Deuteronomy (Chapter 10)

Deuteronomy 10–11 teaches that fearing the Lord means recognizing His greatness and responding with humble obedience. The Lord owns heaven and earth, yet He chose Israel out of His covenant love, not because of their righteousness. God calls His people to love Him, walk in His ways, and serve Him with all their heart and soul. Remembering their deliverance from Egypt, they are commanded to show justice and compassion to the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger. These chapters reveal that true fear of the Lord produces humility, obedience, and faithful love.

Transcript

Welcome And Deuteronomy Context

SPEAKER_00 0:00

If you're listening to Teach Me the Bible podcast, our mission is to help the people of God understand the Word of God. Join us each Monday and Thursday for new episode releases. Listen to our full library of content at teachmethebible.com or by downloading the Teach Me the Bible app from any app store. You're listening to Teach Me the Bible Podcast.

Replacing The Tablets And The Ark

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Hey everybody, welcome back to Teach Me the Bible Podcast. We're walking through the book of Deuteronomy. Today we're picking up in chapter 10, where, well, Moses is still telling the same story he's been telling for at least a chapter now. And so, um, so it wasn't always it's not always ideal to break up these episodes where we do, but for the sake of time, uh, we do it. And so just remember, uh, if if you're just starting with us today, go back because you're you've missed some. Uh, but we're gonna pick up in chapter 10, verse one, uh, with this story that Moses is telling to Israel to remind them uh where they've come from, what they're supposed to do. So, Doc, if you want to pick up where we left off, they'll be we'd all be very grateful.

Levi Set Apart To Carry The Ark

Fear The Lord And Keep His Commands

Dr. David Klingler 1:09

Yeah, there's several places in Deuteronomy where Moses is rehearsing their history, and he's in the middle of one of them. He's telling the story and how you know they had rebelled against the Lord when he was up on the mountain, he came down and threw the stone tablets and destroyed them. And and at that time the Lord said to me, Cut for yourself uh two tablets of stone, like the first ones, and come up uh to me on the mountain and make an ark of wood for yourself. And we're gonna have this ark of the covenant, which has been explained already, and this going back to the uh to the end of the book of Exodus. And and I will write on these tablets the words which were on the former ones, which you shattered, and I will put them in the ark. And I made an ark of acacia wood and cut the two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up onto the mountain with the two tablets in my hand, and you know, this is Moses speaking, he the Lord wrote on the tablets, like the former writings, the ten words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain in the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me, and I turned and came down the mountain and put the tablets in the ark, which I had made, and they are there as the Lord commanded me. Now the sons of Israel set out uh from, and then we've got this um Barota, that's uh like a well uh of Bene. Bene is sons of Yachan, and so maybe the sons of Achan or the Achan, um, to uh Masorah. And these are transliterations, and you know, this is a place that's not mentioned anywhere else uh in in the the the Bible, and of course, you know, archaeologists try to go and they find try to find these places that are that are called these names, but if but if they're not translations but uh transliterations, then it could be a place, but you know, but the place of you know this comes from the root to to bind, the place of binding, and so got some suspicion on so it could be a descriptive word rather than a name specifically. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And and uh and there Aaron died, and so we know uh from you know where that happened. They they translate that Mount Hoar, but you know you know, whore hahar. Hoar is uh you know, uh I think from the root har, which is mountain hill. Yeah, and so the maybe the hill of the hill, hill, or you know, so you know, again, these it makes these places hard to find if it's not actual locations. So there's some speculation, and you you kind of get some you know explanation. Anyway, you can go back and and track their their movements in the in the book of Numbers. And this is where Aaron died, and they um and there uh he was buried, and Eli Azar, his son, ministered as priest in this place, and from there they set out to Godguda. This is another or or or or Gudgadah. Uh you know, there's you know in different ways that this is uh stated. They set out from there to a to a good place. You know, maybe that's it, uh, the land of the brooks of water. And at that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant. Um this this word, this comes from Nasa, I think, that you know, this uh uh this word here to uh to lift up or or to carry. But this is our um word that we went back all the way to um the the start of it is in is in uh Genesis 4 7. Right with with with eight with uh you know with Cain and Abel. And if you do good, will you not saat? This is the the word. This it will you not you know be lifted up or something. Yeah, have preeminence. So so so you know, this was their responsibility. Their job was to you know carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and they stood before the Lord to serve him and to bless his name until this day. Therefore, Levi does not have a uh a portion or or inheritance with his brothers, for the Lord is in it is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God spoke to him. I moreover stayed on the mountain for forty days and for forty nights, like the first time, and the Lord listened to me that time also, and the Lord was what not willing to destroy you. You know, Moses just continues to intercede on their behalf. Then the Lord said to me, Arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the people, that they may uh you may that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. And so he draws the conclusion. So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you? But to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all of his ways, uh, to love him, to serve him, um, to serve the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul. And I take these to be kind of all saying the same thing. What does he ask of you? Well, to fear the Lord your God. Well, what does that mean? To walk in all his ways. Well, what does that mean? To to to love him, to serve him, um, to you know, to serve him with all of your heart and with all of your soul. Don't depart. Keep the commands, right?

SPEAKER_02 6:13

Right.

Heavens Of Heavens And God’s Presence

Dr. David Klingler 6:14

Keep the Lord's commands, his statutes, which I am commanding you today for your good. Um, you know, so there's a reason why you should do this. Uh and then um you know, and then this uh this passage, behold, to the Lord your God belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens. Literally, that's how it reads. And I remember, you know, um back when we had to do our some of our Old Testament background work and New Testament background work, and and there was this discussion about the number of heavens and how many heavens are there, and you know, there's all this intertestamental literature about you know, seven heavens, ten heavens, one hundred heavens, how many? And and so, you know, the the the thought was well, you have to know this literature, intertestamental literature, to make sense of these, you know, Paul's third heaven, for example. You know, maybe you know Paul was just playing the number of heavens game like everyone else was in the in a intertestamental period. Well, um all the other accounts have more heavens than Paul had, right? You know, way more than he only has three, and you know, others had you know seven and plus, you know, whatever. Yeah. And uh that that that logic didn't make any sense to me. Well, um, I was caught up to the third heaven, and you know, these other writers are saying, well, I'll see your three and raise you, you know.

SPEAKER_03 7:42

It's not the best one.

Dr. David Klingler 7:43

Yeah, it's like this this program, it made no sense. And yeah, and I uh of course held the the um presupposition that everything in the New Testament comes out of the old, um, or at least that's a good place to start. So I went, and this is one of the passages you run into almost immediately here, and also when uh Solomon's building the temple, um, he's asked to build a house for the Lord. He says, How can I build a house uh for a Lord that the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain? And so if the Lord doesn't dwell in the heavens, nor in the heavens of the heavens, then to be caught up in the presence of the Lord, in Paul's talk, in Paul would know Hebrew, was the third heaven. It's beyond the heavens, the highest heavens, and it's beyond the heavens of the heavens. So they transless translate this the highest heavens, but literally it's uh to the Lord your God belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth, and all that is in it. Only on your fathers did the Lord set his affection to love them. Now, let's let's pause there. Um the setting of this story is in the heavens and the earth, right? Um and um and the Lord owns it all. Yeah, and so he owns all the people, uh all of the animals, all of the stuff in the heavens and the heavens of the heavens and the earth and all that's in it. Yet he set his affection on the fathers, on Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, uh, and on their seed after them, even you above all the peoples, as it is to this day. In other words, he chose this uh man to be a nation to reveal himself to and to work through to bring about the redemption of the creation. Uh so therefore, uh circumcise your your heart and stiffen your neck no longer. For the Lord your God, he is the God of gods, the Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, the awesome God. Um He is, and of course, this is this awesome is the fear again, right? This is the you know, the you're to fear the Lord your God because he is a God to be feared.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Goes back to verse 12.

Dr. David Klingler 9:52

Yeah, it goes all exactly right.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Circumcise your heart, you're to love him with all your heart.

Chosen Without Merit: Circumcise Your Heart

Dr. David Klingler 9:56

Yeah. Um, and so um this who God is is so important, and it sets up how Israel is to respond to this because this is how the Lord has responded to them. And so, in a real very real way, it sets up um the relationship with the Lord, the recognition of who he is and how you relate to him, ought to um influence, impact, be the foundation or basis for which you interact with other people, right? Uh and you know, and so he owns it all. Um he does as he pleases. Uh he is the awesome, fear-striking God uh who does not lift up faces, literally, show partiality. Um he's not impressed by anyone, uh, nor can he be bought. Well, why not? Because you don't have any you don't have anything to negotiate with. You know, you you don't own anything. He owns it all. Uh to him that belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth and all that's in it. And he's the one who gives you breath.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

So Israel is not impressed with you, he's not and he won't take a bribe with you. Nor with us. Yeah, right. Which is kind of the theology of the gods of the nations, right? Absolutely. They take bribes, you know. They they try to impress them, you know.

Dr. David Klingler 11:17

Yeah, you can gain favor in front of God by service, not in front of this one.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Right.

Dr. David Klingler 11:22

Right. Uh you can gain death by not serving breath, but you don't gain status, right? You just do what you're supposed to do. And uh and so this is one who is not impressed, doesn't show partiality, he doesn't show favor, he doesn't recognize or lift up faces, yeah. Um, but uh and and can't be bought. But he executes justice for the orphan and for the widow and shows his love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. Well, what's the significance of the orphan and the widow and the alien? Well, um they have nothing to um bribe with, and if they walked into the room, no one would l you know lift up faces to them. They you know, they're like, Oh, well, here you know, here's an or here's a big shooter that just walked into the room, here's a important person. No, this is uh uh inconsequential, yeah, who cares, irrelevant. Uh so they're the picture then of what Israel is before the Lord and in his creation. That's right. Yeah, yeah. And and so he sets his affection on them, even though there's no merit. Yeah, there's no reason for him to value them. Uh when Israel walks in, he doesn't go, oh well, they're special. Right. And this was the exhortation before. Yeah, uh, it's not because you're more righteous, it's not because you're more numerous, it's not because of anything other than I have set my affection upon you, and I'm going to use you, and I'm going to make you do it, and I'm going to keep my promises.

SPEAKER_03 12:58

Wow.

God Shows No Partiality Or Bribes

Dr. David Klingler 12:58

Right. Uh, and so you show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Right. And this is how you fear the Lord. You fear the Lord by keeping his commands. Now, what's interesting about that? I mean, there's several New Testament passages, Old Testament passages that are going to come into focus here. Uh, yeah, Book of James is a good place to start, James chapter two. So, so what has happened in James, um, and what Jesus has warned about in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospels was that Israel would return to their Pharisaical theology that says, Well, we're special. Right? Um, we're special because we're God lifts up his face towards us because we're Israel.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

God is for us.

Dr. David Klingler 13:46

Yeah, he's for us, he's not for you. Um, he's on our side, right? This goes, you know, this is the Joshua story, right? No, he's not on He's not on your side.

SPEAKER_03 13:55

Right.

Dr. David Klingler 13:55

Uh Are you on His side? And what would it look like for you to be on His side? Now, this is not the social gospel. This is the if you understand who the Lord is, and that you have no merit before Him, and you are nothing more than an orphan, a widow, an alien without hope. You know, I I like how Paul uh explains the uh, you know, the uh the uh Gentiles' plight uh without God in Ephesians uh chapter two. He says, uh, remember therefore, you Gentiles in the flesh, the so-called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands. Remember that at that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers, you know, maybe we could say foreigners, to the covenants of promise without God and without hope in the world.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Yeah.

Justice For Orphan, Widow, And Alien

Dr. David Klingler 14:48

Well, if God had not set his affection on Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, this would be Israel's plight as well. Um, but now in Christ Jesus, you were formerly far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Um uh and so they were orphans, widows, aliens. Uh and so they were to recognize that, to remember that, not to go back to the Pharisees' teaching, which was God likes us better than you, Gentiles. And um, and we serve him. You know, when we do the law, we gain favor before him. He says, No, that's not how it works. First of all, you don't do the law, right? Uh, and so the the uh the Pharisees' theology, Job's friends' theology, the gods of the nations, you know, the peoples of the nation's theology towards their God, which you mentioned previously, was that God can be bought. If I serve him, he will bless me.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 15:44

And this seems to be the claim of the antagonist or the warning. Do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. Uh do not show partiality.

SPEAKER_03 15:55

Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 15:56

You know, and you know, and so when you see your poor brother, your poor sister, an orphan or a widow or an alien or something like that, and you don't help him, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:05

What use is that?

Dr. David Klingler 16:06

And so the the Pharisees over there, the Pharisaical mindset is saying, well, the reason why we're blessed physically, financially, why we're rich, is because we serve the Lord. Right? Um well, this is Job, the story of Job. This is Satan's accusation, right? Um you know, Job's out there and he's doing pretty good. You know, he's got his family, he's got his kids, he's got a bunch of animals, possessions, and and um, you know, and Satan's apparently out there, you know, roaming the countryside. Um, and uh and he comes in, gives a report to the Lord, and you know, this is a rough, a very bad paraphrase, but you know, saying, hey, you know, Satan, what you been up to? He says, Well, I've been out, you know, just destroying stuff like usual. And the Lord actually brings up Job to Satan, you know. Uh have you considered my servant Job? And and uh and this this whole discussion is about blessing of the Lord, and if you serve him, are you blessed? And what does this look like? And uh and of course, the undercarriage of that whole philosophy is if you serve the Lord, if you do something for the Lord, he will do something for you. Well, that's bribery.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

That's what all the friends are saying. That's what Satan's saying.

Dr. David Klingler 17:27

That's what Satan's saying. Yeah, he's saying, look, um, the only reason uh Job serves you is because you bless him, you protect him, remove the blessing, remove the protection, and let's see. Right? Um and so here's the uh the antagonist in James, and he's saying, Well, the only you know, the reason you're poor is because you're not serving the Lord.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

Yeah.

James 2 And The Trap Of Favoritism

Dr. David Klingler 17:50

And the reason I'm blessed is because I do. See, I serve the Lord, therefore I'm blessed, therefore I'm rich. Right. And James's response is, Well, how's that orphans and widows ministry going? Right? Mr. You know, I serve the Lord, I keep the law, therefore I'm blessed, and I if you know, I'm financially blessed. And and uh he says, Well, I don't have an orphans and widows ministry. He says, Well, then how's that work? Right? I I mean if you're you know, if you break one part of the law, um, don't you break the whole thing? You know, pure and undefiled religion is this in the side of our our our God and Father that you visit orphans and widows in their distress and keep yourself unstained by the world. Well, what would unstained by the world look like? Not taking bribes, not having a false view of God, um, not uh loving the world, to love the world is to make yourself an enemy of God. Brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes in to your assembly with a gold ring uh and dresses in fine clothes, and you lift up face to him, you show impartiality, and then the orphan, the widow, the alien, the poor man, comes in and his dirty clothes, and and you say, you know, you show you show him no favor. You you don't lift up your face to him. You you pay special attention uh to the one who's wearing the fine clothes, and you say, Sit here in the good place, and to the poor man you say, sit over here in the in the the bad place, uh that sit at my footstool. Have you not judged among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my brethren, did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom, which he promised to those who love him, but you have dishonored the poor man. It is not the rich who oppress you, who personally drag you into court. Um is it not the rich who uh but you have uh blasphemed the fair name by which you are called? If, however, you're for uh fulfilling the royal law, which is according to scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you're doing well. But if you show partiality, if you lift up faces, don't claim that you're acting on behalf of God when you're actually doing opposite of what he does. Right, right? And so all the way through the prophets, then um the the prophets will not say, uh, well, you're not you know you're not loving the Lord. They're gonna say, um, where's the care for the orphan and the widow and the alien? Yeah. Uh and that exposes uh their bad theology. See, they have elevated themselves because they think they serve the Lord. Uh here's the irony uh in this is that uh and and this is why whenever I'm teaching James, and maybe you've heard me say this, uh I always say, you know, the last thing that I want you to do is to start an orphans and widows ministry. Right. Um it is what you should do, but it's the last thing you should do. Uh why? Because uh what you need to recognize see, because if you just jump over the the reason why and you go straight to orphans and widows and you start your orphans and widows ministry in your soup kitchen, you start bribing God all of a sudden. Well, you'll start bragging of how righteous you are. Yeah. You're more righteous than your brother, see, because you care for orphans and widows, and they don't. Right. Uh and so it's just self-justification, self- self-elevation. Yeah. Um, no, you care for the orphan and widow because you recognize that's what you are.

SPEAKER_03 21:26

Wow.

Dr. David Klingler 21:26

You are without God, without hope in the world, separate from the uh covenants, uh dead in your trespasses and sins. Um, you had no hope. Just as Abraham and Isaac and Jacob before they were chosen by the Lord, uh, just as see, and so Israel was to have a the self understanding that they have nothing. They don't own anything. Uh the Lord has not set his affection on them because they're more righteous than the peoples, because they're more numerous, because they're more powerful, because they're more gifted. Um

SPEAKER_02 22:00

So it's quite hypocritical then when they refuse to do it. Absolutely there's always this this this sort of repeating pattern we're seeing is that these national bigger truths playing out on the historical stage of of peoples and nations are illustrated through relationships with individuals. We saw that with um parents and children, master slave, husband-wife, now with orphans and widows, these are all illustrating something that's much bigger.

Dr. David Klingler 22:32

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And and so when the you know, and and when the orphan, widow, alien, a uh Ruth figure walks into the story. Um and and Boaz sets his affection upon her.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Not because she's pretty.

Job, Blessing, And False Theology

Dr. David Klingler 22:56

Not because yeah, not it it doesn't say she's good looking. Right. Um you know, and and she isn't after him because he's wealthy.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

Right.

Dr. David Klingler 23:06

Because he's a near kinsman. Yeah, he is a uh a man of Chail. We talked about this strength last time. And she is a woman of Chail, it's a character issue, right? And so uh and so she is uh a widow, uh, she is an alien, she is poor, uh, and she's not gone back to her mother and father. Uh and so what do you do with that? She's an orphan, a widow, an alien, she's poor, but she has placed her hope in the Lord God of Israel uh and is commended for it. Uh and uh and of course uh Boaz is the one who sets his affection on her. So so this uh affects all of our understanding. So so what happens in this social gospel movement that we have going on today is they just go straight to it. They skip over the reason why, and they say, Well, we're to be caring for orphans and widows, right? Um, and if you're not caring for orphans and widows, uh, like we are, no, they they reject all the basic doctrines of the of um of the faith and even reject the fear of the Lord. Uh and so the way that they get there, and this we're getting into a little bit of church history discussion here, but you know, there's an elevation of the attribute of love as they define it. Yeah, they say, Well, God is love, um, and he loves everyone. See, he's accepting of everyone, he accepts orphans and widows and aliens, see, right? Uh, and he accepts sinners and he accepts homosexuality, and he accepts and and so then love turns into tolerance, and tolerance has no fear, and they change the character of God. And so, so you're to fear the Lord your God, He owns it all.

SPEAKER_03 24:49

Wow.

Dr. David Klingler 24:49

Uh, and He gives, uh, He puts breath in your lungs and He can take it, and you have nothing to negotiate with. Therefore, you care for those who have nothing to negotiate with. Uh, here in uh a few sessions, we're gonna get to Deuteronomy chapter 15, and we're gonna see there's always the rich and the poor in the land. There was to be no poor in the land because the Lord was going to, you know, pour out his blessings upon the land, uh, and the the landowner was to care for the man who had no land, or the woman, or the orphan, or the widow, or the alien, and so the the law of reaping, and there was a provision there. And and if you understand all of these laws that are going into this, the character Boaz becomes just a wonderful character. I mean, you know, he recognizes uh who Ruth is orphan, widow, alien, poor, uh, what she's done, uh, she's returned with Naomi, uh, what she's doing, raising up a descendant, seed, redeemer, and uh, and what she her what her rights are. Her rights are to the the gleaning, the field. Yeah. And if uh any of the grain hits the ground, it belongs to the orphan, the widow, and the alien. And he says, well, kick some off the back of the truck. Yeah, then get the trailer and throw it off the back. Yeah, now it becomes hers.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

Wow.

Dr. David Klingler 26:18

And she ate and is satisfied. See, and so so this ties back to our last discussion of you know, so when you're in the land and you eat and are satisfied, don't forget the Lord your God. So all of this ties together so tightly um that we can't, you know, we can't skip over it, right? And and and we lose the character of God if we just start in the New Testament.

SPEAKER_02 26:39

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. It's just another example of of how Deuteronomy in particular, but the Torah, the books of Moses, um kind of regulate our understanding of those New Testament passages. Because if you, like you're saying, if you pick up in the New Testament, it can so easily out of context just lead you down the love tolerance route, but anchoring it back here, anchoring it in Moses and and and God's character um keeps us from uh from misunderstanding these ideas.

Pure Religion And Real Obedience

Dr. David Klingler 27:12

It elevates the poor over the rich. Yeah. Right? So so the rich elevate the rich over the poor. Yeah. Uh and the rich takes pride in being rich and he lowers the poor. Uh and and that's wrong. Right. The wrong response for the poor man is to say, well, God loves me because I'm poor and you should give me your stuff. You know, right. Yeah, that's good. I saw this interesting uh post this week. It said, you know, the uh there's two types of people. One that looks at in your cup and says, uh, do you have enough? Let me give you more. Uh and there's uh one uh that looks at the other's cup and says, Do you have more than me? That's not fair, right? Uh and so and so you want to be the first one. You you want to be uh looking out for someone to to bless. That's Boaz, right? And that's what the Lord does. Um there's nothing in it for the Lord, it's going to cost him uh to care for orphans and widows and aliens. And so it should cost us to, you know, when we show God's love, uh, it's not reciprocal.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 28:13

And this is uh this will come right into your to your marriage, and to how you deal with your your kids and how you deal with others. If you are representing the loyal love of the Lord, then it is a one-way unconditional at your expense for their benefit. It's going to cost you. And they ought not to do anything to gain your favor, but you set your affection upon them. Yeah. Right. So it's not a feeling, yeah, it's not a response, it's not a remotion uh an emotion, it is just a a choice. The Lord has set his affection. Uh, and and it is a humbling reality to realize there is nothing you have done, yeah, can do, or will do that gives you any position before the Lord. Um not your gifts, not your talents, not your podcasts, not your teaching seminary classes or pastoring a church or or anything else. Yeah, you have nothing before the Lord. Yeah, wow. Uh and so how then ought you to respond? Right? Well, you ought to respond with gratitude.

SPEAKER_03 29:29

Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 29:29

And show it by looking for someone else to to bless.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

And don't lift your face up to whatever.

Ruth And Boaz As Living Theology

Dr. David Klingler 29:38

You don't show partiality. Uh and that word. You know, and yeah, uh yeah, the disinterested spirit. We were talking about that this week. Uh, Alex and I were in the Clement uh of Rome when he writes, and he's uh you know, he's he's exonerating and and elevating the uh the the pastor who operates with a disinterested spirit. He can't be bought, he can't be purchased, he can't be bribed, for the bribe blinds the eye of the judge or the priest. Yeah, wow, you know, and so there's all of this is just so interconnected. Uh and uh and if we miss it, you miss the character of of God, revealed through the law um and personified in Christ, right? So you're not going to understand what Jesus is doing and why he's doing it, or it's open to misinterpretation if you don't have the the the pretext, which is the law, which is the revelation of the character of God. So Israel's exhorted to show your love for the alien, for you are aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve him, you shall cling to him, you shall swear by his name, right? Um and so you know, it starts with the fear of the Lord, it ends with the fear of the Lord, and in the middle, this is what the fear of the Lord looks like. Yeah um if you understand who he is and your position before him, um, and how he set his affection upon you, then you ought to do the same. Yeah. So uh, you know, it it's uh John and uh in first John, do not say I love God whom you haven't seen, and here you are not caring for your brother who you have. That's that's not the love of God. And so um you you can if you understand the love of God, you ought to see it in your love for others and how you treat others. And of course, pride then becomes very much a trap.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

Absolutely.

Dr. David Klingler 31:37

Because now you can take here's the irony of it, you can take pride in how humble you are. You recognize you have no merit. So now you're out caring for orphans and widows and aliens, and you take pride in the fact that you care for orphans, widows, and aliens. Not like those other people, and you're going, well, that just makes you more of a hypocrite, you know. Uh, and so you know, don't start orphans and widows and ministry uh aliens ministry until you understand the character of God and why you should be doing it. And then every day remind yourself of that. Absolutely. Um, for he is your praise, he is your God, he has done these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt, 70 persons in all, and the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven, which he promised to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, and he's kept his promises. And of course, don't take that statement that you know, uh chapter 10, verse 22 statement, he has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven, in spite of I if I was in spite of all, of course, this is what he's been doing, in spite of all the garbage that you've been doing.

SPEAKER_02 32:42

All the grumbling and complaining and getting wiped out.

Dr. David Klingler 32:45

Yeah, and so so this is why uh you have uh the book of Numbers, the the the uh counting, yeah, and then the recounting. Yeah, right? Even though you were rebellious and your first generation fell, that's so good, he still replaced them to keep his promises.

unknown 33:02

Yeah.

Love Versus Tolerance And God’s Character

Dr. David Klingler 33:03

And so we're gonna go into the land, uh, and you're going to not listen as well. So therefore, you shall love the Lord your God, you shall keep his charge, his commandments, his ordinances, um, uh, his statutes, his ordinances, his commandments, and know this day that I am not speaking with your sons who uh have not known and who have not seen the discipline of the Lord, his greatness, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm, his signs, his wonders, which he did um in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to the king of Egypt, to all that land, and what he did to the Egyptian army, and to the horses and chariots and the Red Sea and and how the Lord completely destroyed them, and what he uh did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place. So you you know, but your eyes have seen all the great work, verse seven, uh chapter eleven, verse seven, which the Lord has done. Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and possess the land. Um in order that you may be strong. Well, what kind of strength? You know, that so you know it's like uh uh you know, somehow you get supernatural. No, that this is the me he he will drive the enemies out before you will be strong and go in and possess the land which you are crossing over to possess it, that uh you may prolong your days in the land, live long in the land, which the Lord swore to your forefathers, right? Uh and so um all of this is uh is is dependent upon their ability to take the land is dependent upon their understanding who God is and their relationship to him, and then their response in light of that, right? And so what's gonna happen in Israel's history, and it happens to us, is that they misunderstand who God is and their relationship to him, and then it affects how they relate to others. Yeah. Uh and so if we don't understand the character of God, how he sets his affection, how it cannot be earned or bought, um your gifts, talents, abilities have nothing to do with it. Um but he has set his affection upon you. Um if you don't understand that, then you will not respond correctly. And so this whole widow's thing all the way through here. Um uh uh Isaiah chapter one, learn to do good. Um Isaiah is gonna tell Israel, uh, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, yeah, defend the orphan, plead the case of the widow.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

Yeah, it's gonna be huge in the prophets.

Dr. David Klingler 35:49

This goes all the way through. Um, your rulers uh are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe, everyone chases after their own reward. They do not defend the orphan, nor the widows plea before them. Uh Isaiah, uh, you know, all the way through this story, it's just over and over and over, nor do they have pity on the orphans or the widows, for every one of them is godless and an evildoer. Every uh mouth is speaking out foolishness. Um the the defending of the orphan, widow, and alien was not a defense of yourself, right? Right. Uh it was a response to the Lord's setting his affection upon you. And I think that the that the this social justice movement, uh, the errors here, and they are many, and they're well documented in church history, they misrepresent the character of God. Yeah, they have no fear of God. Uh they redefine love uh as God loves everyone and doesn't judge anyone. And so you, holier than thou Christians who claim to love Jesus, um you're not accepting me. And you're not caring for orphans and widows. And hey, let's see how they throw them all in there together, right? Uh and um and it just becomes a marring of the character of God. And so this is why the whole council of God's got to be understood, as well as church history. There's there's quite a bit of church history here as well. So, so chapter uh chapter 10, huge chapter. Oh man. Uh, and uh, you know, if you want to have two uh chapters that are really the character of God revealed, chapter 10 and chapter 15 are huge ones uh for that.

SPEAKER_02 37:31

Yeah, and what I what I what stands out to me is that humility is a big deal before the Lord. Yeah, understanding um that very truth that Israel was nothing. God set his affection on them and and same thing for us as well. And so uh starting with that humility um is the basis by which we're going to be able to respond rightly um to the grace and to the mercy that's been shown us so that we can show others the same.

Dr. David Klingler 38:01

Yeah, that um the the yeah, that's a that's a great uh great point, the humility there. Uh and that that humility word, that humble word. Yeah, we think of humil humility is the result, but but in Hebrew there's two words that two concepts that kind of fit under one root word, and the the root word is is afflicted, right? Um that affliction uh leads to humility.

SPEAKER_03 38:28

Yeah.

Dr. David Klingler 38:29

So you were afflicted in the land, let's change it. So you were afflicted in the land of Egypt, and God saved you, so you care for the afflicted one because you were afflicted. See, you were aliens, so you care for the alien. You were orphans, you were widows, you were aliens. And so humility is not a false humility, it is a an uh it is born out of affliction, wow, out of suffering.

unknown 38:49

Wow.

Dr. David Klingler 38:50

Uh, and so when we talk about how our faith is perfected, yeah, it is perfected through affliction, through suffering.

SPEAKER_03 38:57

Wow.

Dr. David Klingler 38:57

And it produces uh humility, a meek spirit, uh, uh, a contrite heart.

SPEAKER_02 39:05

Wow.

Dr. David Klingler 39:06

Uh and so all of this is going to tie together.

SPEAKER_02 39:08

Yeah, that's huge.

Dr. David Klingler 39:09

And uh and so just a great passage, it's just a really wonderful passage.

Humility, Wealth, And True Generosity

SPEAKER_02 39:12

Well, man, I learned a lot in this chapter. Uh, hope you guys all did as well. Uh, there's so much here. Again, hopefully you're seeing just the power and significance of this book that so many people uh sleep through or skip over. So hopefully you're seeing it, and hopefully you'll continue to join us as we dive into the details. I think we'll probably pick up at the beginning of chapter 11 next time. And so we will see you then.

SPEAKER_00 39:36

For more resources, visit teachmethebible.com or download our app from any app store. You can partner with Teach Me the Bible in helping the people of God understand the Word of God by subscribing and sharing with others. Thank you for listening to Teach Me the Bible Podcast.