“The LORD is God” (Deut 4)

Deuteronomy 4:1-43
Key verse 4:39-40

In chapters 1-3, Moses recalled their experiences with God in a chronological framework. He first reminded Israel of their failure to trust in God (Ch 1) and then their victory after their wandering in the wilderness for 38 years (Chs 2-3). Moses said all this to encourage them to put their trust in God that he would fight for them in the land they were about to enter. Chapters 5-26 expound the Law and the rest of the book is the ratification of the covenant with them. Chapter 4 sets the tone for the declaration of the Law, recollecting God’s special relationship with Israel. In today’s passage, Moses teaches them to remember God’s deed for them in history and to follow his words so that they will live well in the land. I pray that we may learn the meaning of following his word and its importance.

The Law as the foundation of the nation

1 Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

Previously Moses reminded them of their experiences with God in history. Now based on the historical facts, Moses is commanding Israel to follow the decrees and laws that he is about to teach them. The decrees (statutes) prescribe or enact things moral, ritual or civil while the laws (judgments) are about a judicial decision. These two are collectively called the Law and in this passage, they are mentioned as God’s commands or his words.

The reason Moses teaches them the Law is that they may live and go into the land. It is not to burden them or restrict them. The Law is the minimum laws they must keep as God’s people. So they must not add to it or subtract from it according to their needs. The Law is divine and complete. Nothing must be added or detracted from it. It is absolute. God has given them the Law so that they may live. So they must follow it for their life. Only if they follow God’s word, they will live and be successful in the land.

In Num 25, Israel had a sexual relationship with Moabite women and followed the Baal of Peor. (Num 25) God was angry with them and struck them with the plague and 24,000 people died. (Nu 25:9) But there were others who did not die and were going to enter the Promised Land because they held fast to God. They kept themselves away from the sin and followed God’s word. This incident shows that if they hear and follow the word of God in the land, they will live in the same way. It also implies that if they fail, they will perish.

5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”   

Once again Moses stresses that their success will hinge on their obedience to God’s word. The word of God shows their wisdom and understanding. Other nations who hear about God’s word will envy them and praise God because they have never heard such wisdom and understanding.

When Queen Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to God, she visited Israel. After meeting with Solomon, she was impressed so much by Solomon’s wisdom, which God gave, and confessed, “8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:8-9)

Israel has a privilege to have God near them and pray to him. So by keeping the word of God, Israel will be distinguished from other nations and will become outstanding over other nations as a holy nation.

Here we can learn that the foundation and success of Israel lies in the obedience to God’s word, which gives them wisdom and discernment. In the same way, our happiness depends on whether we hear and follow God’s word or not. Hearing and following his word is the most important key to our happy and successful life as an individual, as a family, as a church, or as a nation. But Moses does not say that just knowing the word of God will make them successful, but hearing and following his word will make them happy. Taking his word to our heart and obeying it saves us and makes us truly wise and happy.

 In that sense, it is way better to believe and obey even one word than to know much of the Bible. I have seen many people happy when they hold fast to one word of God at work, in school or wherever they go. God says that we will live if we hear and follow his word. My first experience with God was when I gave my lunch money for weeks to God for the maintenance of the Bible center 37 years ago. I did so because the Bible says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” (Matt 6:33) Though I was hungry, I was so happy because I experienced God’s presence with me for the first time in my life. This helped me trust his word whenever I made big decisions. When I left my county to be a missionary, people said that I was crazy. But now I knew I was right because I did so in obedience to God’s word. We should build our life based on the word of God. Then, God will bless you so much. Jesus said in Matt 7:24, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” But those who build their life on something else, Jesus said that they are foolish.

The two things they ought not to do

Moses has encouraged Israel to obey God’s word continually in the land. Now he is telling them two things they ought not to do in the land.

First, they must not forget the things their eyes have seen. They must not let them fade from their heart as long as they live. What are they?  

10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.

Moses is talking about their encounter with the Holy God at Mount Horeb. Horeb was the place where God met with Israel and made a covenant with them. He appeared to them in a fire with black clouds and deep darkness. Then he spoke to them out of the fire. But they saw no form but heard only a voice. This was an awesome experience for them. They had never heard any god speaking to them. It was an amazing experience to hear God’s voice and see his glory with their eyes. And God established a relationship with them through the covenant and gave them the Ten Commandments. He even wrote them on two stone tablets – probably one copy for Israel and another copy for God, as his covenant document with Israel. When they heard God’s voice, they were afraid to come to God. But after they made a covenant with God, they could come near the Holy God and their fear turned into joy (Ex 24:16).

Why then did God give them the Law in such an awesome way? Moses says in verse 10 that it was such that they might revere God. God wanted them to respect him in fear and worship him as God. The reason he gave them the Law was to show them how holy he is. In other words, the Law was given so that they might know God’s holiness and fear him and that he could have a holy relationship with them.  

As such, the Law was given them not to obey it blindly but to revere him in a covenantal relationship. When Abraham was tested to offer his only son Isaac, he did not hesitate to obey it though it did not make sense at all humanly speaking. When he was about to sacrifice his son, God’s angel stopped him and said, “Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Gen 22:12) Why did the angel say that Abraham feared God? It was because he obeyed God’s word. Obeying God’s word is fearing God. (Deut 6:2, 24; 31:13; Ecc 12:13) By obeying his word, we learn to revere God. And when we revere him, he is so happy to bless us as he blessed Abraham when he revered him by obeying his word. In other words, the reason we obey his word is that we trust him, respect him, fear him, and honor him. Remember that Adam failed because he did not obey God’s word with lack of fear of God. But Jesus obeyed God’s word even to the point of death on the cross and restore the broken relationship between God and man.

The Law was given to restore human race from their failure by revering God. In the same way, the Bible is set before us so that we may obey it and learn to revere him so the creation order may be restored. It is a great blessing and privilege that we have the word of God.     

This generation lacks the reverence of God, even among believers. That is the most serious problem. That is why Moses stressed that Israel parents must teach their children the word of God. These days, many children do not like the Bible study. Regardless, it is parents’ obligation to teach them the word of God even if they don’t listen. If not, they will perish. They must learn to revere God by obeying his word, and they may live.

As such, Moses has encouraged Israel not to lose their fear of God in the land. If they revere him, they will live.

The second thing they must not do in the land is making idols. Here Moses said two things about idol: first, do not make any images of God; second, do not worship others other than God.

15 You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.

At Horeb, they saw God speaking out of the fire. They saw no form but heard his voice. God is divine and invisible. Moses warns that they must not attempt to represent God in a physical form. Why? It is because making an image of any shape is an attempt to degrade God’s almighty. God has no shape or appearance because he is transcendent, omnipresent and infinite. But humans try to make images of God foolishly in an attempt to contain or limit God. So all religions have some kind of forms or images for worship. That way, they think that they can see their gods and feel secure. Just after Exodus while Moses was in Mount Horeb, Israel made an image and called it as their God who brought them out of Egypt. (Ex 32:8) God was so angry with Israel because they dishonored him and disgusted him.

19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

Moses also says that they must not bow down to the sky, the sun, the moon, and stars and worship them. He warns them not to be enticed into worship things God created. They are not God.

 As we can see, idol worship is what God is most concerned about because it will not only distort and compromise the nature of God but also take Israel away from his word, which is the cause of our transgression. Moses was also worried about it because he would not go into the land with them. If they become corrupt and make any kinds of idols, they will quickly perish and will be scattered among many nations and worship their gods according to the covenant (Lev 26; Deut 28). Sadly, this happened later. Israel was enticed to Baal worship in the land so much. In king Ahab’s time, most of God’s prophets were killed. And that was the reason Israel perished and was eventually exiled.

But that was not the end of the story. Though God punished them, he did not forsake them forever.

29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

If they repent and seek him with all their heart and soul, they will find him because he is a merciful God. He never forgets his covenant with them. Though Israel broke the covenant, God did not.

Why then is Moses talking about idol worship so seriously? Spiritual corruption begins when the word of God is replaced with something else and idol worship is the most dangerous among them. So the first and the second of the Ten Commandments are about idol worship. Church corruption began when she put the word of God aside and instead brought in tradition, building, rituals, human authority, and pagan practices since the 4^th century. Protestant church criticized that the Catholic Church put their tradition over the word of God. But ironically, the protestant church is not much different from the Catholic Church in terms of church practice. They think that God is in the church building. They decorate their church building so beautifully but the building is void of the word of God. It is an idol worship. Idols seek something visible and so go against the word of God. Remember that God reveals himself through his word.  

So far, Moses has encouraged Israel to obey God’s word and also warned them not to forget their fear of God and replace God with idols. 

Acknowledge that the Lord is God

32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

These verses so beautifully and powerfully remind Israel of what God has done for them. He has done amazing things in a very distinguished way. They are privileged to know God’s creation. They heard the voice of the Holy God but lived. God trained them and raised them up by signs and wonders, by troubles, and by his almighty power. He has proved his love relationship with Israel by deed and word. It is much more than they deserve. Why has God done these wonderful things for Israel?

35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; beside him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth, he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.

He has done all this so that they may know that the Lord is God. What does it mean that the Lord is God? That means that only the Lord is true and living God. The word God in Hebrew is Elohim, which refers to the power of God. The word Lord is Yahweh in Hebrew, which means who exists by himself. This name was known to Israel for the first time when they were Egypt. The name indicates that God is the Creator Almighty God. The name Yahweh also indicates in history that God is faithful to his covenant. He appeared to Israel according to his covenant with their ancestors – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He said “I am the LORD” so many times. And when he struck down Egypt, he repeatedly said, “I am the LORD.” (Ex 6:2,6,7,8,29;7:7,17;10:2;12:12;14:4,18;15:26;16:13;20:2;29:46;31:13) For example, God said in Ex 29:46, “They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.”

No god is more powerful than the Lord Yahweh. No god makes a covenant with his or her worshipers. Actually, they are nothing. But the Lord Yahweh is Elohim. He is the Creator. He exists by himself in eternity. He reveals this to Israel through his word and his deed in history.

In the land Israel will enter is full of idols. Particularly, Baal was a most popular god who they believed controlled the weather and thus their fertility. But he is not God. The Lord Yahweh is God – the true and only God who cares for his people and must be honored and glorified.

39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

This is the conclusion of the passage. Moses says again that the Lord is God. There is no other. Only he is true God. Only he deserves our worship and our obedience. Therefore, Israel must keep shis words. Then they will live.

This God is also our God. He spoke to Israel out of fire. But today he is speaking to us through his Son Jesus. (Heb 1:2) By his death and resurrection, Jesus manifested God’s power and his love for sinners. Now God speaks to us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit, the Spirt of Jesus. He is the Lord. He is God. There is no other! He loves you so much. He concerns about you. He wants you to live not to perish. 

Let’s acknowledge that he is your God. Beside him, there is no other. This God wants you to live. So he wants you to obey his word and learn to revere him. He wants to bless you. Let’s remember what he has done for you, especially through Jesus Christ who died on the cross for your sins. He has made a new covenant with you and will never give up on you. We follow him and obey his word because of his covenantal relationship with us. Again, the blessed life lies in the obedience to God’s word. I pray that all of us here may learn to revere him by holding fast to his word in school, at work, at home and wherever you go and whatever situation you are in. Praise God for blessing us through his word so that we may live. By David Yun