Nielsen’s Nook

In preparation for the continuation of a series on Deuteronomy at Bethel PCA in Dallas, I continue to notice a rhetorical theme recurring throughout the opening chapters of Deuteronomy. As chapter 4 transitions into Deuteronomy 5, which some see as the key section of the entire book, and consequently the entire Deuteronomic History, we find that it begins and ends with this rhetoric on life:

¹“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. (Deuteronomy 4:1, ESV)

³³Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? (Deuteronomy 4:33, ESV)

The reapplication of the Law to this new generation at the conclusion of the 40 years of wilderness wanderings, has everything to do with life (c.f., Deuteronomy 5:3). Chapter 5 continues to ask this question:

²⁴And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man and man still live. ²⁵Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. ²⁶For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? (Deuteronomy 5:24-26, ESV)

³³You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. (Deuteronomy 5:33, ESV)

The holiness of God is perhaps shown to be analogous to combustion.� If left in raw contact with unbridled sinfulness it consumes it.� However, the purpose of holiness here and especially as it is fulfilled and demonstrated in the person of Christ and the sending of the Spirit of Holiness is to empower and cleanse God’s people, imparting life to them.

The sad thing is that until the return of Christ where the defeat of sin is completed, humanity lives in a sort of functional psychosis.� We want holiness and rightness and yet we hate it.� We want order and lawfulness and yet we covet and steal.� As I reflect on this contradiction in my own life, I am compelled to cry out, “Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!”� And I must believe that the one who said, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest”; that one who is unequivocally holy, will make good on his promise.