to encounter this sacrifice.  We don't have to crawl on our hands and knees through broken glass up the steps of some cathedral to know God's grace.  God has brought it to our doorstep.  It is called the blood of Jesus.  Romans 10:6-10 says this:

But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say?  "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

You may not feel close to God at all at this point in your life.  You may have gone your own way for years, only to find yourself at the end of your rope.  I pray that God will open your eyes, that the light will come on in your mind.  When you have that moment, that epiphany, God's light will shine on you. At this point you will have an epiphany of eternal proportions.  Moses finishes his sermon with these words from Deuteronomy 30:19.  "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live." 

John 2:12-13 says, " 'Yet even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.'  Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster."  Like the father in the prodigal son story, God is waiting for you to turn to him.  He will meet you where you are, not to leave you there, but to redeem you, to change your heart.

Wholehearted devotion

 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." --Psalm 51:10 and 17

I was watching an episode of Moonlighting, a sitcom that ran from 1985 to 1989 and starred Bruce Willis.  If you are familiar with the series, you know that a lot of dialogue is two people speaking over one another.  In this particular episode, two underlings, employees of the Blue Moon Detective Agency, were trying to impress their boss (the Bruce Willis character), and were talking over one another.  Willis held up his hand, and the chatter stopped.

"What's the rule?" Willis said, sounding like a grade school teacher.

The two men hung their heads in shame, and said in unison, "No talking over each other."

"And what are we supposed to do?" Willis said, again in his teacher voice.

"Raise our hands if we have something to say," the men replied.

It was a cute scene, one that my wife (who was an elementary school teacher for years) could identify with.  I thought of that scene this week when I was reading through Deuteronomy chapter 10.  Often, I can hear God using His teacher voice when He is speaking through the Scriptures.  And if we humble yourselves, and stop trying to speak over Him, we will become like little children and soak in the lesson.

What's the rule?

Picking up in Deuteronomy chapter 10, verses 12 and 13, we kind of hear God using the Socratic method in His teaching.  The difference is that when He asks a question, He immediately supplies the answer.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God required of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding today for your good?

This same question is found in Micah 6:8, which says, "He has told you, O man, what is good: and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly before your God?"

God is giving the people instruction for living through the words of Moses.  "What does God require?"  How many times have we asked God to show us His will in certain situations?  When Moses poses the question, he gently prods the people.  It is as if he was saying, "Come on, you know."  Fear God.  Walk in His ways.  Love Him completely.  Serve Him exclusively, joyfully, and zealously.  Realize that the consequences of following His statutes are for our good.  It will result in justice, kindness, and humility.

And why do we behave this way?

God is holy

Deuteronomy 10:14 says, "Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it."  In short, God is greater than we are, and He deserves our obedience.  1 Kings 8:27 says, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built?"

Nehemiah 9:6 says, "You are the Lord, You alone.  You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships You."  Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein."

God is great, and His greatness exceeds our capacity to comprehend Him.  Nevertheless, He desires communion with us.

He chose us

Deuteronomy 10:15 says, "Yet the Lord set His heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day."  In Isaiah 66:1-2 we see these words: 

Thus says the Lord: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; what is the house that you should build for me, and what is the place of My rest? All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord.  But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word.

In the same way that God chose Israel out of all of the nations of the earth to be blessed in the Old Testament, we also see that He has chosen His Church, His elect, throughout the New Testament.  In John 15:16, Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you."

In 2 Timothy 2:10 Paul said, "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."  1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 says, "We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you (emphasis added)."

He chose us to praise Him.  He chose us to serve Him.  He chose us to share the Gospel message with the whole world.  Given this awesome and terrifying commission, how then should we respond?

The heart of the matter.

Deuteronomy 10:16 says, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn."  We all know that circumcision was a sign given to the Jews to show that they were set apart, obedient to the will of God.  But God didn't just want an outward sign of obedience.  Circumcision was not intended to be a duty, something to check off on some divine list.  God desires a heart change.

Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh."  He wants to take away our hardened hearts, and give us hearts that are softened by His Spirit.  Softer hearts are more concerned with other people than ourselves.  Softer hearts are more vulnerable, more prone to being broken; but isn't that what sacrifice is all about?  Can you see God's heart in the sacrifice He made for us?  Romans 8:32 says, "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?"

Psalm 9:1 says, "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds."  Psalm 19:14 says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."  Joel 2:12-13 says, "Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.  Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster."

In Matthew 5:8, Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  In Luke 6:45, Jesus said, "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasures produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."  We who are saved have an innate desire to please Him, to do good in His name.  It all starts with a new heart.

Romans 10:9-10 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."  We must follow Him and serve Him wholeheartedly.

Forget Me Not

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.  --Psalm 103:1-4

The flower in the image above is called a "Forget-Me-Not".  Traditionally, this flower represents remembrance.  It also carries several other meanings, including true love, devotion, and royalty.  All of these themes are brought out in our study today.

In the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses preaches a sermon to the people.  He calls them to be faithful; when they fall away, he calls them to seek forgiveness; and at all times he urges them not to forget.

Be Faithful

Moses begins by reminding the people of the faithfulness of God.  He urges them, in turn, to remain faithful to God.  Let's pick up his discourse in verse 5:

See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commended me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear of all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."  For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon Him?  And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:5-8).

When Moses spoke these words, the people had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.  All of the people who had escaped Egypt had died, except for Moses, Joshua, and Caleb.  They did not see first-hand how God had split the Red Sea.  They had heard their fathers speak of it.  Yet this generation had experienced God leading them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  They did have a first-hand experience of God going before them and striking fear in their enemies across the Jordan, because of military victories they had won in the trans-Jordan areas. 

Many years later, in 2 Samuel 7:23, David says, "And who is like Your people Israel, the on nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be His people, making Himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, a nation and it's gods?"  David remained faithful generations after God led Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt.  He still believed.

Jesus alludes to this kind of faithfulness when He appeared to Thomas in John 20.  Thomas saw Jesus' resurrected body, and he believed.  Jesus said in verse 29, "Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Sometimes people cannot see beyond their own circumstances.  Even then, even in times of trouble, we are to remain faithful.  Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."  Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."  Psalm 145:18 says, "The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."

James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."  To those who would fall away because of trouble, 2 Peter 2:21 says, "For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them."  Be faithful, my friend.  God is with you, even in the dark times.

Ask Forgiveness

Moses knew that the people would not always remain faithful.  He recognized that human nature often leads men astray.  He continues his sermon emphasizing the dangers of idolatry.  However, knowing the hearts of men, he prophetically predicted Israel's predicament when they would turn from the one true God and begin to worship idols from other countries and cultures.

Even so, Moses knew the nature of God:  He is faithful, and He is forgiving.  So when the people did eventually find themselves estranged from God and wrapped up in idolatry, Moses advised them to seek God's forgiveness.

But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey His voice.  For the Lord your God is a merciful God.  He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them.

Generations later, after God sent the people of Israel into exile for their idolatry, He raised up Nehemiah.  In the book that bears his name, chapter 1, verses 8 and 9 ,Nehemiah prayed, "Remember the word that You commanded Moses, saying 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to Me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make My Name dwell there'."

Isaiah 55:6-7 says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."  Jeremiah 29:13-14 says, "You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore you fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the  places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."

2 Chronicles 30:9 says, "For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land.  For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you if you return to Him." Nehemiah 9:31 says, "Nevertheless, in Your great mercies You did not make an end of them or forsake them, for You are a great and merciful God."

God even shows mercy to people other than the nation of Israel.  Jonah 4:2 "And he prayed to the Lord and said, 'O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster."  I think that the story of Jonah is a type and shadow of the message of the Messiah being open to the Gentiles.  Paul said in Philippians 1:6, "And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."  The work of Christ was to bring all men to the Father.  We are tasked with continuing the work of Christ in the world.  We may be discouraged, but we remember that 1 Chronicles 28:20  says, "Then David said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous and do it.  Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished'."

Do Not Forget

Got is faithful, and He calls us to faithfulness, even if we have fallen.  We have a great legacy in Scripture, evidence of God working in days past.  If we remember His works, we will not be discouraged or fall into despair. Moses continues his sermon in Deuteronomy 4:33-39

Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?  Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?  To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides Him.  Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might discipline you. And on earth He let you see His great fire and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.  And because He loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with His own presence, by His great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

Jeremiah 32:21 says, "You brought Your  people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror."  Isaiah 45:5, 18, and 22 says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip  you, though you do no know me...For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (He established it; He did not create it empty, He formed it to be inhabited!); 'I am the Lord, and there is no other'....'Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other'."

Isaiah 46:9 says, "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me."  Jesus preached the same message.  Mark 12:32 says, "And the scribe said to Him, "You are right, Teacher.  You have truly said that He is one, and there is no other besides Him."

This Spring, as you plant your flower gardens, remember the significance of the Forget-Me-Not flower.  It is a remembrance, yes.  But it also denotes our true love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as well as our devotion, and His royalty.