In our study of Deuteronomy, we're in chapter 6. Beginning 6 again? We're in the middle of 6. I think we're going to start with verse 13. And again, this is Moses. Moses has gone through a lot, like we all go through a lot. We all go through a lot with different things that happen to us and around us. And Moses is giving the children of Israel, the second generation, I'm going to call it the Joshua generation. He's reviewing the law, specifically these 10 commandments. 40 years previously, they had heard the law given to them, when it was given to them at Mount Sinai, given to Moses on Mount Sinai. And the children of Israel, they had their ups and downs, and it seems like there's more downs than ups. But nonetheless, God has not cast away his people. There is a plan, there is a future. for Israel. I mean, the church has not has not replaced Israel. But we are in this time period. When we have we're from from the time we have next thing is the the rapture. And at that when the rapture occurs, when the meeting of the clouds happens, that first phase of the Lord Jesus Christ's Heavenly Coming, first phase meaning, in a doctrinal sense, it's called the Rapture, but He's still coming, He's coming in the atmosphere of the clouds for the Church. exposed to the second phase when he's coming with his saints to the earth. Between those two phases, we have what's called Daniel's 70th week, sometimes it's called the Tribulation period, a seven-year time period. And so Moses here is giving the children of Israel, refreshing for them, refreshing their minds what the law was, what God expects of them. So let's start with verse 13. Tammy, you want to read verse 13, please? Chapter 6. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you. Lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. Let's read another three verses. And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord God swear unto thy fathers." Now, going back here to verse 13, this word fear, fear the Lord thy God. In what sense were they to fear God? In what sense are we to fear God? By application. Reverence. So fear in the sense of reverence. And actually, fear... Well, thank you so much. Are those new glasses? Oh wait, how can they be new? The arms... I'm just looking, I'm like, wait... Last week they had the arm on. Were they new but the arm was on? I just never saw them on before. No, they were new. I just never saw him on you before. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be my... I was just trying to see something better and then we got in this side conversation about my missing temple on my glasses here, my reading glasses. So you're saying reverence him. The word fear means the reverence. But there may be an actual trembling, you know, at the Word of God. I mean, the idea of what He commands we're responsible for. Yes, ma'am. And the Lord can impress us with the reality of His commands. Yes. I mean, the idea of... I remember sometimes if we're struggling with something and the Lord wants us to either give it up or to commit to doing something and we're not doing that, we can have that struggle and it can become march it could serve as a distraction or if you become the main focus of your mind instead of the thing that god wants you to focus on like certain times that's not what i'm saying oh no something had to happen immediately okay you're saying something different that's the only reason why it's relating that way i'm just saying that if there's something the lord's convicting us about you know, the Lord can kind of be like with Moses, because he knew he was supposed to circumcise his sons, and he didn't. And so the Lord sought to slay him, it said. And then his wife ended up circumcising the sons. So, but I mean, he wasn't, there was a separation in fellowship. So there was that constant conviction, and more than just constant conviction, there had been other things. And they were disregarding what God said. I mean, that's a big... As though it's an option. Far from fearing Him, they were not doing that at all yet. As an option, yeah. I mean, when I first was saved, I remember the man that, you know, basically first shared, well I shouldn't say first shared, but he shared the gospel and that's when I got saved. Because I heard it for many years when, you know, my mom had sent me to vacation bible school so I heard the gospel even though my mom really rejected it. But she still still sent you so yeah which is a conviction to a certain degree or something on her part otherwise she wouldn't be sending you she knew it was good for you otherwise she wouldn't send you even though she was not accepting the Lord as her savior. she definitely didn't and it was she didn't accept the message there were different things my friends were also very against but um anyway he he basically talked about um he was with Bible Fellowship and with Cedar Heights Baptist Church. He shared about how the Lord was convicting him about some matter. I don't know what it was. It became just this battleground between he and the Lord. He just couldn't do it anymore. He just had to I mean, it could be something that he does or something that he doesn't do, depending on what it was. You know, I don't remember him saying anything about what it was. I prayed, like, this is my own personal experience, my own prayer life, but I prayed for certain people, like, Lord, you know, I want them to become saved, please help them become saved, even if they have to hit rock bottom. Like, in other words, like, I guess in an instance where, you know, they are not obeying the Lord or, I mean, because they don't know better because they're not saved, okay? But they're not doing what they should, and they're not, they're going their own way, but they're doing, going so far off the beaten path, they're so, so far away to the point that they're hitting rock bottom to the point where they have no other choice but to surrender whatever they're going through to the Lord. You know, certain people are like that, you know. Well, everybody is. Everybody is, you know. To a point, you know. Some people don't all get on the verge of dying where they accept the Lord, extreme rock bottom, but into a point, yeah. But I'm just saying, some people get to that point where they're like, oh, wow, and they just accept it. My father, on his deathbed, for example, accepted the Lord. There's different things that hold all of us. Yeah, we're all different. And the Lord has to work in our lives and our hearts. And He knows all of us. So He knows what we need. And so, we're going to fear the God, be sure of Him, and... What verse are we on now? Verse 13. Verse 13. You should not go after other gods? You should not go after other gods. The gods are the people which are around about you. And so, what are examples of other gods? Other gods are gods of stone, gods of wood, gods of earth. In particular, images, idols, and so forth. That's what the heathen people would have. and could be the gods of the peoples that lived near them. I mean, in the case of Israel, when they came back to the captives, when they came back to Israel, the land of Jerusalem, to build the temple and to build the wall, they were intermarrying. Yes, they were. with the people of the other lands, and it was because of that intermarriage that the people's hearts were being turned away from the Lord, and they began to worship other gods. Yes, and so they were commanded specifically, in that instance, not to intermarry, not to marry strange people. We have, going back early on in the ministry of Esau, It's like a little leavened the whole lump. They marry those strange people and their corrupt ways and what have you rubbed off on them. More than rubbed off on them. But you know. It took them in the wrong direction. They began to serve false gods. I mean Solomon had the problem of being turned away from, in a strange way, being influenced by the false gods of his wives. Going after the women. His wives, concubines, because they were not they were not Jewish people they didn't understand Judaism even when you do understand Judaism even when you are within the Jewish culture they weren't welcoming it either No, they were not In the case of Ruth and Orpah these women were Moabite Moabitish women the two sons should have never married Naomi's two sons should have never married them But they did, and the two sons died, and Ruth was loyal to them. to Naomi. But not only that, but she had come to trust the Lord. Yes, she did. She said, my God, it's my God. Yes, and so this is an exception. And even though she started as a Moabite, she was, her heritage will have you, she married Boaz, she got into the lineage of Jesus. Yes. And Boaz's mother was Abraham. So she was also an outsider. So from these outsiders, we have the line of David. And from the line of David, we have the Lord Jesus Christ. From the human side of things, we have the divine side and the human side. Christ is perfect God, perfect man. I just had an insight like we were all outsiders before we accepted the Lord as, you know, our Lord and Savior. You know, I know we're talking about being molded by it, opposed to not, and all this other, you know, back there. I know all that, but I just had that kind of insight and a little bit of an analogy kind of way, you know? And so the, I mean, and then we, like the illustration, Jill, you're giving, we've been engrafted in. We've been engrafted in. We weren't the natural branch. We were the unnatural branch. We've been engrafted in. And so we, if we're, we, this, this application here, fear of the Lord, those, those, those, those of us who are part of the church, those of us who trust the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, we have to fear the Lord. We have to serve him. We shouldn't go after other gods. or the gods of the people around us. So there's so much idolatry in our culture, in our culture, not in their culture, 2,500, 3,500 years ago, but more in our culture today. There's all this same, maybe a little different, but still it's idolatry. It's people that they want nothing to do with things of the Lord. Nothing, nothing whatsoever. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you, lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth." This is the judgment, the penalty that's going to be meted out if they follow after false gods, if they fall into idolatry, if they do something that is contrary to the statutes and commandments that God has given to them. And so, if they do this, they'll be destroyed. Yeah, I went down the wrong pipe, something happened there, thank you. They'll be destroyed. And so, they stay, I mean, they're people, they were people like we're people. And they get so easily led astray. And so the question is, if we evaluate ourselves, how easily do we get sometimes? We get buried. So I guess we can understand a little bit. We've experienced it. We've been led astray. We have to get back to the right path. Back to the path. Can't deviate. I just thought of the, like, you know, like the image of, you know, vile about how The Lord, you know, just, not to totally suck, but he just, we got like the 99 and he went after the one. You know what I mean? Like, I guess he was going astray and went, you know what I mean? Just got him and just brought him back to the fold when it got to, you know, to him. That's correct. That's right. And in verse 16, he shall not tempt the Lord your God as he tempted him in Massa. So how is God tempted? Is God tempted or you're tempted? How did they tempt God? What did they do? In Massa? Yes. Was that the water? They cried for water? Yes, I think so. They cried for water because they didn't have anything. They thirsted. They complained that there was no water. Is that when they created a band that was going to return to Egypt? I think so. I think so. And so, I mean, everyone was a part of it, but... Yeah, some of them were, some of them were. And it talks about them diligently keeping the commandments of the Lord in verse 17 here. And so, what this word diligently, I mean, what does... What are some examples of diligence? What about 16? Oh, we shall not tempt the Lord your God. as he attempted to amass them. So they said, you know, this is the account of when they wanted the water. They were saying, we want to go back to Egypt. You know, we want the leeks and onions. We were far better off. We were far better off in Egypt. So let's, let's go back to Egypt. Let's, let's forget about this Moses. And I'm not sure. They thought they knew best. You know, here God's delivered them and they want to go back. They want to go back to where they came from. Let's see here, let's see, 417, 417. Let's see if that's Matthew 4.7. What does that say? Matthew 4, 7. So this is a reference for Matthew 4, 7. The Lord Jesus Christ is saying, Jesus said in the hymn, it is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And so, in thinking that God wasn't going to provide. And so maybe that was the area of tempting. I mean, so they got... Can I read the passage? Yes, please read the passage. Exodus 17, verse 6 and 7. Well, I'll start with 6. Behold, I stand before thee, there upon the rock in Horeb. Now she'll smite the rock, and there she'll come out of it. come water out of it that the people may drink and Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel and he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the chiding of the children of Israel and because they tempted the Lord saying is the Lord among us or not so they actually were questioning the presence of the Lord And they were continually doing that, even on Mount Sinai. They said, where is this Moses? After 40 days or maybe less than 40 days, he wasn't there. And then they create this golden calf and says, this is the God that you brought out of Egypt. How foolish they could be of them. And so we have the idea of no graven images, no molten calves, nothing like that. Don't put anything like that, don't put those things before God. So the idea of tempting Him when they wanted the water, they were constantly, I mean, after they witnessed, they witnessed what God did for them, how God had provided for them, and yet they are still saying, questioning whether God could do it or not. Which is horrible on your part, for sure. Well, it's one thing to question whether God can do something. But sometimes it's easy to question if He will. Because we all know that sometimes when we ask for things, we're not always asking for God's will. He wants us to. He wants us to be able to be refined and be purified. And sometimes we go through trials and he allows that, just like Job. But when you ask him, can you do this? Versus, will you do this? It's like, you can do this, Please do it. That's what you need to pray. You are with us because you've said you're with us. We don't necessarily feel your presence. We have something that we're struggling with. You had hit the nail on the head when you had said about keeping God's word and remembrance and remembering what you did in the past. And just by remembering what he did in the past and what he continues to do, if you have the faith that he will continue to do it in the future, you know? So, I mean, when you say, you can do it, you know, pleased opposed to, will you do it? I mean, it's a big, big difference. I mean, you shouldn't question, will you do it? Even though, you know, people, you know, guilty of still doing that, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But they were actually questioning whether he was with them. And he said he was. He demonstrated that he was in the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire and all the miracles that were done. And... Yes. They were struggling. They were struggling. They should have just said so. That's right. And it says, and that's no reason to follow the strange gods. It doesn't make any sense. But I mean, maybe to them it made sense, but what power does a strange God have? He has no power. Whatsoever. There's only one God. And so, he says here, in the previous verse it says, God's a jealous God. It goes to their serving other gods. Yeah. And that's why they're commanded to diligently keep the commandments. In the sense of not only protecting them, but also obeying them and following them. Is that they're there? I mean, the law... we know now, and even perhaps then, it's the schoolmaster. The law is a schoolmaster. It's teaching something. Show them a direction of something. And in a way, you know, the Lord Jesus Christ says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. And I'm going to come within the Father, but by me. Thank you. And so there's a path they have to be on. And so if they're not in the proper path, They're not following the proper way. I mean, it says diligence. What does the word diligence mean? In a steadfast way or doing a steadfast labor. in a deliberate, determined way. I mean, diligence. They're anxious to get in the car. I guess they want to sip on it. Keep the commandments of the Lord. And keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, and His testimonies. His testimonies, His statutes, which I have commanded. So we have the commandments, we have the statutes, and we have the testimonies. All these things are Aspects but they'll give you some more. They'll give you some more cream. Let me go up and get some. I'm just like feeding a little bit here. Sorry. These are what they would do. They would be diligent about it. Do you want more? I'll take some more. Thank you. Would you like more creamer? Maybe. They were supposed to do this diligently. with purpose, and we're supposed to do it with purpose. And when we don't, when we, when they, when anyone doesn't have a purpose and diligence behind it, then it doesn't, it gets missed sometimes. It gets missed, it gets looked over. You know, if we think of all, for the, Except we have enough for three cups of coffee and she gave me this, so I don't want to keep this from them because they might need it for other customers. I don't know how much you usually take, tell me what to stop for if you want to. Is that good? Yeah, that's fine. That's good for you guys, that's probably more than enough for all of us. And so, that idea about diligence, being diligent about the whole matter. about God's commandments, God's statutes, and God's testimonies. And all these things He commanded them to follow, to command them to keep. And the Bible says, and thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord. And so, what's the standard? I mean, obviously, the answer to the question is, the standard of doing what is right and what is good is based upon His statutes, His commandments, His testimonies. That's the only way we can have success in doing what's right and what's good. The standard is the Word of God. That's the standard. I made a mess. I made a mess? I'm sorry.