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You can turn in your Bibles to 
Deuteronomy chapter 29. Deuteronomy chapter 29. Remember 
that we've approached the book as the structure being covenantal 
in nature. In chapter 1, verses 1 to 4, 
you have a preamble. Chapters 1, 5 to 4, 43 is a historical 
prologue. The largest section is the stipulations. In a covenant, there are stipulations 
or duties, and that's chapter 4, verses 44. all the way to 
2619. And then we find ourselves in 
the section called sanctions, 27.1 to 3020. And then the last 
section will be succession, meaning covenantal continuity. But as 
well, What the Book of Deuteronomy essentially is are three addresses 
by Moses on the plains of Moab. The first one is chapter 1, verse 
5, to chapter 4, verse 43. The second is the largest, chapter 
4, verse 44, all the way to 28, 68. So what we find here in chapters 
29 and 30 is the third address given by 
Moses. We're just going to take up chapter 
29 tonight. Specifically, this is a covenant 
renewal ceremony on the plains of Moab for these particular 
people. If you remember, there was, in 
chapter 27, the necessity to keep or the necessity to ratify 
the covenant once they get into the promised land. So that's 
sort of future or forward looking. Here in chapter 29, just prior 
to entering the land as the people of God, they renew their fidelity 
to the covenant that God the Lord has given to them. And that's 
basically what we find here in chapter 29. It breaks down into 
three sections. There is first a historical review 
in verses 1 to 9. And then secondly, the covenantal 
bond, what is necessary in verses 10 to 15. And then the final 
section is the warning against apostasy, and that's in verses 
16 to 29. So that's where we're going this 
evening, those three considerations. I'll just pick up reading in 
chapter 29 at verse 1. These are the words of the covenant 
which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of 
Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with 
them in Horeb. Now Moses called all Israel and 
said to them, you have seen all that the Lord did before your 
eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants 
and to all his land, the great trials which your eyes have seen, 
the signs and those great wonders. Yet the Lord has not given you 
a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear to this 
very day. And I have led you 40 years in 
the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out 
on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. You 
have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, 
that you may know that I am the Lord your God. And when you come 
to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan 
came out against us to battle, and we conquered them. We took 
their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, 
to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh. Therefore, 
keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper 
in all that you do. All of you stand today before 
the Lord your God, your leaders and your tribes, and your elders 
and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones and 
your wives, also the stranger who is in your camp, from the 
one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water. that 
you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God and into his 
oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today, that he 
may establish you today as a people for himself, and that he may 
be God to you, just as he has spoken to you, and just as he 
has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I 
make this covenant in this oath, not with you alone, but with 
him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well 
as with him who is not here with us today. For you know that we 
dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations 
which you passed by. and you saw their abominations 
and their idols which were among them, wood and stone and silver 
and gold, so that there may not be among you man or woman or 
family or tribe whose heart turns away today from the Lord our 
God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there 
may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood. And so 
it may not happen when he hears the words of this curse that 
he blesses himself in his heart saying, I shall have peace even 
though I follow the dictates of my heart. as though the drunkard 
could be included with the sober. The Lord would not spare him, 
for then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy would burn against 
that man, and every curse that is written in this book would 
settle on him, and the Lord would blot out his name from under 
heaven, and the Lord would separate him from all the tribes of Israel 
for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that 
are written in this book of the law, so that the coming generation 
of your children who rise up after you And the foreigner who 
comes from a far land would say, when they see the plagues of 
that land and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid on it, 
the whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning. It is not 
sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the 
overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the 
Lord overthrew in His anger and His wrath. All nations would 
say, why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat 
of this great anger mean? Then people would say, because 
they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, 
which he made with them when he brought them out of the land 
of Egypt. For they went and served other gods and worshipped them. 
gods that they did not know and that he had not given to them. 
Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land to 
bring on it every curse that is written in this book. And 
the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and wrath and in 
great indignation and cast them into another land as it is this 
day. The secret things belong to the 
Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to 
us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words 
of this law. Amen. So as I said, three broad 
sections or three main sections. First, the historical review. 
We saw that a lot in the first portion of the book. In fact, 
the book starts off with historical review. That is common in a covenant-making 
ceremony to review where they had been, to review the history. 
the Lord or the King, recounting or rehearsing with the people, 
the subjects, how he delivered them, how he blessed them, how 
he gave them certain benefits. And then, of course, their response 
is found in verses 10 to 15. The covenantal bond, what is 
necessary on their part with reference to this situation they 
find themselves in with reference to the Lord God of Israel. And 
then 16 to 29, as I said, is a warning against apostasy. Just 
like the book ends, or just like the large section ends in chapter 
28, as we saw last time, with this sort of promise of curse 
if they disobey the Lord, we find that same sort of a motif 
at the end of this chapter. There's a promise of cursing 
if they commit apostasy or they defect from their covenantal 
obligations to the Lord. And so this affects the people 
specifically dwelling on the plains of Moab, poised to go 
into the land of promise. They are renewing, they are ratifying 
this covenant. We see this many times later 
on as we move through the rest of the Bible. You'll see it in 
Joshua chapter 8 as they get into the land. We see it in Joshua 
24, that's how the book of Joshua ends with a covenant renewal 
ceremony at Shechem. So it's a very common thing for 
them to rehearse and recount what God the Lord has done and 
what they in turn must do in terms of their response to the 
Lord's grace. So the first section, the historical 
review, notice there is continuity in verse 1. He says, these are 
the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make 
with the children of Israel in the land of Moab. So that's the 
current situation. That is the people to whom Moses 
is addressing, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. 
Remember that in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses uses the word 
Horeb as a synonym for Sinai. Basically, Horeb is Sinai. So 
what he's referring to is the Sinai covenant. Remember in Exodus 
chapters 19 to 24, the Lord God gave them the law The Lord God 
explained to them the law and then in chapter 24 they ratify 
the covenant. They swear fidelity to the covenant. And so what we find here is continuity 
between what was done at Sinai and what is continuing on here 
in Moab. Meredith Klein says, there is 
essential continuity in God's covenant of redemption from Genesis 
through Revelation. Nevertheless, the successive 
administrations of that covenant, as it is repeatedly renewed by 
divine grace, are to be distinguished. The covenant in Moab renewed 
the covenant at Sinai, which renewed the covenant with Abraham, 
which renewed the covenant with Adam. So there is continuity, 
there is consistency between these things as it administers 
God's plan to save His people from their sins. And then essentially 
the historical reveal is stuff we've seen many, many times already 
in the book of Deuteronomy. This chapter really should come 
as no surprise to those who have been with us from the beginning. 
It's quite a common convention that Moses is doing here to rehearse 
before the people their obligations before the Lord. The first thing, 
by way of historical review, is the Exodus, verse 2. Now Moses 
called all Israel and said to them, you have seen all that 
the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh 
and to all his servants and to all his land." So the Exodus 
is that grand redemptive act that the Lord God engaged in 
on behalf of the children of Israel. The fact that they had 
been redeemed, they had been delivered, they had been brought 
out of that place of darkness into the marvelous light of Yahweh, 
meant and indicated that they ought to be faithful to the Lord 
in response. The second thing that he reviews 
for them is the signs and the wonders that they witnessed. 
Those signs and wonders were seen in the ten plagues. Those 
signs and wonders were seen when God opened the Red Sea and the 
children of Israel marched through on dry land. And then Pharaoh 
and his armies gave chase and they get in between those walls 
of water and they immediately begin to be trouble. Their chariot 
wheels fall off, and then the walls of water cave in upon them. So I've said before, I bet those 
guys were really not happy campers when they were in the midst of 
that situation. When the chariot wheels fell 
off, they probably rethought their whole place in life. Why 
did we follow these people? We should have stayed on the 
other side. But Israel had witnessed the great trials, or these things 
your eyes have seen, the signs and those great wonders. And 
then what is highlighted in verse 4 is the stubbornness of Israel. Verse 4, Yet the Lord has not 
given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to 
hear to this very day. I think there's a couple things 
going on in this particular passage. The first is simply this. The 
idea that God has not given you may reflect poorly on God, unless 
or until we remember God is dealing with sinful people. He owes nothing 
to no man. I think as well what is being 
highlighted here is there is that propensity within the heart 
of the Israelites to disbelieve or to not believe in the very 
providence of God himself. And I think thirdly there's a 
bit of a contrast here in verse 4 to what we'll later find in 
chapter 30 in verses 1 to 10. Interestingly enough, 30 verses 
1 to 10 points to the new covenant. And remember that one of the 
essential features of the New Covenant is found in Deuteronomy 
30 in verse 6. It says, And the Lord your God 
will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, 
to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your 
soul that you may live. So in the Old Testament, or in 
the Old Covenant, there were those whom the Lord had opened 
their hearts. He had regenerated them. They 
did, in fact, believe the gospel. But just by virtue of being in 
the Old Covenant did not ensure that. But when we get to the 
New Covenant, it is an essential feature that within New Covenant 
religion, the Lord your God circumcises your heart. This is the essence 
of Jeremiah 31 to 34. So what we find here in Deuteronomy 
30, 1 to 10, is an announcement that will be reaffirmed when 
we get to the prophet Jeremiah, when we get to the various other 
prophets like Ezekiel, and like Isaiah, and like Micah, and the 
various prophets that announced the coming of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. So there's probably a bit of contrast in 29.4 in terms 
of Old Covenant and 36 in terms of New Covenant. And then he highlights, well 
this, back to verse 4 here for just a moment. The Apostle Paul 
alludes to this in the book of Romans, when he's dealing with 
the unbelief of ethnic Israel. He cites Isaiah 29, verses 10 
and 13, which Isaiah 29, 10 and 13 seem to be an allusion to 
this very situation. that ethnic Israel had hardened 
its heart. Ethnic Israel did not appreciate 
what the Lord God had done in their midst. So basically what 
we find here is some contrast between Old and New Covenant. 
And then notice in verse 5 he indicates the wilderness, their 
time in the wilderness. While they may have perceived 
that to be a time of judgment and chastisement, certainly would 
have been a time of chastisement, but it wasn't a time of abandonment. You go back for just a moment 
to Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. I think the tendency is or the 
temptation might be to see or view the children of Israel in 
the wilderness as having been forsaken by God, but nothing 
could be further from the truth. Remember the language that the 
Lord uses in Deuteronomy 1 at verse 29. Then I said to you, 
do not be terrified or afraid of them. The Lord your God who 
goes before you, He will fight for you according to all He did 
for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where 
you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries 
his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place." 
If you go back for just a moment, if you look at verse 26, nevertheless 
you would not go up but rebelled against the command of the Lord 
your God and you complained in your tents and said, because 
the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to 
deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us." So basically 
the people were grumbling and complaining and saying that the 
Lord's abandoned us, He hates us, the wilderness is proof and 
testimony of that. God uses this beautiful language 
of a father carrying his son in the wilderness. So the time 
in the wilderness was a time of God's presence and a time 
of God's blessing to the nation of Israel. And that's what's 
intimated here in 29.5. God led them, God clothed them, 
and God fed them. And that was so that they may 
know that He is indeed the Lord their God. Notice in verse 6, 
you have not eaten, I'm sorry, verse 6, you have not eaten bread, 
nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that 
I am the Lord your God." I don't think it means they never ate 
or never drank. I think the idea is that God 
supplied their particular needs for the expressed purpose that 
you may know that I am the Lord your God. Dependence upon the 
Lord produces, and ought to produce, a robust knowledge of the Lord. 
And I think that's what's going on there. And then the next section, 
he deals with the defeat of Sihon and Og, verses 7 and 8. these 
kings of the Amorites. And when you came to this place, 
Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against 
us to battle, and we conquered them." This is in 226 and in 
311 as well. Now remember the significance 
of conquering Sihon and Og. Harmon says, conquering their 
territory was a preliminary fulfillment of the promise to Abraham concerning 
the land. Sihon and Ahad were those on 
the Amorites that were on the east side of the Jordan. And 
those three, or the two and a half tribes, Reuben, Gad, and East 
Manasseh occupied that land. When they did so, that was proof 
positive that God the Lord was visiting them with the benefit 
promised to Abraham way back in Genesis chapters 12. and 15 
and 17 and 18. He says, and the possession of 
the territory of these two and a half of the tribes was part 
of the inheritance into which the rest were yet to enter. So 
you see what's going on as he paints this historical review. 
How does it serve to affect the people? This is what your God 
has done. This is how the Lord has blessed 
you. This is how he has kept faith. This is how he has kept 
his oath and his promise. Therefore, you must respond Similarly, 
you cannot go into the land and turn your back upon this Lord. 
You cannot go into the land and defect or commit apostasy. Rather, 
in light of the redemptive benefit that the Lord God Most High has 
poured out upon you, it is only fitting that you respond with 
love, with obedience, and with faithfulness. The same pattern 
is found in the book of Romans. A little bit of a difference 
in terms of covenantal administration, but the same pattern or the same 
idea. After expounding the gospel of 
free and sovereign grace, Paul in chapter 12 then says, therefore 
present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God. This is your 
reasonable. This is your rational. This is 
the service that you owe to God by virtue of the fact that He 
has saved you. You see, history provides the 
data upon which the saint of Christ perseveres in the tract 
of obedience. It is because of what God the 
Lord has done on our behalf that we take seriously the implication 
found in verse 9. Therefore, keep the words of 
this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you 
do. In light of the redemptive truths 
of God's dealings with Israel, they ought to have entered into 
the land and engaged in faithfulness and in obedience and in service 
to the Lord God Almighty. Christopher Wright makes this 
observation, I think he's right on. A little pun there. Right 
is right. Rights aren't always right. This 
right happens to be right. These are the historical givens 
of Israel's faith. There is no denying that. This 
is important. This is why we preach repetitively. You need to remember certain 
pieces of data. There's certain truths that have 
to stick in your head. If you're going to live the Christian 
life in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord, there must be a 
basis. There must be a foundation. There 
must be theological understanding. Wright says, these are the historical 
givens of Israel's faith. There is no denying that. Whatever 
wandering paths Israel's religion might take, there is an unchangeable 
objective core to it in the historical fact of these events. This historical 
grounding is as important for Old Testament faith as the events 
of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are for the Christian 
gospel. The biblical faith is not something 
speculatively invented in religious fervency, but is in response 
to events in which God has acted. He says in both Testaments, the 
gospel is not a good idea. The gospel is good news, and 
based on the reality of that good news, we live in a manner 
that is consistent with it. So we don't find strength, we 
don't find help, we don't find benefit, for pursuing godliness 
in the Christian life through some experience, we don't find 
it in mysticism. We find it in the revealed truth 
of God's holy word in what he's done in terms of the person and 
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are in the New Covenant 
situation, that is the ground upon which we live the Christian 
life. Based on the reality of the cross, 
Therefore, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and 
gave himself for her. When we look at the cross, wives, 
submit to your own husbands as unto the Lord. Fathers, do not 
provoke your children to wrath. You look to the cross, you look 
to the great redemptive truths of what Christ has done in the 
salvation of our souls, and it's on that basis and foundation 
that we pursue godliness and consistency in the Christian 
life. Same sort of a pattern that we 
find here on the plains of Moab. Here's what the Lord has done, 
here's how you are to respond. And that brings us to the covenantal 
bond in verses 10 to 15. Four observations here. Note 
first, it's subjects. the subjects of this covenant. 
It's the entirety of Israel. Notice in verses 10 and 11. All 
of you stand today before the Lord your God. This is a technical 
term. In fact, technical terms undergird 
this whole situation. This standing before the Lord 
your God means an assembly. It means almost like, you know, 
if you were to take the similar idea in a military situation. They stand there in formation. 
There's a purpose, there's goal. That's the idea here. All of 
you stand today before the Lord your God. And then notice it 
covers the entirety of the covenant community. From the greatest 
of them to the least of them. your leaders, your tribes, and 
your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little 
ones, and your wives, also the stranger who is in your camp, 
from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water. 
So its subject includes each and everyone in the covenant 
community. Notice, secondly, its demand, 
verse 12, that you may enter into covenant Literally, it's 
that you may pass over into covenant or pass through into covenant. Some of the commentators speculate 
or some of the commentators indicate that what might be in view is 
that pass through ceremony of Genesis chapter 15, when the 
animals are cut and the pieces are placed on either side and 
the parties to the covenant pass through those pieces. technical 
terminology, technical language for this idea of cutting a covenant. The language is that of covenant 
renewal and a solemn declaration of binding oneself to the oath 
of the Lord. Verse 12. that you may enter 
into covenant with the Lord your God and into his oath which the 
Lord your God makes with you today." So the idea here is that 
they are swearing, affirming, taking this oath upon themselves 
that they will carry out their obligations consistent with what 
the Lord God says. It is the covenant that the Lord 
makes. Israel swears faithfulness to 
it. And then notice its central feature 
found in verse 13, that he may establish you today as a people 
for himself and that he may be God to you. Isn't that beautiful? You see, in many of the ancient 
near, not many, I don't know about many, but the ancient Near 
Eastern treaties or the ancient Near Eastern covenants, you had 
the lord, you had the vassal, you had the suzerain, you had 
the king making this treaty with subjects. Now ultimately, in 
that arrangement, what you had was a humiliating subjugation 
on the part of the person. Not so in this convention. What 
we have is submission in terms of redemptive benefit. If you 
go back through the scripture, if you trace out covenant throughout 
the scripture, what is the central feature? I will be their God, 
and they shall be my people. It's beautiful, isn't it? We 
don't find here on the plains of Moab some mechanistic figure 
saying, do this, do this, humiliate yourself before me. No, rather, 
what Klein says, and I think he's right on, it is not founded 
in humiliating subjugation, but in redemptive favor. When you 
get to the New Jerusalem, when you get to Revelation chapter 
21, and 22. When you see the consummation 
of God's blessing of His people, do you know what the central 
feature is? I will be their God and they shall be my people. 
This is the point of all of God's dealings with His people. So 
this is the central feature that they are swearing fidelity to. 
Or this is the central benefit, rather, of what is going on in 
this convention. That He may establish you today 
as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just 
as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your 
fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You see, what the Lord 
promises, He is faithful to provide. what the Lord swears to, He will 
most certainly bring to pass. You stand on the shoulders of 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So much so that when we get into 
the new covenant and we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior, 
we can trace it all the way back to these patriarchs. This promise 
that God has made has continued on broken unfettered and unhindered, 
He has promised to bless His people, to be their God, and 
to make us His people. It's a beautiful thing. And then 
with reference to the covenantal bond, notice its continuity in 
verses 14 and 15. Remember, we saw how the Book 
of Deuteronomy is a big covenantal document. What's the last portion? Succession or continuity. When you find these smaller sections 
that deal with covenant, you see the same thing. You see history, 
you see stipulation, you see blessing and curse, you see continuity 
or succession, verses 14 and 15. I make this covenant in this 
oath, not with you alone, but with him who stands here with 
us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who 
is not here with us today. Now I don't believe this refers 
to the sick. or to the night watchman, or 
to the pharmacist, or the military officer who couldn't leave his 
post. It's talking about the unborn. It's talking about their 
posterity. It's talking about the generations 
to come. I make this covenant and this 
oath not with you alone, but with your children, the promises 
for you and for your children, and all who are far off, as many 
as the Lord our God will call to Himself." So there is continuity 
built into this covenantal arrangement, but as well, notice that it highlights 
the responsibility. It highlights the responsibility 
of the person standing there. If they botch this up, if they 
renege on their obligations, if they go into the land and 
they are unfaithful, instead of their children being blessed, 
instead of their children participating, instead of their children being 
able to say, what a blessed God, what a glorious Lord, what a 
wonderful situation, it'll be just the opposite. As we trace 
through, as we will later see in this particular chapter, the 
children will rise up and say, look at what has happened to 
them for their unfaithfulness to the living God. So if they 
affirm, they confirm, they do, they obey, then there will be 
blessings upon their children. If they disobey, if they commit 
idolatry, if they apostatize from the faith, then their children 
will rise up and call them cursed. The children will rise up along 
with foreigners, along with the nations of the earth, and say, 
this people, they went to inherit the promised land, it has become 
this place of curse and destruction. So this idea of succession or 
continuity, yes, it's a blessing, but as well it entails responsibility. So that when you're standing 
on the plains of Moab and you're swearing faithfulness to this 
covenant, you need to be thinking about the posterity, you need 
to be thinking about the little children that are going to come 
from your loins. And then that leads us thirdly 
to the warning against apostasy. Verses 16 to the end of the chapter 
essentially. Notice the reminder, verses 16 
and 17. For you know that we dwelt in 
the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which 
you passed by. And you saw their abominations 
and their idols which were among them wood and stone and silver 
and gold. Now where we have been, you've 
seen this idolatry. Where we are going, you will 
see this idolatry. The idea is very clear. You need 
to resist. You need to guard your heart. 
You need to stay away from these things. Again, Christopher Wright 
said, just as eyes that had seen the works of the living God ought 
to be eyes of faith, so eyes that had seen the hideousness 
of idolatry ought to recognize it as something to be avoided 
at all costs. You see, Moses understands, God, 
using Moses, understands they've come from a place of idolatry. 
Did they always effectively keep themselves from it? No, they 
did not. So when they go into the promised 
land, they're going to face idols. Do you think they're going to 
keep themselves from it? Well, we know the answer. They 
do not. See, what is built into this 
is a warning to call them, to caution them, to highlight the 
necessity for them to resist that temptation. So we see what 
the history, or we see this historical review, we see the emphasis on 
the covenantal bond, and then what is highlighted for us in 
this warning against apostasy is probably the biggest threat 
to the integrity of the community. It is idolatry. You see, idolatry 
is a lot more pervasive than I think we give it credit or 
give credit to. You know, we look at people and 
we see them sinning in a particular way and we say, you know, if 
they could just fix that sin or stop that sin or change that 
sin. What is the problem with every 
unconverted person is idolatry at root. They either worship 
themselves, or they worship sex, or they worship drugs, or they 
worship money, or they worship their families, whatever it is, 
they exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for the wickedness 
of corruptible things, and they bow down to it. You see, that 
is the temptation that is going to face Israel as they go into 
the Promised Land, and Moses wants them to resist. The specific 
caution is given in verses 18 and following. Notice the root 
of the problem. The root of the problem. We've 
got the root and the fruit. The root is verses 18 and 19. 
The fruit comes in verses 22 to 28. Notice the root, verse 
18, so that there may not be among you a man or woman or family 
or tribe. Notice there's an emphasis here 
on individual responsibility. Yes, they're being addressed 
as a covenant community, but that covenant community is only 
as strong as the parts, right? The community is not strong and 
whole and solid if the parts are idolatrous. And interestingly 
enough, the danger of turning one's heart away, the wickedness 
of idolatry, is what is in view in this language in the root 
bearing bitterness or wormwood. Have you ever heard that language 
about let there not be a root of bitterness? Is that in the 
New Testament anywhere? In Hebrews 12, we take that passage 
and we teach that we ought not to be bitter with one another. 
And we shouldn't. I'm not suggesting that we should. 
But in Hebrews 12, that's not what the apostle means. He's 
not talking about bitterness toward one another. I think in 
Hebrews 12, the apostle has Deuteronomy 29 in his head. And the idea 
in Hebrews 12 is guard against idolatry. Not the bitterness 
that, you know, brother so-and-so gave me an odd look at church, 
so I'm going to harbor bitterness in my heart. There's other passages 
in the New Testament that condemn that. But that idea of a root 
of bitterness in Hebrews 12 is not, I'm upset with my wife. 
The idea of that root of bitterness in Hebrews 12 goes back to the 
plains of Moab. The idea is idolatry. It is defection. It is turning one's heart away 
from God the Lord. Notice it results in, or notice 
the root continuing in verse 19. And so it may not happen 
when he hears the words of this curse that he blesses himself 
in his heart saying, I shall have peace even though I follow 
the dictates of my heart. You see, that's an externalism. 
That's a nominalism. You've heard of that before. 
He's a nominal Christian. What does that mean, a nominal 
Christian? That means in name only. That means somebody calls 
themselves a Christian, but their hearts are far from God. Well, 
the same was the case in Old Covenant Israel. Somebody could 
nod, Somebody could have raised their hand in this ratification 
ceremony and said, yes, I swear fidelity to the Lord, but his 
heart could be far from God. And that's what this root of 
bitterness, this idolatry in the heart, this turning away 
from the Lord will result in. It may not happen when he hears 
the words of this curse that he blesses himself in his heart 
saying, I shall have peace even though I follow the dictates 
of my heart, as though the drunkard could be included with the sober. 
You can't tell me a drunk man is a sober man. Neither can you 
tell me an externalist only is a saved man. You can't say somebody 
who simply nods with the head is necessarily a partaker with 
the heart. That's the root that would affect 
them. The fruits follow in verses 22 and following. Notice the 
Lord will not spare the idolater. Verse 20. The Lord would not 
spare him, for then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy 
would burn against that man, and every curse that is written 
in this book would settle on him, and the Lord would blot 
out his name from under heaven." What commandment deals or what 
commandment involves the jealousy of God? Anybody remember? The 
anger of God. It's the second commandment, 
right? This whole idea of idolatry. It's no accident that commandments 
1 and 2 are 1 and 2. That's not accidental. There 
is progression. There is a systematic presentation. If we have other gods before 
God, if we are idolaters in our heart, then everything falls 
to pieces. Paul in Romans 1.18, the wrath 
of God is revealed from heaven against all on godliness and 
unrighteousness of men. Ungodliness precedes unrighteousness. What we think about God affects 
the way that we live in this world. The same thing here. When 
we turn our backs, when we turn our hearts away from God, then 
we reap the anger of God. The Lord will separate the idolater 
for adversity according to the curses. Verse 21. The Lord would 
separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity according 
to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book 
of the law. Do you think of any historical illustrations of that? 
You don't have to go too far to the right. You don't have 
to go too far into the book of Joshua to find tribes being singled 
out, one particular tribe being singled out, and then one particular 
man being singled out of a tribe, and then that man and his family 
being stoned to death for their rebellion against the Lord. Does 
anybody remember that man's name? Akin, absolutely. You see, what 
God promises on the plains of Moab comes to pass. Notice in 
verse 22, the Lord will make the offending parties a spectacle. Verses 22 to 28, the coming generation. We've already mentioned that. 
Verse 22, so that the coming generation of your children who 
rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a far land would 
say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses 
which the Lord has laid on it. They will see the plagues and 
the sicknesses, and then notice, the whole land, verse 23, is 
brimstone, salt and burning, it is not sown, nor does it bear, 
nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and 
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger 
and wrath." Interesting, isn't it? There's an interesting section 
in the book of Judges. In Judges chapter 19, there's 
an incident that occurs at Gibeah. It sounds exactly like what happens 
in Sodom in Genesis chapter 19. So you see, not only does Sodom 
serve as an example or as a parallel, but Israel actually becomes Sodom-like 
in their breaking of God's holy covenant. So when you get to 
Judges chapter 19, you see gross sexual sin. Gibeonites are acting 
like Sodomites, or the new Sodom is found in Israel. Interesting, 
too, when you get to the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 1, 
verse 10, he says that Israel is acting like Sodom. When you get to the book of Revelation, 
Revelation chapter 11, guess what Jerusalem is referred to? 
It's referred to as Sodom. So you see, what we find here 
in Deuteronomy 29, the book of Deuteronomy, is foundational 
for the rest of Scripture. So the coming generation and 
the foreigner will see the devastation of God upon the covenant breakers. And then notice in verse 24, 
it's not just going to be the coming generation, it's not just 
going to be the foreigner who comes from a far land, but verse 
24 indicates that all nations would say, why has the Lord done 
so to this land? What does the heat of this great 
anger mean? You're probably not thinking 
of this passage because you didn't spend the day looking at this, 
or at least the latter part of the day. But Deuteronomy 4, let's 
just turn there. Deuteronomy chapter 4, what was 
one of the reasons why or a byproduct or a corollary for this great 
redemptive act of God to bring them out of Egypt and to plant 
them in the land of Canaan. Notice in Deuteronomy 4.5, surely 
I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my 
God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the 
land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe 
them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the 
sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, 
surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. Now 
notice, the nations are asking questions. For what great nation 
is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is 
to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great 
nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments 
as are in all this law which I set before you this day? Only 
take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget 
the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your 
heart all the days of your life. So the idea being the covenant 
community is to shine as a light to mediate the blessings of the 
covenant God of Israel to the nation surrounding. Now when 
the people break covenant and they reap the wrath and fury 
of God, then the nations ask this question, what's happened? Why has this come upon these 
people? Verse 24, all nations would say, 
why has the Lord done so to this land? What does the heat of this 
great anger mean? And then they answer, they have 
forsaken the Lord. It's not hard, is it? You reject God, God is going 
to judge you. They broke the covenant which 
He made with them. They served other gods. They 
received the curse of the Lord and they were uprooted from their 
land. This is a reference to exile. 
All of that is indicated in verses 25 and following. Then the people 
would say, because they have forsaken the covenant of the 
Lord God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought 
them out of the land of Egypt. For they went and served other 
gods and worshipped them, gods that they did not know and that 
He had not given to them. Then the anger of the Lord was 
aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that 
is written in this book. And the Lord uprooted them from 
their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and 
cast them into another land, as it is this day." So you see, 
this is a program. This program. This is sort of 
foreshadowing what's going to happen in the future. But 31 
to 10 is going to tell us that after that, there's going to 
be new covenant blessings. But for now, just realize that 
what they are being told, apostasy or a warning against apostasy, 
includes this threat of God's visiting them with judgment with 
reference to their unfaithfulness. Again, Meredith Klein says it 
this way. Abruptly changing his standpoint to the future, to 
a time even beyond the threatened desolation of the theocracy and 
the exile, Moses depicts the fearful consequences that would 
at last befall the whole nation for having forsaken the covenant 
by transferring their allegiance to idol god kings. He does so 
through the device of a dramatic dialogue between Israelites and 
foreigners standing amid the charged charred ruins of the 
theocratic land. That's kind of the image that 
you're given here, right? It's an interesting scene after 
God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. Often thought it's Abraham's 
morning meditation. In fact, look at Genesis 19 for 
just a moment. If Abraham was using a McShane 
calendar, it would have been on the judgment of God on that 
morning. Notice in Genesis 19 at verse 
27, and Abraham, this is after the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
and Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he 
had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and 
Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain, and he saw and 
behold the smoke of the land, which went up like the smoke 
of a furnace. And it came to pass when God 
destroyed the cities of the plain that God remembered Abraham and 
sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew 
the cities in which Lot had dwelt." Now, it's very simple to just 
read through that. It's very simple. I mean, that 
was not very hard to read through that. But think about what Abraham's 
looking at. Then he looked toward Sodom and 
Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain, and he saw and 
behold the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke 
of a furnace. These were cities filled with people. These were 
cities of image bearers that had defected and rejected and 
turned away from the living and true God. So God pours hell down 
upon them from heaven to destroy them. The same image is given 
to us here in Deuteronomy 29. If Israel adopts Sodom's conduct, 
they will reap the same wrath and fury from the living God. 
Instead of Abraham musing upon that land, it will be the children, 
it will be the foreigners, and it will be the nations. They 
will look at these charred ruins and they will see that God the 
Lord is not to be trifled with. So Klein says, he does so through 
the device of a dramatic dialogue between Israelites and foreigners 
standing amid the charred ruins of the theocratic land, a former 
paradise turned, like the cities of the plain, into a barren waste 
by the fury of God's judgment. Pretty powerful statement concerning 
a pretty powerful judgment. Now, verse 29 is an exhortation. Verse 29 is a theological truth. I'm sure you've heard me refer 
to verse 29 before. I've preached a sermon on verse 
29 before. But it has a specific function 
in the context. The secret things belong to the 
Lord, our God, but those things which are revealed belong to 
us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words 
of this law. The theological truth is simple. We live based on what God has 
revealed to us. We do not know the secret things. We do not know, you know, if 
I'm going to get hit by a car tomorrow. We don't know that. 
We need to live based on what God has revealed to us. There 
is a theological truth contained here in verse 29. Now contextually, 
here's what I think the flow is. Here's what has been announced 
will be the situation if they break the covenant. They are 
to do what God's told them. They are not to say, well, you 
know, it's inevitable. This is going to happen, so why 
try? Let's just forget about it, and let's just let the bad 
times roll. No. You are to live based on 
the revealed word of God Most High. We must do all the words 
of this law. As we read through chapter 29, 
it almost sounds prophetic. The detail with which Moses is 
describing, and especially when we get on into chapter 30, the 
detail with which Moses is writing, sounds like this is an inevitability. This is going to happen. Now 
we on this side know it is inevitable. We're able to look and say, yeah, 
you guys aren't going to do well. They didn't know this. And they're 
not to be taken up with the secret things. They're not to be musing 
upon those contingencies in their perspective. They are to do what 
the will of the Lord their God has set. Do all the words of 
this law. The secret things, judgment, 
damnation, fury, covenant curses, the secret things belong to the 
Lord our God. But those things which are revealed, 
do the words of this law. Obey the covenant, keep these 
things, keep the statutes. Those things belong to us and 
to our children forever that we may do all the words of this 
law. In other words, obey. Go into 
the land and obey. Do what you're supposed to and 
obey. Don't add to, don't take away from, don't try to peer 
into the secret things. Just live in light of the revealed 
will of God and do what you're supposed to do. That's what I 
think verse 29, and it functions that way for us as well, the 
theological truth. The secret things belong to the 
Lord our God. Do what you're supposed to do. Be faithful, 
be holy, be righteous, obey the Lord, serve Him, glorify Him, 
right? That's the bottom line. But on 
the plains of Moab, it functions in such a way, Moses has just 
told them some very specific things, things that are very 
real sounding in terms of these things are going to happen. I 
mean, he's talking about judgment. He's talking about what the nations 
are going to report. I mean, if you were standing on the plains 
of Moab, you'd almost say, Moses, it sounds like this is going 
to happen. This is going to be an inevitability. Look, you don't 
need to worry about that. You need to do what you're supposed 
to do. Obey the Lord. go according to the revealed 
will of God Almighty. So the secret things, or the 
things that may possibly occur in the future, the people were 
not to conclude at this point that destruction was inevitable. 
The people were simply to obey God the Lord. So that's chapter 
29, Covenant Renewal, on the plains of Moab. And then as I 
said, verses 1 to 10 in chapter 30 points to The New Covenant 
points to what our Lord Jesus Christ will do in terms of saving 
his people from their sins. And I think on that just brief 
observation, it's always good when we leave the plains of Moab 
to be thankful for the cross at Calvary. Because all those 
curses stipulated in the Old Testament scriptures ultimately 
The Lord Jesus obeyed. The Lord Jesus became a curse 
for us. He was that penal substitutionary 
atonement on behalf of all those whom the Father had given Him. 
So those curses, those threats of judgment, they were real. 
They were visited upon Israel. Ultimately, God visited judgment 
and curse upon His own dear Son. so that we could have salvation. It's a wonderful and glorious 
truth. Let us pray. Father, thank you 
for your word and thank you for Deuteronomy and for all of the 
good things it teaches us concerning you and concerning your grace 
and your mercy. We thank you that that blessed 
central feature of all of redemptive religion is that we would be 
your people and that you will be our God. And we thank you 
for this great blessing. Thank you for hymn 599 that we're 
able to sing and the fact that one day our eyes will feast upon 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And as the hymn writer says, 
we won't look at the crown that he gives but on his pierced hand. 
May these things encourage our hearts and may they strengthen 
us and may we indeed live in a manner that is consistent with 
your holy word. And we pray through Christ our 
Lord. Amen.