Deuteronomy 4:1,2,6-8 * September 21, 2003 * Pentecost 15 * Vicar Caauwe

What would you say makes a great nation? To me, the first thing that comes to mind is strength--military strength, economic strength, social strength. Or you might also say that fair and just laws also make a nation great. And along with fair and just laws must come fair and just leaders.

Even in an economic downturn, even when our troops still face danger in foreign lands, if this is our definition of a great nation, we must admit that we live in a great nation. Ours is a strong nation. Our military is strong, our economy, well, it's better than most. In the past two years we've seen the strength of our nation to recover from a tragedy like 9-11. And we live in a nation of, for the most part, fair and just laws with fair and just leaders.

But let me suggest to you that the Old Testament nation of Israel was a nation far greater. Talk about fair and just laws, with fair and just leaders. The Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth not only made its laws, but carried them out. And talk about strength. God fought for the armies of Israel in battle. God provided this great nation with food through forty years in the desert.

But these factors are only a small part of Israel's real greatness. This nation had something no other nation had. And what the nation of Israel had, we Christians have, too. What made Israel a great nation also makes us a blessed people. Both

A Great Nation and a Blessed People

have:

I. God's Word

II. God's Presence

"Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you.” (1) In the first three chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses summarized the events of the last forty years. He reminded them why they had to wander in the desert for forty years. Now in this fourth chapter, Moses is about to declare to the people of Israel the law of God. This wasn't the first time Moses had done this. Forty years earlier Moses had given this same law to Israel after he heard it from God on Mount Sinai. Now he is about to repeat it for this new generation of Israelites. Before he does that, though, he explains why this law is so important.

"Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you." (1) The nation of Israel had something no other nation had. It wasn't a law. Every nation had some sort of law. It wasn't a god. Everyone had gods. In fact, most other nations had many gods.

The difference was that the gods of the other nations were not real gods. They were usually made of wood or stone, or perhaps were something from nature, like the sun or the stars. And everyone knows that to have a good life or afterlife, you need to make the gods happy. The question is, how do you know what makes god happy? You see, wood and stone don't talk. So the people couldn't let the gods speak for themselves about what they wanted. The only way to find out what pleased the gods was to guess.

Unfortunately, when people tried to guess what pleased God, what they came up with was a distorted and deranged picture of who God is and what he wanted. They tried sacrifices, even human sacrifices. They built shrines and poles. In their temples they had priests as well as prostitutes.

The people of Israel, however, did not have to guess about God. The God of Israel was a God who spoke to his people. Before he gave the Ten Commandments, the LORD said, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery" (Ex 20:2). God made it clear who he was, and followed that with what he wanted. And what did he want? God wanted his people to love and worship him alone. God wanted his people to love each other, totally, perfectly. Yes, God clearly revealed his will in the law he gave to Israel.

Israel responded to God's law by exclaiming, "we'll do everything the LORD has commanded." (Exodus 19:8) And them promptly built themselves a golden calf to worship. They ignored the laws they didn't want to keep and added other gods they could worship. For forty years Israel wandered through the desert, complaining against God and breaking his law.

After these forty years, the nation of Israel stood on the east side of the Jordan river, ready to enter a new land. "Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you."(1) Even after years of disobedience, God repeated his word to Israel, and made good on the promise made to their father Abraham when God said to him, "To your descendants I give this land" (Gen 15:18). Now they were about to enter into that very land. God had also fulfilled his promise to make Abraham into a great nation. Because God kept these promises, of a land for a great nation, God would also keep the promise that through this nation, through this people, a descendant of the woman would be born. That descendant would destroy the work of the devil that kept God's people from keeping his Word. He would destroy death, which threatened to keep this people from God for eternity. This descendant is Jesus Christ.

All of God's Word, the whole of his law to the Old Testament people, was God's way of revealing, preserving, and carrying out this very promise. So no wonder Moses commanded: "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it."(2) This law, this Word from God was what separated them from the other nations. It was why Moses could say of Israel, "And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?" (8) Israel was a great nation because God had given his Word to Israel.

If Israel was a great nation, we are a blessed people--for the very same reason. God has given his Word to us. We don't need to guess about God--even when so much of the world today does. If you went down to Hart Park this afternoon, to the Pagan Pride celebration--you'd probably find all kinds of ideas about God. They may reason that something can't be wrong if it doesn't hurt anyone else. They may figure God would stop us if it were really wrong. They may figure God just wants us to be happy, so that's what we should do.

It's idolatry, no less than worshiping wood or stone. It's breaking the first of God's commands. But how often wouldn't we, too, rather guess, imagine, or reason what God really wants. We may think, "It doesn't make sense to love people who don't love us. It doesn’t seem possible to have completely chaste and pure thoughts, all the time. Surely God must not be serious about all those commands."

We don't have to guess about God--he has revealed himself to us in his Word. Yes, he does demand perfection. Yes, he does demand that in all we do, we worship and serve him alone. But just when we start listening to God in his Word we hear more than just the demands of the law. We also hear once more the promise given, and fulfilled. We hear again the promise of forgiveness to people who by their disobedience have, in fact, tried to add to or subtract from God's Word.

What blessed people we are because of God's Word! We are blessed because in his Word God fulfills his promises to us. And being so blessed by this Word of God, we treasure it like our most prized possession. We wouldn't dream of changing it to suit our tastes. Instead, we grab every opportunity hear and learn it. When it confronts us with our sin, we humbly kneel before the LORD in repentance. When it reminds us again and again of our forgiveness in Christ Jesus, we rejoice in the blessing God has given to us in His Word.

And if this were not enough, there is yet another reason that we are a blessed people. This reason is found primarily in verse 7: "What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him." Unlike any other god, and unlike any other nation--The LORD, the God of Israel was near to his people. The other nations, must have seen how the LORD traveled with Israel visibly in a pillar of cloud and fire. God even camped with the Israelites. He told them "Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them." (Ex 25:8) So they built a tent, the tabernacle, and day by day God visibly demonstrated both to Israel and anyone in the area that this God dwells with his people.

Even though God's presence was among the people of Israel, they still could not really see God. You may remember how the tabernacle had different areas, the outer courtyard, the holy place, and the most holy place. The most holy place, the holy of holies was where God met his people. But the only time anyone could go in there was once a year, after many sacrifices, when the high priest would enter into it. You see, even though God dwelled with his people, he was still a holy and righteous God. They were still a sinful people. The wages of sin was death then as it is now. Only after the blood-price was paid could people dwell with God. Something or someone had to die.

Someone did die, and so God does dwell with us. The Gospel of John tells us that "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (Jn 1:14). Literally it says the Word, that is, Jesus "tented" with us. Jesus Christ, true God from eternity, became one of us. He lived with us. He lived a life just like ours, dealing with all sorts of sinful people, dealing with the same kind of temptations we face. He lived with us, but he also lived for us. He lived the life we should have, the perfect one. And through his death and resurrection his life is ours now. Now there's nothing separating us from God.

Just because Jesus is now in Heaven doesn't mean he is not with us. Before Jesus ascended he made that clear when he said "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Mt 28:20) No matter where we are or what we are doing we are always blessed by Jesus' presence. So when we're fighting temptation, he gives us strength to overcome. When we're troubled with guilt, he's right there with his love and forgiveness. When we call on him in prayer, he is quick to answer us, reminding us again of his constant presence.

Jesus also said "where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Mt 18:20) Not only is he always among us but he has also given us a special promise to be with us when we gather to hear his Word. For again, it is there that he reminds of his promises. And in the Sacraments he even gives us a visible sign of his presence among us. Here in the Lord's Supper, Jesus is really here, really present, to give you the forgiveness of sins, to strengthen your faith, and to strengthen you to live a God-pleasing life.

"Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'."(6) In the Old Testament, God's presence among his people was pretty obvious. They had the big cloud, and what appeared to be a pillar of fire at night. God is present with you no less than he was with them. You don't have a pillar of cloud or fire, but you do have what they had. You have what made them a great nation and what makes you a blessed people. You have God's Word. You have God's presence. Even though these things may not be as obvious to the people around you, people will notice that you are blessed. They'll notice that you're different. Maybe it's in the high regard you have for God's Word and how you make the effort to hear and learn it. Maybe it's in the way you are motivated by what God's Word says, to live a life of love to God and to others. And at first, they might not call you great, wise, or understanding. They might not even call you blessed. But someday they'll ask and you'll be able to explain why you are a blessed person. God, in his great mercy has given to us his Word, and through his Word is present with us. Surely, we are a blessed people. Amen.