Deuteronomy 4:13

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:13, “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” There are some important points to make about the last phrase in this verse. The first time that the ten commandments were given, God wrote them upon the two tables of stone. The fact that they were written on stone symbolized the truth that God meant for His written Word to endure to all generations. God has done that with all of His written Word. God gave His Word, and then God preserved His Word. What good would it have done for God to have given His Word if He did not also preserve it? We may not know all of the details and all of the people that God used to preserve His Word, but we know that He did it. Whoever implies that some of the Word is missing or inaccurate in some way is wrong: completely wrong. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

Originally God Himself wrote the ten commandments. Those tables of stone were broken when Moses came down from the mountain and saw the sinfulness of the people. Later Moses wrote the same ten commandments himself. Was there a difference in the commandments when Moses wrote them? No, they were exactly the same whether God wrote them or Moses wrote them. God chose men to write the Bible, and the words that they wrote were the very same words that God would have written Himself. They are the Word of God. It says in Second Peter 1:21, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” It says in Second Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:14, “And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.” Once again we see that God wanted the Israelites to make sure that they put His commandments into practice. God said, “that ye might do them.” It does no good to study the Bible or to learn the Bible, if we do not put into practice what the Lord has taught us. What a shame it would be to learn the Bible only as an intellectual exercise. That is one of the dangers of so-called Biblical scholars. They learn things with their mind, but they do not put into practice the important tenants of Christianity, such as love for Christ and love for souls.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:15-19, “Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:[16] Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,[17] The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,[18] The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:[19] And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.” Obviously, it is important to God that we understand what He is like. He wants us to know Him and what He is all about. No image or statue can represent God. One of the ten commandments says in Exodus 20:4-6, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” The true nature of God was explained very clearly by Jesus in John 4:23-24, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.[24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:20, “But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.” In the Bible Egypt symbolizes the world. Everyone who has been saved has been saved out of the world. In this verse Egypt is called “the iron furnace.” It is iron because of the tight grip that it has on people such that they cannot escape on their own. They need a Savior. It is a furnace because it burns and consumes lives. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The world will destroy you. Jesus will give you life. Guess which one is better.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:21-22, “Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:[22] But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.” In these verses once again Moses is stating that he would not be going over the river Jordan to enter the Promised Land. God has a different will for different people for God’s own reasons. We do not always know what the Lord is doing or why He is doing it, but God is in charge. These verses also demonstrate as we have noted before that serving the Lord is a great privilege in this life. Having an opportunity to serve the Lord is a great privilege. The Apostle Paul recognized that also about His own life. Paul wrote about himself and Timothy in First Timothy 1:11-18, “According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.[12] And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;[13] Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.[14] And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.[15] This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.[16] Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.[17] Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.[18] This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;”

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:23-24, “Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.[24] For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” We have seen phrases like “lest ye forget” in other passages. Human beings forget too easily things that we should remember. We should especially remember “the covenant of the Lord.” In the Old Testament the covenant of the Lord was the law. In the New Testament the covenant of the Lord is the grace of God that comes because of the blood of Christ. There is nothing more important than remembering that Jesus died for us. One would think that a true Christian would never forget what Jesus did for them when He suffered so very much on the cross. But it happens. Will you remember? That is one of the big questions. As the years go by, will you remember? As the troubles of life come against you, will you remember? When you get busy in the activities of life, will you remember what Jesus has done for you? The danger is that something will take the place in your heart that Jesus once occupied. That is really what an idol is: a replacement for the true God. But He is a “jealous God.” He loves us, and therefore, He is jealous if our hearts stray to another love.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 4:25-28, “When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:[26] I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.[27] And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.[28] And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.” These verses sound like a prophecy because they describe exactly what happened to Israel as the years went by and as the centuries went by. There are several reasons that terrible things happened to the Jewish people. One reason is that hatred and evil always comes against God’s chosen people. Another reason is shown here: this is what happens to people who have been blessed by the Lord and then forsake Him. A third reason is the failure of man to keep the law of the Old Testament. The old covenant required that the people obey or be punished.

What a difference between the old covenant and the new covenant that we who believe in Jesus live under. Because of Christ we are free from the curse of the law. We are not under law but under grace. There can never be a curse for anyone who believes in Jesus: never. Jesus paid it all. Jesus is the answer to the problem of sin. The old covenant said, “Obey, or be punished.” The new covenant says, “You did not obey, but I will forgive you.” The old covenant said, “You must earn your blessings by good works.” The new covenant says, “I will give you blessings freely through your faith in Christ.”

It would have been different for the children of Israel had they obeyed the old covenant. It says in Deuteronomy 4:29-31, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.[30] When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;[31] (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.” What tremendous promises these are from a loving and merciful God who sent His Son to die for us. As long as you are on this earth, you have a chance to turn to the Lord and find His mercy. There are two conditions. The first is to “seek him with all the heart and all the soul.” In other words you must really want the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord badly. The second condition is to repent of your ways. It says in verse 30, “if thou turn,” and “shalt be obedient unto his voice.” Repentance involves the desire to be forgiven, but it also involves the desire to start serving the Lord and doing the right thing. Once you have repented and turned to the Lord, here is one of the great benefits as stated in verse 31, “he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.” If you have never repented of your sins and turned to Jesus, do so now so you can go to heaven and have all these other wonderful spiritual benefits.

___________________________________________________