The Goodness and Severity of God

Deuteronomy 32:1-52
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In Pastor Colin categorises four views of God among Americans: a distant God, a disengaged God, a God who punishes, and a benevolent God. Colin notes that while a significant portion of Americans holds these views, they do not align with the Christian understanding of God as revealed in the Gospel.

In exploring the goodness and severity of God, Colin references Moses’ teachings in Deuteronomy, where God’s blessings and curses are vividly presented through drama and song. This helps the people understand the consequences of their obedience or rebellion against God.

He emphasises that Christmas cannot be fully understood without recognising both the goodness and severity of God. The sermon concludes with a call to embrace the true meaning of Christmas by reflecting on God’s judgment and compassion, and to be drawn closer to Jesus Christ through these twin truths.

1 00:00:00,360 –> 00:00:02,620 Now, in these weeks that lead up to Christmas, 2 00:00:02,620 –> 00:00:06,380 it’s my great joy and privilege as a pastor 3 00:00:06,380 –> 00:00:09,340 to try to explain as clearly and compellingly 4 00:00:09,340 –> 00:00:11,520 as possible from the Bible 5 00:00:11,520 –> 00:00:14,720 why Jesus Christ came into the world 6 00:00:14,720 –> 00:00:18,139 and what that means for us today. 7 00:00:18,139 –> 00:00:20,760 And I want to do that today from the book of Deuteronomy, 8 00:00:20,760 –> 00:00:23,139 where we’ve been over these last weeks, 9 00:00:23,139 –> 00:00:24,940 but I want to begin with a front page 10 00:00:24,940 –> 00:00:29,100 that caught my attention from the newspaper USA Today. 11 00:00:29,840 –> 00:00:32,700 This is from the 7th of October Edition. 12 00:00:32,700 –> 00:00:36,580 You may have spotted it also if you take this newspaper. 13 00:00:36,580 –> 00:00:38,939 They led with the headline, 14 00:00:38,939 –> 00:00:40,700 How America Sees God, 15 00:00:42,860 –> 00:00:45,180 How America Sees God. 16 00:00:45,180 –> 00:00:46,740 It is a good title, 17 00:00:46,740 –> 00:00:51,660 because the article is not purporting to tell us how God is. 18 00:00:51,660 –> 00:00:54,980 It is merely telling us from a survey 19 00:00:54,980 –> 00:00:58,580 how we, as Americans, see God, 20 00:00:58,580 –> 00:01:01,180 in which of course we may be right or wrong 21 00:01:01,180 –> 00:01:03,980 or somewhere, as it were, in between. 22 00:01:03,980 –> 00:01:06,660 The article is based on a study 23 00:01:06,660 –> 00:01:09,360 that was conducted over the last four years 24 00:01:09,360 –> 00:01:14,360 by two sociologists from Baylor University in Texas. 25 00:01:15,180 –> 00:01:16,559 Their work has just been published 26 00:01:16,559 –> 00:01:20,379 in a book that is called America’s Four Gods, 27 00:01:20,379 –> 00:01:22,500 What We Say About God 28 00:01:22,500 –> 00:01:25,180 and What This Says About Us. 29 00:01:25,180 –> 00:01:27,919 And quoting from the article reviewing this book 30 00:01:27,959 –> 00:01:31,099 on the lead of USA Today, they say, 31 00:01:31,099 –> 00:01:36,040 “‘If you pray to God, to whom or to what are you praying? 32 00:01:36,040 –> 00:01:39,199 “‘When you sing, God Bless America, 33 00:01:39,199 –> 00:01:42,059 “‘whose blessing are you seeking? 34 00:01:42,059 –> 00:01:47,059 “‘Is God by our side or is he beyond the stars? 35 00:01:47,760 –> 00:01:51,320 “‘Is he wrathful or is he forgiving? 36 00:01:51,320 –> 00:01:53,900 “‘Is he judging us every moment 37 00:01:53,900 –> 00:01:57,660 “‘or some day or never?’ 38 00:01:57,660 –> 00:01:59,639 Now, the sociologists identify 39 00:01:59,639 –> 00:02:01,639 four different views of God, 40 00:02:01,639 –> 00:02:03,879 each of which they say from their survey 41 00:02:03,879 –> 00:02:05,879 are supported by approximately 42 00:02:05,879 –> 00:02:07,919 a quarter of all Americans. 43 00:02:07,919 –> 00:02:10,160 I find it interesting that from this survey 44 00:02:10,160 –> 00:02:11,979 over the last four years 45 00:02:11,979 –> 00:02:14,800 they say that 5% of Americans 46 00:02:14,800 –> 00:02:17,679 are either atheists or agnostic, 5%, 47 00:02:17,679 –> 00:02:20,380 that’s quite a bit up on what it used to be. 48 00:02:20,380 –> 00:02:24,759 But that still leaves 95% of us according to this survey 49 00:02:24,800 –> 00:02:26,080 in the last four years, 50 00:02:26,080 –> 00:02:29,899 who have some kind of belief in God. 51 00:02:29,899 –> 00:02:31,759 But what kind of God do we believe in? 52 00:02:31,759 –> 00:02:34,580 That’s the interesting question. 53 00:02:34,580 –> 00:02:37,279 Well, the sociologists say that 54 00:02:37,279 –> 00:02:40,880 24% of Americans believe in, and I quote, 55 00:02:43,380 –> 00:02:45,679 a distant God, who, quote, 56 00:02:45,679 –> 00:02:49,860 booted up the universe, and then left humanity alone. 57 00:02:51,059 –> 00:02:54,039 Now in this view, of course, life is basically down to you. 58 00:02:54,179 –> 00:02:58,800 God has booted up the universe, he leaves it to us. 59 00:02:58,800 –> 00:03:00,880 The article here quotes a rabbi 60 00:03:00,880 –> 00:03:03,199 who identified with this view of God, 61 00:03:03,199 –> 00:03:04,619 and he says, quote, 62 00:03:04,619 –> 00:03:08,779 there is no one that can fix things if I mess them up. 63 00:03:10,139 –> 00:03:11,440 Well, that’s pretty clear, isn’t it? 64 00:03:11,440 –> 00:03:13,759 See, God’s so detached from the world, 65 00:03:13,759 –> 00:03:17,940 there is no one who can fix things if I mess them up. 66 00:03:18,080 –> 00:03:19,259 I mess them up. 67 00:03:20,199 –> 00:03:23,139 And according to USA Today, 68 00:03:23,139 –> 00:03:28,220 that is how about 24% of all Americans think of God. 69 00:03:28,220 –> 00:03:32,119 Merely started things off, but basically it’s down to us. 70 00:03:32,119 –> 00:03:34,600 And you will immediately recognize, of course, 71 00:03:34,600 –> 00:03:37,820 that that is not a Christian view of God, 72 00:03:37,820 –> 00:03:40,339 because the whole point of the Gospel 73 00:03:40,339 –> 00:03:43,279 is that Christ came to the world, 74 00:03:43,279 –> 00:03:45,460 precisely because we have messed up, 75 00:03:45,460 –> 00:03:47,179 and we need a redeemer. 76 00:03:47,179 –> 00:03:50,460 He’s at the very core of what is revealed in the Gospel. 77 00:03:50,460 –> 00:03:53,639 Now, a second view of God, identified by the sociologist, 78 00:03:53,639 –> 00:03:57,779 is that again, God is disengaged from the world, 79 00:03:57,779 –> 00:04:01,960 but that He will make things right in the end in heaven, 80 00:04:03,660 –> 00:04:06,259 and that somewhere beyond this world, 81 00:04:06,259 –> 00:04:08,479 everything will be okay. 82 00:04:08,479 –> 00:04:11,080 Now, this is essentially the view of God 83 00:04:11,080 –> 00:04:14,119 that was dismissed memorably by Karl Marx. 84 00:04:14,119 –> 00:04:16,200 You remember, he said of this kind of view of God 85 00:04:16,700 –> 00:04:19,299 and it’s the opium of the people. 86 00:04:19,299 –> 00:04:23,480 The phrase that we know it by is pie in the sky, 87 00:04:23,480 –> 00:04:25,899 finish it for me, when you die. 88 00:04:25,899 –> 00:04:26,739 You see? 89 00:04:26,739 –> 00:04:28,540 Now, according to this survey, 90 00:04:28,540 –> 00:04:32,739 about 21% of Americans see God like this, 91 00:04:32,739 –> 00:04:35,220 that He’s not gonna do anything in this world, 92 00:04:35,220 –> 00:04:37,859 that basically your lot is what it is, 93 00:04:37,859 –> 00:04:40,820 therefore there would be no particular reason for praying 94 00:04:40,820 –> 00:04:42,079 because God’s not gonna mess 95 00:04:42,079 –> 00:04:43,660 with anything that happens here, 96 00:04:43,700 –> 00:04:45,500 but at least you can have the hope 97 00:04:45,500 –> 00:04:46,859 that somehow, somewhere, 98 00:04:46,859 –> 00:04:50,519 everything will be all right in the end. 99 00:04:50,519 –> 00:04:54,339 Now again, that is not a Christian view of God. 100 00:04:54,339 –> 00:04:56,619 Why would God take human flesh 101 00:04:56,619 –> 00:04:58,640 and leave heaven and come to earth 102 00:04:58,640 –> 00:05:03,140 if He were only concerned about the things in heaven? 103 00:05:03,140 –> 00:05:05,540 Now, having looked at these two, 104 00:05:05,540 –> 00:05:07,899 it was the third and the fourth view of God 105 00:05:07,899 –> 00:05:09,660 that really caught my attention 106 00:05:10,000 –> 00:05:12,679 and the reason for bringing this to you today. 107 00:05:13,720 –> 00:05:17,679 The survey says that 28% of Americans 108 00:05:17,679 –> 00:05:20,579 see God as, quote, 109 00:05:20,579 –> 00:05:22,859 engaged in history, 110 00:05:22,859 –> 00:05:25,640 that means He’s actually at work in this world, 111 00:05:25,640 –> 00:05:29,660 and meeting out punishment 112 00:05:29,660 –> 00:05:32,000 to those who do not follow Him. 113 00:05:32,000 –> 00:05:34,760 I was actually surprised by that. 114 00:05:34,760 –> 00:05:36,500 But according to this survey, 115 00:05:36,540 –> 00:05:41,160 28% of Americans believe in a God who punishes. 116 00:05:42,200 –> 00:05:44,160 Then the survey goes on to say that 117 00:05:44,160 –> 00:05:48,600 a further 22% of Americans believe in, quote, 118 00:05:48,600 –> 00:05:50,880 a benevolent God, 119 00:05:50,880 –> 00:05:53,899 who is a force for good, 120 00:05:53,899 –> 00:05:56,540 who cares for all people, 121 00:05:56,540 –> 00:05:59,399 weeps at all conflicts, 122 00:05:59,399 –> 00:06:01,200 and will comfort all. 123 00:06:02,119 –> 00:06:03,420 So get the picture here. 124 00:06:03,420 –> 00:06:04,760 According to the sociologist 125 00:06:05,420 –> 00:06:07,540 that was reported on the front page of USA Today, 126 00:06:07,540 –> 00:06:12,540 28% of Americans believe in a God who punishes, 127 00:06:12,660 –> 00:06:17,660 and 22% of Americans believe in a God who loves. 128 00:06:19,279 –> 00:06:21,359 Now, I don’t know how these researchers 129 00:06:21,359 –> 00:06:23,679 laid out their questions. 130 00:06:23,679 –> 00:06:25,880 But at least the way in which USA Today 131 00:06:25,880 –> 00:06:27,459 presents their conclusions 132 00:06:27,459 –> 00:06:31,220 with these four kind of hermetically sealed boxes 133 00:06:31,220 –> 00:06:35,200 kind of implies that if we believe in a God who punishes, 134 00:06:35,200 –> 00:06:38,640 we cannot at the same time believe in a God who loves. 135 00:06:38,640 –> 00:06:40,880 Or if we believe in a God who loves, 136 00:06:40,880 –> 00:06:45,359 we cannot at the same time believe in a God who punishes. 137 00:06:45,359 –> 00:06:47,720 And I think having studied Deuteronomy 138 00:06:47,720 –> 00:06:49,899 as we have over these last weeks 139 00:06:49,899 –> 00:06:51,739 that if you were to say that to Moses, 140 00:06:51,739 –> 00:06:53,220 he would kind of stroke his beard 141 00:06:53,220 –> 00:06:56,640 and furrow his brow and he’d say, Really? 142 00:06:57,140 –> 00:07:00,739 And I’m trying to imagine, in my little minds 143 00:07:00,739 –> 00:07:03,859 the researchers with their clipboards 144 00:07:03,859 –> 00:07:06,859 running their survey tool on Moses, 145 00:07:08,440 –> 00:07:11,260 Moses do you believe in a God who meets out punishment 146 00:07:11,260 –> 00:07:14,380 to those who do not follow him? 147 00:07:14,380 –> 00:07:15,459 You bet I do. 148 00:07:17,200 –> 00:07:21,540 Let me tell you about the plagues in Egypt. 149 00:07:21,540 –> 00:07:25,179 Let me tell you about the time when God sent venomous snakes 150 00:07:25,239 –> 00:07:29,000 when we were in the desert, among his own people 151 00:07:29,000 –> 00:07:33,179 when we had spoken against him and grumbled and complained. 152 00:07:34,859 –> 00:07:37,579 Now these snakes bit people with their venom 153 00:07:37,579 –> 00:07:40,640 and many died, and then I think Moses would joke 154 00:07:40,640 –> 00:07:43,200 as he said this, he’d say, 155 00:07:43,200 –> 00:07:46,859 let me tell you about how I struck the rock. 156 00:07:48,640 –> 00:07:51,820 Oh that wretched, foolish, costly act. 157 00:07:52,399 –> 00:07:56,160 And God said to me, Moses, you will not enter 158 00:07:58,059 –> 00:07:59,880 into the promised land. 159 00:08:02,279 –> 00:08:06,220 And I see the researchers putting their pens away. 160 00:08:06,220 –> 00:08:08,059 So there you are Moses, you believe 161 00:08:08,059 –> 00:08:10,000 in a God who judges. 162 00:08:10,000 –> 00:08:11,899 No surprise there, we can have figured that. 163 00:08:11,899 –> 00:08:13,959 You’re an Old Testament guy, aren’t you? 164 00:08:13,959 –> 00:08:17,660 So you’re not one of these people, Moses, 165 00:08:17,660 –> 00:08:20,440 who believes that God pours out love 166 00:08:21,220 –> 00:08:22,579 and compassion all the time. 167 00:08:22,579 –> 00:08:26,119 And Moses would say, hey, wait a minute. 168 00:08:26,119 –> 00:08:28,920 Let me tell you about how God delivered us 169 00:08:28,920 –> 00:08:32,080 on that night of the plagues in Egypt. 170 00:08:33,080 –> 00:08:35,020 Let me tell you about the bronze serpent 171 00:08:35,020 –> 00:08:36,960 that was lifted up on the pole. 172 00:08:36,960 –> 00:08:39,320 And when I lifted that bronze serpent up, 173 00:08:39,320 –> 00:08:43,460 those who looked in faith to this gift that God had given, 174 00:08:43,460 –> 00:08:48,460 they were healed of the venom and their lives were saved. 175 00:08:48,460 –> 00:08:50,479 Let me tell you about the sacrifices 176 00:08:50,479 –> 00:08:52,719 that were given so that even though in this world 177 00:08:52,719 –> 00:08:54,919 I will not enter into the promised land, 178 00:08:54,919 –> 00:08:57,179 my name will not be blotted out, 179 00:08:57,179 –> 00:08:59,539 but rather I have peace with God. 180 00:09:01,820 –> 00:09:03,799 Reflecting on this, there’s a verse 181 00:09:03,799 –> 00:09:06,200 in scripture that has come to me. 182 00:09:06,200 –> 00:09:08,700 It’s so important for us to grasp. 183 00:09:08,700 –> 00:09:11,119 It’s Romans chapter 11 and verse 22, 184 00:09:11,119 –> 00:09:13,619 where the apostle Paul says, 185 00:09:13,619 –> 00:09:18,520 Behold, therefore, the goodness and the severity of God. 186 00:09:19,940 –> 00:09:23,840 Romans 11, 22, it’s really worth knowing and remembering. 187 00:09:23,840 –> 00:09:26,440 The apostle Paul says, what you’re to look at, 188 00:09:26,440 –> 00:09:28,419 and he’s writing to Christians in Rome. 189 00:09:28,419 –> 00:09:30,419 So this is for us, very much. 190 00:09:30,419 –> 00:09:32,539 Paul says, here’s what your to look at. 191 00:09:32,539 –> 00:09:34,179 Here’s what you’re to consider. 192 00:09:34,179 –> 00:09:38,260 I want you Christian people to behold 193 00:09:38,260 –> 00:09:42,520 the goodness and the severity of God. 194 00:09:44,539 –> 00:09:47,900 And Dr. Jim Packer, commenting on this verse, says, 195 00:09:47,900 –> 00:09:51,500 Christians are not to dwell on God’s goodness alone 196 00:09:52,479 –> 00:09:54,919 or on His severity alone. 197 00:09:55,780 –> 00:09:58,239 But we are to contemplate both together. 198 00:09:59,520 –> 00:10:02,260 In other words, if you want know who God really is, 199 00:10:02,260 –> 00:10:04,979 as opposed to simply projecting your own imagination 200 00:10:04,979 –> 00:10:07,859 or intuition about Him as so many people do, 201 00:10:07,859 –> 00:10:09,859 what you need to do, the Bible is saying, 202 00:10:09,859 –> 00:10:13,619 is to consider His goodness and His severity. 203 00:10:13,619 –> 00:10:16,479 You have to consider His mercy and His judgment. 204 00:10:16,479 –> 00:10:19,940 You have to consider His love and His wrath. 205 00:10:19,940 –> 00:10:21,539 And I’m suggesting to you today, 206 00:10:21,539 –> 00:10:23,380 and this is the reason for this message 207 00:10:23,380 –> 00:10:26,280 that you cannot understand Christmas 208 00:10:27,859 –> 00:10:32,859 unless you grasp the goodness and the severity of God. 209 00:10:35,280 –> 00:10:37,159 Now, preparing His people 210 00:10:37,159 –> 00:10:39,119 for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, 211 00:10:39,159 –> 00:10:39,960 which of course is the center 212 00:10:39,960 –> 00:10:42,419 of what the whole bible is all about, 213 00:10:42,419 –> 00:10:44,599 way back in the book of Deuteronomy, 214 00:10:44,599 –> 00:10:47,900 God is impressing on the minds of His people 215 00:10:47,900 –> 00:10:51,500 these two great truths, His goodness and His severity. 216 00:10:52,440 –> 00:10:53,919 And we’ve seen it running all the way 217 00:10:53,919 –> 00:10:55,179 through the book of Deuteronomy. 218 00:10:55,179 –> 00:10:56,479 And when we come to the end, 219 00:10:56,479 –> 00:10:59,700 this is the dominant theme that Moses lays before the people. 220 00:10:59,700 –> 00:11:02,840 He wants this to stay with them more than anything else. 221 00:11:02,840 –> 00:11:06,679 This is what will enable them to understand Jesus Christ. 222 00:11:07,679 –> 00:11:11,039 And so God presses these twin truths 223 00:11:11,039 –> 00:11:13,419 into the minds and hearts of His people 224 00:11:13,419 –> 00:11:15,539 in remarkable ways and I want you 225 00:11:15,539 –> 00:11:17,659 to notice this morning that He does it 226 00:11:17,659 –> 00:11:21,880 through drama and He does it through music. 227 00:11:23,039 –> 00:11:26,700 God is very concerned that we get certain things. 228 00:11:27,659 –> 00:11:29,900 And so if you open your bible at Deuteronomy, 229 00:11:29,900 –> 00:11:32,960 I want you to see first the drama and then the music. 230 00:11:32,960 –> 00:11:36,440 The drama is in chapter 27 and chapter 28. 231 00:11:36,880 –> 00:11:41,239 The drama of God’s goodness and of His severity. 232 00:11:41,239 –> 00:11:43,640 Now remember Moses addressing the people, 233 00:11:43,640 –> 00:11:46,140 the verge of the promised land and he says, 234 00:11:46,140 –> 00:11:48,559 I’m not going in with you, Moses is going to die 235 00:11:48,559 –> 00:11:50,280 as we’ll see next week God willing. 236 00:11:51,299 –> 00:11:52,840 Don’t be with the Lord. 237 00:11:52,840 –> 00:11:55,239 But they’re going into the promised land 238 00:11:55,239 –> 00:11:57,559 and he says now when you get there here’s what you’re to do 239 00:11:57,559 –> 00:11:58,979 you cross the Jordan and you’re going 240 00:11:58,979 –> 00:12:02,179 to go past two mountains and these mountains 241 00:12:02,179 –> 00:12:05,679 are called Mount Ebal and Mount Gerazim 242 00:12:06,559 –> 00:12:08,659 and when you get to Mount Ebal and Gerazim 243 00:12:08,659 –> 00:12:11,479 I want you to send Moses says in chapter 27 244 00:12:11,479 –> 00:12:14,919 verse 12 and 13, I want you to send some representatives 245 00:12:14,919 –> 00:12:16,780 from six tribes up one mountain 246 00:12:16,780 –> 00:12:19,099 and I want you to send representatives 247 00:12:19,099 –> 00:12:21,260 of six tribes up the other mountain 248 00:12:22,179 –> 00:12:24,320 and then when all the people of God 249 00:12:24,320 –> 00:12:28,000 when you’re all marching through between these mountains 250 00:12:28,000 –> 00:12:32,520 as you go past Mount Gerazim the folks up there 251 00:12:32,520 –> 00:12:36,559 are to shout out all the blessings that will be upon you 252 00:12:36,559 –> 00:12:38,780 as you walk in obedience to the Lord 253 00:12:39,900 –> 00:12:43,739 and then when you walk past Mount Ebal 254 00:12:43,739 –> 00:12:47,979 the guys up there are gonna be shouting out all the curses 255 00:12:47,979 –> 00:12:52,979 that will come upon you if you disobey the ways of the Lord 256 00:12:54,140 –> 00:12:56,880 and so if you have chapter 27 open 257 00:12:56,880 –> 00:12:59,539 you’ll see there what the Levites are to shout 258 00:13:00,460 –> 00:13:02,520 and verse 15, they’re to shout out 259 00:13:02,520 –> 00:13:05,460 as the people walk along the valley there, 260 00:13:05,460 –> 00:13:08,659 cursed is the man, verse 15, chapter 27, 261 00:13:08,659 –> 00:13:11,859 who carves an image and casts an idol 262 00:13:11,859 –> 00:13:13,440 and you notice at the end of each verse 263 00:13:13,440 –> 00:13:16,140 as these curses are listed all the people are to say, 264 00:13:16,140 –> 00:13:20,859 Amen, Amen, which means so shall it be, 265 00:13:20,859 –> 00:13:23,919 verse 16, cursed is the man who dishonors his father 266 00:13:23,919 –> 00:13:26,159 and his mother and so it goes on right through the chapter 267 00:13:26,159 –> 00:13:29,340 you see it there, words evolve, verse 26 at the bottom, 268 00:13:29,340 –> 00:13:32,239 cursed is the man who does not uphold the words 269 00:13:32,239 –> 00:13:34,440 of this law by carrying them out 270 00:13:34,440 –> 00:13:38,299 and all the people shall say, Amen. 271 00:13:39,599 –> 00:13:41,440 Can you imagine how vivid this is. 272 00:13:43,239 –> 00:13:45,840 Walking past this mountain there’s all these guys 273 00:13:47,440 –> 00:13:51,640 and they’re saying, if you disobey God, 274 00:13:51,640 –> 00:13:53,500 you’re gonna be cursed in the city 275 00:13:54,520 –> 00:13:57,659 and you say, Amen, that’s how it’s gonna be, 276 00:13:57,659 –> 00:13:59,320 I know, I know I agree with that. 277 00:14:00,140 –> 00:14:02,080 Then someone says, if you despair God, 278 00:14:02,080 –> 00:14:04,520 you’re going to be cursed in the country, Amen. 279 00:14:05,960 –> 00:14:09,059 Then you walk past Mount Geritsimen 280 00:14:09,059 –> 00:14:10,979 and there are people up there saying, 281 00:14:10,979 –> 00:14:14,200 if you obey the Lord, you’re gonna be blessed in the city, 282 00:14:15,479 –> 00:14:16,419 if you obey the Lord, 283 00:14:16,419 –> 00:14:18,520 you’re going to be blessed in the country. 284 00:14:19,580 –> 00:14:22,460 Would you ever forget such an experience? 285 00:14:23,719 –> 00:14:26,880 Every time the kids came back to these mountains, 286 00:14:26,880 –> 00:14:28,260 oh, there’s that mountain 287 00:14:28,260 –> 00:14:30,260 when these men were shouting all the bad things 288 00:14:30,260 –> 00:14:31,280 and there’s that mountain 289 00:14:31,280 –> 00:14:33,679 where the men were shouting all the good things. 290 00:14:35,520 –> 00:14:36,880 Could it have been clearer? 291 00:14:38,760 –> 00:14:40,979 God blesses, God punishes, 292 00:14:42,400 –> 00:14:44,679 there are blessings that follow righteousness, 293 00:14:44,679 –> 00:14:47,039 there are curses that follow rebellion, 294 00:14:48,900 –> 00:14:52,140 and as the people felt this in the drama 295 00:14:52,140 –> 00:14:54,880 of their own entry into the promised land, 296 00:14:54,880 –> 00:14:57,739 they’re saying amen, amen, amen, 297 00:14:57,739 –> 00:15:00,440 because they’re not just to hear it, they’re to own it. 298 00:15:02,760 –> 00:15:07,000 Now not only is God’s teaching them through this drama, 299 00:15:07,919 –> 00:15:10,599 but as we turn over now to chapter 31 300 00:15:10,599 –> 00:15:14,479 and chapter 32, he reinforces it even further 301 00:15:14,479 –> 00:15:16,919 through a remarkable song, 302 00:15:18,960 –> 00:15:21,039 and again, the song is on the same theme, 303 00:15:21,039 –> 00:15:23,479 the whole of the end of the book is about this one thing, 304 00:15:23,520 –> 00:15:25,880 and you’ve got to get it that there’s the goodness 305 00:15:25,880 –> 00:15:26,960 and the severity of God, 306 00:15:26,960 –> 00:15:29,960 don’t think about the one without the other, 307 00:15:29,960 –> 00:15:32,219 we’ll always end up in error that way. 308 00:15:32,219 –> 00:15:35,159 Consider the goodness and the severity of God, 309 00:15:35,159 –> 00:15:36,760 and it’s impressed through the drama, 310 00:15:36,760 –> 00:15:38,599 now it’s impressed through a song. 311 00:15:38,599 –> 00:15:41,400 Chapter 31 and verse 19, 312 00:15:41,400 –> 00:15:46,260 God now speaks, in private, to Moses and to Joshua, 313 00:15:46,679 –> 00:15:47,520 and he says to them, 314 00:15:47,520 –> 00:15:51,700 come right down for yourselves this song, 315 00:15:51,700 –> 00:15:55,979 teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, 316 00:15:57,119 –> 00:15:59,280 Moses becomes the choir director, 317 00:15:59,280 –> 00:16:01,200 he becomes the leader of worship, 318 00:16:01,200 –> 00:16:02,780 he’s got to sing a song himself, 319 00:16:02,780 –> 00:16:05,960 I don’t know what kind of singer Moses would have been, 320 00:16:05,960 –> 00:16:08,900 but he has to teach the song to Israel 321 00:16:08,900 –> 00:16:10,460 and teach it to them so well 322 00:16:10,460 –> 00:16:12,900 that the congregation can all sing it by memory, 323 00:16:14,200 –> 00:16:15,479 which we’re not going to manage today 324 00:16:15,520 –> 00:16:17,919 because the song is in chapter 32 325 00:16:17,919 –> 00:16:21,340 and you’ll see it runs for 43 verses, 326 00:16:21,340 –> 00:16:24,700 in fact it tells us if you look there in chapter 31 327 00:16:24,700 –> 00:16:29,700 and verse 30, Moses recited the words of this song 328 00:16:30,080 –> 00:16:32,580 from beginning to end in the hearing 329 00:16:32,580 –> 00:16:34,380 of the whole assembly of Israel 330 00:16:34,380 –> 00:16:37,820 and bearing in mind that the dear man was 120, 331 00:16:37,820 –> 00:16:41,619 that’s not bad memory to be able to recite chapter 32 332 00:16:41,619 –> 00:16:43,859 at the age of 120, what do you think? 333 00:16:44,500 –> 00:16:49,500 But God gave him this song because it brings together 334 00:16:51,739 –> 00:16:55,960 the very essence of what his people have to know 335 00:16:55,960 –> 00:16:59,500 in order to know God and what we have to know 336 00:16:59,500 –> 00:17:02,739 in order to understand Christmas. 337 00:17:04,420 –> 00:17:06,739 Now you’ll see then that the message of this song 338 00:17:06,739 –> 00:17:08,900 is the same as the message of the drama 339 00:17:08,900 –> 00:17:11,180 and indeed the same as the message of the whole book 340 00:17:11,180 –> 00:17:14,500 of Deuteronomy and indeed the whole of the Bible. 341 00:17:14,500 –> 00:17:17,900 It begins in its first half, verses one to 26, 342 00:17:17,900 –> 00:17:20,020 with the severity of God. 343 00:17:21,560 –> 00:17:25,060 And as Moses sings the song he rehearses 344 00:17:25,060 –> 00:17:29,219 in the earlier part the blessings of God. 345 00:17:29,219 –> 00:17:31,739 From verse 10, let’s pick this up, 346 00:17:31,739 –> 00:17:33,859 there’s a catalog of blessings here, 347 00:17:33,859 –> 00:17:36,359 both blessings past, in the desert 348 00:17:36,359 –> 00:17:38,319 and blessings that would come in the future 349 00:17:38,319 –> 00:17:40,219 in the Promised Land. 350 00:17:40,359 –> 00:17:44,699 Verse 10 of chapter 32, God found you in the desert. 351 00:17:44,699 –> 00:17:48,599 God has shielded you, verse 10, and he has cared for you. 352 00:17:48,599 –> 00:17:50,459 God, verse 11, has guarded you 353 00:17:50,459 –> 00:17:53,280 like an eagle guarding its nest. 354 00:17:53,280 –> 00:17:57,660 Verse 13, God nourished you with honey from the rock 355 00:17:57,660 –> 00:18:01,119 and with oil from the flinty crag. 356 00:18:01,119 –> 00:18:02,500 I love that phrase. 357 00:18:02,500 –> 00:18:04,319 No, it’s beginning to speak about the blessings 358 00:18:04,319 –> 00:18:07,760 that will come to them in the Promised Land, you see. 359 00:18:07,780 –> 00:18:12,160 God’s blessings in your life, my friend, 360 00:18:12,160 –> 00:18:14,819 and in mine are more than we can number. 361 00:18:16,060 –> 00:18:20,239 But, Moses goes on to describe prophetically 362 00:18:20,239 –> 00:18:22,459 the choices that God’s people will make 363 00:18:22,459 –> 00:18:24,660 and the rest of the Old Testament simply 364 00:18:24,660 –> 00:18:26,119 is an outworking of everything 365 00:18:26,119 –> 00:18:28,859 that Moses says here in this song. 366 00:18:28,859 –> 00:18:32,119 Verse 15, one of the most striking verses 367 00:18:32,119 –> 00:18:34,380 in the book of Deuteronomy. 368 00:18:34,380 –> 00:18:39,380 Jeshurun grew fat and kicked. 369 00:18:40,680 –> 00:18:42,959 Do you see that in verse 15? 370 00:18:42,959 –> 00:18:47,619 Jeshurun grew fat and kicked! 371 00:18:48,619 –> 00:18:49,520 I said to Karen the other day, 372 00:18:49,520 –> 00:18:51,020 isn’t that an amazing verse? 373 00:18:51,020 –> 00:18:53,599 She said, well yeah, but what in the world does it mean? 374 00:18:54,680 –> 00:18:56,020 Jeshurun! 375 00:18:56,020 –> 00:18:59,339 If you’ve got very good eyes, and a pew Bible, 376 00:18:59,339 –> 00:19:01,459 you will notice, perhaps, bottom right-hand side 377 00:19:01,459 –> 00:19:04,680 of the page that there’s a footnote there 378 00:19:04,680 –> 00:19:06,819 that simply says, Jeshurun means, 379 00:19:06,819 –> 00:19:10,000 the upright one that is Israel. 380 00:19:10,000 –> 00:19:12,760 The upright one, Israel. 381 00:19:12,760 –> 00:19:16,219 So you say, well now, why not simply say Israel, then? 382 00:19:16,219 –> 00:19:18,579 And I think the answer is that by using this name, 383 00:19:18,579 –> 00:19:21,500 Jeshurun, that means the upright one, 384 00:19:21,500 –> 00:19:25,699 God is speaking about his own people at their best. 385 00:19:25,699 –> 00:19:27,939 And he’s saying to them, here’s the truth about you 386 00:19:27,939 –> 00:19:29,719 at your most upright. 387 00:19:30,619 –> 00:19:33,540 Jeshurun, you at your most upright, 388 00:19:33,540 –> 00:19:36,640 grew fat and kicked. 389 00:19:37,839 –> 00:19:40,859 Now, you see what the picture is here. 390 00:19:40,859 –> 00:19:44,500 You imagine a mule, and the mule has been doing good work 391 00:19:44,500 –> 00:19:45,660 for its master, 392 00:19:46,520 –> 00:19:50,199 but the mule puts on some weight 393 00:19:50,199 –> 00:19:52,420 and it begins to feel lethargic 394 00:19:52,420 –> 00:19:55,479 and it thinks, I don’t want to work for the master anymore. 395 00:19:55,479 –> 00:19:58,619 And so one day the master comes up and what does the mule do? 396 00:19:58,640 –> 00:19:59,459 Kicks. 397 00:20:00,839 –> 00:20:02,880 Now, God is saying that is precisely 398 00:20:02,880 –> 00:20:04,420 what I know you’re going to do. 399 00:20:05,979 –> 00:20:10,979 He says right here that he knows what is in our hearts. 400 00:20:13,140 –> 00:20:16,459 He knows what we are disposed to do. 401 00:20:16,459 –> 00:20:19,780 That’s chapter 31 and verse 21. 402 00:20:19,780 –> 00:20:22,140 I know what you are disposed to do 403 00:20:22,140 –> 00:20:24,959 even before I bring you into the land, he says, 404 00:20:24,959 –> 00:20:26,560 and I know what’s going to happen. 405 00:20:27,420 –> 00:20:29,199 You’re going to grow fat and kick. 406 00:20:30,459 –> 00:20:32,359 You’re going to receive my blessings 407 00:20:32,359 –> 00:20:34,500 and you’re going to credit yourself. 408 00:20:36,260 –> 00:20:37,819 And then when something goes wrong, 409 00:20:37,819 –> 00:20:40,540 despite all the blessings that I have poured into your life, 410 00:20:40,540 –> 00:20:41,400 what are you going to do? 411 00:20:41,400 –> 00:20:43,660 You’re going to resist me, you’re going to resent me, 412 00:20:43,660 –> 00:20:45,060 you’re going to speak against me, 413 00:20:45,060 –> 00:20:46,359 you’re going to doubt me, 414 00:20:46,359 –> 00:20:48,599 you will grow fat and you will kick. 415 00:20:50,280 –> 00:20:52,180 And God says, I know that this is 416 00:20:52,180 –> 00:20:54,099 what you’re disposed to do. 417 00:20:54,099 –> 00:20:56,199 Isn’t that amazing, God knows what’s in your heart. 418 00:20:56,199 –> 00:20:59,880 God knows what you want to do this week even before you do. 419 00:21:01,880 –> 00:21:04,680 You receive my blessings, you credit yourself 420 00:21:04,680 –> 00:21:07,819 and you kick against me 421 00:21:07,819 –> 00:21:10,219 and that’s true of my people at their best. 422 00:21:11,560 –> 00:21:12,400 I know this. 423 00:21:14,300 –> 00:21:17,160 And therefore God begins to speak of the judgment 424 00:21:17,160 –> 00:21:19,000 that they deserve and as you know, 425 00:21:19,000 –> 00:21:21,239 the Old Testament story or as you would find out 426 00:21:21,239 –> 00:21:23,199 if you read more of the Old Testament, 427 00:21:23,199 –> 00:21:25,239 the very judgments that are spoken of here 428 00:21:25,280 –> 00:21:26,800 are exactly what happen 429 00:21:26,800 –> 00:21:29,520 as you follow the story of the Old Testament. 430 00:21:29,520 –> 00:21:32,280 Verse 19, the judgment you deserve. 431 00:21:32,280 –> 00:21:35,500 The Lord saw this and he rejected them 432 00:21:35,500 –> 00:21:38,219 because he was angered by his own sons 433 00:21:38,219 –> 00:21:40,280 and his own daughters 434 00:21:40,280 –> 00:21:41,760 and notice what God says he will do. 435 00:21:41,760 –> 00:21:44,119 Here’s the severity of God. 436 00:21:44,119 –> 00:21:47,479 They grow fat, they kick and God says, 437 00:21:47,479 –> 00:21:50,500 verse 20, I will hide my face from them. 438 00:21:51,500 –> 00:21:55,680 He says, verse 21, I will make them envious. 439 00:21:55,680 –> 00:21:56,780 This happened of course, 440 00:21:56,780 –> 00:21:59,000 because God prospered other nations 441 00:21:59,000 –> 00:22:01,979 that did not even acknowledge him 442 00:22:01,979 –> 00:22:04,479 and cause these people who bore his name 443 00:22:04,479 –> 00:22:06,380 to go into this terrible decline. 444 00:22:07,839 –> 00:22:08,900 I will make them angry. 445 00:22:08,900 –> 00:22:10,939 That’s why they were angry. 446 00:22:10,939 –> 00:22:13,500 Hey, why has God blessing them and not us? 447 00:22:13,500 –> 00:22:15,339 Why is it all going well for them and not us? 448 00:22:17,020 –> 00:22:19,380 Verse 23, I will bring calamities upon them. 449 00:22:19,560 –> 00:22:20,479 I will hide my face. 450 00:22:20,479 –> 00:22:21,599 I will make them envious. 451 00:22:21,599 –> 00:22:22,660 I will make them angry. 452 00:22:22,660 –> 00:22:24,300 I will bring calamities on them. 453 00:22:24,300 –> 00:22:27,479 Why Lord, look at verse 22, 454 00:22:28,500 –> 00:22:32,780 for a fire has been kindled by my wrath, 455 00:22:33,859 –> 00:22:37,780 one that burns to the realm of death below. 456 00:22:39,479 –> 00:22:40,939 You can hardly read a verse like that 457 00:22:40,939 –> 00:22:43,739 and not believe if you take the Bible seriously 458 00:22:43,739 –> 00:22:45,579 in a God who punishes, right? 459 00:22:46,339 –> 00:22:51,339 Consider the severity of God. 460 00:22:53,420 –> 00:22:55,079 What a picture of God’s judgment 461 00:22:55,079 –> 00:22:57,119 to be surrounded by calamity. 462 00:22:58,439 –> 00:23:02,260 To live in envy towards others and anger towards God 463 00:23:03,359 –> 00:23:07,560 while God turns away and hides his face. 464 00:23:09,680 –> 00:23:13,140 And friends, this is the judgment that I deserve. 465 00:23:13,660 –> 00:23:17,199 This is the judgment that we deserve. 466 00:23:19,219 –> 00:23:22,219 For at our best, this is the truth about us, 467 00:23:22,219 –> 00:23:26,760 Jehoram grew fat and kicked. 468 00:23:29,459 –> 00:23:32,079 Have you ever considered the severity of God? 469 00:23:32,079 –> 00:23:32,920 Really? 470 00:23:34,020 –> 00:23:36,540 Or are you living in cloud cuckoo land 471 00:23:36,540 –> 00:23:40,699 with a sentimentality of a God who would never hurt a fly? 472 00:23:40,699 –> 00:23:44,160 You’re not in the world of the Bible. 473 00:23:45,819 –> 00:23:47,540 You’re not in the world of reality. 474 00:23:48,979 –> 00:23:52,520 Is this truth of the severity of God rooted in your heart? 475 00:23:54,339 –> 00:23:58,319 I need this truth to restrain me from sinning, so do you. 476 00:24:00,359 –> 00:24:03,839 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 477 00:24:05,180 –> 00:24:07,280 You can’t replace that with anything else. 478 00:24:08,280 –> 00:24:13,280 But as this judgment thunders to its climax, in verse 26, 479 00:24:13,959 –> 00:24:15,020 where God… 480 00:24:15,020 –> 00:24:17,520 You notice God had said, I will, I will, I will, I will. 481 00:24:17,520 –> 00:24:18,660 And he did. 482 00:24:18,660 –> 00:24:20,859 You read it in the rest of the Old Testament. 483 00:24:21,959 –> 00:24:24,780 But then He says, verse 26, notice the change, 484 00:24:24,780 –> 00:24:25,719 I said, 485 00:24:26,560 –> 00:24:28,640 I said I would scatter them 486 00:24:28,640 –> 00:24:32,040 and blot out their memory from mankind. 487 00:24:32,040 –> 00:24:33,800 That would be terminal, wouldn’t it? 488 00:24:34,719 –> 00:24:36,839 And then notice the next word in verse 27. 489 00:24:37,780 –> 00:24:38,660 But, 490 00:24:39,800 –> 00:24:40,640 but. 491 00:24:42,180 –> 00:24:44,920 So here’s this train of the judgment of God 492 00:24:44,920 –> 00:24:46,680 and it’s thundering down the track 493 00:24:46,680 –> 00:24:49,760 and suddenly the brakes screech on. 494 00:24:49,760 –> 00:24:50,599 But. 495 00:24:52,119 –> 00:24:54,520 Don’t you thank God for all the places in the Bible 496 00:24:54,520 –> 00:24:57,060 where we read about our own human wretchedness 497 00:24:57,060 –> 00:24:59,319 and then we read some statement like Ephesians, 498 00:24:59,319 –> 00:25:01,140 too, but, God. 499 00:25:03,079 –> 00:25:05,000 Cause when you have said everything 500 00:25:05,000 –> 00:25:06,380 that there is to be said 501 00:25:06,380 –> 00:25:07,939 about the judgment of God, 502 00:25:07,939 –> 00:25:10,339 there is more to be said about God. 503 00:25:13,400 –> 00:25:16,579 And so Moses now begins to unfold to them 504 00:25:16,579 –> 00:25:19,739 as they’ve seen the severity of God 505 00:25:19,739 –> 00:25:21,800 and as they would see it in their history. 506 00:25:22,880 –> 00:25:25,660 He now begins to unfold to them the goodness of God. 507 00:25:25,660 –> 00:25:27,459 You ready for a bit of that? 508 00:25:28,380 –> 00:25:30,640 Are you ready for a bit of that? 509 00:25:31,640 –> 00:25:34,020 Verse 27 onwards. 510 00:25:34,020 –> 00:25:36,180 There’s really three strands to what he says 511 00:25:36,180 –> 00:25:38,380 about the abundant goodness of God. 512 00:25:38,380 –> 00:25:40,300 And the first might come as a surprise 513 00:25:40,300 –> 00:25:42,660 until we think about it together. 514 00:25:42,660 –> 00:25:44,500 The first strand of the goodness of God 515 00:25:44,500 –> 00:25:47,920 is that God will take vengeance on his enemies. 516 00:25:49,020 –> 00:25:53,060 Now you see this in verse 29, verse 35, and verse 43, 517 00:25:53,060 –> 00:25:55,260 it runs all through Moses exposition 518 00:25:55,260 –> 00:25:56,579 of the goodness of God. 519 00:25:56,579 –> 00:26:00,380 And your first reaction may be like mine was, 520 00:26:00,380 –> 00:26:02,939 well, wait a minute, if this is about the goodness of God, 521 00:26:02,939 –> 00:26:04,619 God taking vengeance on his enemies 522 00:26:04,619 –> 00:26:05,920 sounds more like more judgment, 523 00:26:06,560 –> 00:26:07,400 I mean how can that be the goodness of God? 524 00:26:07,400 –> 00:26:08,479 And here’s the answer. 525 00:26:09,640 –> 00:26:11,719 A God who cannot destroy evil 526 00:26:11,719 –> 00:26:13,959 is of no help to you or to us. 527 00:26:16,319 –> 00:26:18,959 A venomous serpent came into the garden of Eden 528 00:26:18,959 –> 00:26:20,160 and the poison of evil 529 00:26:20,160 –> 00:26:23,260 has affected the human race ever since. 530 00:26:24,300 –> 00:26:29,300 We need a savior who can crush the head of the serpent. 531 00:26:32,119 –> 00:26:35,040 And this is the savior that we have in Jesus Christ. 532 00:26:35,099 –> 00:26:38,099 When he comes into the world, he says of Satan, 533 00:26:38,099 –> 00:26:42,359 the prince of this world now stands condemned. 534 00:26:42,359 –> 00:26:44,199 The New Testament tells us that Christ came 535 00:26:44,199 –> 00:26:47,540 to destroy the works of the evil one. 536 00:26:47,540 –> 00:26:49,459 And because of the coming and the dying 537 00:26:49,459 –> 00:26:51,160 and the rising of Jesus Christ, 538 00:26:51,160 –> 00:26:53,880 the promise of the New Testament is this. 539 00:26:53,880 –> 00:26:56,199 And it is Gd’s certain word and his oath 540 00:26:56,199 –> 00:26:58,760 and you can bank your eternity on it. 541 00:26:59,719 –> 00:27:03,079 That Satan and all who do his works 542 00:27:03,920 –> 00:27:08,920 will be destroyed in the lake of fire forever and forever. 543 00:27:10,800 –> 00:27:15,020 It is an awesome and sombre and eternal reality. 544 00:27:16,800 –> 00:27:21,319 Sin will be no more. 545 00:27:21,319 –> 00:27:23,819 And friends, that is the beginning of hope 546 00:27:23,819 –> 00:27:25,479 because what would heaven be if heaven 547 00:27:25,479 –> 00:27:28,140 was just more of the same of what we’ve got on Earth? 548 00:27:30,400 –> 00:27:31,660 I don’t know how in the world folks 549 00:27:31,780 –> 00:27:36,780 decide what kids should read at high school, 550 00:27:36,859 –> 00:27:40,180 but what you read tends to stay with you a long time. 551 00:27:40,180 –> 00:27:43,160 And when I was at high school in Edinburgh, Scotland, 552 00:27:44,020 –> 00:27:45,180 one of the books we were given, 553 00:27:45,180 –> 00:27:49,020 some of you would have been the same, George Orwell 1984. 554 00:27:49,020 –> 00:27:51,300 These were in the days before 1984 555 00:27:51,300 –> 00:27:52,780 when everyone was worried about what’s going 556 00:27:52,780 –> 00:27:55,579 to happen in 1984, nobody cares about that now. 557 00:27:57,819 –> 00:28:01,319 But as a 14 year old, I read a phrase from George Orwell 558 00:28:01,359 –> 00:28:03,160 that has stayed with me all my life. 559 00:28:04,760 –> 00:28:05,599 He said, 560 00:28:05,599 –> 00:28:08,400 if you want a picture of the future, 561 00:28:09,839 –> 00:28:14,839 imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever. 562 00:28:18,719 –> 00:28:20,640 See that was what Orwell saw of the world. 563 00:28:20,640 –> 00:28:24,959 He saw the rise of totalitarianism, the loss of freedom. 564 00:28:26,839 –> 00:28:28,880 And while we thank God for freedom 565 00:28:28,920 –> 00:28:30,439 in so many parts of the world, 566 00:28:32,000 –> 00:28:35,280 there are so many for whom even today, 567 00:28:35,280 –> 00:28:36,359 the experience of life 568 00:28:36,359 –> 00:28:41,359 resembles a boot stamping on a human face. 569 00:28:41,479 –> 00:28:46,260 But the Gospel would say to George Orwell, 570 00:28:46,260 –> 00:28:51,260 however much a boot stamps on a human face in this world, 571 00:28:53,199 –> 00:28:56,180 George Orwell, not forever. 572 00:28:57,180 –> 00:29:01,719 There will be no boots stamping on human faces 573 00:29:01,719 –> 00:29:04,020 in the new heaven and the new earth. 574 00:29:04,020 –> 00:29:06,239 Why? Because God will destroy all evil. 575 00:29:06,239 –> 00:29:07,079 That’s good news. 576 00:29:07,079 –> 00:29:09,819 Isn’t it that is the abundant goodness of God. 577 00:29:09,819 –> 00:29:11,839 A savior who’s merely meek and mild 578 00:29:11,839 –> 00:29:15,699 and who merely weeps is of no use to you 579 00:29:15,699 –> 00:29:19,900 if he does not have the power and the will to destroy evil, 580 00:29:19,900 –> 00:29:24,239 not impart, but wholly completely utterly and forever. 581 00:29:24,719 –> 00:29:26,339 Sin will be no more. 582 00:29:26,339 –> 00:29:29,780 This is the issue of the coming of the Saviour, 583 00:29:29,780 –> 00:29:31,140 the effect of his coming. 584 00:29:31,140 –> 00:29:33,160 And that is why in verse 29, 585 00:29:33,160 –> 00:29:35,560 Moses says about God’s enemies, 586 00:29:35,560 –> 00:29:37,880 if only they were wise 587 00:29:37,880 –> 00:29:40,780 and discern what their end will be. 588 00:29:42,680 –> 00:29:44,339 For verse 35, God says, 589 00:29:44,339 –> 00:29:46,599 it is mine to avenge, I will repay. 590 00:29:46,599 –> 00:29:49,839 And in due time they’re foot will slip. 591 00:29:50,699 –> 00:29:53,979 And in verse 43, God will avenge the blood of his servants. 592 00:29:53,979 –> 00:29:56,979 He will take vengeance on his enemies. 593 00:29:56,979 –> 00:29:58,239 Sin will be no more 594 00:29:58,239 –> 00:30:02,459 because God in his infinite holiness will destroy it. 595 00:30:02,459 –> 00:30:06,380 Nothing that defiles will enter the Holy city. 596 00:30:07,079 –> 00:30:09,939 And that is the goodness of God. 597 00:30:09,939 –> 00:30:14,619 The works of the serpent and all who do his works 598 00:30:14,619 –> 00:30:16,119 destroyed forever. 599 00:30:16,140 –> 00:30:16,979 Forever. 600 00:30:20,540 –> 00:30:24,979 But there has to be more to the goodness of God than that. 601 00:30:24,979 –> 00:30:26,079 If you’re thinking with me, 602 00:30:26,079 –> 00:30:27,699 you’ll be saying, well, yes, 603 00:30:27,699 –> 00:30:29,260 but if God destroys all evil, 604 00:30:29,260 –> 00:30:32,119 what about the evil that’s in me? 605 00:30:32,119 –> 00:30:35,400 What about my growing fat and kicking? 606 00:30:35,400 –> 00:30:37,479 Where does that leave me? 607 00:30:38,920 –> 00:30:41,619 The world where all evil is destroyed 608 00:30:41,660 –> 00:30:45,119 is surely a world where no people continue to exist. 609 00:30:47,380 –> 00:30:50,260 Behold the goodness of God. 610 00:30:50,260 –> 00:30:52,939 Not only does God take vengeance on his enemies, 611 00:30:52,939 –> 00:30:56,599 but second, he will have compassion on his people. 612 00:30:57,800 –> 00:31:02,180 Look at that in verse 36 this God who judges. 613 00:31:02,180 –> 00:31:03,599 It says, verse 36, 614 00:31:03,599 –> 00:31:08,599 he will have compassion on his servants. 615 00:31:09,219 –> 00:31:10,640 And then verse 43, 616 00:31:10,640 –> 00:31:15,640 it tells us how God will bring this compassion to us. 617 00:31:16,560 –> 00:31:18,400 Do you notice, right at the end of verse 43. 618 00:31:18,400 –> 00:31:20,959 What an amazing statement in the old testament. 619 00:31:20,959 –> 00:31:24,000 God will make atonement. 620 00:31:24,000 –> 00:31:29,000 Do you see that word for his land and for his people. 621 00:31:29,760 –> 00:31:33,479 And friends this is why Jesus Christ came into the world. 622 00:31:33,479 –> 00:31:35,880 God whose judgment we deserve, 623 00:31:35,880 –> 00:31:39,839 God whose judgment would wipe me out 624 00:31:39,839 –> 00:31:42,119 because I’ve grown fat and caked. 625 00:31:43,359 –> 00:31:46,880 God took our flesh in Jesus Christ 626 00:31:48,479 –> 00:31:51,800 and here’s the amazing thing Christ bore our judgment, 627 00:31:51,800 –> 00:31:56,119 he carried our sins in his body on the tree. 628 00:31:58,260 –> 00:32:01,180 And the goodness and the severity of God meet 629 00:32:01,180 –> 00:32:04,040 at the cross of Jesus Christ. 630 00:32:04,199 –> 00:32:09,199 Christ came under the curse that belongs to us 631 00:32:09,939 –> 00:32:12,599 so that we might enter into the blessing 632 00:32:12,599 –> 00:32:14,859 that belongs to him. 633 00:32:16,140 –> 00:32:20,060 Behold the goodness and the severity of God at the cross. 634 00:32:21,660 –> 00:32:26,660 Come and see, come and see, come and see the King of Love. 635 00:32:27,420 –> 00:32:32,420 See the purple robe and crown of thorns he wears. 636 00:32:32,420 –> 00:32:37,420 Soldiers mock, rulers sneer as he lifts the cruel cross. 637 00:32:39,079 –> 00:32:43,979 Lone and friendless now, he climbs up on that hill. 638 00:32:45,619 –> 00:32:50,619 We worship at your feet where wrath and mercy meet. 639 00:32:54,680 –> 00:32:59,680 And a guilty world is washed by love’s pure stream. 640 00:33:00,119 –> 00:33:04,900 For us, he was made sin, oh, help me take it in. 641 00:33:08,560 –> 00:33:13,560 Deep wounds of love, cry out, Father, forgive. 642 00:33:15,819 –> 00:33:20,819 We worship, we worship the lamb who was slain. 643 00:33:25,260 –> 00:33:28,160 And there’s one more thing that I want us to see 644 00:33:28,239 –> 00:33:29,520 to complete the picture 645 00:33:29,520 –> 00:33:31,380 of this abundant goodness of God. 646 00:33:32,400 –> 00:33:34,760 Not only does he take vengeance on his enemies, 647 00:33:34,760 –> 00:33:37,760 not only does he wonderfully, wonderfully 648 00:33:37,760 –> 00:33:41,239 make atonement for his people. 649 00:33:41,239 –> 00:33:45,199 But he reaches out to all nations. 650 00:33:45,199 –> 00:33:48,319 And I want you to see this in verse 43. 651 00:33:48,319 –> 00:33:50,680 It’s at the heart of the gospel. 652 00:33:50,680 –> 00:33:53,400 Notice the surprise here, verse 43. 653 00:33:53,479 –> 00:33:57,839 Rejoice oh nations 654 00:33:57,839 –> 00:33:59,680 with his people. 655 00:33:59,680 –> 00:34:00,520 Why? 656 00:34:00,520 –> 00:34:02,719 For he will avenge the blood of his servants 657 00:34:02,719 –> 00:34:04,260 and take vengeance on his enemies. 658 00:34:04,260 –> 00:34:05,619 That’s the first thing that we’ve seen. 659 00:34:05,619 –> 00:34:06,800 And here’s the second. 660 00:34:06,800 –> 00:34:09,159 He will make atonement for his people. 661 00:34:09,159 –> 00:34:13,820 But now Moses is saying rejoice on nations. 662 00:34:13,820 –> 00:34:17,040 So he’s speaking to Israel, God’s people, 663 00:34:17,040 –> 00:34:21,280 but he’s saying people from nations all over the world, 664 00:34:21,280 –> 00:34:22,860 all the non-Jewish people. 665 00:34:23,899 –> 00:34:26,080 All the races on earth are to rejoice 666 00:34:26,080 –> 00:34:28,280 along with Israel at this atonement. 667 00:34:28,280 –> 00:34:29,100 Why? 668 00:34:30,320 –> 00:34:33,280 Because the atonement that God makes for his people 669 00:34:33,280 –> 00:34:35,280 is also offered to the nations. 670 00:34:35,280 –> 00:34:36,239 That’s the point. 671 00:34:36,239 –> 00:34:38,120 That’s why the nations are to rejoice. 672 00:34:38,120 –> 00:34:41,199 That is why when Jesus Christ is born into the world, 673 00:34:41,199 –> 00:34:44,580 it’s not only Jewish shepherds who come to the manger. 674 00:34:45,760 –> 00:34:50,439 It’s wise men from the nations, from the East, 675 00:34:50,439 –> 00:34:52,479 from cultures that don’t even have 676 00:34:53,320 –> 00:34:54,159 the Old Testament, 677 00:34:54,159 –> 00:34:56,320 men who never read the book of Deuteronomy, 678 00:34:56,320 –> 00:34:58,600 men who don’t have that in them. 679 00:34:58,600 –> 00:35:02,040 Christ comes into the world for them too. 680 00:35:02,040 –> 00:35:05,239 Rejoice, O nations. 681 00:35:05,239 –> 00:35:08,479 That is why the angels say to the shepherds, 682 00:35:08,479 –> 00:35:10,540 to you is born a savior. 683 00:35:10,540 –> 00:35:11,459 But this is good news 684 00:35:11,459 –> 00:35:13,659 of great joy, which is for all people. 685 00:35:14,899 –> 00:35:17,360 Whatever your background, 686 00:35:17,360 –> 00:35:21,239 whether you are rich or poor, employed or unemployed, 687 00:35:21,280 –> 00:35:22,719 whether you are black or white, 688 00:35:22,719 –> 00:35:24,560 whether you are young or old, 689 00:35:24,560 –> 00:35:26,439 whether you are Jew or Arab, 690 00:35:26,439 –> 00:35:30,040 whether you are Christian or Muslim, 691 00:35:30,040 –> 00:35:33,659 the savior has come into the world to make atonement 692 00:35:33,659 –> 00:35:36,899 and in Christ, God is reaching out to you. 693 00:35:36,899 –> 00:35:38,320 Whatever your background, 694 00:35:39,439 –> 00:35:42,479 this is the abundant goodness of God. 695 00:35:45,080 –> 00:35:46,620 So friends, as we wrap this up, 696 00:35:46,620 –> 00:35:49,600 let me just make two observations. 697 00:35:49,600 –> 00:35:54,600 Consider the goodness and the severity of God, 698 00:35:57,239 –> 00:35:59,939 impressed on God’s people in the Old Testament 699 00:35:59,939 –> 00:36:03,379 through an extraordinary drama and through an amazing song. 700 00:36:05,580 –> 00:36:07,520 I just want to say these two things in closing. 701 00:36:07,520 –> 00:36:10,360 Number one, let the goodness and severity of God 702 00:36:10,360 –> 00:36:13,020 then help you grasp the meaning of Christmas. 703 00:36:14,879 –> 00:36:16,520 So you can’t make sense of Christmas 704 00:36:16,719 –> 00:36:20,040 until you see the goodness and the severity of God. 705 00:36:20,040 –> 00:36:23,520 There’s so many people get so sentimental 706 00:36:24,699 –> 00:36:26,620 over, you know, a baby lying in a manger. 707 00:36:26,620 –> 00:36:29,780 Just ask this question if you’re a sentimentalist. 708 00:36:31,620 –> 00:36:33,020 Why is he there? 709 00:36:34,179 –> 00:36:35,360 Why is he there? 710 00:36:37,479 –> 00:36:39,419 And the answer is he has to be there 711 00:36:40,760 –> 00:36:44,520 because there is an awesome judgment to be taken away 712 00:36:44,540 –> 00:36:47,159 and only he can take it away. 713 00:36:48,679 –> 00:36:50,379 Only he can take it away for you. 714 00:36:51,340 –> 00:36:52,459 That’s why he’s there. 715 00:36:54,320 –> 00:36:56,479 You consider the severity of God, 716 00:36:56,479 –> 00:36:58,199 you’ll begin to understand Christmas, 717 00:36:58,199 –> 00:37:00,800 but then you don’t get the picture unless, 718 00:37:00,800 –> 00:37:02,780 so you have to ask the question again. 719 00:37:03,919 –> 00:37:05,020 You have to say, 720 00:37:06,179 –> 00:37:09,439 God takes flesh and he lies there in this manger 721 00:37:09,439 –> 00:37:10,860 and what are we gonna do? 722 00:37:10,860 –> 00:37:13,919 We grow fat, we kick, and then we take this flesh 723 00:37:13,919 –> 00:37:17,979 and we rip it and we nail it to a cross? 724 00:37:19,780 –> 00:37:21,580 And you say, this is the Lord of glory, 725 00:37:21,580 –> 00:37:23,800 so you say, why is he there? 726 00:37:25,840 –> 00:37:27,199 And the only answer to that is, 727 00:37:27,199 –> 00:37:32,199 this is the abundant, inexplicable goodness of God. 728 00:37:34,219 –> 00:37:36,399 The Father gave the Son for you. 729 00:37:37,840 –> 00:37:40,840 The Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for you, 730 00:37:41,679 –> 00:37:44,260 and not only for us, who believe today, 731 00:37:44,260 –> 00:37:46,399 God is reaching out to every person 732 00:37:46,399 –> 00:37:48,879 from every background, through his Son, 733 00:37:48,879 –> 00:37:52,459 who made atonement and that atonement is sufficient for you 734 00:37:53,699 –> 00:37:55,800 and so here’s my very last word 735 00:37:55,800 –> 00:37:57,340 and it’s simply this, let the goodness 736 00:37:57,340 –> 00:38:01,399 and the severity of God lead you to Jesus Christ. 737 00:38:01,399 –> 00:38:04,239 Friends, all over the city today, 738 00:38:04,239 –> 00:38:08,159 there are thousands of people, busy in their lives 739 00:38:08,179 –> 00:38:11,479 and they feel no need of Jesus Christ. 740 00:38:12,600 –> 00:38:14,100 They see no need of him 741 00:38:15,399 –> 00:38:17,120 and maybe you are among them. 742 00:38:17,120 –> 00:38:18,239 I mean, you’re here in church 743 00:38:18,239 –> 00:38:20,399 but there’s any number of reasons for coming to church 744 00:38:20,399 –> 00:38:21,840 and it may well be here you are. 745 00:38:21,840 –> 00:38:24,439 You sit through the sermon and then there’s communion 746 00:38:24,439 –> 00:38:25,280 and then we’ll be on our way 747 00:38:25,280 –> 00:38:28,439 but you don’t particularly feel that you need Jesus Christ. 748 00:38:28,439 –> 00:38:32,399 Listen, I say to you, consider the severity of God 749 00:38:34,320 –> 00:38:37,139 and you begin to see your need of Jesus Christ. 750 00:38:38,479 –> 00:38:40,600 And then there may just be someone here 751 00:38:40,600 –> 00:38:43,959 and you’re saying I have begun to see that. 752 00:38:45,479 –> 00:38:50,199 And I know, I see in myself, I’ve grown fat and kicked. 753 00:38:51,439 –> 00:38:54,800 I have credited myself for every good in my life. 754 00:38:54,800 –> 00:38:56,459 I’ve become arrogant. 755 00:38:57,560 –> 00:38:59,840 I’ve been despising and dismissing of God 756 00:39:01,639 –> 00:39:04,040 and I would like to have peace with God today 757 00:39:04,860 –> 00:39:07,500 and I surely need it but I feel so ashamed 758 00:39:08,600 –> 00:39:10,139 I have this voice in my head that says 759 00:39:10,139 –> 00:39:12,300 why would God want anything to do with you? 760 00:39:14,260 –> 00:39:17,139 I just want to say to you consider the goodness of God. 761 00:39:18,219 –> 00:39:19,659 He has compassion for you. 762 00:39:19,659 –> 00:39:23,500 He sent his son to make atonement for you 763 00:39:24,580 –> 00:39:29,580 and God is reaching out to you in Jesus Christ today. 764 00:39:31,020 –> 00:39:35,580 So let the goodness of God draw you to Jesus Christ. 765 00:39:36,580 –> 00:39:38,899 Father, grant to us to live 766 00:39:38,899 –> 00:39:43,379 with such a glimpse of your goodness and your severity 767 00:39:44,820 –> 00:39:46,800 that we may love you as we fear you 768 00:39:46,800 –> 00:39:48,500 and fear you as we love you 769 00:39:49,520 –> 00:39:52,139 and live ever embracing by faith 770 00:39:52,139 –> 00:39:54,659 your dear son Jesus Christ 771 00:39:56,060 –> 00:39:59,659 who loved us and gave himself for us 772 00:40:00,540 –> 00:40:03,439 and all God’s people together said, amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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Sermons on Deuteronomy You already have faith, so what’s it going to take for you to become a man or a woman on a mission? You have been shaped by faith and the tendencies and fears of your parents. But now God is calling you. It’s your moment of opportunity. You need to be ready.

Colin Smith

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