Foundational Teaching!

God’s ‘Foundational Teaching’ is a tutorial lesson and a warning to Israel as they are about to cross into the Promised Land.

The purpose of this post is to understand God’s Sovereignty and Providence regarding His watchful care over His people Israel.

God, because of HIs love for His people, is speaking to Israel through Moses calling to their remembrance what they had experienced in the wilderness.

In the context of Chapter 8, Israel stands on the wilderness side of the Jordan River.

They are at the ‘door’ of entering the land promised to Abraham, and confirmed to Isaac, and to Jacob.

The ‘tutorial’ text is Deuteronomy 8.

This text looks back historically recalling the failures of the adult generation that came out of Egypt.

This text also looks forward prophetically, ‘warning‘ the next generation what will happen to them if they do not heed this teaching session.

God knows their heart.

God knows what He needs to ‘say’ to Israel.

God is going to reveal to Israel what He knows is in their heart and warn them of its potential repercussions.

This is not God’s judgment.

This is God’s grace and mercy for His people, as their loving Heavenly Father.

This, too, is what each one of us, as followers of Christ, needs to understand as we, individually, walk with the Lord upon our own pathway of spiritual growth with Him.

Selah.

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Moses is reminding the present generation of Israelites, standing at the bank of the Jordan River, that on the other side of the river IS the Promised Land that God promised to Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-9; Genesis 13:1-7; Genesis 15:1-8)

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we, too, must understand God’s ways of ‘teaching’ His children during our pilgrim journey with Him as we are conformed to the image of Christ, according to the W0rd of God, governed by the Holy Spirit.

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The Apostle John at the end of his first Epistle, concluded with this statement.

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (I John 5:21, NKJV)

“Little Children! Guard yourselves from idols. (I John 5:1, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible)

Combining the two verses:

“Little Children! Guard yourselves from idols. Amen.”

The Book of Deuteronomy is a historical account spoken to the nation of Israel by Moses prior to Israel’s entry into the land of promise made to Abraham.

Q: What is the primary importance for our understanding?

It is this?

That the first generation of adults that were delivered out of the bondage of Egypt all died during Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

Only two of the original adults of the first generation entered the promised land.

They were Joshua and Caleb.

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Refining our focus.

Who is Moses speaking to?

Moses is speaking to the next generation of Israelites reminding them of what happened to the first generation; and what would happen to them if they did not ‘guard’ their hearts.

Deuteronomy 1:1, NKJV, “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan River in the wilderness…”

The purpose of this post is to give us insight into the ways of God using the ‘teaching’ of Deuteronomy chapter 8.

God is tutoring His people.

Moses is bringing to the memory of the next generation what happened to their adult family members in the wilderness.

Why?

To show Israel, how God looks into the heart through ‘testing’; to remind them that what happened to the first generation; and to warn Israel would happen to them if they did not heed God’s Word of warning.

Moses , like the Apostle John, is telling them to ‘guard’ their heart’.

What are they to ‘guard their heart‘ from?

‘Guard their hearts from idols’. (I John 5:21)

Deuteronomy 8 outlines the tragedy of the spiritual, economic, and life-changing disaster that Israel will ‘reap‘ if they follow the desire of their heart; believing that it is ok to ‘sow’ their walk with God following after the ‘idol of their heart’.

What ‘idol of the heart’ is mentioned?

The wealth and abundance of the Promised Land.

Remember: An idol in the Word of God is a man made object or an idol of the heart.

The warning: The abundance of one’s provision can become your ‘idol‘; and your personal desire for it can become your ‘idol of the heart’.

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In the wilderness, God revealed to the nation of Israel the condition of their heart.

In Deuteronomy 8, Moses is reminding them of the deceitfulness of wealth; its growing effect upon their heart; and ultimately its consequence upon their covenant relationship to God.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, NKJV, “No one can serve two masters; for he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Lit. in Aramaic, riches)

Jesus said that you will ‘serve’ one of the two of them.

If you serve the ‘idol’, then that idol becomes the object of your worship.

If you serve an’ idol‘, then you cannot worship God in ‘spirit and truth’. (John 4:23,24) [See Foundational Treason! Part 3]

Remember this acronym: Idols Deceive Our Love (Lifestyle, Living, Liberty)

This is what is being addressed in Deuteronomy 8.

Q: Is this applicable to our nation today? to the Church? to Christians?

Q: Is this applicable to you?

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The Book of Deuteronomy is a series of messages spoken by Moses to the nation of Israel rehearsing their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

God had delivered the nation of Israel ‘out’ from under the influence of the ‘idol-gods’ of Egypt, to bring them into His Presence in the wilderness.

God sent Moses to Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, to tell him to let His people go ten times.

With each encounter, God brought a plague upon Egypt to confirm His word spoken by Moses to Pharaoh. (Exodus 5-12) [See: Does Tribulations Bring Tension?]

All of the plagues Egypt experienced were directed against Egyptian deities that they worshipped.

In the wilderness, God’s desire was to bring them unto Himself having delivered them from the ‘control’ of Pharaoh and the Egyptian lifestyle.

God set His people free to reveal Himself to His people, to bring them to Himself.

Why? To ‘teach’ Israel about His rule and reign; and to reveal His heart of love for Israel; so that they would understand that His desire was to be their God and for Israel to be His people.

This has always been the desire that has governed God’s heart for His people. (Genesis 17:7; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Revelation 21:1-8)

This desire is eternal and has always existed in God’s heart before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

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“In the beginning God…”

Read Genesis 1-3.

Focus on God’s heart for mankind.

It began with Adam and Eve.

Their relationship was destroyed by sin.

Jesus came to satisfy the wrath of God against sin at the cross.

Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension prepared the way for the reestablishment of that relationship through the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross dealt with the ‘heart’ of the problem of sin.

The ‘heart‘ of the problem, in Deuteronomy 8, is to show the struggle to remove the influence of Egyptian ‘idol-worship’ from Israel’s heart so that they learn to live separated unto God relationally and be obedient to the leadership of Joseph as they enter the Promised Land.

But, the Promised Land is inhabited by giants.

The Promised Land is inhabited by idolatrous nations that need to be conquered; and their idols and places of idol-worship destroyed.

Whose responsibility is this?

Israels, under the leadership of Joshua.

In order to do that Israel needed to have a singleness of heart that was completely committed to loving and serving God, only.

This means that there can be no ‘mixed worship’; no’ idols’; and no ‘idols of the heart.

This is what the Apostle John was warning Christians when he said, ‘Guard Your Heart’ from idols.

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Here is the setting:

Deuteronomy 1:1 begins, “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness…” NKJV)

A journey that began in 1440 BC, coming out of Egypt into the wilderness, lasted until 1400 BC.

On a map what could have been an 11 day journey (Deuteronomy 1:2) lasted 40 years because of Israel’s unbelief and disobedience.

In the wilderness after two years of preparation, Israel refused to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief.

See Numbers 13:1-14:45; Hebrews 3:7-4:13.

The entire adult generation that came out of Egypt under the blood of a lamb (Passover), and had crossed through the Red Sea on dry ground, died in the wilderness.

Only two adults of that first generation of adults entered the Promised Land.

Joshua and Caleb.

Deuteronomy is a series of messages spoken to the next generation of Israel reminding them of God’s dealings with His people throughout their wilderness wanderings.

The ‘next’ generation had witnessed what Moses was retelling.

The‘ tutoring’ they (the next generation) received was a call to obedience which would pave the pathway for victory and blessing.

It was God’s heart for His people to possess the promises that He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

At this point, if you are not familiar with the Book of Deuteronomy, I would encourage you to read chapters 1 through 7 before studying chapter 8.

Focus on this:

Moses is speaking to the next generation after the first generation had died in the wilderness.

Moses is reminding the next generation of what their parents had seen; what they had heard; and how they had lived and responded to God in the wilderness.

The next generation had witnessed, growing up in the wilderness, what happened to their parents and family.

Please read Psalm 78.

Please read Psalm 95.

Q: What does God desire from His children?

A. God wants our ‘unshared love’.

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Deuteronomy chapters 1-7, rehearse in the ears of the ‘next’ generation their parents: behavior; lifestyle; and their responses to God and to Moses.

1. Deuteronomy 5 revues the 10 commandments spoken to the nation of Israel.
2. Deuteronomy 5:27 reminds them of the verbal response to God of obedience.
3. Deuteronomy 5:28 records God’s acknowledgment of their verbal response.
4. Deuteronomy 5:29 expresses the longing of God’s heart for Israel to be obedient to their word of obedience spoken to Him.
5. Deuteronomy 6:1-9 is Israel’s, ‘Shema’ that is rehearsed/recited/remembered daily in prayer to God.
6. The Shema is a daily acknowledgment of Israel’s commitment to God.
   • “The word Shama means more than just hear. It means to listen, submit, obey and become a part of, and become one with.” (Hebrew Word Study-Hear, by Chaim Bentorah, July 14, 2019)
   • See also Deuteronomy 11:13-21; Numbers 15:37-41.
7. Deuteronomy 7:6-11, Israel is reminded that they are God’s chosen, Holy people, His covenantal people..
   • See also II Corinthians 6:11-7:1; I Peter 2:5, 9-10.

The Word of God teaches that ‘separation’ unto Him is mandatory.

Therefore, there can be no idolatry!

The same is true today for the Church, the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ!

I Corinthians 10:1-11:1; 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:1.

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I know there is much redundancy in this post. Some readers may choose not to continue into the next section of the post.

I understand.

However, if you would like to do a personal Bible study, then I encourage you to continue with the remainder of this post, using your Bible, a notebook, and your personal commentaries.

May the Lord bless you as you pursue the study of God’s Word, governed by the Holy Spirit.

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Our text is Deuteronomy 8:1-8, ( I am using the NKJV)

The teaching is in an outline form

The study is entitled:

“GUARD YOUR HEART!“

The study proceeds verse by verse.

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Deuteronomy 8.

A. verse 1 – is a call to obey God’s Word.

1. James 1: 21-25, James exhorts us to be “doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves”. (v.23)
2. verse 1: Why the call to obedience?
   • so “that you may live, multiply, go in, and possess the land (the promise) the Lord swore to your fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)”. (insert mine)
   • possess-to inherit, possess, seize, occupy (used 250+ times in the OT)
   • God promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob repeatedly.

B. verse 2 – is a call to remember God’s ways.

1. God did it!
   • He led you.
   • He humbled you.
   • He tested you.
   • This wasn’t a temptation from Satan.

1. James 1: 2-4
   • “count it all joy”
   • why?
   • because the “testing of your faith produces patience” (endurance/perseverance)
   • therefore, “let patience have its perfect work”
   • why?
   • “so that you may be perfect” ( the Greek word is teleios: finished, complete, consumate.)
   • This is becoming grown up; mature in Christ.
2. James 1:12 [words of the verse are italicized] (inserts are mine)
   • “Blessed“(makarios-a grace word that expresses the special joys and satisfaction granted the person who experiences salvation-Matthew 5:1-12)
   • “is the man who endures” (to hold one’s ground in conflict, bear up against adversity, hold out under stress, stand firm, persevere under pressure, wait calmly and courageously-not passive resignation to fate and mere patience, but the active, energetic resistance to defeat that allows calm and brave endurance)
   • “temptation for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised ” (to engage, to profess, to assert, to announce what one is about to do) to those who love Him.
   • God is seeking for Israel to be ‘approved’; In the Greek, James 1:12, the word (dokimas) ‘approved’ means ‘tested, approved, or proven to be genuine)
3. Why did God do this to Israel in the wilderness?
   • “to know what was in your heart ” (meaning, so that Israel would understand what was in their own heart. God already knows what is in their heart. He is revealing their heart to themselves.)
   • Have you experienced God showing yourself to yourself to reveal what is in your own heart?
   • Why did He do this?
   • To see” whether or not they would keep His commandments or not.“
   • To teach Israel how God governs His people.
   • God had brought them out from the control of the government of Egypt, Pharaoh.
   • Egypt ‘controlled’ them-Sin ‘controls’ by condemnation.
   • God ‘governs’- with grace, by the Holy Spirit, according to the Word of God.
   • Romans 8:”There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
   • It is one thing to be taken out of Egypt (justification) it is another to have Egypt taken out of you (sanctification).
   • Justification is the ‘work of the Cross’. Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 19:20)
   • It is accomplished by Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
   • Sanctification is the ‘way of the cross’.
   • This is the teaching of learning how to follow Christ as His disciple.
   • See Matthew 16:24-27.

C. verse 3 Remember: God did it His way.

1. He humbled you.
2. He allowed you to go hungry.
3. He fed you with manna, that your father’s did not know.
   • See John 6-Jesus is the Bread of Life.
4. Why is God taking Israel through this ?
   • “so that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
   • “the daily supply of manna had directions to obedience. (Exodus 16)
5. Q: Did Jesus walk through a similar testing, a temptation in the wilderness?
   • See Matthew 4: 1-11.
   • Q: Do we, as a believer, walk through similiar trials, temptations, and testings?
   • See 1 Peter 4:12-19.

D. Verse 4. “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.” [There were no malls in the wilderness; and there was no http://www.wilderness.com.]

1. What did Jesus teach?
   • Matthew 6:24-35, “take no thought….”
   • Read the text and compare it to Deuteronomy 8.
2. I Peter 5:5-7
   • Q; Do you have a humble heart?
   • Q: or a prideful heart that leads to an ‘idol of the heart’?

E. verse 5

What is God doing?

1. See Hebrew 12:3-11.
   • Hebrews 12:3 “For consider Him (Jesus) who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” (insert mine)
   • This is God’s divine discipline as a Father in the lives of His children.
   • This is God’s School of the Spirit.
   • Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens”
   • Chastening is the corrective discipline used in training a child, designed to bring them to spiritual maturity.
   • God is showing Israel is ‘love’ for them, as their Father.
   • How?
   • God is ‘chastening’ His people before they enter the Promised Land.

F. verse 6.

1. Back to square one:
   • “you shall keep the commandment of the Lord your God, to walk in His way, and to fear Him.
   • Jesus said, John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandment.”
   • See John 14:15-31 for context.

G. verses 7-9

1. What follows are the blessings of God’s provision for the nation of Israel in the Promised Land.
   • “…God is bringing them into a good land.”
   • “a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills;”
   • “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and hills;”
   • “a land of olive oil and honey;”
   • “a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing;”
   • “a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.”

H. verse 10.

Q: What kind of response does God expect them to give from the heart?

1. “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.”
   • The nation of Israel, the people of God, believers in Jesus Christ, should be grateful for the blessing of the Lord that has been given to them.
2. Israel is being prepared to enter the Promised Land that was spoken to Abraham.
3. In this time of preparation, Moses, in effect, casts a ‘dark cloud’ of history that dampens their expectations.
4. Moses reminds them of what happened when Israel spied out the land?
   • See Numbers 13:23-33.
5. Why did Israel wander for 40 years in the wilderness?
   • Because they chose not to believe God’s promise.
6. What did they find in the Promised Land?
   • It was a land of plenty, with abundance; but there were GIANTS in the land. [Numbers 13]
   • And so, because of the GIANTS, they chose not to enter the Promised Land.
7. John 10:7-10, Jesus said, “…I have come that they might have life and they may have it more abundantly (excessive, overflowing).”
   • This is not a prosperity doctrine.
   • This is a quality of life; not a quantity in life.
   • God is not against His people having an abundance of wealth.
   • The problem is whether or not the person with wealth stewards it righteously; or whether the wealth becomes an idol that controls the person’s heart.
   • See Mark 4:18-19; I Timothy 6:3-10,17; Proverbs 23:4-5; Ecclesiastes 5:8-20)
8. What is to be our response?
   • A heart of gratitude, praise,and thankfulness that blesses God, the Father.
9. God had made a promise to Abraham to give them a land.
   • God brought Israel to the entrance of the land.
   • Israel spied it out and saw its incredible provision.
   • Between the promise given and the fulfillment of possessing the land there was a problem-there were GIANTS in the land.
   • Consider the giants that these individuals faced as they walked with God:
   • Joseph
   • David
   • Daniel
   • Paul
   • the individuals listed in Hebrews 11.
   • They were all given ‘promises’.
   • Between their promise and the provision, there were ‘giant’ problems that they faced.
   • To enter into the provision of the promise, they walked according to the Word of the Lord that was given to them.
10. To inherit the promises of God, we, too, will face problems of personal GIANTS that come between us and our experience of God’s provision.
11. This is true in our walk with the Lord. (this is a complete study in itself.)

I. verses 11-18. Verse 11 begins with this word: ” Beware”

1. God is warning Israel (us), just like the Apostle John.
2. “Guard Your Heart”-Beware of turning away from God.
3. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God.
4. ‘Turning away’ begins with not keeping the Word of God.
   • How did Jesus respond to Satan’s temptation in the wilderness?
   • “It is written”
5. The setting aside of God’s Word reprograms your heart’s response that will cause you to turn away from Him.
6. As you continue to set aside the Word of God, you become proud, while partaking of the blessings of God; then you become full; self- satisfied; and you forget what God did for you!
7. What did God do for Israel?
   • He brought them out of the bondage of Egypt.
   • He led them through the wilderness.
   • He crushed the ‘creepy crawlers’ (demonic forces).
   • He supplied them with water from the well of His salvation.
   • He fed them with manna, the bread of heaven, daily (i.e. the Word of God)
   • He humbled them.
   • He tested them.
   • Why? to do them good in the end.
8. But, setting aside and forgetting the word of God …
   • produced pride.
   • and, pride turned into ownership,
   • and ownership tells your heart…

J. Verse 17. “my power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.

1. I (self) assume ownership.
   • It is all about ‘me’.
2. Ownership declares to itself, in the heart...
   • I am my own provider; I am god.
   • I now have an ‘idol of the heart’.
   • A hardness of the heart sets in the life of the believer.
   • We forget that ‘in Christ’ we have been clothed with humility.
   • there is no be no arrogance, conceit, and haughtiness.
   • However, self is arrogant, full of conceit, and haughty.
   • ‘Self- Ownership’ is an arrogance.
   • Arrogance says, “I am god”…
   • and a hardness of heart sets in.

K. Verse 18. is a call to remembrance.

1. God did it.
2. God gave you the power (vigor, strength, capacity, means, ability to gain wealth, it is not an innate talent, it is a God-given ability).
3. God did this so that He might confirm His covenant which He swore to His people Israel.
4. II Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”
   • Christ is the fulfiller and the fulfillment of all the promises of God because He is their total sum and substance.

L. Verses 19,20. Where does this road of forgetfulness lead us?

1. “Then it shall be, if you forget…”
2. This is a conditional statement.
   • That means, you do not have to go this way!
3. B.U.T. (Believer Understand This) -this is where the process of forgetting God’s Word, turning away from Him, and exalting yourself leads to:
   • you follow after other gods
   • you serve other other gods
   • you worship other gods.
   • do you see the progression?
4. Matthew 6:19-24 reads,
   • “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures (this is following after other gods) on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad (serving other gods), your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness. No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve (you will worship the God/god that you serve) God and mammon (riches).”
5. Matthew 6:25 Jesus tells us,
   • “Therefore I say unto you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (did God faithfully feed His people in the wilderness?), or what you will drink (did God faithfully supply His people with water in the wilderness?), nor about your body, what you will put on (did God faithfully see that they were clothed in the wilderness?). Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
6. Matthew 6:26-32,
   • Jesus tells his listeners how God, the Father, cares for His creation (birds of the air; flowers of the field) and for His people (represented by Solomon); Jesus says that you do not have to worry, because “your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
   • Jesus includes the Gentiles saying that they too, have need of all these same things.
7. What is the conclusion of the matter?
   • Matthew 6:33 instructs us to “…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
   • Q: Are you focused, like Israel, on the ‘things’ of plenty in the land; or will you remain focused upon God and His Word, to inherit the promises of God?
   • If you focus on the ‘things’…
   • then the ‘things’ can turn your heart from following after God; and God told Israel that they would surely perish.
8. How?
   • “You will perish just like the nations I am going to destroy before you (the nations in the land of Israel’s inheritance.)
9. Why?
   • Because they would not be obedient to God’s voice.
10. Please understand that as a believer, this is not an issue of your eternal salvation.
    • You are justified in Christ. (Romans 10:11-13; Acts 4:12; John 3:16)
    • You are eternally secure. (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-30)
11. The issue is your personal growth and maturity in your walk with the Lord; and the fulfillment of God’s plan for you to accomplish for Him during your life. (Ephesians 2: 1-10)

M. Conclusion.

1. Read I Corinthians 10:1-14.
2. Read Hebrews 3:7-4:10.
3. Read Revelation 2:1-3:22.

N. Ponder Prayerfully.

1. Are there ‘idols of the heart’ that you worship?
2. Are there physical idols that you worship?
3. Ask the Lord to search your heart and reveal to you if there are any idols in your life. (Psalms 139:23-24)
4. Respond to the Lord as He reveals to you what He sees and shows you what is in your heart.
5. Walk in obedience to the Word of God, governed by the Holy Spirit.
6. God, the Father, will bless and provide for you all your needs as you “…seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

Why do I believe that this teaching is imperative for the Church to hear and understand this teaching?

God, the Father, is pouring out His Spirit, in the nations of the world. He is pinpointing a ‘next generation’ throughout the earth. Many young adults are coming to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. These young people are born again, being water baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit, healed and delivered from personal bondages.

This is a Sovereign work of God.

This is what the Spirit of God is saying to the Church.

Does the Church have ears to hear “what the Spirit is saying to the Church?

It is time to stop and listen.

It is time to “be still and know that I am God.”

Be blessed, your brother ‘in Christ’, deo