As mentioned in the “Suzerain/Vassal” discussion, the first four chapters of Deuteronomy summarize the history of the nation. The first three chapters are a summary of the 40 years in the desert.

What I would like to focus on today is chapter four. As mentioned before, Deuteronomy is a whole lot more than a list of rules. Chapter four is a great look at God’s heart – there are three repeated themes that I want to highlight. Moses emphasizes obedience – watch yourselves and be careful to obey! Don’t fall into idolatry!

Deuteronomy 4:6
“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.’”

Deuteronomy 4:14-19
“And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess.
“Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure… And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.”

Secondly, throughout this beginning section of Deuteronomy he emphasizes that they must be careful not to forget. Teach your children! Rehearse what God has done and what He requires of you!

Deuteronomy 4:9-10
“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. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

Deuteronomy 4:23
“Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.”

Thirdly, he looks at their unique relationship with God. Yahweh is utterly unique, and His relationship with His people is unparalleled!

Deuteronomy 4:7-8
“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?”

Deuteronomy 4:20
“But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.”

Deuteronomy 4:25-26, 29-40 [this is long, I know... but it's good!]

“When you beget children and grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and act corruptly and make a carved image in the form of anything, and do evil in the sight of the Lord your God to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed… But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
For ask now concerning the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether any great thing like this has happened, or anything like it has been heard. Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
Or did God ever try to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.
Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.
And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day. Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

I am always moved by the repetition of God’s call to His people to not forget. It’s easy to look back at Israel and think, “Come on, guys, get it together.” The nation had been supernaturally created, given amazing promises, and guided directly to a land that God hand picked for them. God had revealed Himself in amazing miraculous ways! How could they forget? How could they turn to idolatry?

I am convinced that a key part of this is the command to teach their children. Back in Genesis, we looked at this some in “Memory Loss.” When parents fail to train the next generation, in very short order the entire society will turn away from God. In Judges 2:10, the Scripture states, “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.” Thus began a shocking downward spiral that ends with some incredibly debase, shocking, sickening accounts.

Here is my challenge to the parents and grandparents out there: we must teach our children the Truth! Assuming they will “absorb” it somehow in Sunday school (or Christian school) or from our family culture is not enough. Be intentional! I’m sure that all of these generations grew up going to the tabernacle, celebrating feasts, etc. However, their parents apparently failed to instill in them a deep understanding of God’s character, His ways, and His Word.

How do we do that? [I would love some experienced parents out there to post their thoughts, by the way.] Joshua 3 and 4 records the momentous crossing of the Jordan river. God was fulfilling His promises! They were entering the land! Joshua commands them to do something very interesting:

“‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight…that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
Joshua 4:2-3, 6-7

I love this picture of setting up memorial stones. They purposely put them in a place where the people would frequently pass them, setting up an opportunity for conversation with their children about God’s great faithfulness.

All of us who have walked with the Lord for any length of time have stories to tell about God’s faithfulness, answered prayer, miraculous intervention, clear leading, etc. How are you memorializing God’s faithfulness?

Several years ago my husband and I went through a very difficult time – he had lost his job, I was a stay-at-home mother, and God was stretching us in a variety of ways! During this time my dad sent us a letter. He called it his “pile of rocks,” referring to this custom of memorial stones, and in it he shared major times of my parents’ marriage when God taught them, provided for them, led them. Many of these stories sounded familiar – I grew up hearing them during family devotions and over the dinner table. Having them written down during that time was very encouraging and solidifying for us! I am so grateful for parents who recognize God’s working and purposely share it with their children!

Ironically, although I love to write, I have never been able to consistently journal. One thing that has meant a lot to me for the past 10-12 years or so is a little wooden box packed away in a drawer upstairs. It is filled (actually, I need a bigger one because I’ve run out of room!) with small items from times in my life when God has taught me meaningful things. It would look like a box of junk to anyone else, but I know the story behind each trinket. [You can read more about my box here.]

There are the small cloth straps I’ve had since I was 15 (writing this still brings tears to my eyes). I was on a missions trip to Haiti. We were miraculously able to get paperwork pushed through to enable us to take some malnourished and dying children out of the “Abandoned Children’s Ward” in the Port au Prince general hospital and move them to a Christian orphanage. In the hospital these children are not fed, held, comforted. They are left to die. Those cloth straps were tied around the wrists and ankles of a little 2 or 3 year old girl we affectionately named “Jump” (she had a lot of energy!) – as I physically untied her from a bed where she surely would have taken her last breath and carried her into the sunlight to life and freedom, God impressed on me the deep meaning of “…then you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” I, too, had been imprisoned and dying in the dark of sin – I was utterly helpless to save myself. Only God in His mercy could save me. It was not by works, but by grace that I had been saved.

Also in that box is a hospital bracelet from my dad’s hospitalization from a heart attack while I was in college. It was then that I faced head on the question, “Is God still good if He chooses to take my Dad? Will I still trust Him no matter what?”

There are programs from funerals I’ve attended and sat wrestling with why God allows innocent babies and children to suffer and die, or why He didn’t answer fervent prayers for a faithful believer’s healing.

There is a sticker from the front of an alarm clock my grandmother sent me while I was a camp counselor. I woke up one morning and my alarm clock was broken. It was a small, annoying problem (I had a cabin of 12 campers with me 24 hours a day and no way to get a new alarm clock until the weekend) that I didn’t even mention to anyone. Later that same day, I checked the mail counter and was surprised to see a box from my grandmother. She is a Jehovah’s Witness, and since they don’t celebrate birthdays or Christmas, getting a card, let alone a gift, from her has not been a common occurrence in my life. Imagine my surprise when I opened it to find an alarm clock, complete with batteries! I shook and cried and laughed as I held that weird gift, knowing that my amazing, faithful, personal Jehovah Jireh had so orchestrated the details of that day to provide for my insignificant need in a very personal and meaningful way.

That is my pile of rocks. I have been able to pull that box out at various times in my life to share about the goodness of my God, or remind myself that nothing is out of His hands. I am looking forward to sharing those stories with my children, just as my parents shared with us.

You have a unique story to tell because you serve a God like no other. Obey Him. Trust Him. And remember what He has done.