God's Judgment and Rebellion

This is the second song of Moses in Deuteronomy. The first one was when they went through the dry Red Sea and came out dry on the other side. This one is commanded by God for Moses to write. Commanded because he wanted them to know what he understood about their future and how he is going to react to the circumstances he knew would come to them because of their nature and character. And this song is sort of a basis of a court case, a trial. And he starts out by bringing charges against them. Heaven and earth is the jury that's to try them. But he starts with his own description of the situation that he finds so offensive to him. In verse 4 he says he is talking about God. He is the rock, his works are perfect, all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong. Upright and just is he. And then he starts the cause he has against them in verse 6. This is the way you repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people. Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you? Remember the old days, considering the generations long past. Ask your fathers, he will tell you. The elders and they will explain to you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, he divided all mankind. He set up boundaries for the people according to the number of sons of Israel. Now he says he is describing the fact God created the whole world. He assigned everybody a place in the world property that they might own. Not just people of Israel, but everybody. He is in control of all this. He is making sure that they understand who he is. The reality that he is in the world. Verse 12 says the Lord alone led him. No foreign God was with him when he led the people out of Israel. He made them ride on the heights of the land. Fed them with the fruit of the fields. He nourished them with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag. With curds of milk from the herd of the flock. With fatted lambs and goats. He was with choice rams of Bashan, the finest kernels of wheat. He drank the red blood of the grape. A description of the bounty with which God dealt with the people of Israel while they were on this trip. Going from Egypt to the land of promise. And then he talks about what happened to them. They made him jealous with their foreign gods. Angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons which are not gods. Gods they had not known. Gods that had recently appeared. Gods your fathers did not fear. You deserted the rock who fathered you. You forgot the God who gave you birth. Here he is showing the rebellion of Israel against him. Like a child would rebel against their father. Or a child would rebel against their mother. One of the most tragic things that you see. Are families torn apart by the children who rebel against the authority of their parents. Just leave them. Don't have anything to do with them. He pictures this is the circumstance that happened to him as their God. Verse 21 he says, they made me jealous by what was no God. And angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people. I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding. Now God's response to them was to be angry. And to want to make them envious or jealous by turning to other people. With his help and his concern for them. And sort of leaving them or abandoning them. God's response to their rebellion against him. Is the subject of where I want to pick up this evening. He is talking to them in verse 22. About how he responds to his people that have drifted away from him. Now what he is describing in this story is not a picture of how God deals with people who are unbelievers. These were all believers. They were believers because they were followers of this God of the Old Testament. Yahweh God. And so they had tasted of the good things that God did. All those things he mentioned about who he was and what he did. They experienced all this. And in the middle of experiencing it. They began to drift away. What we might call backslide. Turn away from the authority of God. And what he had done for them. To sort of deny his authority over them. All of the Bible is concerned with one issue. And that is we recognize the supreme authority of God over our lives. And all that we do. This is the big issue of the Bible. God is the supreme authority. Everyone is to submit themselves to him. And surrender to him. So when they turn away from this. It is an act of rebellion. Not just against a religion. It is an act of rebellion against the one who made the world. And who rules the world. This act of treason. Turning against the very authority and ruler of all. Anywhere you go in the world when there is a government. And somebody commits treason against the government. It is the most serious crime that you can commit. And the Bible sees this as an act of treason against God. A way of turning their backs on the one who is the proper ruler of all the universe. So the response in verse 22. The fire has been kindled by my wrath. He just said he had gotten angry. God's anger is not passive. When he is angry he does something about it. It is not an anger that comes because of small matters. God is patient. He is very patient with us. But when it comes to the place where we have stepped over the line. And rebelled against him and turned against him. His anger and his rebellion is powerful. Because rebellion anywhere you go. Anywhere you are. Is contagious. If you get around a group of people. And everybody is cooperative. And one person begins to act like they don't want to do what they are doing. Rebel against it. I am sure Cliff when you had kids in school. If you had one that was kind of trying to cause trouble. Or rebel against what you wanted. It kind of spreads if you don't stop it. And God sees with the people of Israel. That they are in rebellion against him. And he must take a stand against them. For fire has been kindled. Verse 22. By my wrath. One that burns to the realm of death below. A fire of judgment is coming. So powerful and forceful. That it simply is not going to be an anger. And a consequence to the world where people are. But it will burn not only through the earth. But all the way down to Sheol. Which is the place where dead people are. It is not necessarily hell. When the Bible uses in the Old Testament the word Sheol. It is just the place of the dead. We don't know very much about what they believed about this. Except that when people were buried in the ground. It was a place where they went. It is so far away from the living world. Pardon? Well the word Sheol. It simply means the place where dead people go. Buried in the ground. It is different than Hades. Which is more like hell. But just the world of the dead. The Old Testament doesn't have a clear picture of resurrection. So they don't paint that picture of being resurrected and coming back to life. So the place of the dead people. The fire devours even to below the earth. It will devour the earth and all of its harvests. The fire of God's anger is going to affect everything on the earth. And even beneath the earth. He will set fire to the foundations of the mountains. When you see these huge mountains that stand there. You think nothing in the world could touch them. I want you to understand that my anger is so powerful and forceful. That even the tallest of mountains. The fire that I set. Will attack their foundation. What he is trying to describe is. His anger is not able to be contained in the world. He is describing that his anger is so powerful and forceful. It reaches past the people with whom he is angry. To the whole of the natural order. That God's anger is an issue to be dealt with. Because it is universal. It is unstoppable. And it has power beyond anything on the earth that you can find. I think sometimes we think about God's love. And we think about how much he loves us. And we forget that there is a side of judgment that also comes with God. Judgment is not the opposite of love. Judgment is a part of love. Because God loves his people who are faithful. And he brings judgment on those who try to mislead them. He brings the judgment on those who are misleading them. To protect those who are faithful to him. And if you have a situation where you have someone out of control. In a group. In a church. Or a class. Or an army. Or a nation. If you want to stop it. You have to get that person or those people. Who are out of control and segregate them. Get them away. Apart. The judgment of God destroys what it cannot control. And that's what he's talking about. He describes it as a fire. A fire that burns. And he's not talking about hell here. But he's talking about the power that comes to destroy what is standing in rebellion against God. The worst thing God faces are not the pagans. But the people who were his. Or claimed to be his. Who have now turned against him. The reason that's worse. If a pagan never knew about God. And they said I don't have anything to do with Yahweh God of the Bible. People say well you never know anything about him. But when you have someone who knows God. And has walked with him. And lived with him. Who says I don't follow him anymore. You're saying I've looked at it. I've tried it. And I can tell you from experience. Don't trust him. That's far worse than someone who's never come to him. So the power of God's judgment. Is described as a burning fire. Unstoppable even to the bottoms of this earth. And even to those who have died. Now he describes how these. This burning fire. What it really is. In verse 23. I will heap calamities upon them. And spread my arrows against them. He's talking about now. Disasters coming to the people. That's a form of judgment he brings. I bring to them calamities. Disasters that come. I bring to them arrows. Wars that are part of a calamity. So there are two things. Calamities and wars. That are brought to the people who are in rebellion against him. And how does he bring rebellion. And how does he bring calamity. And war to them. He doesn't start the wars. That's not what he's trying to say. Not that I'm going to go to people and get them to fight you. But a part of God's protection from us. Is that he says. If you. If you live in rebellion against me. I consider you my enemy. And if you are my enemy. Then I no longer keep the covenant promise I made to you. The promise of guiding them. Providing for them. Protecting them. And making them a great nation. All of these things. Once you rebel against God. You break the contract you have with him. Now he is no longer obligated to do those things. And one of the things he promises is I will protect you. From calamities. And from armies that would destroy you. So now that you've decided you're going to get outside the arena of my protection. You're on your own. No longer will I stand between you and your enemy when they're ready to fight you. No longer will I stand between you and the calamities that come. Many of the calamities have to do with the agriculture. The crops that would be raised. So if he's promised to provide for them. He provides for them in spite of the calamities of the droughts. Or the rain. Or the floods. Or whatever might come. I will give you what you need to live on. I will provide for you. But since you are not following in obedience to me. I will now take my hand off of this provision. And you're on your own. No longer will you have the promise that comes. What the Bible is showing us is that the promise we make to God. When you come to make your commitment to him. Has genuine consequences in this world and in your life. The promise he makes. He keeps. And it's a part of what you have in this world to live on. And so when you live outside of that. You move away from it. You say I no longer want to live in submission to you. He stops giving you wisdom and your guidance. So you'll make stupid decisions. You won't know it until after you've made them. And see the consequences of them. He also stops providing for you. So you'll find it harder and harder to have the things that you need to be able to live. You will also find that disasters come to you that you never had before. And you don't recover for them in the way you did previously. And you'll find yourself in a situation where you find your life less and less meaningful and valuable. All of those are signs of someone who has left the covenant promise they've made to God. What God is telling to his people in advance of the circumstances. See they haven't done this yet. This is what's going to happen to you. So when you see these things taking place. You'll know that disasters come to you. You do hear once in a while. Preachers whenever things happen like a tornado or hurricane or disaster. I think even AIDS one time. Preachers then I'm saying this is the judgment of God pointing to this. They're using the Old Testament the nation of Israel. And comparing it to the United States which is a false analogy. The United States is not under the covenant contract with God. Each individual of us is under that covenant contract. A church of believers is under that contract. So he's not talking about that in this story. So when we look at the fulfillment of this promise in the New Testament era. It is a church that finds itself in situations. Where it no longer is able to make good decisions about what it should do. Because the people in it have rebelled against the authority of God. They're doing what they want to do. They're doing what everybody else does. Or whatever kind of pattern they have that substitutes for God's leadership. They'll be in times whenever then they don't have the material assets that they need. To be able to do the work God's given them to do. That's one of the signs of it. They find themselves in a position where there's constant turmoil, conflict, fighting. That's a sign of it. They find themselves ineffective at least reaching people and bringing them to Christ. That's another sign of it. What God is saying to his own people. This is a sign when I've turned my back on you. We don't know what kind of contract God has with pagan people. Except to say that he says whenever they refuse to accept them. They stand judgment when the time comes. When then God has said this is the last straw. So this evidence of God's withdrawing from them should be clear. I will send wasting famines against them. That means whenever there's no crops that they'll be able to have the food that they need. It's a contrast with what he said in verses 13 and 14. He made them ride on the heights of the land. He fed them from the fruit of the field. With honey from the rock. With oil from the flinty crag. With curds and milk from the herds and flocks. And fatted lambs and goats. The choice rams of Bashan. The finest kernels of wheat. You drank the red blood of the grape. Now I will send to you wasting famine against them. Consuming pestilence against them. Pestilence is the existence of disease. There'll be incurable diseases that will suddenly strike you. I think in probably most of our lifetimes. When I was growing up I never heard of AIDS. But then it became a powerful force in the world. There are diseases that seem to come along at times unexpectedly. God's not saying that these diseases are created by him. But that his people will not be protected from them. Consuming pestilence and deadly plagues. I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts. And the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. Even the natural order. Animals in the natural world will be dangerous to his people. Of course they live in a world where contact with the nature like that is more common than it is for us. What God is saying is. When I withdraw my hand from you. You will see many kinds of things that are destructive come to you. Because my hand of protection and defense is no longer working for you. Because you've turned against the covenant you made with me. In the street. Verse 25. In the street the sword will make them childless. In their homes terror will reign. Young men and young women will perish. And infants and gray haired men. The judgment that comes on those in rebellion. Has no regard for either gender or age. Rebellion against the authority of God. Will be universal to whoever stands in the way of turning against him. His power and force will be universal. To all the people regardless of age or circumstances. It will be in the streets where there's war. And in the homes where there's terror. Now when we talk about the external things in the street. An army invades. People walk up and down the street with weapons. You go outside your house you might get killed. The terror in the homes has to do with the relationships of people inside of those. Families will turn against each other. Parents and children will turn against each other. In the days of the Bible. Whenever God gave people a piece of land. They would build a house on it. And whenever they had children who grew up. They would add a room onto the house. And their son would live in the house. Or their daughter would live in the house. Whoever was married. Usually the son stayed with their families. And then if there were grandchildren. Boys that grew up. Each child would have a room added to this house that the family was in. Then grandchildren would do the same thing. So he's talking about in the family. In the family compound. There would be people who were afraid of each other. And the terror of being turning against each other. There is no force so powerful as families. That come to the place where they don't like each other. It's very, very difficult to resolve those circumstances. So I won't give you wisdom on how to treat each other. And what you're going to find is. Your families are going to be at each other's throat. And when you get to the place where you think about going home. You won't think of comfort. And loving people. But here I go. To another night and day of terror. In your own family compound. It's not only a judgment against the whole nation. But it's a judgment against individuals in the families of the land. For the poison of rebellion causes God to remove his hand from us. And we're left on our own in a world of wickedness. Where sin controls the minds and hearts of people. I said verse 26. I said I would scatter them. And erase their memory from mankind. The guarantee that he said to his people was. You turn against me. And just as I took this land that I'm giving you. Away from the people who lived there before. Because of their rebellion against me. I will take it from you too. And he did. The people were carried away into captivity. And they no longer had their land. The land that they still don't have. God's judgment. And the promise of his judgment. Was to be powerful. And even final. In the streets a sword will make them childless. Excuse me. I will scatter them. And erase their memory from mankind. But I dreaded the taunts of the enemy. Let the adversary misunderstand and say. Our hands have triumphed. The Lord has not done all this. He says the only thing that's going to temper. What I do to you. Is what people will say about me. I said I would bring you up out of Egypt. And I would give you this land. And I would make you a great nation. Now if I destroy you completely. I can never fulfill the promise that I made. So my power against you. Will not destroy everyone who's turned against me. Nor everybody in the nation. For some will not have turned against me. Later in the Bible it's called the remnant. Those people who remain faithful no matter what. I won't destroy the nation of Israel. Because you are my people. And when I find those who are faithful to me. I will save them. You remember the story of the prophet who ran away. Because he said there's not anybody. In all the nation of Israel that's faithful to you. And the Lord said to him. There are 7,000 that have never bowed the knee to Baal. In the latter part of the Old Testament. The concept of the remnant comes into place. In which God says it's true that most of the nation of Israel has turned against me. But there are people still faithful to me. Here he predicts even that. He says I would have scattered them. I would scatter them. And erase their memory from mankind. That's what they deserve. That's maybe even what I want to do. But there's one thing that keeps me from doing this. Their enemies will taunt him. And he dreads what they would say. Our adversary will misunderstand. They will not see this as judgment. If they are able to attack the people of Israel and capture their land. They will not say this is the judgment of God. They will say instead. Our God is stronger than Israel's God. So God has a greater stake in his people's life than just what they're doing. It's himself that he has a stake in. He wants whenever you surrender your life to him. To make sure that your life is more than what it was before. Because he wants people to be able to see our lives. And that is our witness as to the power that God gives. He wants to be able to change us in such a way. So that people that know us say. You know I never thought that person could be that way. Or could do those things. And then we say it is the power and wisdom of God that gives me that. That's our witness. We tell it that God is the one who's done this. Now he says what I wanted you to do. Be holy as I am holy. I wanted you to live as I'm living. And I wanted all the world to see what I'm like through you. Now that you've rebelled against me and turned away from me. No longer can you do that as a nation. I am going to destroy those who have been rebellious. And I'm going to leave this core, this remnant. So that I can begin again to build. Because your enemies are going to say our gods are greater than Yahweh God. And I don't want them to think that. I want them to understand that what's happened to you. Was not the result of their power or their gods. But the result of my judgment. Even in this moment of judgment. God has his eye on the great long picture out there that he's trying to accomplish. I want all the world to know that I am God. I want all the world to know that I save my people. I want all the world to know that those who turn against me will be destroyed. Because I am God. God is conscious not only of the sins of his people. But he's also conscious of the picture of him that is represented in this event. I don't want anyone to think your God is incapable of keeping his promises. And so even though you turn away from me. And I don't keep those promises to you because you're no longer mine. I am going to keep them with those who are faithful. And however small that group is. I will begin to keep my promise with them. And they will demonstrate to the world who I am. And I can still keep the promise to my people that are left. Even in all this judgment. God has his eye on the ultimate goal. And that is in the New Testament as we talk about it. Making disciples. Bringing people to the awareness that Jesus Christ is Lord of everything. And when we give ourselves to him. We find life in all of its fullness. This is such a passionate thing for God. In every generation, in every age, he's doing the very same thing he's doing here. Weeding out those who would reflect something that he's not. And building in the small group that trust him. Evidences of everything that he is. With wisdom. With power. With righteousness. With justice. With holiness. And whenever we live in submission to this God. His covenant is fulfilled in us. Even if you're the only one. His covenant will be fulfilled in you. And when you make a promise to God to let him control your mind. Your choices and your lifestyle. And you turn away from it. You begin to see these same things take place in your life. It is the way by which God lets us know. That the discipline of rebellion has consequences. Would you bow your heads please for a moment to pray. We know that everything in the world doesn't happen exactly as you want it to be done. But we also understand that you're an active powerful force in this world. We can't see you on the radar. We can't see the hand that you have active in the world. But you've let us know some signals. That our rebellion against you. Has caused you to withdraw your hand from your people. Help us to be conscious. Conscious of the reality that life is not what you promised. And there's a reason for it. We ask that you would help us to be aware. Of the times in which we turn away from you. Ignore you. And we ask you to remind us. Of the promise we've made to you. That we might find the fulfillment of those promises in our lives. In the name of Christ we ask it. Amen.