Sermon for Pentecost 15, September 1, 2024
The fear of the LORD is
the beginning of wisdom. All who do his
precepts have good understanding. Amen.
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 So now, Israel,
listen to the statutes and the ordinances that I am teaching you, and carry
them out so that you may live and so that you may enter the land that the Lord,
the God of your fathers, is giving to you and take possession of it. 2Do not add to the word that I am
commanding you, and do not subtract from it, so that you keep the commandments
of the Lord your God that I am commanding you. … 6Keep them and put
them into practice, because in this way your wisdom and your understanding will
be recognized by all the people who hear about all these statutes; and they
will say, “This great nation is certainly a wise and understanding people,” 7because
what other great nation is there that has a god as close to it as the Lord our
God is to us whenever we call on him? 8What
other great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances as righteous as
this entire law that I am presenting to you today? 9But guard yourselves and guard
your whole being diligently, so that you do not forget the things that your eyes
have seen and so that those things do not disappear from your heart all the
rest of the days of your life. Make them
known to your children and to your children’s children. (EHV)
God’s Word (and no
other) is pure wisdom.
Dear friends on the way to heaven,
Both King
Solomon and the psalmist in Psalm 111 express much the same sentiment: “The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
All who do his precepts have good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10
& Proverbs 9:10) This was not new
information to Moses. In truth, it is
likely the Word of God granted to Israel through Moses that led the psalmist
and King Solomon to this insight. Real wisdom
comes from knowing what God has said and applying it in our lives. Of course, we live in a time in which
multitudes have little fear of the Creator of the world, or at least have
suppressed that fear. Therefore, they
miss out on saving truth, for only God’s Word (and no other) is pure wisdom.
Moses was preparing Israel to enter the
Promised Land of Canaan without him. You
see, Moses knew, from the Lord, that he would not go in with the Children of
Israel when they crossed the Jordan River.
Moses’ life on earth would end short of the land of Canaan, because like
so many others of that generation that came out of Egypt, Moses had sinned
against the Lord’s command. Moses
learned from experience that God’s Word will reign supreme into eternity. Moses’ death instead of being allowed to
enter Canaan serves as a graphic picture for us that to enter heaven, we must
follow God’s Word.
As you all know, God had chosen Moses to lead
His people, and God gave much of early Scripture through Moses’ hand, as the
first five books of the Bible come to us through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration
into Moses. It is God’s Word of law,
grace, history, and peace. Here, it
admonishes God’s people to stay true to the God who had rescued them from their
slavery in Egypt and who would continue His plan to deliver all people from the
curse of sin through the descendants of Israel—One in particular.
Moses proclaimed to the people, “So now,
Israel, listen to the statutes and the ordinances that I am teaching you, and
carry them out so that you may live and so that you may enter the land that the
Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving to you and take possession of it.” God had made a covenant with Abraham to give
the land of Canaan to his descendants as a permanent home. However, unlike God’s one-sided covenant that
a Seed of Abraham would come to save the world, this promise of a permanent
homeland was dependent upon those people remaining true to God. God was making numerous promises to
Israel. It was by His hand alone that
the Canaanites would be driven out and destroyed and the land be given to
Israel as a permanent home.
Yet, if they should ever abandon the words of
God’s grace, He would also withhold His unlimited blessing. God made this promise to the Children of
Israel that He would be like a husband to them, provide for them, guide them,
love them, and preserve them from the dangers they faced, but if they should
become like an unfaithful spouse, a separation would be unavoidable. For that reason, it would be unwise for
Israel to wander away from God to serve idols of the Canaanites or any other.
Now, in Moses’ next command, there is instruction
that remains vital for us as well; “Do not add to the word that I am
commanding you, and do not subtract from it, so that you keep the commandments
of the Lord your God that I am commanding you.” Because God’s Word (and no other) is pure
wisdom, we should never substitute the imaginations of man or the
temptations of the devil in place of what God has clearly said. To do so does, in fact, put us in danger of
not reaching the Promised Land of heaven.
As you all know, however, as we consider God’s
Word, there are many voices that chime in with alternate explanations. That has been the case since the devil
tempted Eve by saying, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any
tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)
Oh, how the devil and those who fall under his deceit love that
question, “Has God really said?”
One of the most difficult tasks a faithful scholar of God’s Word faces
is the need to knock down his own arrogance and submit himself completely to
what God’s Word says. It is so easy for
our sin-corrupted nature to let the temptations of the world, and the deceiver,
mislead us. Ever since sin entered the
human race, we have had to battle against it’s power with all we are worth, and
on our own, we could not succeed. It is
only by the gift of grace through the work of the Holy Spirit that we can know
God and His will, for as it is written, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’
except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
God guided Moses to recognize the human frailty
that could lead his people to abandon God’s Word to go their own way. Furthermore, we have seen it happen
throughout history. We see it even more
so today. There are always those like
the Pharisees who think God didn’t clearly tell us how to live, so they add to
the law what their own evil imaginations desire while often ignoring God’s
clear instruction. In our times, it goes
so far as demanding we accept what is clearly against both the law and
creation. Many would consider going
against the whims of society as a greater sin than murder. Pretending to be something you are not is an
applauded novelty not to be challenged. Living
in a sexual relationship outside of God’s plan for marriage is strongly
promoted even though God has forbidden it.
Numerous religions have sprung up throughout the centuries that pervert
the truths of God’s Word, or are based on other imagined wisdom teachings. Yet, all these things lead only to
destruction in “the eternal fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his
angels.” (Matthew 25:41)
Now, for sure, we could make a long list of
ways that people in our time foolishly go against God’s Word, but lest we fall
into the absurd notion that we are more holy or more deserving of God’s
salvation than those who expound the most foolish abuses, we need also to
remember not to add to or subtract from God’s Word. We are not saved by our holiness for the Holy
Spirit has clearly taught that “There is no one who is righteous, not even
one.” (Romans 3:10) Therefore,
instead of tooting our own horns, we listen to the Word of the Spirit who through
St. Paul writes, “But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness
from God has been made known. The Law
and the Prophets testify to it. This
righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all
who believe.” (Romans 3:21-22)
Dear friends, many of the commands God gave
Israel through Moses were intended only for the Children of Israel, primarily
to keep them as a separate people, holy to God.
Yet, the Bible makes it clear that the Ten Commandments apply to all
people of all time. Therefore, we remain
under the command to keep all of them.
Then, as much as we are able to do so, Moses’ next statement will be
true for us also.
“Keep
them and put them into practice, because in this way your wisdom and your
understanding will be recognized by all the people who hear about all these
statutes; and they will say, ‘This great nation is certainly a wise and
understanding people’ because what other great nation is there that has a god
as close to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call on him? What other great nation is there that has
statutes and ordinances as righteous as this entire law that I am presenting to
you today?”
Does that mean all worldly people will honor us
for our goodness? Of course not, for
those who rebel against God much prefer to have us also in their camp rebelling
against our Lord. Still, whenever we
live according to God’s law, it is good for us and for society at large. Even so, we know that none of us ever keeps
God’s law as we should, for even when it looks to all the world like we have
lived just and holy lives, we fall short of the righteousness God demands of
His people.
This is again when Moses’ instruction to Israel
is so valuable for our lives as well. He
implored the people, “But guard yourselves and guard your whole being
diligently, so that you do not forget the things that your eyes have seen and
so that those things do not disappear from your heart all the rest of the days
of your life. Make them known to your
children and to your children’s children.”
To what things was Moses referring?
He pointed the people to all the great works of salvation they had
witnessed, or had heard their parents report, of all God did to deliver His
people from their slavery in Egypt and to lead them safely through the barren
and hostile wilderness to bring them to the point of entering their Promised
Land.
For you and me, this remains tremendously good counsel. Remember what God has done for us through His
Son, Jesus, to deliver us from the ravages of sin—from sin that so easily
misleads, hurts, and afflicts us daily, from the sin that cause all earthly
ills, the wars, depressions, anger, malice, hatred, bigotry, and death, from
the guilt that would condemn us to eternal torment.
Thus the command to hold unto the Good News of
all God has done to rescue us from this dark and dangerous life. To remember the Gospel for our own eternal
welfare, and to love our children and grandchildren by sharing with them the
marvelous Good News and great treasure of having a Savior from sin, who lived
for us, took on all our guilt and shame, who died on a cross after enduring all
punishment for our guilt, and rose from the dead as proof positive that the
Father in heaven has accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as complete and perfect for you
and me and all. It is the pure love of
God for sinners like you and me that caused Jesus to do everything needed to
give us the victory over the deceiver’s power and our own weak and sinful flesh
and to credit to us the righteousness of Jesus’ holy life.
Beloved ones of God, this is true, pure
wisdom. What angels longed to see and
the patriarchs and prophets yearned to witness, you and I have seen by faith
what God has done to deliver His people from death. His promises for the future stand firm, that
just as He delivered everything He said He would in a Savior, so on the last
day this world exists, Jesus will return in full glory to raise up all people
to be judged according to their faith.
Those who believe in the Son of God will be granted full forgiveness and
peace with God so that they will live forever in the glorious mansions of our
God and never again have to face death, sorrow, hardship, or pain. This is truth that no human imagination or
wisdom could ever produce. Therefore, God’s
Word (and no other) is pure wisdom.
Amen.
Now to him who is
able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of
his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty,
power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and
to all eternity. Amen.
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