You can download the powerpoint slides from here
Let me unpack the title (and the logo) of this series. Most of us will have come across toys r us <ppt: logo>
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Their marketing is actually very subtle. The title carries two parallel messages:
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Everything to do with toys is to do with us. And everything we are has to do with toys.
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i.e. If you want to know toys – you don’t need to look anywhere else!
When it comes to the church of Jesus Christ “God’s people R us!”
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<ppt> Everything to do with God, has to do with us. And everything to do with us points to God”
Now that’s a very bold claim, to have virtually exclusive rights to almighty God, but it’s exactly the claim that Jesus made
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“I and the Father are one!” (One and the same person)
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“I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me will live, even though (physically) he dies”
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and it’s the claim for which ultimately he was put to death.
<ppt> We exist to display God’s glory and be the embodiment of his awesome person – that’s us!
God’s people R us!
So to a watching world we can say “If you want to know God – you need look nowhere else!” Come into our thriving church and just look around you!
God’s people R us!
The purpose of the church is to declare the wonder of God to people who are hungry for spiritual reality.
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Now I know we don’t always live up to that. I know, you know, and God knows
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(neither did the children of Israel)
But let’s not forget that this is God’s vision for us! In the same way that Christ was God-on-a-body when he walked this earth, God’s intention is that we should be God-in-a-body (a body of ordinary people) in 2014!
God’s people R us!
Now where does Deuteronomy fit into all this? The answer is very straightforward.
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In Deuteronomy we see God turning the children of Israel from a dynasty (all looking back to their ancestry from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob)
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… into a nation – and a nation to declare His glory.
Let me share with you a recurring thought I have. It comes at the most unexpected times and places, but especially when I see a tragedy on the TV or hear about someone living in much more restricted circumstances than me.
<ppt: slum image> Here is a picture I took in Nairobi in Kenya – As part of my visit there to see the work of Compassion UK we were taken to a slum. We were followed by this little boy in blue. <ppt: children in slum> He and this girl live in untold squalor.
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If ever there was a case for sponsoring children, with Compassion UK, here it is!
Now here’s the recurring thought.
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<ppt: young Ian> Why wasn’t that me? Why wasn’t I born there? What cosmic providence caused Ian Richard White to be born on 23rd January 1953 in Hackney in the East end of London? Why was it that I was born to parents who, in spite of being relatively poor, loved me to bits.
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What was it that caused my parcel of consciousness to be invested in this body and gave me these experiences, education and love that made me who I am today?
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I can come up with no explanation other than God’s providence – but it still gets me reeling back in amazement.
And there’s more: chasing along in the wake of this thought comes another much more powerful concept. – and it’s this:
My life is a huge privilege! Especially being called to to this – preaching the gospel to people like you!
It is because of this that I find Deuteronomy 8 such a penetrating and challenging chapter.
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In comparison to about 95% of the world’s population, we live in untold riches. That is a privilege <ppt> and with high privilege comes high responsibility.
I have a responsibility to use the time and money that Lord has trusted to me in a way that honours Him. We all do.
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I enjoy a life of ease (relatively speaking) because I don’t have to scrounge for my food. I can afford my electricity bill (just)! I can give to God’s people and God’s work using the resources he’s trusted me with. If I save carefully I can even go on a holiday and (at the same time)
That puts me in the top 5% of the world’s rich list and while life is not always easy, it is a life ‘of ease’, because I’m not burdened by a constant grinding struggle for survival like those two children will be as they grow up.
<ppt> In the prosperous west we need a theology of ease!
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A way of understanding our relative prosperity with God in the frame. A way of handling our wealth that Glorifies God, blesses other people. An approach to money and resources that prevents us from taking them for granted and gets us being thankful to God.
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A theology that is radically different from the culture around me and that gets a wealth-obsessed society saying in its heart “these people of God are different – really different”
That’s what Deuteronomy 8 gives us!
<ppt> God’s big message for us is “Don’t forget me in the good times!”
At this point the children of Israel have been rescued by God from Egypt, they’ve wandered in the desert and God wants to get them in to the promised land. He’s talking ot the people through the voice of Moses
Deut 8:1: “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers.
Which commandment is he talking about – the whole of the law – especially the 10 commandments or the 10 ‘words’ that Andy was preaching about last week.
Beware misunderstanding God’s grace
The
2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
May I be a bit technical for a moment – because understanding how the Hebrew text is written will help us grasp god’s central message here of ‘Don’t forget me in the good times!”
When Hebrew text was written they often used a way of writing where the central message, the main headline is right in the centre of the text. Everything leads up to it and the leads away from it
This is a ‘chaistic’ arrangement. It’s an in-and-then-out arrangement of the text
Just watch this …
<ppt: expose in order from the outside>
A The land sworn to the forefathers; command given today (v. 1)
B Wilderness as place of humbling, testing, and provision (vv. 2– 6)
C A good land (vv. 7– 9)
D You will eat and be satisfied (v. 10)
E So Bless the LORD; Make sure you don’t’ forget Him! (v. 11)
11“Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today,
D′ You will eat and be satisfied (v. 12a)
C′ A good land (vv. 12b– 14)
B′ Wilderness as place of humbling, testing, and provision (vv. 15– 16)
A′ Wealth, covenant with forefathers; as at this day (vv. 17– 18)
Verses 19–20 – a second solemn warning not to forget – just in case we didn’t get the message the first time!
19 And if you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Just Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish in front of you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
In the background all the while is the 10 commandments …
One way of understanding the two halves of the Bible goes something like this:
In the OT God was a God of law. To please him you had to stick to the rules – especially the 10 commandments.
In the NT God is a God of grace who rescues us – especially from from our wrong-doing. And that’s what salvation is all about. So we please him by trusting him to be our rescuer, (or Saviour)
BUT the first sentence of the ten commandments completely torpedoes that idea!
“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of slavery – you will have no other gods ahead of me.”
In the book of Exodus has 19 chapters of salvation and rescue before there is any mention of laws!
The commandments were given to Israel, not so that they could, hopefully, gain salvation by keeping them, but because God had already rescued and redeemed them and this was how they were to live!
Saving grace comes first, and our response of obedience follows as day follows night! (or it should!)
Salvation and lifestyle always go together! We can’t be rescued by God without being overwhelmingly grateful to Him!
Warnings about
Beware misunderstanding the past
the purpose of the wilderness was …
8:2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
So how did they think of the period in the wilderness?
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The most obvious interpretation of the Children of Israel wandering around in the wilderness (1: 19– 46) is (probably) that it was a monumental waste time!
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They had a golden opportunity to go straight into the land God promised but the generation that came out of Egypt failed to do it.
But the way Deuteronomy interprets it is very different.
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As Moses looks back on that time, he discerns a purpose in having a generation wander about in the wilderness.
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So in retrospect, God turned it into a learning experience that was designed to help the Children of Israel be better followers of the Lord, not punished followers.
:2 … to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart,
To be sure the wilderness came about because of human disobedience BUT God is bigger than our failures – and He used the events as part of his divine plan.
This is more evidence of God’s grace – he takes something rotten (their disobedience) and turns into something useful (a learning point) And the learning is two-way
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To humble is a verb that is often used in the sense of “to afflict” by abuse or humiliation (e.g., Gen. 16: 6; Exod. 22: 21). But when God is the subject of the verb, it often means to teach by experience – as here (cf. Ps. 119: 71, 75).
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God was learning about them (are they going to obey me or not?) and they were learning about God (is God going to stick with us – even though we’ve gone our own way?)
so what was he teaching?
:4 …to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord
If you know the story of Jesus you’ll have come across this. When Jesus was at his extremity (he was fasting) he was tempted sorely by Satan “Turn these stones into bread – you know you can do it – so why not?”
Jesus defence was to use these words “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord“
God disciplined the children of Israel by hardship and suffering, but in his grace he used these tough experiences to make them better people – more trusting people.
Now think back over your life – any examples of this?
Beware misusing the future
God is promising amazing prosperity to his people.
7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land
And now compare what he’s promising with what they’ve got right now
– a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;
Where are they now? in the desert
8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig-trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;
Where are they now – dependent on manna which is wonderful, but must have become very tedious and as a diet.
9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills
The Lord is promising them incredible wealth compared with their present experience!
v9 “You will lack nothing”!
This is not the only place that the Lord says this C.f. Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd – I will lack nothing!” says David.
theology of ease
I said we need to develop a theology of ease. So what should it be?
What does the Bible say about having enough?
There is nothing morally wrong with having enough!
after all that’s what God desire for the children of Israel.
But this is not prosperity theology
When you’ve got enough to live on…
praise the Lord
:10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
Give the glory to him and avoid stealing it for ourselves
This is a great justification for saying grace at mealtimes >>>
Unfortunately we are more likely to forget, so another part of our theology of ease needs to be
don’t forget the source of your satisfaction
:11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you
This is not just a case of spiritual amnesia. To forget a fact is one thing – to forget a person is much more serious because it’ means down-grading their identity! They don’t mean anything to me any more! It’s to lose touch with the story of our relationship.
There’s more – forgetting God in v 11 is a moral failure – we can ignore his commands, decrees when we’re wealthy.
And the same is true today – some of the greatest abuses of power in our society come from the rich – especially when they try to protect their wealth! Only this last week some very high profile celebrities have been challenged about claiming tax relief on a scheme that was set up to deliberately hide money from the tax man.
beware of pride
Beware lest …
:12 … when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God,
This undercuts any idea that “what’s mine is mine because I produced it,”
The question to ask of ourselves is ‘do we possess our possessions or do our possessions possess us?’
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Paul urges people to ‘work with your own hands and earn your living so that you have something to give
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“I made it so I own it” is never the bottom line of biblical economics.
If you don’t live like this you’re no better that the nation I rescued you from!
