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Deuteronomy 4:1 - Law and Grace

by Doug Floyd

“Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to
observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of
your fathers is giving you.” Deuteronomy 4:1

Israel stands at the edge of the Promised Land. Soon Moses will leave them and
Joshua will take charge as they cross the Jordan and take possession of the land.
On the eve of this historic conquest, Moses delivers a sermon on God’s
faithfulness in the midst of Israel’s unfaithfulness.

He has been calling to mind their journey after receiving the Law at Mt. Horeb and
journeying toward the Promised Land. While their parents didn’t trust YHWH’s
command (and died in the wilderness), the children have been brought back to the
place of promise with the same command to go in and possess the land.

As Moses recounts God’s victories on behalf of His people, He reminds them of the
foundation of their commission: observance of the Law.

“Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to
observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of
your fathers is giving you.” Deuteronomy 4:1

Now – In light of God’s unwavering faithfulness to His promises, let us trust and
obey His words. As I meditate on that transition word, “Now,” I can’t help but
hearing Paul’s word, “Now.”

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
2 Corinthians 6:2b

Paul has been talking about the great reconciling power of God’s grace in the
midst of our human weakness. Now he exhorts the Corinthians to live as God has
called them and empowered them to live in holiness and separation from the
idolatries in the world around us.

Through Scripture we see images of people living and walking outside the fullness
of God’s power and grace. I think of Zacheus, living of the exorbitant overcharges
he places upon the people. Jesus comes to dine with Him, and the “Now” happens.

In the “now,” Jesus calls. “Come out and lived in the freedom and fullness I have
prepared for you.” This now, is the now of Spirit calling me forth into a new way,
a new path, a new life. This now is the now that proceeds out from the “fullness
of time.”

O Israel – Moses calls out to the elect named by God. While Jacob is named by his
mother, God calls him Israel. He is a given a new name and raised into the status
of royalty and promise by God’s grace and goodnness.

The sons of Israel or the children of Israel grow up as a blessed people who will
fulfill the call upon Abraham to bring God’s blessing to the whole earth.

To hear the name Israel is to hear the blessing of God. In Jesus, this blessing is
fulfilled. And now all who are in Christ Jesus, hear the blessed name of Israel,
called out to be God’s blessing for the whole earth. Paul writes:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose
us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus
Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of
the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-5

Listen – In the middle of His sermon, Moses says, “Listen.” Makes me think of the
preacher who pauses and says, “Listen up people.” Or more directly, it makes me
think of Jesus speaking to His disciples, “Truly, Truly I say to you.”

It is as though Jesus is saying, “Now you better make a note of this. I am getting
ready to say something that is deep truth and I want to make sure you remember and
heed it.

As Moses calls us to “listen,” we lean in for a word from the throne of God. We
hear a word that defines out mission and action in this world.

Statutes and Judgments – The two corresponding Hebrew words are khuqqim and
mishpatim. These two words appears again and again when Moses is preaching about
the Law.

The first word, khuqqim, is related to the idea of inscribing or carving. While
Moses dictated the whole Law for the people, he received the “10 Words” inscribed
by God’s hand. The fact that these words are inscribed in stone seems to give them
a significance that no other words in Scripture have—except one.

There is a glory surrounding the giving of the 10 Word. Such glory that Moses has
to cover his face. When I hear verses about God setting our feet on the rock, I
think there is a connection with this stone. To stand on the 10 Words is to stand
on the unchanging words and commands of God.

In the New Testament, the glory of the stone inscribed with words is surpassed by
an even greater glory: the heart that is inscribed with the Word. Jesus comes as a
fulfillment of the stone for now the 10 Words are united in a single Word made
flesh.

This word completes, fulfills and reveals the Law. Jesus leaves us with a promise
that we will be united with Him by the Holy Spirit. Paul continues Jesus’ theme in
Romans by writing about how we are united with Christ in death and resurrection.
Then in 2 Corinthians, we read about the glory of the Law in stone is now
surpassed by a glory of the Law in flesh: not simply Jesus’ flesh, but our flesh.

The Spirit is writing the Law in our hearts, and we are moving from “glory to
glory.” Eventually, we will see the image face to face:

7 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as
by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:7-18

The other Hebrew word used for the Law here is mishpatim. This word has to do with
the ability to judge. James Jordan understands wisdom as the ability to judge
between good and evil. We see Solomon practicing wisdom in judging between two
prostitutes with similar stories. He speaks and by the power of his word, reveals
the liar (thus judging between good and evil).

This power to judge is directly tied to ruling. If we cannot judge, we will be


like the simpleton who cannot distinguish between the house of lady wisdom whose
house leads to life (Proverbs 4, 8 and 9) and the foolish woman whose house leads
to death (Proverbs 4, 5, and 7).

There is a path that leads to the house of lady wisdom and a path that leads to
the house of the foolish woman (Proverbs 4:18-19). One leads into the full light
of day and the other stumbles further and further into darkness.

We see Israel walking into the light of day from David to Solomon’s rule and
stumbling into darkness from Solomon to Zedekiah’s rule (although some kings in
between do walk in light, the overall movement of the nation is a descent into
darkness).

As I begin to wrap around this idea of rule and wisdom and the path of wisdom vs.
the path of foolishness, I can see references to the law throughout the Psalms and
prophets and more. There are multiple a references to walking in the path, I will
show you the way,” do not turn to the left or right, the road to righteousness,
the path of holiness, standing on the rock, and so on. I would suggest all these
references are rooted in observance to the Law (meditation upon and obedience to
the commandments).

Just a reminder, we do not simply go back to Deuteronomy 5 to meditate upon the


Law. We have hear the same rhythms in Matthew 5 and other sermons by Jesus as well
as the letters from Paul and others. These are not a bunch of regulations we post.
Rather, we ruminate and reflect on them. We walk according to them. The Spirit
teaches us them.

We enter into the heart of them: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. In some ways, the New
Testament is an extended reflection upon the fulfillment of the Law in Jesus
Christ and through His cross, and how it now is revealed in the midst of His
people and in the midst of the world.

Live, and go in and possess the land – Moses ties the Law directly to the action
of entering, possessing and living in the land. The Law is the wisdom that gives
Israel boldness to enter the Land (because the covenant-making YHWH stands behind
it with promises of a His faithfulness).

Observance of the Law is connected with Israel’s fear of God. As they walk in the
fear of God, other nations fear them. For they bear the name and the power of YHWH
(who makes mountains melt and by a single word causes the earth to melt).

Observance of the Law is essential for Israel to dwell in the fullness of God’s
provision as they live in the land. In other places, Moses will predict that in
prosperity, Israel will forget the source of blessing and quit observing the Law.
This forgetfulness will cause God to forget them, thus allowing their enemies to
overtake them.

Paul quite possibly gives us a poetic reinterpretation of this phrase by quoting a


poet of his day. In his sermon to the idolatrous philosophers, Paul says “in Him
we live and move and have our being.” Jesus, the fulfillment of the Law, is the
source of our courage and power and prosperity. We are blessed in Him and live in
Him and live to glorify Him in all things.

LORD God of your fathers – Moses reminds the people that the source of the Law is
not some oppressing dictator, but the covenant-making God who remembers His
promises. LORD or YHWH is a covenant name for God, which connects with His
faithfulness to the promise. The Creator God made a promise and cut a covenant
with father Abraham. This covenant promise was renewed with Isaac and then again
with Jacob. Now as the children of Israel look at how the Creator God did in fact
remember his promises to the ancestors, they can call Him YHWH for he has
demonstrated His covenant faithfulness again and again.

We are brought into this family of Abraham through the covenant faithfulness of
Jesus. Jesus answer’s YHWH’s faithfulness to man by becoming the man who is
completely faithful to YHWH. In Jesus, we enter into this circle of covenant
faithful love. In Jesus, we enjoy the fruist and healing blessings associated with
the covenant, and in Jesus we are transformed by the Spirit in the covenant
faithful people, revealing the fruit of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). This
fruit reveals the fulfillment of the Law in us by the power of the Spirit.

Giving You – The land that Israel will soon possess does not come through their
own efforts, their own righteousness or their own prowess. It comes as pure gift.

While they must possess and follow the prescribed ways of possessing each area,
they are simply obeying the Father who is giving them the gift.

For those who think grace suddenly appears in the New Testament as opposed to the
Law in the Old Testament, they should go back and reread the Old (especially
Deuteronomy). As we read and reflect on the rhythm of the Law, we realize it is
gift. It is grace.

It is grace stretching and reaching forward. To what? To the fulfillment. When


Jesus comes, he fulfills the striving and longing of law. This law is incomplete
until it is fully enfleshed by God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

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