Sketched XI Day 9 Making A Mockery: Digging Deeper
June 29, 2023
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Deuteronomy 4:23-27
25 “When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, angering him, 26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you.
The Original Intent
1) What covenant is Moses referencing and what is the Israelites role in it? (verse 23)
Moses references the covenant God made with Israel after delivering them from slavery in Egypt, which built upon previous covenants God had made with Noah and Abraham. The first covenant with Noah (Genesis 6:17-22) expressed God’s plan to save Noah’s family from judgment and death.
After the flood, God promised never again to exact judgment in the form of all life on earth for the sins of man. (Genesis 8:20-9:17) Man’s part of this covenant highlighted the sanctity of life in God’s eyes and outlined God’s requirement for payment of each taken life. God’s covenant(s) to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15) told of His purpose to grow a nation from Abraham’s family and His will to bless all people through Abraham’s family line.
Later, in Genesis 17, God told Abraham there would come a time when his people would be enslaved, but God promised He would deliver them. Abraham and his family’s covenant role was to circumcise every male for all generations to come.
True to His Word, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years (Exodus 12:40-41) until God delivered them through Moses’ obedience. After the Israelites were freed, God made an additional covenant with them. On Mount Sinai, God delivered His Law to Moses, designed to govern the Israelites in the promised land and to show them God’s standard for righteousness.
These guidelines included the Ten Commandments, as well as other standards God outlined as the way His chosen people must live in daily life. (Exodus 21-24, Exodus 31-35) The Israelites’ role in this covenant was to obey God’s laws, which would accomplish a few things.
First, it would demonstrate how very different God’s people are from the other nations on earth that worshiped false gods and gave themselves to evil practices.
Second, it would showcase God’s glory to the surrounding nations.
Third, it would serve as a placeholder until the time when Christ would come to fulfill the Israelites’ part of the covenant Himself, since only He could perfectly accomplish this, and establish the new covenant: salvation.
The Everyday Application
1) What covenant is Moses referencing and what is the Israelites role in it? (verse 23)
Covenant is a word we don’t often use in modern culture. The only current cultural context we have is a marriage covenant, but that is decidedly within Christian circles. Apart from that, the word is virtually obsolete. Our closest frame of reference might be a promise or an agreement, but neither word accurately conveys the weight a biblical covenant held in ancient times.
Merriam Webster defines covenant as a formal, solemn, and binding agreement. A covenant is an agreement reached between two parties with specific parameters and requirements outlined for each participant to fulfill; a binding contract. The outline and requirements of God’s law demonstrated His standard of righteousness and holiness, while also conveying His intentional provision for the inevitable failings of people.
Even when the Israelites faltered and sinned, God afforded them the opportunity to make sacrifices to bring them back into right standing with Him. While these sacrifices met the Israelites’ end of the covenant, they were simply a placeholder for God’s ultimate plan: Jesus Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice when He laid down His perfect, sinless, fully-man-yet-fully-God life and was crucified, fulfilling the atonement required for all sin, for all time.
All that is needed to enter this new covenant is genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and true heart repentance to turn from our sin as we trust Him at His Word that His sacrifice paid the complete penalty for our sin. Over and over throughout Scripture, we see the Israelites’ failure to uphold their end of the covenant.
Idolatry, disobedience, rebellion, jealousy, covetousness…time and again, they fell short of their end of the covenant. Their choices may have resulted in consequences and discipline from God, but over and over again, He forgave them, delivered them, and faithfully continued to uphold His covenant with them, regardless of their failures.
The Original Intent
2) Does the description of God as a consuming fire and jealous conflict with 1 John 4:16, which says God is love? (verse 24)
Scriptures that describe God as a consuming fire (Exodus 24:17, Deuteronomy 9:3, Isaiah 30:27, Isaiah 33:14, Hebrews 12:28-29) describe God’s power, sanctifying nature, and incredible glory in vibrant terms. When we read the Bible through our current cultural lens, these descriptions can seem to conflict with other biblical passages that describe God as love (1 John 4:16), and full of mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5) and grace (2 Corinthians 12:9).
When God responded to Job’s questions (Job 38-41), His words were clear and filled with truth, power and clarity. For Job to have continued to question His identity, power, sovereignty, or authority would have been foolish.
When Jesus spoke to the Jews who were weary of attempting to follow the additional rules and laws the Pharisees had added to God’s law, Jesus’ words revealed His kindness, gentleness, and mercy. (Matthew 11:28-30) In each case, God revealed His character in a clear demonstration of certain aspects of His character.
He is a consuming fire, and as Merriam Webster defines jealous: intolerant of unfaithfulness. He alone deserves all glory, praise, and loyalty; He rightly and righteously expects it. He is also the embodiment of love and is full of mercy and grace.
The Everyday Application
2) Does the description of God as a consuming fire and jealous conflict with 1 John 4:16, which says God is love? (verse 24)
When we consider God’s nature and character, we must first always remember He is completely, totally different from humans.
While Scripture states we were created in His likeness (Genesis 1:26-28), we are not and can never become Him. We were not created to be, nor do we exist as “little gods,” neither are we “pieces” of God. He ALONE is God and He shares His glory with none. (Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 44:6-8, Deuteronomy 4:32-40, 1 Timothy 2:5-6)
He ALONE has no beginning, and no end. (Psalm 90:2, Job 36:22-26, Hebrews 13:8)
He ALONE created everything out of nothing at all. (Genesis 1, Hebrews 1:10-12, Isaiah 45:11-13)
Full stop. The Bible is about Him, not us.
When we approach Scripture with the intention to learn more about how God is like us, or about ourselves, we approach with a wrong heart and mindset. When we study the Bible, we do learn more about ourselves, but it’s only because we are learning more about who God is and what He is like.
By soaking in those truths, we can’t help but recognize where we fall short and where we need His mercy and grace to cover us. The differences between our cultural and language lens is starkly different from what the Bible shows us to be true.
We might think about or describe love as a feeling of affection, acceptance, approval of, or a fondness for someone, but throughout Scripture we see that God defines love as an action or series of actions. When we hear God described as jealous, our minds tend to conjure up thoughts about the feeling of jealousy, whether in the context of a romantic relationship, or even a friendship. However, when God is described as jealous, Scripture is showing us that God alone deserves and expects to hold the place of God in His peoples’ lives.
Verse 24 articulates that He was unwilling to share worship with other idols or false gods, and this is completely in line with His character as the only true living God.
The Original Intent
3) Why is the warning about making a carved image specifically repeated for future generations? (verse 25)
At the time when this passage of history took place, the Israelites had been freshly freed from slavery in Egypt. There were people of every age group in their company, from infants and young children to elderly adults. Scripture tells us God alone knows all things (Psalm 139, Isaiah 40:28, 1 John 3:20), and this included the heart posture and the future choices the Israelites would make.
In addition to knowing idolatry had proved so alluring to His chosen people (and would entice them over and over again), He also wanted to make the consequences for such unfaithfulness abundantly clear. There would have been no mistaking His clarity here: idolatry at any point in their lives, whether at a young age or old age, would necessitate serious and permanent consequences.
Those who fell prey to idolatry would be cut off from His presence, scattered, and destroyed. The emphasis and repetition of the warning reveals how the Lord God desired the whole hearts and lives of His people.
He did not want, and would not stand for, a fickle devotion that would waver and wane over time; instead, He called for fervent, whole-life, steady and determined worship that would prevail throughout their years, marking them as His in their young and old age.
The Everyday Application
3) Why is the warning about making a carved image specifically repeated for future generations? (verse 25)
It’s so easy to think we’ve “arrived,” isn’t it? Almost before we recognize the thought has taken up residence in our minds, self-satisfaction is quick to set in.
The Lord is no stranger to the minds and hearts of mankind. He knows just how sneaky our pride can be, and this passage is a prime example of His knowledge and wisdom. God knew the Israelites just as He knows us. He knew the temptations and pride of life would seek to ensnare them all the days of their lives, and He saw fit to reiterate the consequences of idolatry for their old age as well as young.
God knows people are often inclined to rest on the laurels of their youth while slipping in their convictions as they age. God used this repeated warning to highlight that He cannot and will not tolerate idolatry, no matter how long a person has walked with Him.
Scripture tells us God is holy. (1 Samuel 2:2, Leviticus 19:1-4, Revelation 4:8) Because He is holy, He cannot be in the presence of sin. (Habakkuk 1:13)
In His kindness, God reiterated His warning, so the Israelites would know and remember God desired their persistent devotion throughout their entire lives.
The Lord intended to warn His precious people of the disastrous results idolatry would have in their lives should they choose to turn away from the one true God.
Can We Pray With You?
Prayer is central to our ministry as believers in Jesus as we carry eachother’s burdens and intercede for one another. Our team is honored to share the work of praying alongside you!
This Week's Lock Screen
Authentically living out a life of worship to the God who rescued us from darkness requires accountability and intentionality. Join a GT POD and take the next step in your faith journey!
