49.y. Wilderness – 14.d. “Fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.”

 

 

Deu 6:1-3  “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

 Exodus 20:20     Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

 Job 28:28    And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

 Psalms 111:10   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

 Psalms 128:1   Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!

 Proverbs 16:6    By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

 Ecclesiastes 12:13   The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

 Luke 12:5   But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

 1 Peter 1:17   And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

The “fear” that brings God pleasure is not our being afraid of him, but our having a high and exalted, reverential view of him. To fear the Lord is to stand in awe of his majesty, power, wisdom, justice and mercy, especially in Christ – in his life, death and resurrection – that is, to have an exalted view of God. To see God in all his glory and then respond to him appropriately. To humble ourselves before him. To adore him. We tend to be in awe of worldly power, talent, intelligence, and beauty. But these things don’t impress God because “His delight is not in the strength of the horse (mighty armies, worldly power) nor his pleasure in the legs of a man (human strength).” But God delights in those who fear him – those who stand in awe of him – and instead of trusting in their own human abilities or resources, “hope in his steadfast love.”

By way of contrast, the wicked person doesn’t fear God – he doesn’t stand in awe of God. The wicked has a low view of God: 

Psalms 36:1-4. Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.”

The wicked person has such a low view of God and such a lack of awe for God that he doesn’t think God can find out his sin or hate it. He doesn’t act wisely or do good because he doesn’t view God as holy and just and serious about punishing sin. He trusts in his own wits and strength. Obviously, the Lord doesn’t find any pleasure in the wicked. The wicked refuses to fear God. (Altrogge)

For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God. For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God.   Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe. Fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature.

As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion. (Eisenhower)

For the unrepentant, God-denying, and God-rejecting, fear should be like that of standing before an all-powerful tormentor and executioner who has complete authority and power to execute judgment upon you.

For the believer who trusts, believes, follows, obeys, and relies upon and in God, fear takes on a different form where there is such love, respect, and awe of God that displeasing Him deeply hurts them and they intentionally and purposefully choose to live in such a way that reflects this love, respect, and awe – and in doing so this desire permeates their life so that in all they think, say, and do it is purposefully set on honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

49.x. Wilderness – 14.c. “You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”

 

Deu 5:30-33  Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

 God desires the welfare and salvation of poor sinners. He has given abundant proof that he does so; he gives us time and space to repent. He has sent his Son to redeem us, promised his Spirit to those who pray for him, and has declared that he has no pleasure in the ruin of sinners. It would be well with many, if there were always such a heart in them, as there seems to be sometimes; when they are under conviction of sin, or the rebukes of providence, or when they come to look death in the face. The only way to be happy, is to be holy. Say to the righteous, It shall be well with them. Let believers make it more and more their study and delight, to do as the Lord God hath commanded. (Henry)

“You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” To the left would be to hear the Word but have no care or desire to do what it says. Deaf ears, unrepentant hearts, giving lip service to acknowledge God’s Word but it does not affect how you live, think, or speak. How many days or weeks go by without the Word of God affecting how you live? There must be more than a “hearing” of God’s Word. It must root in your heart and for this to take place it must be continually watered with a desire for it. God’s Word is the bread of live and living water which nourishes the soul who desires to Honor and Glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions. Is there a drought and famine in your hearts, minds, and souls? Are you on the path that God has defined for eternal life? Are you blindly following others who are on paths to the left of God’s path? 

“You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” To the right would be to hear the Word and then for some reason think the actions you take make you more worthy of God’s Love, allow you to do works that make you more right in God’s eyes, and allow you to do things that make up for the bad or wrong things (sin) you have done. When our minds think this way we are prone to think and rely upon our actions as a means of forgiveness and righteousness. Self-reliance is a very dangerous path to be on. There is no glory or honor to Jesus Christ, but rather a belief in self, self-reliance, and self-worth. We may be convicted of sin but then become reliant upon our actions to do “some good thing” to make up for it. The Word of God may be read and studied but our minds have used it to make us right in our own eyes. 

There is only one path and it is very straight. Believe, repent, trust, follow, obey, and rely upon God alone. There must be only one purpose, reason, and driving force in our lives; “To honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions”. If there is one resolution each person should make that will have both every lasting eternal meaning and continual peace, joy, hope, patience, kindness, and love on this side of eternity it would be to desire and seek a life that “HONORS and GLORIFIES JESUS CHRIST IN ALL THOUGHTS, WORDS, AND ACTIONS”. Any other resolution should be built upon this.

49.w. Wilderness – 14.b. “Oh that they had such a heart as this always”

 

Deu 5:23-29  And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. And you said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’ “And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Moses refers to the consternation caused by the terror with which the law was given. God’s appearances have always been terrible to man, ever since the fall; but Christ, having taken away sin, invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace. They were in a good mind, under the strong convictions of the word they heard. Many have their consciences startled by the law who have them not purified; fair promises are extorted from them, but no good principles are fixed and rooted in them. God commended what they said. He desires the welfare and salvation of poor sinners. He has given abundant proof that he does so; he gives us time and space to repent. He has sent his Son to redeem us, promised his Spirit to those who pray for him, and has declared that he has no pleasure in the ruin of sinners. It would be well with many, if there were always such a heart in them, as there seems to be sometimes; when they are under conviction of sin, or the rebukes of providence, or when they come to look death in the face. The only way to be happy, is to be holy. Say to the righteous, It shall be well with them. Let believers make it more and more their study and delight, to do as the Lord God hath commanded. (Henry)

 Here it is important to call attention to the fact that it was on the entreaties of the people that Moses had taken on him to be the channel of communication between God and them. God approved the request of the people, because it showed a feeling of their own unworthiness to enter into direct communion with God. The terrors of Sinai had done their work; they had awakened the consciousness of sin. (Barnes)

Note how the people heard God speak the 10 commandments, and after hearing they did not want to directly hear it again. Why was this? Was it because they were convicted of sin? Were they convinced of God’s power and might? Did they want to know what God was telling them? 

From the time of the giving of the Ten Commandments, the temple construction, the priestly order of worship and sacrifice, to the time the 12 spies went into the promised land to spy it out was 14-18 months. At the time the commandments were given to the people, seeing the power of God in their exodus from Egypt, seeing His power in supply for their needs in the wilderness, seeing His leading by fire and smoke, they said “If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.” 

How can they fall away so quickly (14-18 months) to the point of doubting God’s promises, power, and love for them?  We can read this from the Bible and think, surely we would not have thought or acted this way, but in reality, the same unbelief demonstrated in the wilderness is common to all mankind. When we speak of belief there is a thought that this is only about believing in God, “that there is a supreme God”, but not taking to heart His holiness and our sinfulness. Believing has so much more to it than this. Believing is trusting in, relying on, and clinging to God, God’s Word, and Things of God. 

It was because of their unbelief they were left wondering in the wilderness and that generation was never allowed into the promised land. 

John 3:16-21.  16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

 

What True Love Does

[Love] rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

–1 Corinthians 13:6-7

Yesterday, we studied five things love does not do; now let’s look at five things love does do. First of all, love “rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). The Bible says if you truly love somebody, you are going to share the truth with them. A lot of times, we are hesitant to tell people what they need to hear because we do not want to hurt our reputation or hurt the relationship. And in our culture today, telling the truth is sometimes labeled as hatred. Yet the Bible says to flatter somebody, not to tell them the truth, is a sign of hatred for that person. Proverbs 26:28 says, “Flattery is a form of hatred and wounds cruelly” (TLB).

When you flatter somebody, you are more interested in yourself than in their well-being. You are trying to get something out of them or to keep a relationship going for your own benefit. So you tell them what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. But sometimes the most loving thing you can share with someone is the truth. Proverbs 28:23 says, “In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery” (TLB). Love will share the truth even when it hurts.

Second, love “bears all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). The Greek verb “stego,” translated as “bear,” means “to cover over.” It means to shield another person from the consequences of their wrongdoing. If you truly love somebody, you want to protect them from suffering the consequences they deserve. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to let people feel the consequences of their actions, but our hearts desire to shield them.

Third, love “believes all things” (v. 7). That does not mean you believe anything and everything. It simply means you give other people the benefit of the doubt. Your first inclination is to believe the best about a person instead of the worst about a person.

Fourth, love “hopes all things” (v. 7). That is, love refuses to believe a person’s failure is final. No matter how badly the other person behaves, love holds out the possibility for that person to change. Now, that does not mean we don’t take action. Sometimes a church needs to discipline, a company needs to dismiss, or a government needs to execute. But we are not to pronounce a final judgment upon somebody–only God can do that.

Finally, love “endures all things” (v. 7). When another person hurts you, instead of returning evil for evil, you endure those hurts and continue to love–just like Jesus did. As He hung on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

49.v. Wilderness – 14.a. “These words the LORD spoke”

Deu 5:7-22  “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

“‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image.

 “‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, 

 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

 “‘Honor your father and your mother, 

 “‘You shall not murder.

 “‘And you shall not commit adultery.

 “‘And you shall not steal.

 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

 “These words the LORD spoke

God, who by natural claim as well as by covenant relation was entitled to exercise supremacy over His people Israel, had a sovereign right to establish laws for their government. (Brown)

God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets and gave them Moses to share with all the Israelites soon after they left captivity in Egypt. Moses reiterated them 40 years later in as the Israelites neared the Promised Land. Leaving captivity in Egypt meant establishing a new society. The law established healthy boundaries based on respect for God and other people rather than brute strength. The law given to Moses provided the foundation for a new Israelite society. Jesus called people to an even higher standard by obeying the commandments not only in their actions but also in their hearts. The initial commandments start with the relationship with the “Lord your God”. God told His people He was their Lord, Master, and Creator God. They should have no other gods, and they should not make idols. They should not misuse his name. The Sabbath bridges our relationship with God. God commanded his people to take the Sabbath for their benefit. God intended for his people to enjoy their relationship with Him and each other by valuing the Sabbath. The following commandments address our relationships with others. (Noyes)

As new creations in Christ, the law is not only our duty but also our delight. If we want to love Christ as he deserves and as he desires, we will keep his commandments. But the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The way to find moral instruction isn’t by listening to your gut but by listening to God. If we want to know right from wrong, if we want to know how to live, if we want to know how to live in a way that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ and blesses our friends and neighbors, we’d be wise to do things God’s way, which means paying careful attention to the His commandments. (Deyoung)

Compare what society deems and approves as “OK” to commands of God. Abortion, greed, hate, pornography, divorce, LGBQT, retaliation, self-worth, self-reliance, etc…. all find root in rejecting and denying God, things of God, and the Word of God. If we neglect God’s Word and allow social media and news outlets to fill our minds it is no wonder there is little conviction in the hearts of those who confess Jesus as Lord with their lips but the Word of God is not in their hearts or minds.

49.u. Wilderness – 14. “I am the LORD your God”

Deu 5:6-7  “‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

 Matthew 4:10   Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

 John 5:23   that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

 Deuteronomy 4:4    But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today.

Before God commanded anything of man, He declared who He was and what He did for Israel (who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage). The foundation was clear: because of whom God was and what He did for His people, He has the right to tell us what to do – and we have the obligation to obey Him.  The first commandment logically flows from understanding who God is and what He has done for us. Nothing is to come before God and He is the only God we worship and serve. No other gods before Me: This did not imply that it was permissible to have other gods, as long as they lined up behind the true God. Instead the idea is that there are to be no other gods before the sight of the true God in our life. This means God demands to be more than “added” to our lives. We don’t just add Jesus to the life we already have. We must give Him all our lives. (Guzik)

Try to wrap your mind around the Holiness, Power, Might, Knowledge, and Understanding of God. If we dedicate our entire lives toward learning and understanding and growing in our knowledge of God we will only be catching a glimpse of the depth and width of it. Though our minds might seem full, we will only have a single drop out of the ocean of His awesomeness. 

This is the God we know, trust, and rely upon. Serve Him with a desire to grow and understand Him more and more so that you might better honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions.

 

49.t. Wilderness – 13.z. “I speak in your hearing today”

 

Deu 5:1-5  And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain.

Psalms 106:23    Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

Moses demands attention. When we hear the word of God we must learn it; and what we have learned we must put in practice, for that is the end of hearing and learning; not to fill our heads with notions, or our mouths with talk, but to direct our affections and conduct. (Henry)

Israel was bound to the covenant they agreed to in Exodus 24:1-8, yet the covenant was made with the previous generation which perished in the wilderness. The present generation had to understand and embrace the covenant if they were to enjoy the blessings of the covenant. In fact, the covenant was originally made with the previous generation, and Moses did not deny this. But he drove the point home: This was their covenant; it is a covenant of the living, not of the dead. (Guzik)

“Hear, learn, and do them”. How many hear but never learn? How many learn but do not apply? The Bible is full of examples of those that did not and of those that did. Those who did not listen and learn were rejected and punished by God. God blessed those that did. These examples were given so that by them we would intentionally choose to believe, trust, follow, obey, and be reliant upon God. When it comes to learning there must be a desire or experience that roots this information in our minds. Without a desire to learn and grow in knowledge and understanding of the Word of God and the Things of God, there will be no learning or application in our lives. How often are we given the example of “Their hearts were like stone and their ears were deaf and there was no love for God or obedience to His Word? He sent angels, prophets, and finally His Son, and yet people still reject, deny, and turn away from God and the Things of God. 

Unless there is a desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions, our hearing will dull to the Word of God. The application will be nothing more than doing what is right in our own eyes. We are often looking for and expecting God’s blessings, but give no thought to obedience because we lack a foundational desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. David’s desire should inspire us to be like-minded; Search me and know me, see if there is anything within my heart and mind that is offensive to You, and lead me on paths that honor and glorify You.

Proclaimed, Promised, Fulfilled, and Coming Again

 

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 11:1  A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

Jeremiah 23:5. “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

John 1:14. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Luke 1:35. The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Matthew 1:18-23. This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Galatians 4:4-5 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Luke 2:21  On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

 Luke 1:14-16. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

Matthew 2:1-6. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

Luke 1:26-32  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

Luke 2:7-14. and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 1:30-33. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”