King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Monday, March 13, 2023
Chapters: DEUTERONOMY 5-7
Study: Because He First Loved Us
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [Mark 12:29-31 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.]
Jesus, basically summed up the first ten commandments into these two, and if this is coming from Jesus Himself, I am pretty sure that He wants us to observe them, [Deuteronomy 5:32-33 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.]
[Observe; To see or behold with some attention; to notice; To keep religiously; to celebrate.] When God gave the Law to Moses, he penned down six hundred and thirteen commandments, most of them related to what God had observed from them. As we continue in the reading of Deuteronomy, Moses, reiterates to the new generation the covenant that God had made with them, not their fathers.
[Deuteronomy 5:1-6 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, 5 (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, 6 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.]
[The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers,] Before Christ’s passion we followed what is known as the Law of Moses. Moses, did not make this Law, God did, but He told Moses what to write, as He did every word written in His Word. God’s Word, is not a bunch of men writing their testimonies on their walk with God, they are men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit what to write, it is the living Word, in fact, Christ, is the living Word made flesh, [John 1:1,10-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.]
[from the house of bondage.] There is nothing more liberating than to know Christ as Your Saviour, He sets us free from more than the bondage of death and hell that we are all under due to our sin, He sets us free from the dead life that we once lived. Since Christ is the living Word made flesh, we who receive Him are living souls, [Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.]
Now with that said, freedom does not come free, there is always a sacrifice of some kind that was made to set one free. Thanks to Jesus, He set us free once and for all though His sacrifice on the cross. Praise God! While we are not subject to the Law of Moses any longer that does not mean that we ought to live our lives as we please without any direction from what is within the Law. Jesus, died for us, the least we can do is thank Him by living our lives through Him. The Law of Moses is our guide to what God sees as being right or wrong, not what we think is right or wrong, and it all began with what is known as, The Ten Commandments. The first four are how God wants us to treat Him.
[Deuteronomy 5:7-12 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.]
[visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children] The reason why God said that their children will bear their fathers iniquity through the third and fourth generation is because sometimes the parents lived long enough to see that many generations. They literally saw the suffering inflicted upon their children for their sins, which would have been more distressing to them than suffering in their own sin. While we are responsible for our own sins, that does not mean those who led us into sin will not suffer, their suffering will seem more severe because they will not die until they see their loved ones die in their suffering, [Matthew 23:13-14 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.]
You can think of a new generation starting every twenty years, so if someone lived to be one hundred years old, then they would see three or four generations suffer for their idolatry or trusting in a false religion. Now, the last six of The Ten Commandments are on how God wants us to treat others.
[Deuteronomy 5:15-21 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. 16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 17 Thou shalt not kill. 18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 19 Neither shalt thou steal. 20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. 21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.]
[the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand] Jesus, did not replace the Law, He fulfilled the Law, [Matthew 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.]
There is one key to being faithful to God, fear Him. Fearing God is loving Him, respecting Him, honoring Him, acknowledging Him, and following His commands not because we have to, but because we love Him. Moses, reminds them that their fathers were the ones who agreed that he would be the one to teach the Law and they would follow it. There were too afraid to approach God themselves and wanted Moses to speak on their behalf.
[Deuteronomy 5:25-29 Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it. 28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. 29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!]
[O that there were such an heart in them,] We are not forced to accept Christ or obey God’s commands, that is a choice that each and every one of us needs to make individually. Therefore, if we are going to choose Him, God, wants us to do it right, honor Him, have some respect for Him, for others, and for your own body. God’s faithful are not perfect, but they love God. Therefore, His mercy endures, and while we may suffer some affliction for our sin, all will be well, our lives will be prolonged, well beyond this life. We do not follow His commandments because we are required, we do so because we fear our LORD.
[Deuteronomy 6:1-5 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.]
[that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily,] The Law was given as a guide for anyone who loved God to follow, God, did not expect the Israelites to know and obey every one of the six hundred and thirteen commandments that He had given them, but He did expect them to be faithful and repentant whenever they did. God, expects the same for us in regards to loving Him with all our hearts and loving others as ourselves, [Hebrews 6:9-12 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.]
When we love God first with all of our heart, that is when we welcome His Son into our soul, and love Him with all our might, not out of obligation or commandment, but out of respect. It also shows Christ in us by being the example they need to understand why we are different. This is what Moses basically tells the Israelites, they are to lead by example so that their children will know to do what is good and right in the sight of God Himself.
[Deuteronomy 6:10-12,18-19,24-25 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, 19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. 24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.]
[And it shall be our righteousness,] Remember, our own righteousness cannot save us, and they knew that too, it was their faith and faithfulness that was counted as their righteousness, and why they too can stand before Jesus and live, [Galatians 3:6-9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.]
We are not perfect by a long shot, and we do not have to be because we are only righteous through our faith in Christ, but we do need to be more proactive in our walk with Him, and make more of an effort to follow His commands. Why? Because we belong to Him. Moses reminds the Israelites of why they are God’s chosen.
[Deuteronomy 7:1-2,5-6 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. 6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.]
[above all people that are upon the face of the earth.] We are the most blessed and most powerful on the earth because we belong to Jesus, and they know it too, even if they have no clue who Jesus is, [1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.]
We do not have to earn our salvation, it is given to us freely, by grace through our faith in Christ alone. Our faithfulness to God is what blesses us beyond our salvation. We are not some ordinary people, we are not Jews or Gentiles, we are a holy people, set apart just for Jesus, and when we are faithful to Him He is faithful to us. Moses, reminds the Israelites that they are a holy people whom God has chosen not for their own righteousness or faithfulness, it is because of the promise He made to their father’s.
[Deuteronomy 7:7-9,12-13 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: 13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.]
[and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers,] Do you understand that out of all the people on the earth that have come and gone since God created man, that we are the fewest in number? Nevertheless, we are saved because of the oath that God made to save all who put their faith and trust in His Son to save them. True love is what keeps God faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to Him, but it is also what keeps us faithful to Him, we love Him because He first love us, [1 John 4:15-19 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us.]
Today’s Prayer: God, How amazing it is that You form a covenant with us the second we believe in and accept Your Son as our Saviour. It is Your desire that we stay faithful to You, not only in constant repentance, but obedience to Your commands as well. Lord, Lead me and guide me, remove from me any desire to go against Your commands, they are not grievous, but for my own welfare. You make it simple, love You with all my heart and love others as I love myself. It is only by studying Your Word, and applying its truths to my life that I might remain an example of Christ living in me. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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