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Deuteronomy chapter 12. This chapter will be observing Moses preaching and calling Israel to a worship that is pleasing to God. Worship is a really big deal in Christian circles and Christian community. You get conferences and we go to them and we learn from them and what we do as a gathered people, usually on Sundays, is a big deal. Worship is a big deal in our relationship between God and His people. You just read the Old Testament and how much God regulated and required a certain response to Him in worship. And yet, we come to the New Testament, worship is so much more than we tend to realize. We tend to confine it to certain times and spaces and places. Worship in the Old Testament was strictly regulated to could and could not do and when and under what circumstances. Our opening verse then makes the connection between what has gone before, in the chapter before, and what will be taking up today. Moses spoke and wrote these words, these are the statutes and rules you should be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days that you live on the earth. Now, we can see from this that the Mosaic Covenant Law was comprised of different types of commands. But the imperative here is to be careful to do. That is the essence of the law. You must do. And the Mosaic Law is tied to the land. The blessing and the curse were flowing out of the land they were to possess. There is an in-the-land focus to the law that God gave to Israel through Moses. And that is why the ejection from the land in the Babylonian captivity was such an important event. This comes to us in the New Testament, where we live with an anticipation of the return of Christ and the realization of the new creation. Our walk with God and our worship of God is not tied to the land, to the place and space in which we live. It is tied to what is yet to come, to something that we anticipate. The land was given by God, but they were to go in and possess it. God had promised, but faith was required. That is, they had to believe God in an obeying way. They actually had to go in the land and defeat those who held it. But thank God for grace where God's promises are delivered by God in His time and in His way and by faith. We believe in these promises and thus we are empowered by the Spirit. But we also, by faith, live and obey the truths of the word of God given to us, sometimes as indicative, declarative sentences, this is just true, and sometimes as imperatives, as commands, this is what we must do. And the command for Jewish people to keep the law was a lifelong obligation. But that came to an end with the death and resurrection of Christ. Now, Moses then moves into the commands and instructions that focus on the public worship of the Lord in the context of being surrounded by pagan worship and practice. So we begin in verses 1-14 with the purification of covenant worship. Now it starts then with the destruction of pagan worship in verses 2-4. God gave instructions to destroy all the places of pagan worship. Verse 2, you shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods. On the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars, dash to pieces their pillars, and burn their asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods, and destroy their name out of that place. And you shall not worship the Lord your God in that way." Now, Israel, as they entered the land, was to utterly destroy the places and the idols that the pagan nations worshipped. This is a non-negotiable. Yet, through their history, there were times of passionate cleansing out of the pagan idols. But from the times of the judges, until the exile to Babylon, Israel repeatedly worshipped the pagan gods. Often, they not only did not destroy the sacred groves, or tear down the false idols, but they built them. They manufactured them themselves. They preserved them. And even worshipped them. Now the point of desecrating their places of worship is that is where their names were remembered. Verse 2 to verse 3. See the pagan cultures believe that in the name lay the being and power of any person God and that is why the name of God the name of our God was to be revered and held in honor but it was also the reason the names of the false gods were not to be respected nor be honored such beliefs and thinking about names still evident today particularly in Islam you see that where there is a great concern about the desecrating of the name of Muhammad. Now several important observations we can draw from this. First, God requires exclusive worship of his people. He requires the dismantling of the means of worship that unbelievers use. And in the freedom that God has given us, we must still be thoughtful and wise about our own worship of God. And yes, we live a life of worship, but we also assemble together for worship. In both our lives and in our gatherings, we must be sure that all the ways in which we are before the face of God, we are pleasing to God. Whether it's here in this room, or whether it's in your car, or whether it's in your home, or whether it's at work, that your life of worship is pleasing to God. And we must not incorporate pagan ways of worship into our lives and gatherings. This is much more subtle than what the Israelites faced, No one is arguing that we should put a Buddha on the platform, right? This is what Paul is talking about in several texts. Listen to Romans 12, 1 and 2. He wrote, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. See, there it is. Presenting our bodies is how we worship spiritually. Now here's the negative side of that. Do not be conformed to this world, and here's the positive, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect. Since we have died and been raised with Christ, we are not to allow the world, the pagan thinking and values of our culture, to shape our lives and gatherings. This is, in this covenant, equivalent of what God was commanding in the Old Covenant. Rather, we know what God's will is from His Word. And then we live with insight and discernment and wisdom in the world we live in. So that causes me to ask a question for you to think carefully over your own life. In what ways is your own lifestyle Shaped by the values and thinking of the world around us. Notice then the location of godly worship in verses 5-14. So there is the tearing down of where the pagans worship. But God commanded to worship only at the place. It's a singular. The place that God will choose. Verse 5. You shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put His name and make His habitation there. There you shall go. There you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you." Now, clearly we see a not this, but this, right? So verse 5 is in anticipation of the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He's looking forward. He doesn't name it yet. He doesn't know it yet. But he knows that God is going to do so. Jerusalem then would be the home of the temple and the home of the monarchy. At this point, Israel is told to worship there. When God identifies that place, it is to become the center. The life of the nation. The pagan false religions had sacred groves scattered everywhere across the territories they held. Why? Well, because the greater the God, the greater the number of sacred places. And the sacred places became evidence that the God was worshipped, obeyed, honored in that place. Israel was to be different. God is the Lord of the universe. He does not have to conquer land or people by establishing sacred spaces. Israel was to conquer the land and then establish a central place to which they were to go and from which God would rule his people. What about us? Do we have designated places of worship that are commanded by God and authorized by God in the same way as in the Old Testament? The answer is no, we do not. There are no sacred places and there are no sacred spaces in the New Covenant. Listen to Jesus' interaction with the woman at the well who has presented a, where are we to worship question. John 4, verses 19 through 26. The woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you say that Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship, with good reason, by the way. And Jesus said to her woman, believe me, the hour is coming, when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. The hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Oh, and said to Him, well, I know the Messiah is coming, He who is called Christ. When He comes, He will tell us all things. And Jesus said to her, I who speak to you, Am he. What is required is the sacred space of a regenerated heart. What is required is not outward form, but inward reality. Yes, we gather in facilities. We have our main meeting in an auditorium. This is not a sanctuary. There's no altar here. There are no symbols of our faith to be put on walls or hung around our necks. The biblical symbols of Christianity are the two ordinates, baptism and the Lord's table. For we believers are the living temple. When the gathering is over, the church goes home. When the gathering is over, the living temple goes home. Now, in the Old Covenant then, in the Old Testament, in this text, Moses then moves to the focus of covenant worship. Not these kinds of places, but the place that God will designate. But now, what is to be done? Now, realize this is a summary, an overview, and it's really actually focused on something in a narrow way. So connected to the sacred place of worship is the central place of food and sacrifice. This is establishing how Israel was to think about the meat they were allowed to eat and to make a difference in what they were required to sacrifice. This is emphasized because Israel has mostly, during the last 40 years, eaten what? Manna. They've eaten manna. A thousand recipes for manna. And now, they're not only being allowed, but they're actually being encouraged to eat meat, but within guidelines. Verses 15 to 19, here is the focus of covenant worship in regards to food and to sacrifice. Verse 15, however you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord, your God, that He has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it as of the gazelle and as of the deer, only you shall not eat the blood, you shall pour it out on the earth like water. You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, or of your wine, or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd, or of your flock, or of any of your vow offerings, that you vow your free will offerings or the contribution that you present, you shall eat them Before the Lord your God in that place, the Lord your God will choose you and your son and your daughter and your male servant and your female servant and the Levite who is within your towns. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God and all that you undertake. Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land. Now, here is what we usually associate with kosher law. Elsewhere God has established what meat they can and cannot eat. But He has also established what is clean and can be offered as a sacrifice. And what is not clean and must not be brought. So they can eat deer, but you can't offer it. Just as an example. And all God's people said Amen to venison. all the animals they were allowed to eat, but they must drain the blood, and they must not eat the meat with the blood still in it. They are commanded not to eat, though, what was owed to the Lord." Do you hear distinctions being made? You can freely eat all of this in your homes and towns. But what is owed to the Lord, you bring to the Lord. And it doesn't matter what it was, animal, bird, grain, or oil. If it was a part of the first fruits, the tithe, then they were not to consume it. It was reserved for the Lord. There are portions of the sacrifices that could be eaten, but they were only to be eaten in the designated places, on the designated offerings, in the designated way. Which was all spelled out in the Levitical code. What's interesting though is that in this, heart attitudes are addressed. Obedience was not to be self-centered. It was to be done with Godward joy. It was to be celebrated, mindful of the Levites who lived nearby. See, the Levites had no inheritance. They had no land. They were dependent on the generosity of the people to provide for them. That's mostly what the tithe went to, was to support the operations of the temple and to support all those who served in the temple as Levites. So what does the New Testament say about the food we eat? We live under food regulations. It's interesting that in the same way that Gentiles are now an integral part of the kingdom of God, we are no longer bound to the law. Consider, and I'll give you just one or two if you look in the notes. There's quite a few more. The seminal one is in Acts 10 verses 9 through 16. The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop in the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat. But while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance. And he saw the heavens open, and something like a great sheet descended, being let down its four corners upon the earth. And in it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. Peter said, by no means, Lord. I always love when Peter argues with God. By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice came to him again a second time. What God has made clean, do not call common. This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. Now the point of this is that Peter was to accept into the kingdom Gentile people. But it wouldn't make any sense if God had not also set aside the dietary laws of the Old Testament. In 1 Timothy 4 verse 3, there's a condemnation of those who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the Word of God and prayer. And there are many other texts like that. particularly when it comes to Christian liberty, in which some may eat, in which some choose not to eat this or that, we are not to impose our own conscience on others and to lord it over them, while at the same time we are to honor with joy and welcome those who have now our views than our own. So, Then in regarding to meat and to blood, verses 20 through 28. So he's regulated what they could eat, that they could eat all the meat, but they could not eat what was owed to the Lord. And yet when they brought it to the Lord, some of it was being allowed. But Moses gives emphasis on not consuming blood. It's an interesting emphasis. And the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you. And you say, I will eat meat because you crave meat. You may eat meat wherever you desire. And if the place the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, then you may kill any of the herd of your flock which the Lord has given you as I've commanded you. And you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. Just as the gazelle, the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it, the unclean and the clean alike, you may eat of it. Only be sure. that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. You shall not eat it, you shall pour it out on the earth like water. You shall not eat it, that all may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. But the holy things that are due from you and your vow offerings you shall take, and you shall go to the place that the Lord shall choose. You shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God, The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but the flesh you may eat. Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God." Now here is a repetition of the earlier commands, but there is a greater emphasis on not eating the blood and the meat. Now the old covenant rationale for it is argued. The blood is the life of the flesh. This is pointing us to the life of Christ represented in the blood. The blood was to be poured out like water. This is pointing us to Jesus whose blood was poured out on the cross signifying the pouring out of his life to pay the penalty for his people. The blood is to be poured out on the altar when making a sacrifice. This points us to Jesus, whose outpoured life was the full and final sacrifice for our sins. Moses told them, be careful to obey. His commands related to food and blood and sacrifice were essential for national, personal, and family blessing of God's people. What God commanded them, they must be careful to obey. What God commanded here covered the sin of not carefully obeying when offered in faith. You see, our biggest problem is not our finances and our emotions, our relationships, our mental or emotional struggles. Our biggest problem is our sin and sins. We have a bad heart and a bad record. We stand under the judgment of God. We've incurred the wrath of God. But God has made a way to settle the judgment, to pour out His wrath, and to pay the debt. All was done through the blood of Christ, through this outpoured life for us. He was raised again for us. He ever lives in heaven for us. This is the gospel. And this is the good news. The simple acts of the old covenant are types, pictures, they're symbols of the divine and spiritual reality. And this is what you must believe. You must be willing to bow to the one who has done all this for his people. But in the closing of corruption of worship, in verses 29-32, we come to God's greatest concern. It was a concern of God for Israel, it's still a concern for us today. There's a clear warning in verses 29-30. Moses issues a stern command against adopting the practices of the nations. Verse 29, When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations, when you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them. They have been destroyed before you. And that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, I wonder how these nations serve their gods, that I also might do the same. Israel was to be very careful that they were not ensnared or trapped into following the pagan ways and the false gods of the people. How could that happen? They would get curious. They would inquire, investigate. They would ask questions that would lead them into idolatry. And Paul warns us in the New Testament about the very same kinds of dangers for Christians. The devil has traps or snares for believers. 2 Timothy 2, verses 24 to 26. There are sins and evils that are not to be examined or in fact even spoken about. Ephesians 5, 11-14. Peter and Paul both exhort leaders and followers to avoid certain kinds of discussions and inquiries which will not be profitable people and which will lead to errors and sins. I know people who have done just that. The guys are breeding and investigating, they become ensnared, and have now moved from, I think one man in particular, a leader in reformed movement, has now joined the Catholic Church and preaches against the Reformation. How did that happen? Began reading New Perspective on Paul. We need to be careful. And there are many texts that call us to think about this, but there's a reason for Israel in verse 31. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. For every abominable thing that the Lord hates, they have done for their gods. For they even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Now with children present, I want to be careful. We often think of idolatry as wrong, and we should, but you know, it's relatively benign. Idolatry is incredibly dangerous and degrading. To worship the creation or creature leads to depraved minds and depraved behaviors, Romans 1, 16-25. Many of the people groups in Canaan were involved in worship of Baal. which involved live infant human sacrifice to the God of fire. Yet over her history, Israel repeatedly got involved in Baal worship and in the worship of the fertility gods, the Asherah or the Ashtoreths. Now, in the Western world, we're not usually tempted to physical idols that function as religion. Hopefully, none of you have a squatting Buddha statue or a multi-armed Shiva shield in your home. Statues of gods and idols from other countries, though, are not benign. As has been said, most idols worshipped by Christians are not up on the shelf, but are in the self. We tend toward heart idols. A heart idol is anything that we serve or worship above the God of heaven. Heart idols usually function as deeply controlling wants and cravings. Many of them are rooted in pride and self-centeredness. The most powerful diagnosis of our heart idols is when we want something or someone so much that we will send to get it or send when we do not have it. Therefore, even good wants often become hard titles because we do not submit to the providence of God and therefore do not want, in this moment, what God wants for us. Two closing exhortations in verse 32. Everything that I command you shall be careful to do And you shall not add to it or take from it." That's interesting, isn't it? First, give serious attention to obeying God. They were to obey God through a careful attention to the Mosaic Law. We obey God by giving careful attention to the commands of the New Testament. Giving careful attention to obey God is not legalism. It is simply for us. A grace-enabled, Spirit-empowered holiness. And second, Stay on the line of the word of God. Do not add to it, lest you fall into legalism. Do not take away from it, lest you fall into liberalism. Both will lead to not pleasing God. God's people must always take God's words seriously. So may God help us to give careful attention to the scriptures that we might walk in a way and live in a way that's pleasing to Him. Well, I know I'm a little long. I think the fore part of our service was a bit longer than usual. But I do want to challenge you. First, what is God like? What do we observe? Our God is the one and only true deity. You say, well, you don't have to say that. Yes, I do. We live in a pluralistic world which tries to make the God of the scriptures one among many other gods. And that is simply false. It is not true. Therefore, our God is worthy of our worship. He can command us, He can call us, but the great thing is that He enables us to worship Him. What is God concerned about? What do we see are central to God's concerns in this chapter? First, God is concerned that our lives and hearts not be driven by what is false. He is the God of truth, and He hates when people live by lies. And God is concerned that His people obey Him, that they conform their lives to the truths and the commands that He has given them. And so therefore, how do we worship God? Do we bring tithes and offerings? Do we bring to an altar? Do we bring live sacrifices? Do we have priests? Do we have a central place of worship to which we must come and from which God rules? No, we have none of that. So how do we worship? We worship God in spirit and truth. The underlying reality of our relationship with God is in our hearts, it's in our inner persons, it's in what we believe. And yes, it expresses itself outwardly in physical ways of life and living and behaving. feelings, and even in expressions of praise and adoration in our public gatherings. We too often talk as though what we do in our public gatherings is worship and the rest of our lives is not. This is false. Our whole lives are worship. They are living a Godward and God-aware life. They are lived to be lived, to be pleasing to Him, and that is worship. What we do in our public gatherings is not more, but it is also not less. It is a great joy to live before the face of God. It is a great joy to gather with you and hear God's Word to us and to sing God's truths to one another and to the Lord. But the important question rises from the emphasis in this text. What will you do with your heart idols? You must recognize your beliefs and wants that are driving your actions and emotions. Many of them are good, godly, spirit-enabled, and some are deep cravings that turn good things into bad masters. You must identify where your sins are arising from not bowing to God's providences. What are those areas that what you want, and even a good thing, you want so much, you'll sin to get it, or sin when you don't have it. and the fundamental question in all of the Bible, will you worship God of heaven alone? Let's pray. Blessed to us this your word, may the spirit take these truths, plant them deep into our hearts, that these truths will spring up and grow in our hearts and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit and the virtues that you require and that you grant. And Lord, I pray that we would examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, and if we are in the faith, are we living according to the Word. In Jesus' name, amen.
Law: The Covenant Worship
ស៊េរី Deuteronomy
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