The Written Law
Text: Deuteronomy 31
11 June 2006
(I) A GLORIOUS ERA
1. Ministry of 40 years
2. Most significant ministry
a) Exodus from Egypt
b) In the wilderness
i) Provision
ii) Protection
3. God’s unmistakable role
“God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went” Deuteronomy 1:31
“The LORD Your God fights for you…” Deuteronomy 2:22
(II) THE END OF A GLORIOUS ERA
1. Death of Moses intimated
“Then the LORD said to Moses,
‘Behold, the days approach when you must die…” Deuteronomy 31:14
a) Natural
b) To be expected
2. An ominous word of warning
“And the LORD said to Moses:
‘Behold, you will rest with your fathers;
And this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land…
And they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them…”
Deuteronomy 31:16
a) Unnatural yet expected
b) What has 40 glorious years taught the children of Israel?
c) An ominous prediction indeed
(III) THE WRITTEN LAW
“So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book,
When they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
‘Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be a witness against you;
For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD, then how much more after my death?
For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands…” Deuteronomy 31:24-29
1. The Law written
2. The Written Law as a Witness
a) Promise of Blessing
b) Prediction of Disaster
(IV) APPRECIATION OF THE LEGACY OF THE SCRIPTURES
“With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You” Psalm 119:10-11
1. Seeking the Lord
2. Praying against straying
3. Hiding the Lord’s word in the heart