Grace of the Torah – Discovering the Gospel in the Law

Automated transcript, lightly edited for readability. Scripture appears as spoken; the video is the authoritative teaching.

# Welcome Home Do you ever find yourself searching? Do you ever find yourself searching for something bigger than you? For a community to be a part of? A place founded on truth and love? A place to worship the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Son of God? Welcome to Founded in Truth, where we're more than just a fellowship. We're a family. So welcome home. Ready? There we go. I got scared, and I knew what it was. Why are they locking us in? Lower the gate. No one can escape. Welcome to a cult. Kool-Aid. So there was some leadership, which is quite all right. As you guys know, we used to have a door there that created a great buffer, because if someone needed to step out, or some children just needed to get some energy out — because that does happen — the lobby was a great place to do that.

We had doors, and it was a separation. And if they were loud, we had doors. And the church that we rent from took the doors out because they thought it would be nicer to have an open space, and so they installed a collapsible door, which is a fire door. Anyway, long story short, I guess we closed it so that we would have silence. So you guys can still run away — you just have to use that door, or you can use those doors. We still have two entrances, or in a rush, this emergency exit out there. So if you're visiting for the first time today, that was a unique occurrence. Yes, Shabbat Shalom, everybody.

Guys, we're so excited that you were here with us today. I'm so looking forward to the fellowship time afterwards. If this is your first time visiting our church or watching services online, we are a community of diverse families with lots of different backgrounds, and individuals that love the Sabbath. We find joy in the entirety of the Bible. But most of all, we're a community that seeks first and foremost to orbit the person of Jesus that we call Yeshua. So welcome to Founded in Truth Fellowship.

The past few weeks we've been kind of exploring the Torah, right? We do that frequently. Last week, for Mother's Day, we explored kind of a unique topic that's not touched on too much in a lot of fellowships — exploring what the Bible says and how the Bible depicts Yahweh with maternal similes and metaphor, which I thought was neat, interesting. Right? And before that, we left off with talking about clean and unclean food and those mysterious commands — but most of all, how the New Testament authors brought relevance to them in light of Yeshua. I've just been exploring all of this, and so this week we're going to explore what the Torah is, what it contains, and what its central message is. And in the YouTube channel, the live stream, in the description, I do have one resource by Daniel Block — fantastic Old Testament scholar — if you want to dive into this topic more. The link's in there.

What Is the Torah? Now, most of you guys know what the Torah is, right? We have the Torah portion review every single week here, right? I forgot to do that. So most of you guys know what the Torah is, but if you do not know what the Torah is — if you've never heard this word before — guys, it is simply a word that describes a part of the Bible. To sum it up, the word Torah is a Hebrew word that means instructions or direction, and whenever it's used in the Bible and outside of the Bible, it typically refers to the first five books of the Bible. There's a little bit more nuanced definition than that, but that's pretty much it.

Think Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. That's the Torah. And so you'll often hear this portion of the Bible referred to as "the law" as well. Anyone ever heard of the law? The law. I wouldn't select that as the primary label for the first five books of the Bible, but some do. Fair enough. It contains a lot of laws. And we know this portion of the Bible — it's everybody's favorite, right? Let's be honest. I know everyone's like, "Yes, because I love the Torah and everything." Come on. Right? Numbers, right? We all know we love to snuggle up next to the fire and crack open Numbers for a fun-filled, exciting night, right?

That's not our go-to. For those of us who were raised in the church, you were most likely, as I was, taught that there's really nothing in the first five books of the Bible, in the Torah, worth reading — except maybe, save a few foundational stories, like the garden with the talking snake in it, or the flood, or the plagues of Egypt, right? But most of us probably never grew up reading those. We just learned them in Sunday school. And I'm going to submit that there is more to the Torah than we may have been taught to believe, or than we may have ever seen.

Within these first five books of the Bible — actually four of them — there are a lot of laws and commandments, right? I mean, when you crack open Leviticus, you start getting heart palpitations, right? How many more do I have to read? It's just one after another. And if you're of the tribe of Levi, here's what you do. But if you're a woman or a man — so many statutes. And sometimes we've come to believe that the first part of the Bible is just that. It's a bunch of legislation. It's legislation literature. And that's how we've come to view it. Hence the coined name, the law. That's why we call it that.

Not a Law Book — a Story

But I want to try to reframe today, if I can — I want to try to reframe how we view the Torah. Because even though the Torah contains a lot of laws and a lot of commandments that God gave to Israel, I don't think it's a law book. That's not its genre. The laws are important, but I don't think that's the point. I believe that the genre of the Torah is narrative. It's narrative. Instead of looking at it and reading it as a book of laws we turn to, a big checklist, I believe it should be looked at and read as a story that it's telling. And within that story, there are laws and commandments in it. "Matt, how can you say that?

How can you say that? There's so many laws in it. Of course it's a law book." Well, if it's a law book, why are there no laws given in the first 50 chapters of the Torah? That's how it starts. The laws are contained within the story. And that is important, because they have a function that contributes to the narrative, to the story — because there's a big point in the story. The story of God creating the world to dwell with mankind, to produce a blessing through the family of Abraham, redeeming Israel as his treasured possession, making a covenant promise to them, making his abode to dwell among them, and giving them the mission to go out into the world and be the blessing — be the kingdom of priests, the mediators of heaven and earth.

That's the story that's being told. It's the story of God. And within that story, there are a lot of laws and commandments that are important. Everybody good so far? You can't just run out, because you got the door. With this in mind, we are going to read from a part of this story known as the book of Deuteronomy. The word Deuteronomy actually comes from a Greek word that means second law, or repeated law — the second law, the second Torah, right? Deuteronomy takes place on the plains of Moab, where Moses is basically giving his final farewell to Israel. It's the end of the story, this section of the story, and they're about to go into the promised land.

And he gives a summary of the journey that they have taken from Egypt, recounting all the things that happened and telling all of the things that have taken place on that journey. He reminds Israel of all the things that God has done for them, as well as all the things that God commanded them, all of the things that God expects from them.

When Your Son Asks You Why

And here in chapter 6 of Deuteronomy, Moses has a vision. He sees an event that is going to happen, a scenario. He anticipates a scenario in the future, long from now, when the children of future generations are going to look to their parents and they're going to ask why. Why? Why do we do these things? Okay? Why do we have these traditions of our people, these traditions passed down in our faith? Why? And that's an important thing to address. These are children that were not there. They never heard the voice of God. Their father wasn't the one that heard the voice of God. Their father's father, their grandfather, their great-grandfather — they don't know anybody who was there.

And so Moses is reinforcing: listen, this is how you continue telling the story, and why it's important, and why the commandments are important. So Deuteronomy 6, verse 20 — here's what Moses says: "In the future, when your son asks you, what is the meaning of this? What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees, and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?" And I love that, because instantly we think of a teenager, right? No? No one else? "Why we got to do all this stuff?" No? Okay. My daughter, Evie — she's three, and I'm scared of her teenage years. Frightens me. She's of the age where she's soaking up everything.

She wants to be involved in everything. If you're cooking something, she wants to cook. You're cutting vegetables, she grabs a knife and wants to cut. Just so anxious to help and learn, and always taking in information. And every time — every time we tell her that we're about to go somewhere, or we're about to do something, or every time there's a discipline, where I get to correct her on something that she's not supposed to be doing — guess what she asks? Why? She asks why. And it sounds cute, but I admit, I don't really enjoy it as an adult who is learning patience through children. I don't like having to explain every single thing I say to a three-year-old, as if I have to justify it to her.

"Why are we going to do this?" Because you've got to think and put energy into Evie. "It's time for bed." "Why?" "Evie, please try to eat your dinner." "Why?" "Evie, we're going to church." "Why?" "Evie, we're not gonna watch TV right now." "Why?" "Because I said so. I said so." Sometimes it catches me off guard. "Dad, what are you doing?" "I'm going to mow the lawn." "Why?" "You know what, Evie? You are right this time. It's just gonna grow back." She has a point — the wisdom of a three-year-old, right? So sometimes she gets me. Why?

Moses anticipates, again, a time when future generations of children and teenagers ask why. These are Israelites who have no memory of Egypt, as I said, no memory of the Sinaitic covenant taking place. They have no memory of the commandments being given, and they notice something. They notice their parents living in a way that is different from the rest of the world. They notice their parents are doing things that are counter-cultural. The world says and does this, but my parents do that. They see that when their parents are in conflict or a problem arises, they resolve it or respond in a way that is based on the history of their people instead of the present reality of the world.

And they want to know why. What is the meaning of these stipulations and decrees, these laws? And some of us Torah experts would likely try to respond, right? Explaining each and every commandment and the logic behind them — even if some of them have no logic behind them. Shooing a mother bird. But that's not the intent of what Moses foresees the children asking. He doesn't think the children are asking, "Hey, what's the point of not working on the Sabbath?" No. They're not asking, "What's the point of not touching an unclean carcass?" No. They're asking, "Why do we live differently in general? Why?"

What is the meaning of all of this? What is the point of the Torah?

What Is the Point of the Torah? Now, if you're asked today what the point of the Torah is — gosh, you might give a variety of answers. When I was growing up in a very specific Baptist church, this church taught that these laws were a way for the Israelites to gain salvation. So in the New Testament we have grace and we have Jesus, we have Yeshua, and we're saved. But in the Old Testament, you keep the laws, and that's how you're saved. That's how you get saved — by keeping the laws and commandments. And the issue with this is that Paul even says Abraham was justified by faith rather than obedience in the law.

So there's already an issue with that. Others may suggest that the point of the law was simply to be an impossible burden for Israel to carry, so that they would realize they need a savior, and Jesus is it. Proponents of this view, of course, would gravitate to quoting Romans 14, where Paul says the law brings wrath to everyone who is under it. But if this is the full context of Paul and the Torah, the Exodus story isn't much of a great story after all, is it? If God redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt, bringing them out to be part of his kingdom, only to give them a greater burden that locks them into his wrath — what's the point?

Again, I'm not disagreeing with Paul. I'm disagreeing with how sometimes we interpret Paul.

The Israelites would be correct if that was the scenario. God only brought us out to give us all these burdens? They'd be correct in Numbers 11 when they said, "Man, why didn't you just leave us in Egypt? Because at least we had watermelons." That's what they said. They would be correct. Now again, Paul is giving an explanation of the role of the Torah and how it's relevant to explain the grace and the mercy of God found in the Messiah. But sometimes we jump to those explanations without fully understanding the context of what's going on.

How Moses Answers the Question

How does Moses answer the question, the future question of the youth of Israel? Why? How does he do this? The explanation, the relevance of everything. Well, he gives answers to this question of meaning in two different places in Deuteronomy. One is right after he says this, and the other one is in Deuteronomy chapter 4, verses 1 through 8. And we're going to go ahead and jump over to Deuteronomy chapter 4 real quick. Who loves the Bible? Great, we're going to read some of it. Verse 1 in chapter 4: "Now Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I give you. You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor." Verse five, this is where it really gets... "understanding to the nations, who will hear about all of these decrees and say, surely this great nation is a wise and an understanding people. What other nation is so great as to have their God so near to them the way that the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am sitting before you today?"

Okay, so what Moses is saying — he says the Torah gives life. All of these laws and commandments, something about them gives life. And we see that already. So what happened is the Israelites went to Baal Peor. They ended up worshiping a false god, transgressing, and they did not receive life. So there we go — the demonstration. Do not add or take away from them. Don't mess with them. So it brings life.

The Highest of Privileges

Moses also goes on to suggest in verses five through eight that the knowledge of and commitment to this covenant, to these commandments, was a privilege for Israel. A privilege. And not just any privilege, but the highest of privileges. Look at what he said. Observe them carefully, for this will show your obedience level. This will show your commitment to God. This will show how righteous you are. This will show everyone how many things you checked off a checklist. No — he takes a different direction. This will show your wisdom and understanding. And you know what everybody else, all the other nations, are going to say when they look at you?

What a great people. What other nation has their God so close to them? Moses looks at Israel from the outside, and he gives a description of the honor and privilege that they have in the sight of all the other nations. What an amazing privilege they have to have access to wisdom. Such understanding. That's incredible. Now, as I mentioned before, many of us come from a background where we're told to look at all of these laws and commandments in the first five books of the Bible as burdensome — so impossible, so heavy. And if that's the case, why didn't Moses say, "Surely the nations will look at you and say, wow, what a poor nation who's so burdened by their God.

Wow, Israel is so oppressed by their God. We feel so sorry for this people because of all these heavy burdens that have been laid upon them"? No. The nations will be filled with envy. Envy, because of the privilege that Israel has. That's what Moses says.

The Prayer of a Pagan

For perspective, I'd like to read you guys some history, some archaeology, okay? You guys ever want to time travel? Some of you are like, "No, that's wormholes and stuff, and that's just playing God, and I'm not gonna be a part of that" — so none of you really looked into time travel, okay. But guys, because of the wonderful things we dig up in the dirt, we get to kind of time travel to the past, right? We've got dinosaur bones. Oh my gosh, where do these things come from? Right? That's only been very recent, right? Most people throughout history had no idea dinosaur bones are in the ground. You're privileged.

But we look up stuff, and we dig up ancient kingdoms and ancient tablets, and we learn about these ancient kings of Egypt and Assyria. And we found a prayer. It's an ancient Sumerian prayer. And Sumer — think ancient Babylon, okay? It's a bit of a lengthy prayer. We're not 100% sure when it was written, but it was preserved in the library of an Assyrian king by the name of King Ashurbanipal. That was like 7th century BC in Assyria. And so this prayer was probably written 1,000, 2,000 years before Jesus — I mean, maybe longer, I don't know. But are you guys ready to time travel? We're going to read the ancient prayer of a pagan, okay?

Let's see how he prays. And you can't help but have sympathy for his cries to his god, or gods. So here's what he writes. "May the wrath of the heart of my God be pacified. May the God who is unknown to me" — I don't even know where he is — "be pacified. May the goddess who is unknown to me be pacified. May the gods I know about and the gods I don't know about, may they all be pacified. May the goddesses I know about and the goddesses I don't know about be pacified. The sin which I have committed — I don't even know what it is. The misdeed which I have committed — I don't even know what that is. A gracious name may my God announce.

A gracious name may the goddess announce. A gracious name may the known and unknown gods announce. A gracious name may the gods that I do know announce. Pure food I have not eaten. Clear water I have not drunk. An offense against my God I have unwittingly, obviously, committed. A transgression against my goddess I have unwittingly done. Oh Lord, my sins are many, greater my iniquities. My God, my sins are many, greater my iniquities."

The Prayer to Any God

"The sin which I have committed, I don't even know what it is. The iniquity, I don't know. The offense, I don't know. The transgression, I don't know what it is. The Lord in the anger of their heart has looked upon me. The God in the wrath of his heart has visited me. The goddess maybe has become angry with me and stricken me. The known or unknown gods have straitened me. The known or unknown goddesses have brought affliction upon me. I sought for help, but no one took my hand. I wept, but no one came by my side. I lamented, but no one hearkens to me. I am afflicted, I am overcome, I cannot look up.

Unto my merciful God I turn, I make supplication. I kiss the feet of my goddess and I crawl before her. How long, my God? How long, my goddess, until your face be turned toward me again? How long, known or unknown God, until the anger of your heart be pacified? Mankind is perverted and has no judgment. Of all men who are alive, who knows anything? They do not know whether they do good or evil. O Lord, do not cast aside your servant. He is cast into the mire — take his hand. The sin that I've sinned — obviously, I'm being afflicted — turn to mercy. The iniquity which I've committed, let the wind carry it away.

My transgressions, may they tear off like a garment." Someone prayed that thousands of years ago. Not to the God of Israel — to gods. And you can't help but feel sorry for him. The name we gave this prayer when we discovered it — we as in mankind, people — is "The Prayer to Any God," because of the obvious contents. And it's difficult not to feel sorry for the author, pouring his heart out, crying out to any and every god. This is a prayer from outside of Israel.

And he has such a clear sense of sin in his life. He understands he's accountable for that before the gods he believes he serves — which is an understanding and conviction that likely many self-professing believers today don't have. But he's facing huge issues in his life, and he does not know where to turn. He does not know which deity he has transgressed or offended to bring about such problems. He also did not know what his offense or sin even was that ticked off the god or gods or goddesses to punish him, as he's perceiving he's being punished. And even more so, he has no idea how to satisfy this god or goddess he perceives as putting a curse on him.

See, now we have something to compare to the Israelite experience that Moses just spoke about in Deuteronomy. In the world, we have a worshiper whose earnest pursuit is to be faithful to his gods, yet he is alone, and he knows it. He's lost, he's in darkness, he's out of hope, he's desperate to encounter these gods he's told to serve. But as Moses puts it: Israel, you will be the envy of the nations because of how intimate your God is with you. These people are going to wish they could be you. Why? Because you have clear knowledge of the will of Yahweh. While everyone else gives their allegiance to idols of wood and stone or superficial things that will fade away, Israel's God remains close to them, listening to them, comforting them — unlike the gods this man is trying to reach.

There, there's nothing but silence. Israel has already heard their God speak. Israel's God speaks to them.

The Key Is Grace

And the key to understanding the meaning behind all of these statutes, stipulations, and commandments, I would suggest, is grace. Grace — who our God is and what he bestows. It is by his grace God has given Israel these commandments. They have clarity of these laws that are saturated with such righteousness. Verse 8. What's the point of them all? They reveal to Israel and the world who God is. They also expose what sin is, and they also show how this sin may be removed in the Torah, and a relationship of peace and confidence with him is established. Those are the instructions in the Torah. That's what Yom Kippur is all about.

Because of your sin, there are stains in my sight, in my house. Leviticus 16. So you're going to take a goat, and you're going to take his blood, and through this ritualistic, cultic practice with blood, these stains will be removed from my sight, and I will stay with you. He provides a way that despite Israel's sins and transgressions, he will remain among them. For an ancient Near Eastern document, that's pretty radical. Pretty radical. In Psalm 32, David reflects on God's goodness and mercy and forgiveness in contrast to his sinful actions, of which he had many. David was a bit of a jerk most of his life, as we see.

And he laments on how, when he remained silent with his sin still within his heart, only manifest through his actions in this world — what does he say? He says that when he did not acknowledge his sin, when he kept it inside, when he gave it a safe haven inside of his heart, his bones quivered and rotted within his body. It just ate away at him on the inside. But when he cried out to God, confessing his transgressions, God's grace and mercy was poured out. Psalm 32:1: "Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them, and in whose spirit is no deceit."

In this section of Deuteronomy, chapter 4, Moses already gives the answer he's asking later in chapter 6. But let's see what he says after he gives this future answer — this prophetic event of children asking why. Why do we have this unique lifestyle in our private life, in our homes, in our families? How we engage with the world differently than the world engages with itself. Guys, your children notice. What do you say when they ask why?

When Your Children Ask Why

Here is what you say, Moses says to the Israelites. Verse 21 — you shall tell them: "As is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all of this law before the Lord our God as he has commanded, that will be our righteousness." Did you see it? Did you see it? See, when we refuse to read the good book like a book, we miss the point of the book. What is the story revealing right now? What is the author trying to tell us about his God that is giving all these commandments? The answer to what to tell our children? We do this because of the knowledge we have of God's saving power. That's why we keep these commandments.

That's why we have this lifestyle. Because of God's gospel salvation — he brought us out. Moses says that your response to your children should not be, "We do all these commandments because our life is to be a system of rules and a checklist we mark off daily to appease him." It's the knowledge of the salvation the Lord brought forth on our behalf. His right arm of grace and salvation. That is what motivates us to live this way. The purpose of the Torah, the law, for an ancient Israelite was not for salvation. They had already been saved. We forget that. They had already been saved. No, it is a response to the grace of salvation God has brought to us.

The obedience to the Torah was a response to their own history of what God has done. Moses goes on to list four things here that just give weight to his point. In verse 21, a reminder of God's grace and salvation: he rescued us from Egypt. That's what you tell them first thing. He rescued us. He saved us. Next verse: he demonstrated that grace by performing these great and awesome acts through the plagues and wonders in Egypt, all while calling Israel out as his kingdom, as his children, as his treasured possession. Verse 23: he brought them out of the land of Egypt so he could fulfill his promise to give them the gift of having their own land — a promise he'd already made a long, long time before to Abraham.

Verse 24: God gave you the Torah at the moment where all of it came to its fulfillment — God making a covenant with his people, who would be the kingdom of priests delivering the blessings to the world, just as he promised their forefathers. All of these things orbit divine grace, the character of God.

Grace in Place of Grace

Now think about this. These laws and commandments were given as the response to God's grace. Obedience was not a burden in this context. Because if it was a burden, that wouldn't be grace at all, right? We sometimes don't think about this. If it's a burden, it's not grace. God redeeming his people and then intentionally putting burdens so heavy on them — that's deceit. It's not grace. No, this was a privilege, and that's how it's presented here. In the first chapter of John, John writes with such intention, describing the revelation of Yeshua come in the flesh. And in his reflection of all Yeshua had done and is doing, he only selected a few things, right?

Because no books could contain all of it. But he bursts forth with pen in hand and he writes this in John — or 16 and 17: "Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Now, if you have a King James Bible — go back to the verse — if you have a King James Bible, verse 17 will have the word "but," one "t," not two, between Moses and grace. And it will read, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." More contemporary translations realize that's not in there.

So they put a little semicolon there. It's not a "but." It's not opposing. See, John understood these exact verses that we're reading today in the Torah, I believe. The contrast here is not between law versus grace. We already see grace is in the Torah. No, this verse that John's writing, I believe, is expounding on the grace that's already found in the Torah.

Grace Revealed in the Law and in Yeshua

And he's expounding — just like all of chapter 1 is about — this new revelation of God's grace come in the flesh of Yeshua. Moses celebrated and was proud to announce the weight of God's grace bestowed on Israel. So was the author of Psalm 119, the longest chapter, all celebrating God's Torah and the grace and the righteousness found in it. So what do we do with this? Well, we see God's grace revealed in the law. Do we also see God's grace revealed in Yeshua? Of course we do. Hebrews chapter 1 says that Yeshua is the perfect representation of everything God is. You ever meditate on that? Prophets of old and writings of old all have brought forth revelation, but now we see God clearly.

Yeshua is the perfect representation of Yahweh. When we see Him, we see a clearer picture of who God is. So when our children ask us, "Why do we live like this? Why do we do things differently from the rest of the world today? Why do we seem to keep these standards that seem old-fashioned and outdated? Why do we stand with passion and zeal against injustice and evil in the world, being outspoken whenever a person or a people group cries out, just like in Egypt? Why do we stand up to represent them and investigate? Why do we operate on such a level of generosity as believers that the world can only sum up our zealousness for generosity as foolishness?"

What do I tell my son when he asks why we give money to the fellowship community we attend? Why do we keep sticking stuff in the thing? Why do we meet on Saturday? Why do we rush to someone's aid? All these things we do that the world does not. Can we give an answer like Moses did to our children? Can you? Do you view the commandments in the Torah as an insurmountable burden that's been placed upon you — a task list that takes so much effort to get through? Is that how you see the Torah? Is that how you see the teachings of Yeshua? Because if it is, you likely view your faith in Yeshua the same way.

How many of us secretly — I guess there won't be any hands raised — how many of us secretly in our hearts sometimes wish we could just flee from the conviction of sin, the consciousness of it, the Holy Spirit trying to convict us? How many of us view living a life resembling Yeshua as a bit of a burden sometimes, a checklist that we sometimes feel obligated to just get through because that's what I'm supposed to do because I'm a Christian — only wishing every once in a while we could operate and act like the world? See, if you think that following Yeshua is a checklist you have to carry as a burden, of course you're going to always see the world as a place of freedom. And I'd hope that you would reevaluate who you are and who your God is, if that is you today. Just like the Israelites celebrated and embraced and felt obedience as a privilege and a response to God's grace, we too should celebrate, embrace, and find joy in obedience to Yeshua as a privilege and as a response to God's grace and His ultimate gospel salvation that's been revealed to us.

Remember and Transmit the Testimony

The declaration of Moses in Deuteronomy chapters 4 and 6 was so Israel would remember and transmit the testimony of God's supreme grace to the next generation. Is that important? It is important. Moses understood what would happen if we would forget the goodness of God. That's what happened in Judges chapter 2. It says that a whole generation rose up that knew not the Lord and knew not his grace. They knew not what he did for Israel. And they worshipped other gods, and they went out in the world to find a sense of grace, because they didn't know where the source was. Because that's what we do. We find it where we can get it.

Old Testament scholar Daniel Block rephrases — he did a great job; he's an Old Testament scholar whose focus is on Deuteronomy, and he has a great commentary on this section — but he rephrases Moses' declaration in Deuteronomy 6 this way. He kind of updates it and rephrases what it would look like if a believer had to answer. And I love this. Mom, Dad, why do we live like this? The world is doing that — why do we do this? And here's what he says: "We were slaves to sin — this is why, my son; this is why, my daughter — we were slaves to sin, but the Lord rescued us from the kingdom of darkness with a strong hand, through the work of Christ on the cross and by raising him from the dead.

Moreover, he showed great and distressing signs and wonders before the prince of powers of this world and his followers. He has brought us out from there in fulfillment of his promises, in accord with his glorious plan of salvation, in order to bring us into an inheritance eternal and imperishable. So the Lord commanded us to observe his commandments as an expression of our fear and love for Christ, for our good always and for our survival as his people. And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to show that we love God with all of our hearts by doing all that he commanded us. Then we will hear him say, well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord."

Man, I thought that was beautiful. I thought that was beautiful. How Moses responds to tell your children why we live like this isn't really any different from how we respond to our children when they ask us why we live differently. Why do we always pursue love and mercy and forgiveness no matter what people do to us? Why do we always pursue justice even if it doesn't fly well with the rest of the family, or the political party we're associated with, or the rest of the world? Why do we always want to pursue justice — helping people and showing mercy on people and trying to bring a sense of heaven to a hellish earth?

Why are we always bending over doing all these things with so much zeal, and going to church and worshiping? Why do we do that? Why do we show generosity to support the good things we know God is working in? Why, Dad? Why, Mom?

Because we have seen his gracious love for us — when he defeated our slave masters, when he freed us from the powers of this world, when he forgave us of the sin that we loved so much, when he freed us from death so that we can live as life bearers. That is why we do this: because he saved us. And it is a privilege and an honor to be known as an ambassador of the King, as Paul says.

Have You Forgotten? And so the question is, have you forgotten today? Have you forgotten what God has done for you? Have you forgotten the privilege you have to respond to it? Have you forgotten? Do your children ask, "Why do we live differently?" Oh man, that one hurts a little bit. Do your kids ask? Do your friends ask? Do the nations around you look in awe at the nearness of God's presence in your life? Or do you find yourself hopeless, praying to any and every god and finding the joy of God's grace in the things of the world? And I think that's the message today that we glean from the word of God.

Do we remember? Do we respond to grace with honor? And do our children understand the mission and why we're just so excited and overjoyed to be able to do it? Because Moses says if you're doing it right, that should be happening. And when it happens, make sure you have a response so your children understand it as well. So guys, please stand. We're going to exit to conclude services the same way that we entered in — through worship. And I don't know where you're at today. I don't know what you're going through in your life. I don't know what struggles you have. I don't know how near you feel to the Father today.

But I hope this message gives you some type of hope or encouragement or motivation in the areas of your life that you may need it. Because our God is a God that is near. And so if you need prayer today, I want to invite you to come up. We have a prayer team on either side of the stage. And guys, if you're going through something in your life and you just need prayer, take advantage of that. We have someone praying for you.

Closing Prayer and Blessing

Avinu Malkeinu, our Father, our King. Father, we thank you for this opportunity to dive into your word, and not just see the story of ancient Israel and your faithfulness and your graciousness to them — Father, we see a greater revelation of your faithfulness and graciousness to us through our King Yeshua. Hail King Jesus. We thank you, Father, for your spirit of peace, justice, mercy. We thank you for your salvation. And it is an honor and a privilege for us to even be able to respond to that. Father, if there are things in our life in this moment, I would ask that you would expose them, that we could push them out so that we could further take up the mantle of representing you in your kingdom.

We thank you, Father. In the name of Yeshua, our salvation, we pray. Amen. Blessing over you. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Shabbat Shalom. Shalom. I'm Matthew Vander Els, and I hope you enjoyed this message. Founded in Truth exists to build a community that bears the image of God and lives the redeemed life only Yeshua gives. If this message impacted you, or if this ministry has been a blessing to you, we invite you to take part in making sure the message of Yeshua and the truth of God's word continues to reach others. To make

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