In
Deuteronomy 4:15-28, Moses makes it clear to the Israelites that they are to
STAY away from idols and corrupting the clear teachings of how they were to
worship and live with God in the promised land.
He also makes it clear, in this section, what the repercussions will be
if they OR their children’s children disobey and disregard this warning.
In
Deuteronomy 7:1-11, he further stresses the importance of the people to do
this, AND he even makes it clear to them they are in no way to intermingle with
the people or culture of those with whom they are dispossessing.
Is this
relevant to us today and if so, how?
I will quote
these next two verses in my posts again and again because I believe they are
two of the most important but overlooked scriptures in the New Testament.
“You study
the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal
life. These are the very Scriptures that
testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (Jesus speaking
about the OLD TESTAMENT)
John 5:39-40
“Now these
things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us,
on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” (Paul speaking regarding several
examples from the Israelites in the wilderness.)
I
Corinthians 10:11
The point I
am making with these two passages is that the Old Testament has a purpose for
us that is primarily to give us profound insights into our pursuit of Christ
and how we as Christians are to live. It
is often relegated to the status of second class scripture by many of us, and
this is tragic. OK, back to the
Deuteronomy point…..how is this relevant to us?
This relates
to the role of repentance and obedience in the life of the believer. The
Israelites did not get the promised land BECAUSE of their obedience. Moses
makes this clear in Deuteronomy 9:5. It is also made abundantly clear in
numerous New Testament passages that we are never to believe that we somehow
gained our salvation due to our own obedience. However, what is made equally clear in the
previously mentioned passages and many, many others is the CRUCIAL role that
their (and our) initial repentance and obedience plays as each generation lives
in the land given to them.
I heard a
great analogy about this from a pastor I respect named Paul Mowery. He gives the analogy of an owner of a strip
mall who has leased out the various stores to a certain group. Over time, this group has taken these
individual stores in the strip mall and made them into adult bookstores, liquor
stores, strip clubs, businesses that are a front for meth and heroine dealing,
and other activities that are increasingly not only counter to the agreed upon
terms when the lease was signed but types of business that are patently
illegal. The owner of the strip mall has
repeatedly tried to get these tenants to return to the agreed upon usage of
this space. It is located directly in
the center of preschools, elementary schools, and high schools, as well as
residential neighborhoods. Finally,
after much attempt on his part to get them to simply return to the terms of the
lease, their lease is revoked, and the people are removed from the premises by
force. He has adopted some kids. These kids are not saints by any stretch of
the imagination. They have a history of
immoral behavior, violence, and all sorts of crime themselves, but he is
seeking to teach them the next step in living a life that is both beneficial to
the community that they live among as well as a bright future for them and
their families in the future. He allows
them to take over the now vacant shops.
There is one CRUCIAL catch. They
must, must, MUST go in and empty out ALL the corrupting contents and COMPLETELY
destroy all remnants of what these stores have been allowed to become. WHY?
This question wouldn’t even be asked because the answer is so obvious, BUT I
want to take a minute and consider it. The obvious part of the answer is that
if they don’t remove these things, they themselves will quickly become tempted
by and almost surely begin engaging in the same kinds of immoral
activities. This is especially true
given their background. However, perhaps
a more thoughtful reason to ask WHY might be, “Why wouldn’t the owner/adopted
father just go himself or send someone else in to clear it out instead of
getting them to do it given their existing predisposition for criminal
activity?” My answer to this is that
this is a crucial turning point for them.
Consider this. If they were not
willing to do this simple and straightforward task in the face of such an
amazing gift when the benefits and reasons to do this are
SO obvious, why would we think that they would have stayed away from the
criminal path over the long run??
I believe
this is a great analogy to help us understand the mandate given to the nation
of Israel by God by way of Moses. It
also sheds great light on how we can recognize the crucial role that initial
repentance and ongoing obedience plays in our lives as believers.
Just as
Moses warned the Israelites, John finishes his book 1st John with
the warning to “…keep yourselves from idols.”
I fear we have largely removed the word repent from its inextricable
link with the gospel.
