Deuteronomy 4
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CHAPTER 4
Obedience Commanded (4:1–14)
1–2 After completing his historical review, Moses then turned to the central subject of the book of Deuteronomy: the need for the Israelites to follow God’s laws in order that they might live and take possession of the land (verse 1). Moses did not mean here that the Israelites would be saved by the law; rather he meant that if they obeyed God’s laws they would enjoy His covenant blessings and lead life to the full (see Leviticus 18:5 and comment).
By obeying God’s laws, the Israelites would be enabled not only to take possession of the promised land but also to remain secure in it. In other words, for the Israelites God’s laws were the key to living a life of abundance and security; nothing was to be added to the laws and nothing was to be taken away from them (Revelation 22:18–19). God’s laws were perfect and sufficient for all of Israel’s needs; to benefit from God’s laws, all the Israelites had to do was to obey them.
It is important to emphasize here that God did not want merely a dry, formal obedience to His laws; He wanted the Israelites to obey from their hearts. This is repeated over and over in the book of Deuteronomy; it is heartfelt obedience to God that brings life.
3–4 If obedience brought life, then disobedience brought death, as happened to those Israelites who followed the Baal of Peor, one of the main gods of the Canaanites and other neighboring tribes (see Numbers 25:1–18 and comment). But all those Israelites who held fast to the LORD—who continued to believe and to obey God—were saved from the plague that struck the others.
5–8 God’s laws were designed not only to benefit the Israelites but also to influence other nations, to let other nations see the wisdom of God and of His chosen people (verse 6). By their obedience, the Israelites would demonstrate this wisdom to other peoples so that they too might be drawn to God and be blessed by Him (see Genesis 12:3). Only the God of Israel dwelled with His people10 and heard their prayers and gave them laws to live by (verses 7–8).
9–14 Knowledge of God’s law is not enough: it must be remembered and taught; it must be followed day by day and passed on from generation to generation (verse 9). Just as air does us no good unless we breathe it, so the law does us no good unless we follow it.
In verses 10–14, Moses reminds the Israelites how their fathers at Mount Sinai actually heard the voice of God and saw His GLORY manifested in cloud and fire (see Exodus 19:9–19 and comment). At that time, God declared to [Israel] his covenant, the Ten Commandments(verse 13), which God wrote down on two stone tablets so that the people could better remember them; also at that time, Moses taught the people other decrees and laws from the Lord (see Exodus 20:2; 24:1–12; 31:18 and comments). Obedience to the Ten Commandments and other laws and decrees was Israel’s obligation under the covenant God had made: according to that covenant God would bless Israel and Israel would obey God. If Israel failed to obey, the covenant would be broken and God’s blessings would be withdrawn (see Exodus 19:5–6 and comment).
Idolatry Forbidden (4:15–31)
15–19 One of the major differences between Israel’s God and all other gods was that no image could be made of Him. God has no form (verse 15); He is spirit (John 4:24). Therefore, the Israelites were forbidden to make any kind of idol or image to be worshiped in place of the true God (verses 16–18); furthermore, they were to worship nothing that God had created—sun, moon, stars, earth, nature (verse 19). These things weren’t gods; they were created by God for the benefit of mankind. Nothing was to be worshiped but God alone (see Exodus 20:3 and comment).
Because God has no form, it is easy to be enticed into worshiping something that has a form—that can be seen. Already the Israelites had been enticed into worshiping the Baal of Peor (Numbers 25:1–3). And they would continue to be enticed to worship other gods throughout their history (2 Kings 23:5). That is why Moses said: . . . be careful,and watch yourselves closely (verse 9).
20 Then Moses reminded the Israelites that the Lord had brought them up out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt. The Israelites’ four hundred years in Egypt had been a “furnace” of testing for them (see 1 Peter 1:6–7); through that testing God had made them into a nation of two million people. God always tests and disciplines His people, because that is how He brings them to spiritual maturity (see Exodus 15:25–27 and comment).
God had chosen Israel to be His inheritance—that is, to be His own people, His own treasured possession (Exodus 6:7; 19:5–6; 34:8–9). That is why He did not want them worshiping other gods; His people belonged to Him. He was jealous for them (verse 24). The Israelites should remember from Mount Sinai that God was a consuming fire (Exodus 24:15–17; Hebrews 12:29) and would punish those who deliberately turned away from Him (Hebrews 10:26–27,30–31).
21–24 Moses was again reminded of how the Lord had been angry with him (verse 21) and had refused to allow him to enter the promised land (see Numbers 20:1–13; Deuteronomy 1:37). And Moses again warned the Israelites not to forget their covenant obligation to obey all the Lord’s commands—including, above all, the command to make no idols (1 John 5:21).
25–27 In these verses Moses looks into the future and sees the possibility that Israel will one day turn from the Lord and worship idols; if this happens, Moses assures the Israelites that they will be destroyed, and those few who are not destroyed God will scatter. All of this came true seven to eight hundred years later when God sent the Israelites into exile in Assyria and Babylon because of their idolatry.
28 Once people begin to disobey God, they grow farther and farther away from Him until the point comes when God “gives them over” to their desires, lusts, and depravity of mind (see Romans 1:2132). In Israel’s case, those Israelites who survived in exile would begin to worship pieces of wood and stone—totally forgetting the mighty Creator of the universe who turned back the waters of the Red Sea and thundered from Mount Sinai. That’s how far they would fall from their former glorious position of being the chosen people of God!
The central cause of all idolatry is the refusal to believe in the one true God. We prefer to create our own gods who allow us to do as we please. But they are lifeless objects; though they don’t interfere with our desires, neither do they help us when we need them.
But idols are not only made of wood and stone; they are anything that takes the place of God in our lives, anything we love more than God: money, power, sex, our spouse, our children, our reputation, our possessions—even our good works.11 These all have the potential to become idols in our lives. There fore, let us heed Moses’ words: . . . be careful,and watch yourselves closely (verse 9).
For further discussion of idolatry, see Exodus 20:4–6; 34:15–16 and comments.
29 But Moses does not end with God’s anger and judgment; he ends with God’s love and mercy. We must always recognize these two sides of God’s character and not give greater weight to one than to the other (see Exodus 34:4–7 and comment). Always in the end, after punishment and judgment, God holds out the hope of forgiveness, REIEMPTION, and restoration.
Here Moses tells us what we must do in order to realize that hope. Forgiveness, redemption and restoration do not come automatically; we must seek God with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul. We must cast ourselves upon God as our only hope. And if we seek Him in this way, we will find him.
30–31 Moses then predicted that some of the Israelites would return to God and obey Him, and that God, as a merciful Father, would take them back (Luke 15:11–24). God would not utterly abandon or destroy His people; He had entered into a covenant with their forefathers, confirmed by oath, and He would never break it (see Genesis 22:15–19; Exodus 2:23–25 and comments). Even if we are faithless, [God] will remain faithful,for he cannot disown himself (2 Timothy 2:13).
The Lord Is God (4:32–40)
32–40 In these verses, Moses eloquently sums up his first address to the Israelites on the plains of Moab. He says that no event since the creation of man (Genesis 1:27; 2:7) can compare to God’s speaking out of the fire (verse 33) from Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16–19), or to God’s taking one nation (Israel) out of another nation (Egypt) in order to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage (verse 34).
Why did God do all this? . . . so that you might know that the LORD is God (verse 35). Why did God want the Israelites to know that He was God? Because he loved their forefathers (verse 37), because He chose them to be His people (Genesis 12:1–3; 17:3–8; 28:10–15). It all started with God’s love; ultimately, everything God had done for the Israelites was done because He loved them. Even this new generation of Israelites should be aware of God’s love for them, because He had driven out the Amorites before them (Numbers 21:21–35; Deuteronomy 2:24–37; 3:1–11) and had given them their land (verse 38)and now all Canaan lay before them.12 God was not only up in heaven far away, but He was also down on earth dwelling with His people (verse 39)—because He loved them.
Therefore, God had the right to ask the Israelites to love Him back. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). How could they show their love to God? By keeping his decrees and commands (verse 40). Jesus said: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Love is not just a feeling; it is an action. God shows His love for us by redeeming us; we show our love for God by obeying His commands (see Deuteronomy 6:4–5 and comment).
In verses 32–40, Moses has been telling Israel to look back and reflect. Ask now about the former days (verse 32). We, too, need to do the same. We need to look back and reflect on what God has done for us in sending His Son Jesus Christ to bear the punishment for our sins. We need to reflect on the fact that God loved each of us so much that He was willing to die for us (John 3:16). It is because of His great love for us that we are then motivated to love and serve Him in return.
Cities of Refuge (4:41–43)
(Numbers 35:6–34; Deuteronomy 19:113; Joshua 20:1–9)
41–43 See Numbers 35:6–34 and comment.
Introduction to the Law (4:44–49)
44–49 Here begins Moses’ second address to the Israelites; in it Moses talks about specific stipulations,decrees and laws (verse 45), most of which have been given before in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. These various laws will be detailed in Deuteronomy Chapters 5–26.
Inverses46–49, Moses describes the exact location of the Israelites’ latest encampment. For a description of the various geographic terms mentioned here, see Deuteronomy 1:1–5; 3:12–20,23–29 and comments.